Valentina
Dante
Ididn’t do post-orgasmic cuddling. There was no place in my life for sentiment. But dragging myself away from Evelyn’s warm, soft embrace took a fuckload more willpower than I’d expected.
I was furious with myself. This morning should never have happened. What the fuck had I been thinking? I’d told myself last night would be it. One night of passion, just to get her out of my system.
Except it hadn’t been enough.
After our first frenzied round, I’d barely given her time to recover, such had been my desire. I’d pleasured her with my mouth, with my fingers, and again with my cock, determined to see if it was as good as the first time.
It was better.
When we’d finally fallen into an exhausted sleep, I’d been plagued by dreams of Evelyn riding me, her hips moving in a frantic rhythm, my fingers gripping her butt as she climbed higher and higher, finally exploding into vocal spasms of ecstasy.
Watching her come undone was something I’d never tire of. She was a fucking wonder, a siren sent to bewitch me. There was nothing sexier than seeing her beautiful body tremble, quake and come apart on top of me.
Nothing that made me feel more of a man.
Except it wasn’t real. I had to remember that.
None of this was fucking real.
This crazy attraction between us was just a product of our forced proximity, our loaded relationship. I knew that. She knew that.
This couldn’t continue. Or be allowed to happen again. Dammit, I couldn’t afford the distraction.
I slid away from her and climbed out of bed. The morning air felt cold and unwelcome as it wrapped around me. My mood deteriorated even further as I left her sleeping and marched across the hallway to the bathroom.
A moment later, I stepped under the hot jets and let the water wash the feel and the scent of her off me. I only wished it would wash away the memory too, but that wasn’t likely.
I knew it would take a long time before I got the fiery redhead out of my head.
My clothes were still in the bedroom, so I strode back, towel wrapped around my waist. She was awake now, sitting up in bed.
I could feel her gaze on me but didn’t meet it.
Pulling the blinds open with excessive force, I let bright daylight flood the room. Evelyn turned away, slanting her eyes.
With a grunt, I spotted my jeans lying tangled in the bedclothes at the foot of the bed. My shirt was discarded on the floor, along with her bra and leggings.
Jesus. Anyone would think we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.
I was just pulling on my pants when there was a knock at the door.
Shit.
“Who’s that?” Evelyn asked, straightening up.
She was still naked, and even in the stark light of day, her skin was flawless. I looked away from the gentle swell of her breasts, the enticing curves of her waist, and her wide, witchy-green eyes, and leaned across the bed.
Pulling open the bedside drawer, I retrieved my gun. I’d stashed it there sometime after I’d laid her on the bed and before I’d taken off my pants.
“Don’t know. Wait here.”
She jumped out of bed and began scrambling around, pulling her clothes together.
I checked my Glock and headed for the door.
Another knock, more impatient this time. I frowned. The cartel wouldn’t announce their arrival with a double knock, so I wasn’t too concerned. It was probably one of my men come to tell me something.
Either way, trouble could be approaching.
“Who is it?” I called through the door.
“Open up, Dante,” came the distinctly feminine voice.
Fuck. Valentina.
That was trouble of an entirely different kind. I raked a hand through my hair. I’d only left her place last night.
What the hell was she doing here?
But I knew.
Evelyn.
Valentina wanted to see for herself this woman I had secreted away at the cabin. The one I’d refused to “take care of.”
I heaved a sigh. Couldn’t blame her really. She wasn’t the head of the Marcelli famiglia for nothing. My mother liked to stay informed, and if she couldn’t pay, coerce, or bribe someone for information, she sought it out herself.
“Coming,” I growled, unlocking it.
She pushed the door open and stepped into the cabin.
Her gaze was cool, appraising. I saw it wander over the living room from the couch to the kitchen table, where Evelyn had put a small bowl with some fruit in it.
Just apples and an orange that Kyle had brought back from the store, but it was a homely touch. The sort of thing my mother noticed.
I tightened my jaw. “What are you doing here, Valentina?”
Her eyebrow quirked at my annoyed tone. “Am I disturbing something?”
“No, but it’s early.” She must have set off at the crack of dawn to travel the two hours it took to get to the cabin.
“I wanted to miss the traffic.”
I grunted. “What do you want?”
