It scared me. I could feel it, exactly what Sergio said, hovering at the edges of my awareness. If I kept going, I’d fall into that life forever, and never be able to look back.
And I didn’t know if it was already too late.21DanteWe spent the morning at Sergio’s bakery. I met with some local folks like I used to, listened to their complaints about rough cops and loud neighbors, promised to fix a few broken sidewalks slabs, that sort of shit. My guys were crawling all over the place, both inside and out, just to make sure we were okay. Around noon, I walked Aida back to the car and started the drive back to the suburbs.
“What did you and Sergio talk about?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested.
She frowned out the window. I glanced at her, let my eyes run down her pale blue top over her tight black jeans. Her hair was in a tight bun and a few strands hung in curls, framing her face. “Nothing,” she said.
“Huh.” I tilted my head, looking back at the road. “You seemed distant when you got back out.”
“I did?” She kept staring out the window. “I guess.”
“Aida.”
She looked at me and forced a smile. “Yeah?”
I frowned at the road in front of me. I could force her to tell me what the old shit said, or I could just let it be.
I knew what old habits would have me do. If this were a few years ago, I would’ve demanded she told me what went on in there, but I knew that wouldn’t do a damned thing. It wouldn’t help if I forced her into talking, especially not when she didn’t want to talk.
So I let it drop. “Nothing. Never mind.”
She turned and stared back out the window.
I let out a breath and drove. I could still feel her legs wrapped around my hips, feel her breath in my ear as my cock plunged deep inside of her. I didn’t want to let it bother me so much, but it did anyway. I wanted to know why she seemed like her conversation with Sergio didn’t go all that well.
But I managed to make it back to the house, park out front, and walk her up the steps without saying a word. She stepped in through the door, but I didn’t follow.
“You’re not staying?” she asked, and a glimmer of the Aida from just a few hours resurfaced.
“Got some work to do,” I said.
“Right.” She looked away and seemed to shut down. “I guess I can expect Gino.”
“He should be inside already.”
“Good. Okay.” She let out a breath.
“Aida,” I said and stepped toward her.
She turned and tilted her head. “It’s fine, Dante. Go do what you have to do.”
“If you’re scared—”
“I am scared,” she said, anger flashing into her voice. “I’m petrified. And you’re still dragging me around like… like I’m some prop. Some fucking prop to prove that you’re a man and you’re not scared.”
I narrowed my eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it? You just want me to get used to your world. But living like I’m about to die all the time isn’t my kind of life, okay?”
I stared, surprised, and took a step back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.” Her fingers pressed against the door’s frame, her knuckles turning white. “You shouldn’t have brought me out with you this morning. You shouldn’t have… oh, shit.” She blinked away some angry tears, wiping them off her face with a hard gesture.
“I wasn’t trying to upset you,” I said.
“And you still did it anyway. I’m not a prop, Dante. And if I don’t want to get used to all this killing.”
I stared into her eyes for a long moment and my face hardened. I wanted to argue, wanted to explain. I was doing this for her as much as for me. I needed Vlas to know that she wasn’t a weakness, and that way she wouldn’t be in as much danger. She wouldn’t be a direct target. I needed her to know that she was my top priority, she was the thing I was fighting for.
Even if she wasn’t in my life, Vlas would come for her. That was her father’s doing, not mine. I was only trying to keep her alive.
But the words died on my lips. I couldn’t manage to find them.
My phone began to ring, a shrill scream from my pocket. She shook her head, tears falling again. “You should get that.”
“Aida—”
She shut the door in my face. I stood there, seething with anger, then tore my phone from my pocket. “What the fuck do you want?” I growled.
“It’s me,” Steven said.
“And what the fuck do you want?”
“We know where Vlas is.”
I turned away from the door, frowning down at the steps. I was so angry with myself, but Steven’s words cut through the rage. “Where?”