Valentina #3
“Would that bother you?” he asked. She froze when she realized that he was too close. Or maybe, she was too close to him. His face was inches from hers, and his dark eyes were watching her. Valentina pulled back.
“You’re protecting me,” she said.
“That wasn’t what I asked,” he reminded.
“No, it wasn’t.” Marco leaned slightly closer. She should have moved, but she didn’t.
“Would it bother you?” he asked again.
“Yes.” The answer came before she could stop it, and his expression shifted. She didn’t see victory looking back at her or even arrogance. It was something quieter. Valentina hated how much that affected her. She cleared her throat. “Because I don’t want anyone getting killed because of me.”
Marco’s eyes stayed on hers. “That’s not what you meant.”
“You don’t know what I meant,” she spat.
“I’m very good at knowing what people mean.”
“And I’m very good at numbers,” she said.
His mouth curved. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don't know. I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind,” she said. He laughed—actually laughed, and Valentina stared at him.
Marco stopped. “What?”
“You laugh,” she said. “I didn’t think that mobsters laughed, but you just did.”
“Must be the head injury,” he mumbled. She smiled before she could stop herself. A loud knock hit the driver’s window, and Valentina jumped. Marco’s gun was in his hand before she even processed the sound. A man stood outside with his hands visible.
“Dante,” he breathed. Marco lowered the weapon, and Valentina exhaled.
Dante opened the door. “You two good?”
Marco got out of the SUV. “Define good.”
Dante looked at the damaged SUV. “You hit someone.”
“They were in my way,” Marco insisted.
“Of course they were,” Dante grumbled. Valentina climbed out, and Dante’s attention shifted immediately to her. “You hurt?”
“No,” she lied.
Dante, Valentina. Valentina, Dante,” Marco said as an introduction. He looked at Dante and nodded to her. “She hurt her shoulder.”
She glared at him. “It’s fine.”
Dante looked at Marco. “You two are going to get along wonderfully.”
“No,” they said together.
Dante almost smiled. “Come on.”
“Where are we?” Valentina asked.
Marco shut the door. “My place.”
She stared at him. “You brought me to your house?”
“To my condo,” he said.
“That wasn’t really my question,” she said.
“No one knows this address here, so you’re safe,” he said.
Dante cleared his throat. “I do.”
Marco looked at him. “Unfortunately, you do,” he agreed.
Valentina folded her arms over her chest. “So your grand plan is to hide me in your condo?”
“For tonight,” Marco said.
“And what happens tomorrow?” she asked.
Marco’s expression hardened. “Tomorrow, we figure out who keeps trying to kill you.”
“And my father’s involvement in all of this?” she asked.
“We figure him out too.” She studied him.
There was something different now. At the safehouse, Marco had looked at her like she was a problem Luca had handed him.
Now, he looked at her like the problem belonged to him.
That should have frightened her, but instead, she felt strangely safer.
Marco gestured toward the elevator. “Come on.”
Valentina didn’t move. “One thing first.”
His brows lifted. “What?”
“No more half-truths,” she insisted. Marco’s face went still. “If I’m staying with you, and if I’m trusting you to keep me alive, then I need to know what you know.”
“You may not like what I know,” he said.
“I haven’t liked anything that’s happened tonight,” she breathed.
“That’s fair,” Marco said.
“And if you find out my father worked with the Camorras?” she asked.
“I tell you,” he promised.
“If he stole your encryption?” she asked.
“I tell you,” he assured.
“If he betrayed your family?” There was a pause, and she noticed that Marco’s eyes hardened.
“I tell you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“And if you decide I’m the threat Luca thinks I might be?” That one took longer for him to answer. Valentina watched him as Marco stepped closer.
His voice lowered. “If I thought you were the threat, Valentina, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
Her pulse jumped. “That’s not reassuring.”
“It should be,” he said.
“Why?” she asked.
His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth before returning to her eyes. “Because I’ve already decided you’re not the person I need to destroy.”
She swallowed. “And who is?”
Marco looked toward the damaged SUV and then back at her. “Whoever keeps trying to take you from me.” From him—not from the Camorras, or from Luca, but from Marco. Valentina felt the words settle somewhere they shouldn’t.
She stepped into the elevator before he could see how deeply they landed. But when Marco joined her and the doors slid shut, she realized something far more dangerous than the men who had chased them through Queens. She was starting to believe him.
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