“It’s good to see you too, darling,” she said, moving around the room. My mother prowled like a panther, her long legs gliding seamlessly over the wooden floor. She picked up an apple, studied it, then wordlessly set it back down again.
That was her way of telling me she’d clocked the detail.
I inhaled through my nose, trying not to let her passive-aggressive behavior get to me. I’d grown up with this woman; I knew how she thought. I didn’t always know what she was thinking, but I did know she was the queen of subtle manipulation.
“I want to meet your guest.”
And there it was. No subterfuge, just straight to the point.
“I thought you’d at least be more subtle about it,” I commented dryly.
She laughed, a deep throaty sound. “No point pretending. Besides, we’ve got other, more pressing matters to discuss.”
In other words, Evelyn wasn’t one of them.
“Right, of course.” I shook my head. “Why couldn’t we discuss this last night?”
“I hadn’t thought it through thoroughly enough last night.”
“Okay. Why don’t you sit down?” I gestured to the table.
She glanced at the couch, then back to the table like it was the better of two deeply unsavory options, and sank into one of the four chairs.
“Coffee?” I asked.
“Not the kind you have here.”
I rolled my eyes as I sat down beside her. “Evelyn’s getting dressed.”
“Oh. I see.”
“It’s not like that,” I snapped.
“Hmm…” She left her opinion hanging. I knew she was reserving it for when she met Evelyn. For when she saw us together. Because that was what my mother did. She read people. There was no point in pretending we weren’t fucking. She’d know it the moment Evelyn walked into the room.
That’s when she’d decide whether Evelyn was useful… or dangerous.
I let out a breath. Evelyn would be no match for Valentina.
Very few people were.
There were footsteps down the hall, and Evelyn emerged, barefoot, her copper hair flowing loose, wearing a T-shirt under a loose cardigan over leggings. She looked adorably nervous, and if my mother weren’t here, I’d be hard-pressed not to take her right back to the bedroom.
I saw Valentina’s eyes narrow as she scrutinized her. There was a flicker of surprise, and I realized my mother hadn’t known how beautiful my tragic Ophelia was.
When had I started thinking of her as mine?
“Hello. It’s Evelyn, isn’t it?” Valentina said, getting to her feet. She knew full well what Evelyn’s name was.
Evelyn gave a tentative smile and I grimaced. This was going to be a bloodbath.
“Mrs. Marcelli. I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you.”
I blinked. At the same time, I registered my mother’s curving eyebrow.
“Likewise,” she said evenly, and nodded to a vacant chair. “Please, sit.”
Evelyn slid onto a chair and studied her. Vivid green met arctic blue.
I held my breath as the two women sized each other up. I knew Evelyn had spirit—hell, she’d given me a hard enough time—but how would it manifest against Valentina’s ruthless and strategic mind?
“I see you’re making yourself at home?” my mother said dryly.
Evelyn smiled, though I could see her knuckles whitening as she clasped her fingers together beneath the table. “As best I can under the circumstances.”
She was holding it together admirably. I couldn’t help the surge of pride that rose in my chest.
“My son believes you have nothing to do with the theft of our shipment.”
“You mean my shipment,” Evelyn said politely.
“Excuse me?” Valentina frowned.
It wasn’t often my mother was caught off guard.
“It was my shipment,” Evelyn clarified. “Your family hijacked my container to transport your… merchandise. It was my shipment that was broken into.”
My mother’s mouth turned up at the edges as she surveyed Evelyn, this time with more curiosity. Evelyn had piqued her interest, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
“My mistake,” Valentina said softly.
Now that was interesting.
“Strange that none of your precious paintings were destroyed,” my mother said, fixing her gaze on Evelyn across the table. I’d known there was more coming. Valentina didn’t apologize. Not to anyone.
“Luckily,” Evelyn retorted. “We had buyers lined up for those works.”
“Like Malakov?” Valentina asked, and I caught the undertone of bitterness. I wasn’t sure Evelyn had. She didn’t know their long and sordid history.
“Yes, Sergei’s a fan of Mateo’s work. He’s purchased three pieces to date.” I looked at Evelyn. Could it be my tragic Ophelia was deliberately baiting my mother?
Jesus, she had guts.
I smirked, then lost the grin as Valentina pinned me with a look.
