Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
NATASHA
“Y ay! You’re finally here!” Ella Rose herself exclaimed as she threw open the door. “And this handsome boy must be Dante.”
Clearly having no sense of self-preservation, she knelt and cooed at Dante, who glanced at me and moved to block her approach. Although his shoulders tensed, he remained calm.
I moved my fingers away from the Beretta tucked in the outside pocket of my purse before standing to shake her hand.
She towered over me by almost a foot, and I forced my inner fangirl down when she pulled me into a tight hug smelling of lemon soap and freshly baked bread.
Her casual clothes and disheveled appearance made me wish I hadn’t worn a suit, but what else did one wear to an interview with the world’s most notorious criminal mastermind?
“And with your general, as requested.”
“You catching him being careless was the icing on the sweet cake of your curriculum vitae.”
“I’m right here, you know,” Daniel murmured. He kissed Ella’s cheeks, European style. “But you said unharmed, and she punched me in the face.”
“Not seeing any blood or a protruding bone,” she retorted. Taking my hand, she led me to a comfortable couch and sat next to me, but didn’t loosen her grip on my fingers. “So, Spider. Can I call you Spider? I love your supervillain name, by the way.”
“Um…sure?” Honestly, Ella reminded me of a somewhat hyperactive teenager—definitely not the Signora of a brutal Italian mob family. “But maybe it should wait until I have a volcanic island lair.”
“Elba is sort of volcanic.”
“I told her already.” Daniel lifted his chin in greeting when another man joined us. “Hello, Moretti.”
“And that’s Cristian, my husband,” Ella said. “Say hello, Cristian.”
“Hello, Cristian.”
“Smartass.”
“You wound me, Cicci,” he replied, a faint smile curving his generous mouth. “I was simply following my Signora’s command.”
Although his dark eyes reminded me of black holes surrounded by thick lashes, I caught the faintest tinge of humor in the fathomless depths of his gaze. Tall, with a prominent Roman nose, thick eyebrows, and a shadow beard I doubted any commercial razor could touch, he was gorgeous.
If you want to get over a man, get under an Italian.
Well, a different Italian, naturally. I wasn’t one to poach—not that I’d taken a lover since…
I forced myself to focus. My ex wasn’t important, nor was he here.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Signore Moretti.”
“Cristian, please.” He sat next to Ella and laid a hand on her knee. “We’re delighted to welcome you and Dante to our home.”
A maid bustled in with a coffee service and a large cart loaded with snacks. Nonplussed, I watched Ella pile food on a plate as the maid set a crystal bowl of water on the floor for Dante.
“Help yourself,” she said, her mouth full. “Definitely try the spanakopita. It’s my chef’s specialty.”
“You should,” Daniel advised. “And quickly, before you learn the reason Ella is called The Goat.”
“Well…” I selected a piece of crisply toasted bruschetta laden with chopped tomato and basil, along with a small serving of spanakopita. “It does seem to be a strange nickname.”
“She eats everything that isn’t nailed down, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ate the nails too,” Daniel replied.
“Remind me why I wanted you back,” Ella muttered. “Should have let The Spider keep you.”
Enjoying their banter, I hid a smile behind a bite of bruschetta. It was almost as if they were a family, but I had no relevant experience to base that assumption on.
Maybe they were somewhere between The Sopranos and The Simpsons . And maybe I was just jonesing for something I’d never have.
As I was trying to decide how to get the conversation turned toward business, Ella said, “I’m sure you’re wondering if the job I instructed Daniel to offer you is legitimate.”
“Yes, that did cross my mind.” I didn’t mention thinking she planned to execute me, as that option didn’t seem to be on the table anymore.
“It is.” She offered me a thick manila folder. “Inside, you’ll find an employment contract, plus payroll and insurance forms. We’ll also set you up for Fondo Pensione Integrativo with ten percent matching contributions.”
“Is that like a 401k?” I asked, trying to hide my surprise. In what universe did serial killers get retirement benefits?
“Yeah, and we have an accounting team if you don’t want to mess with filing your own tax forms. The IRS is a pain even if you aren’t working overseas.
” Ella ate another piece of bruschetta. “The Tomas and Lelia Lupo Foundation will sponsor your employment visa unless you want to get Italian citizenship, which we’ll also sponsor. ”
There was an idea. I could move to Italy and never have to worry about crossing paths with Lachlan again—just as I’d imagined when I walked out of our marriage. Well, not specifically Italy, but somewhere not in the United States.
“And will the job pay enough to cover my…expenses?” I asked, careful not to mention anything that might incriminate me.
“More than,” she promised, following my lead. “Besides, TLL will be covering the costs you’re talking about.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” I murmured. “What’s the catch?”
“Smart woman.” Ella stood and crossed the room, then beckoned to someone waiting in the hallway. “Allow me to present your new partner.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Daniel said I would be working alone.”
“Daniel isn’t the boss here.” Her blue eyes hardened into chips of ice, letting me catch a glimpse of what made her so terrifying. “I am. And if I say you’re working with a partner, you better get used to having company.”
Except I didn’t bend for anyone. Not anymore—not even for The Goat. I was scary enough all by my lonesome. “As I said, I work alone.”
“And you will—after your first assignment is complete.” She tapped her bare foot impatiently, then added, “Oh, and take your hand away from the pistol in your purse. I’ll be pissed if you pull a gun on your new partner.”
* * *
LACHLAN
What. The. Fuck.
Although Ella could only have been referring to me, I scanned the hallway for someone else. Did she truly expect Natasha to agree?
Most importantly, what was I about to sign up for?
Not that it mattered. I’d do almost anything for a chance to be with Natasha again, even temporarily—and knowing I had no hope of fulfilling my fondest dream of having her kneel willingly for me.
