Chapter 29
Catarina hurried up the stairs, showered, and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt.
The denim was soft, worn in, hugging her in a way that made her feel free.
Comfortable. She caught her reflection in the mirror and, to her surprise, smiled.
For some ridiculous reason, she was in an exceptionally good mood.
Maybe it was the incredible sex. Or maybe it was the idea of a future—hers—finally unfolding in front of her.
A career, a purpose, something she could choose instead of being forced into.
Or maybe it was the thought of a baby with Sal.
That one startled her. Two months ago, she would have recoiled at the very idea. Children meant vulnerability. They tied a woman to a man. They trapped her. She’d always sworn she wouldn’t let that happen—not with the kind of men she grew up around.
But here, in this house, with Sal? For the first time in her life, she felt safe enough to let her guard down. Safe enough to imagine.
She could eat without fear of punishment.
Move without dread of being pinched, slapped, or criticized.
She was too thin, Sal told her, but he said it with concern, not cruelty.
He never looked at her like her father had, weighing her body like an object.
With Sal, her weight just…was. Hers. For the first time, she wasn’t living in her body to appease someone else. She was simply living in it.
Liberating.
Even better, she was learning self-defense, cooking, reading whatever she wanted.
Buying clothes because she liked them, not because they displayed power or status within the mafia hierarchy.
She hadn’t met many other mafia wives—and maybe that was because not many of Sal’s men seemed to have wives.
They were shadows, soldiers, bachelors. She smiled politely at them when she passed, but never lingered. It was safer that way.
Humming under her breath, she descended the stairs, feeling light enough to dance.
Then she remembered—her momma dog. The little family tucked away out back would be hungry.
The puppies had likely been tumbling over each other all day, and their mother would need her meal.
She’d snuck them scraps over the past few days and ensured that the momma had plenty of water and old blankets for comfort, but Catarina knew that the momma dog needed better nutrition.
Spotting one of the guards, Catarina walked straight up to him, her steps brimming with purpose. “I need to head to the grocery store,” she said. “Is there anyone who could drive me?”
The guard dipped his head and reached for his radio. “I’ll have your driver and guards notified immediately.”
“Thanks,” Catarina murmured, already crossing to the closet where she’d left her purse.
She rifled inside, checking for her wallet, making sure she had the cash Sal had given her.
She was careless with it sometimes, but no one here would dare steal.
They’d have to face Sal’s wrath, and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Still, when she opened the wallet, her fingers stilled.
There was more cash than she remembered. A lot more.
Her breath caught. “Good grief,” she whispered.
“Something wrong?”
Sal’s deep voice cut through the quiet, startling her so badly that she spun around. Her body reacted before her mind did—her hand snapping the wallet behind her back like a child hiding candy.
The motion was instinctive, but the guilt that followed was sharp.
Hot. After what they’d just shared—his hands, his patience, his tenderness—she felt like a fraud for keeping anything from him.
And yet… she couldn’t help it. Spending money on dog food and puppy supplies felt reckless.
Frivolous. What if he saw it as wasteful? What if he asked questions?
“Nope. Nothing wrong,” she chirped, plastering on a smile that felt too tight across her face.
He was watching her. Really watching. She could feel it in the weight of his gaze, the way it seemed to strip away her skin and peek at the truth beneath.
Her pulse kicked faster. She needed to get out of there. Quickly. The momma dog was waiting, and Catarina clung to that urgency like a shield. The puppies needed food. That was all that mattered.
The door opened, and she recognized the driver from her last grocery run. Relief flickered through her, but it only made her heart beat faster. She turned back toward Sal, meaning to give him a quick, casual goodbye—something light, something ordinary. Instead, a wild, reckless impulse took over.
In two strides she was in front of him, fisting the front of his shirt and yanking him down to her height.
Her lips brushed his in a hard, breathless kiss—too brief, too desperate—before she could lose her nerve.
Sal froze, caught off guard, and by the time he started to respond, Catarina had already spun away, her cheeks burning.
The door clicked shut behind her a moment later, leaving Sal rooted where she’d left him—stunned, aroused, and more confused than he’d been in years.