“What?” I said innocently.
Ignoring me, she turned back to Evelyn. “Sergei? You’re on a first name basis?”
“Yes, he told me to call him that. But I only ever deal with Mikhail,” Evelyn assured her. “He bids on the pieces we acquire.”
“Mikhail Orlov,” my mother said, her voice flat. It wasn’t a question. She pursed her lips. “I see nothing much has changed.”
Evelyn cast me a questioning glance. I gave a miniscule shake of my head.
Later.
A long beat passed in silence. I wasn’t going to be the one to fill it. Valentina had come here for a reason. I was still waiting for her to reveal it.
Eventually, Valentina turned to me. “Nico tells me two key members of the cartel arrived in New York this weekend.”
“When?” I snapped.
“Saturday morning.”
“Do you think they broke into my apartment?” Evelyn asked.
Valentina scoffed. “Not a chance. They’re too high up in the organization.”
“They could have ordered it, though,” I told my mother, tensing as I thought it through. “After the successful ambush at the docks, they decided to escalate their plan to take over the gallery, so they went looking for Evelyn.”
Valentina gave me a searching look. I knew what she was thinking. Yes, I was backing Evelyn up, but it wasn’t a stupid idea. She could be right. In fact, she probably was.
“If they take her out, they have free run over the imports. They’ll insert one of their guys, maybe even one of the two that arrived this weekend, then they’ll set about staking their claim on the US market.”
Evelyn was quiet, watching me as I spoke. I felt her underlying strength, the defiance that rose up on her every time she met a challenge. Evelyn Cruz would not be crushed by my mother any more than she allowed herself to be crushed by me.
I’d underestimated her. Again. And I shouldn’t have.
Valentina’s eyes were still on me and I saw something in them that I hadn’t seen before. Perhaps ever.
Uncertainty.
Valentina was unsettled, and I was betting Evelyn had something to do with it.
My mother knew a worthy adversary when she saw one, and she could also tell I had Evelyn’s back.
That could cause friction in the family, and if there was one thing my mother feared more than any enemy, it was in-fighting in the family.
Decay from within, she’d called it once, when I’d asked her what had happened to one of the Chicago crime families. They’d literally imploded and their enemies had taken advantage of their internal weakness.
And weakness would not be tolerated.
“Does Malakov trust you?” she said, turning back to Evelyn.
“What?” Evelyn said.
“Valentina, what are you playing at?” I barked.
“Can she answer the question?” My mother glanced at me as if Evelyn was too dumb to reply.
“Yes, she can answer the question,” Evelyn retorted, an edge to her voice.
Valentina smirked.
“I don’t know, is the answer.” Evelyn drew in a breath. “I’ve only ever spoken to him a handful of times, but he has no reason not to trust me.”
“You said Orlov was a friend?”
She nodded. “We correspond regularly, yes. We meet for coffee. He comes into the gallery every couple of weeks.”
“What do you discuss?” she asked.
Evelyn didn’t try to skirt the question. “I give him first refusal on works Sergei is interested in for his collection, so he can get his bids in early. He appreciates the heads-up and I often get to secure a deal out of it. It works for both of us.”
“How nice for you,” Valentina drawled.
Evelyn’s eyes hardened and I saw her chin lift. There it was, that rebellious streak. She’d never allow anyone to walk over her. I could only imagine how she felt knowing about the money laundering, not to mention our drug distribution route.
She had a lot to be mad about.
“I take it you have a point to these questions?” Evelyn asked.
I couldn’t believe her audacity. Lucky for her she didn’t know just how ruthless my mother could be.
Still, it was fun to see Valentina lose her cool.
“My point, Evelyn, is that I want you to use your relationship with Orlov to get to Malakov.” She emphasized Evelyn’s name, and while her face remained perfectly still, there was steel in her voice.
Then again, Evelyn had that effect on me too.
“And what if I refuse?” Evelyn asked.
“I wouldn’t advise that.”
Evelyn swallowed but didn’t cower. “Does this mean I get to go home?”
Fuck me. Now she was bargaining with my mother.
“That depends,” Valentina murmured. My eyebrows shot up. I was even more surprised that my mother was humoring her.
“On what?” Evelyn asked.
“On how useful you are.”