After so many months apart, I still wanted her to look at me like she had on our wedding night, as if I was her knight protector, and not just as bad or worse than her father.
“Well, come on,” Ella said, stepping aside to clear the doorway. “I don’t have all day.”
“This was not part of our deal,” I whispered, careful to keep my voice down so Natasha didn’t hear me. “I didn’t agree?—”
“Here’s me not caring. Now, move it.”
Still holding baby Lelia, I sighed and trudged past her to finally gaze upon my wife for the first time in months. She reached for her purse, then scowled when Cristian took it away from her. Dante growled softly and she laid her hand on his back to calm him.
Her lips pressed into a tight line and a muscle twitched in her cheek. “You better tell me that baby’s mother isn’t in your filthy kennel, Lachlan. And don’t you dare lie. I’ll find out.”
The comment stung, but I couldn’t protest. I hadn’t given her any reason to think better of me.
“Lelia is mine,” Ella said as she took the baby from me. “And Lachlan doesn’t have anything but a litter of Cane Corso puppies in there.”
“Fair enough.” Her rage palpable, Natasha tossed a thick folder on the couch and stood. “Thanks for the job offer, but I’m out.”
“Spider—”
“No, Ella.” She grabbed her purse from Cristian and scowled when Daniel blocked the exit. “I won’t work with a partner, least of all him.”
“Not even for a chance to go after Ronan Doherty?” Ella collected the papers that had fallen from the folder and tucked them back inside, smirking as Natasha’s face reddened with fury.
“I know you recognize the name, and my intelligence team tells me you’re still looking for a way into his compound. ”
I recognized the name too, but I couldn’t figure out why my old college friend would be on Ella’s radar, much less Natasha’s. Of course, we’d lost touch years before, so maybe he wasn’t the man I remembered—assuming they were the same person.
I couldn’t exactly throw stones, considering what I’d done to Natasha, but if Ronan was into the same shit as Steve had been, he needed to be put down.
“My father’s partner.” Natasha’s hands tightened into fists. “Where is he?”
“Same place he was when you found him,” Ella replied. “Locked in a manor house on the southeastern coast of Ireland. And as you’ve already learned, you won’t be getting in there without help.”
She tilted her head toward me, then added, “Lachlan knows him, and can get you close enough to take out the trash, if you get my drift.”
I grabbed a cup from the coffee service and filled it, more to hide my reaction at the confirmation of Ronan’s identity than anything else. I remembered his house well after spending more than a few weekends there while we were in college.
Natasha snorted and sent me a poisonous glare. “Of course. Stupid of me not to expect my useless ex to be associated with Ronan.”
“I’m not,” I murmured. “I haven’t seen him in over a decade. Apparently, I’m the only one who’s surprised he was in bed with your father. Ella didn’t tell me either.”
“No, I didn’t,” she chirped. “I love a good surprise, don’t you?”
“Goat, shut the fuck up.” As Ella sputtered with laughter, Natasha asked, “And why should I believe you, Lachlan?”
“I did awful things to you that I will regret until my dying day, but I’ve never lied to you.
” Taking a risk, I approached her slowly, thankful Dante held his position, then took her hand.
Squeezing it gently, I said, “If you want him gone, let me help you. Let me do what I should have done when I married you and keep you safe.”
“Now, that’s the way to apologize for being a dick.
Way better than the weekly roses Natasha donates to a nursing home.
” When Lelia whimpered and nuzzled her shoulder, Ella lifted her shirt and put her baby to her breast. “Like all women of quality, Natasha prefers bathing in the blood of her enemies over flowers.”
“Why are you still talking?” Natasha jerked her hand free and crossed her arms, then glared at both of us. “I’ll figure out a way to take him out by myself, so shove your contract up your?—”
“Spider, you already know he’s guarded by an army almost as big as Ella’s in an impenetrable compound,” Daniel said softly. “You’re good, but nobody is that good.”
“Why don’t you just take your little army and kill him yourself?” Natasha asked.
“Because it would start a war we don’t want,” Cristian replied. “If we keep things quiet, we can track down his suppliers without giving them advance warning and stop the auctions at their source.”
“And we all know he’d already be dead if you’d found a way in,” Ella said. “I’m offering it, and the opportunity to rescue over a dozen women and children he’s holding in his cellar for his next auction.”
“You also possess a skill no one else has,” Cristian added. “Along with being a gifted assassin, you’re a fully trained slave, known to belong to Lachlan.”
“No.” Natasha’s shoulders stiffened, but I caught her shudder. “If Ronan has been keeping tabs on me, he probably also knows we’re divorced.”
“That’s why we’ve been circulating gossip about your reconciliation,” Ella replied, surprising me.
I hadn’t heard the rumors, and Natasha probably wouldn’t care that I no longer associated with anyone from my old life. I doubted anything I did would make her come back to me, but I wanted to be better for her.
Yes, damn it. I still wanted her to kneel for me, but this time, her collar would be the finest platinum instead of steel, and I’d never leash her again. She’d come to me willingly, or not at all.
“The rumors also help conceal your activities. As long as you’re Lachlan’s slave, no one will associate you with all those unsolved murders.
” Daniel said. “Ronan is many things, but above all, he’s plagued with curiosity.
He’ll want to know everything—especially since Steve refused to give you to him. ”
“Wait. Ronan wanted me? How do you know that?”
“It’s not important,” she replied, shooting Cristian a poisonous glare. “With your leash in Lachlan’s hand, you’ll have free access to him. Get him alone and?—”
Ella drew a finger across her throat and sent Natasha an evil smile. “Invite him into your parlor, Spider.”