Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

"Even if that were true," I paused, giving him a pointed look that communicated just how not on board with marriage I was just yet. "I need this location. The Loop is perfect for the expansion, and I will not let you decide for me. Do you have any idea how long I had to work to convince my dad that the second location was a good idea and that the timing is perfect? Years, Enzo. I've worked for this for years, and I will not let you take it away from me."

David grimaced with wide eyes, stepping away to the other side of the room to give us a semblance of privacy.

Smart man.

Enzo sighed, but his eyes warmed as he watched me. That spark of independence that he seemed to love so much, the challenge in my face as I stared him down, only made him more determined to win. He liked a challenge, but he didn't like to lose either. "We'll make the second location happen. Just work with me on the location itself. We'll find you something you love that is safe and in a prime spot. I think we can compromise in that way. A building we own outright would be best, so we can make whatever security accommodations we need."

"How are my dad and I supposed to afford a building in the Loop?"

"I didn't say you had to own it, but you have a family member who owns half of Chicago. It shouldn't be a hardship to find something you can lease from Bellandi Enterprises."

I sighed, hating the thought of taking anything from Matteo. But the steely determination in Enzo's face convinced me it would be stupid to argue the point. "Okay." Enzo turned to David, barking out instructions for a property that was for sale rather than rent. As long as Dad and I paid a lease, then I supposed there wasn't anything wrong with it, really.

So why did I feel like I'd made a deal with the devil?

Rebel bumped my hand with each tap against my thigh as we slowly made our way up the drive to my parents’ house. The door loomed, ominous and goldenrod against the light grey siding. Mom's love of color showed in every accent of the house. If she'd had her way, the house itself would be purple with a yellow door and shutters.

Dad wasn't quite such a fan of that idea when she'd suggested it, so he'd thankfully interceded to convince her to compromise. The house my siblings and I had all grown up in. There was a time when they'd thought to sell it for being too big for just the two of them. Then came the grandkids who often had sleepovers.

I glanced down at Rebel, at the fixation she had on my obsessive tick against my leg. Any normal dog would have been actively sniffing the ground and pushing to explore her new surroundings. But my girl was too worried about me to be bothered with any of that trivial stuff.

"You gonna make it?" Enzo asked, tightening his grip on my hand when I tried to pull it free from his. My pointer finger tapped against the back of his hand obsessively, his head nodding with each and every one in a way that pleased my compulsions.

"I blame you for this. How did I let you convince me this was a good idea?" I paused, leveling him with a glare that made other men cower in fear. He just grinned at me as though I was adorable, raising our hands to press a kiss to the back of mine. "This is a terrible idea. Mom is going to lose her damn mind. My brothers are going to pretend they're badasses for the first time in their lives, and then they'll be pissed because my sisters-in-law are going to ogle you like the piece of man meat you are. We can still leave, right?" I turned back for the Range Rover, the safety of the black vehicle looking particularly appealing.

I hadn't told Mom I was bringing Enzo. I hadn't been able to muster up the courage to even mention it, and yet here I was expected to navigate an entire evening of them in the same room?

Yeah, okay. When dicks flew.

"Sadie," Enzo laughed, pulling me to the front of the house. The toe of my boot touched the bottom step. A little nose pressed against the front window, Penny's face morphing with a blinding smile before she raced away from the door.

"Sadie brought a boy!" she shrieked, the sound muffled by the windows.

"Oh no she did not!" Oliver yelled. "If it's that fuck, I swear."

The voices muffled as someone undoubtedly reminded him we could probably hear them. "It's not too late,” I blurted.

Enzo chuckled. "Sadie, they saw us."

"No, a five-year-old saw us. They imagine shit all the time." He guided me up the last of the steps, knocking on the door and settling any debate that may have come from my wanting to escape. Penny thinking she saw us? I could explain that away.

A knock on the door that a house full of people heard? Not so much.

My dad answered the door, his face staring down at us. Etched in hard lines that he didn't normally have, he glowered at me briefly before turning his attention to Enzo. Those lines smoothed as his eyes rounded in shock, his gaze coming back to me as confusion pursed his lips.

"Sadie girl, since when do you knock?" he asked, stepping out of the way so we could slip inside the house. Rebel no longer seemed concerned with manners, tugging until I dropped the leash and let her bolt into the house. Tail wagging, she went straight for where Penny lurked, peeking around the corner to get a good look at the boy I'd brought with me. Colliding with her body with no concern for how much she might weigh, Rebel pressed her nose into Penny's neck and wiggled her entire butt back and forth in that way pits had that was just so uniquely pitbull. "Well, that's new," Dad commented, grinning as Penny squealed with peals of laughter and shook her head back and forth as Rebel licked her. "So are you. Oscar," he said, holding out a hand for Enzo to shake.

"Enzo," he responded. "You have a very welcoming home."

Dad scoffed. "Like a rainbow exploded in here, but I appreciate the lie just the same." A smile transformed his face as he turned his attention back to me. "You should have said you were bringing a friend."

"So Mom could make eighteen more dishes to impress him with every single recipe she has and still complain it wasn’t enough? Pass on that," I laughed. He shrugged in response, because he couldn't deny the truth in my words.

"You picked a hell of a night for an introduction, Sadie girl. Shouldn't you have started off with just Mom and me? Overwhelm him less?" Dad winked at Enzo. The two of them already conspiring with one another, minutes into the meeting, did not bode well for the rest of my evening.

"He threw me to the wolves with his family. Five sisters, Dad. Five. I have no sympathy for whatever he suffers tonight," I said, taking Enzo's hand and moving to step into the main living room where the men lurked. The women were undoubtedly in the kitchen, whispering and waiting for an invitation to the introductions like they hadn't heard Penny's shriek.

Oliver, Ethan, and Lucas all sat on the couch, looking too relaxed in a way that wasn't natural. I narrowed my eyes on them. "Haven't we outgrown eavesdropping yet? Rude."