I laughed and kissed him before rolling out of bed. I loved how his eyes tracked me as I moved across the room like I was the most interesting thing in the world. I’d never loved myself or cared much about my body until I started spending time with Carmine.
He made me see myself in a whole new light and it was intoxicating.
“Come back to bed,” he whispered. “Forget about school.”
“You’re a bad influence.”
“I’m a corrupting influence. If you stay, I’ll drag you down to my level.”
“I hope so.” I lingered in the doorway to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower. Care to join me?”
“Do I have to keep my hands to myself?”
“Not necessarily,” I said, smiling as I turned away.
“Then gladly.”
I started the water, and sure enough, he wasn’t a gentleman. Another twenty minutes and an orgasm later, I stumbled out, got dressed, and he drove me to campus. I kissed him long and slow, and wondered how the hell I was going to tear myself away.
“Go before you change your mind,” he said, as if he knew my internal dilemma. “I’ll pick you up soon.”
“Do I need to worry about… you know.”
He shook his head and touched my lower lip with his thumb. “No, you don’t. Do you want to know the details?”
“Not all of them. But is he gone?”
“He’s dead.”
Relief flooded through me. “And Papa? Does he know about what I did?”
“No, he doesn’t. We took Oscar’s phone, deleted his files, and my tech guys went through his emails and messages to make sure he never shared it with anyone else. If he had more proof, we don’t know about it, and I doubt it’ll matter now. He’s dead, the files are gone, and his phone is destroyed.”
“You’re too much.” I laughed, giddy and stupid. “How did I get this lucky?”
“You’ve been surrounded by snakes your whole life, Jules. You’re like Capri that way. Except I made the mistake of letting Cap stay in the viper’s nest instead of forcibly pulling her out. I won’t make that mistake with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to stay with me for a long time.” He stared into my eyes. “You’ll graduate from UTSA and go to med school. You’ll become a doctor, like you’ve always dreamed. I can see it all unfolding already, and I swear I’ll make it happen.”
“You can’t make that promise.”
“I can, and I will.” He leaned forward and kiss me. “Now don’t be late for your bio lecture.”
I threw myself against him and kissed him deep and slow. I wanted to grind my hips in his lap but before I could go too far, I pulled away and jumped out of the car. He sat there grinning and watched me walk away, my heart racing, my head dizzy and full of him.
The idea of Carmine giving me a future was terrifying. It scared the hell out of me, and I didn’t know if I deserved something like that. I’d done terrible things to my father, and even though I’d been blackmailed by a psycho bastard, I’d still done those things. I was a traitor, and yet Carmine treated me as if I was a princess.
As if I had worth.
I had to hold on to that.
A long time ago, when I was a little girl, I killed a man. That left a long and permanent scar that would never, ever heal.
But I wasn’t that little girl anymore and scars faded. I could move on with my life. I could make something better in this world.
Because Carmine was here to help me do it.
I wiped glasses behind the bar at the Lowdown. Carmine sat with Cap and Mal at the far end while I served a few local guys that came in all the time. They were nice enough, liked to laugh and joke with each other. The youngest one flirted with me sometimes, but that was okay. Carmine knew, and he didn’t say anything.
It helped with the tips. What can I say? It was the life of a bartender, and it wasn’t like I flirted back.
I drifted back over to where Carmine and Mal spoke quietly, leaning toward each other. They got like that sometimes, like the rest of the world didn’t exist and it was only the two of them. Cap flagged me down and leaned across the bar.
“Hey, Jules, have you seen my husband? I seem to have lost him up Carmine’s ass.”
I bit back a laugh and grinned at the pair of guys. They were totally oblivious. “Looks like they’re plotting something big.”
She waved a hand. “It’s always big with them. One more score, one more heist, that sort of stuff.”
“But they know where your dad’s hiding, right?”
Cap stiffened, bit her lip, and nodded. I regretted mentioning her father, but it was too late. To make up for it, I refilled her wine glass and she took a grateful sip.