Chapter Twenty-Two
Max
I’ve been at Cal’s for two weeks.
And what a two weeks it has been.
The penthouse, which is bigger than all the apartments I have ever been inside in my life combined, is my new favorite place—especially looking out over the river on the balcony. It feels like the best vacation from reality.
And I will continue to ignore the elephant in the room. There may even be multiple elephants. A whole zoo. Between the mafia thing and when I actually do need to get back to real life, I just keep begging for reality to stay away. At least for a little while longer.
After the first week, Cal had Gio get my cell phone for me. It was nice being disconnected from the world, but Becca was, reasonably, freaking out.
After two long video calls and Cal’s agreement to allow me to share my location with her, she was satisfied with my safety.
Between the two of them, I feel like someone has secured me in bubble wrap and set me gently on a shelf. Luckily for me, that shelf is a multimillion dollar penthouse in Providence.
My fuzzy blue socks slip slightly as I grip the white marble counter in the kitchen, careful not to spill my steaming mug of tea as I walk back to my designated area to do nothing the rest of the day.
I’ve been doing some work for Ellison pretend it doesn’t exist and therefore, is not a concern of mine.
I sit in the oversized, grey fluffy chair and pull my legs underneath me, knocking the half-read book off the arm as I do. It slams on the marble tile and I jump.
Adrenaline sprints through my veins briefly as I huff a breath.
Okay. Ignoring it isn’t helping. I might be on edge.
Every time we leave and come back, Gio and/or Rudi insist on clearing the penthouse before we come up. No one has said why this is, just that it’s the routine I have accepted.
I sit back and stare up at the high ceilings, thinking about my time here.
Cal’s family is wonderful. His mom is kind and has invited us for family dinner ever so many times since we’ve arrived in town. Yet, Cal has only taken me over there a few times. I think he may not like sharing me with anyone else.
Nico is hilarious, he reminds me so much of Cal…
if Cal was all fun and laughs without the serious side.
His sisters are clearly the rebels of the family, even elaborating on how they skirt their security details and go out to get ice cream late at night when Nico and Cal walked away from us.
Cal told me later on that he overheard the whole conversation and he’s glad they still think they are getting away with that, even after doing it for so many years.
He keeps them safe. All of them. And me.
Being with Cal has felt like where I should have been years ago. It’s the trajectory my life could have taken if it wasn’t for Patrick.
He treats me better than I could imagine, like all those book boyfriends—the ones who can’t possibly be real.
Opening doors, showering me with gifts, but it’s even more than that.
He listens to every word I say, encouraging me, and reminding me what it feels like to dream.
He hears the things I don’t say too. Like anticipating things I need.
Two nights ago when I couldn’t sleep he came out to the living room asking what I was doing staring at the ceiling at one in the morning. I said I wasn’t sure.
He promptly bent over in front of me and told me to get on his back. I laughed for the whole thirty seconds it took for him to give me a piggy-back ride to his bed. He set me down, tucked me into the side furthest from the door, peppered me with kisses and cuddled up behind me.
I don’t think I’ve ever slept as good as I did that night. Except for last night. And probably tonight, too.
But then… there’s the elephant.
The mob. The Mafia. The godfather-ness of it all.
I throw my empty arm over my eyes with another huff.
Everywhere we go—which, admittedly, hasn’t been very many places outside of his mother’s house and the café—there’s an entourage. Not the fun party kind, the kind with holstered metal under their jackets.
A throat clears and I startle again, this time spilling the tea all over my lap.
“Fuck,” I screech and stand, drops of black tea landing on the cold, white tile and drenching the front of my tank top, and the leg of my soft blue sweatpants.
“Sorry.” Speak of the devil, Gio, one of Cal’s shadows that he has apparently assigned to watch over me, walks towards me in black slacks and a black suit jacket.
He carefully lifts the mug from my hand, calmly walking over to the kitchen as I audibly sigh.
Probably thinking the sigh is about him, he cringes as he hands me a small towel. I bend down pushing it into the carpet beside the chair and wiping the tea from the tile.
“I’m sorry, Max.”
Relief washes over me at hearing Gio use my real name. I have known they were aware of my name, but apparently Cal had banned them from using it, which clearly has been overturned.
It’s not that I don’t understand the rules. I do. I understand he wants to keep me safe. But there has been absolutely zero indication of anything less than total safety since I have been here. And if he can’t trust his own men then who can he trust?
My argument obviously worked if Gio is using my name out loud. Court dismissed.
“Mr. Renzetti just asked if you would meet him in the study.”
“He’s home?” I shoot up straight. “But I didn’t hear the elevator.”
“He took the back entrance. I think, uh…” Gio scratches his head and bends down, twisting the towel out of my hands, without waiting for me to protest, to finish wiping up the mess. “I’ll be headed back out with Rudi so you guys will have the place to yourselves.”
“Ooh, babysitter has the night off?” I joke with Gio as I take quick steps backwards towards the hallway.
He chuckles and I catch him nodding as I glance back, wrapping my blue cardigan around my frame as I shiver slightly.
“Yes, but I am happy to be your babysitter, you know,” he counters, looking up at me as he stands, and I pause before I go around the corner.
“He didn’t give us many nights off before you came.
Rudi has seen his kids more in the last couple weeks than he did in all of September.
And that’s saying a lot because the boss wasn’t even here in September. ”
I frown. That just won’t do for me. These men need time to see their families. Surely Nico and Cal can rotate their guards, especially for the ones with families.
“Thanks for sharing that with me. Please, please, enjoy your night. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow!” I give him a small smile and he nods.
I practically skip down the tiled hallway passing doors to my right and left until I come to the small staircase that goes down to the study. The fact that a penthouse apartment can have multiple levels still confuses me, but I’ve decided I like it. It feels like a tunnel system.
As I leave the stark white of the upstairs, the first thing that changes is the walls.
They become darker, moodier. The railing of the stairs is dark wood, and the floors are no longer tile.
The herringbone pattern creaks slightly under my feet as I walk down the hallway to the study door.
I prefer it down here, but Cal has had people in and out of here for the past week.
They blocked off the stairs and everything, so him inviting me down must mean I am allowed downstairs again.
His office has a big wooden door with an ornate gold handle. I knock twice before pushing down on the handle.
“Wait!” I hear Cal shout from inside and I stop.
“Why?”
“Max,” he warns.
I roll my eyes, take my hand back, the door is cracked and I see his shadow on the other side. “We aren’t in public—I’m allowed to question what you tell me!” I say it with snark and hope it comes across through the door.
“Close your eyes,” he orders.
“State your case.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Maxine.” I hear the eye roll in his voice. “I have a present.”
I smile with a giggle. “Oh! Yes! I love those. I’ll allow it.”
I close my eyes, hear the door open, and feel his hands take both of mine, pulling me gently into the room.
It smells like his signature scent of leather, cedar, and burnt salt—that weird metallic smoke smell I still haven’t been able to place.
He leads me for a few seconds and then we stop.
He turns me slightly, and places both his hands on my shoulders.
I can feel him standing behind me as he runs his hands down my arms.
“Open.”