When Villains Rise (Anti-Heroes in Love 2)

“Che piacare vederti,” he murmured as he moved back.

It’s good to see you.

I smiled at him. “We missed you.”

His smile was thin, but genuine. “Not as much as we missed you two, Tore, and Frankie. It’s been a shit show to say the least.”

“You’ll fill me in when we get back to the apartment,” Dante ordered, reprimanding Jaco with his gaze for swearing or talking about such things in front of Rora. “Let’s go in to see Marco.”

Marco and Bambi were clearly aware we’d arrive thanks to the ruckus Aurora had made in the hall and they were waiting for us placidly, as if they hadn’t just been having a lover’s quarrel.

“Miei amici,” Marco greeted, trying to be his usual robust self. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you.”

“And we you,” Dante said, sitting at the edge of the bed with Aurora in his lap. “You lost your good looks while we were gone.”

Marco laughed.

It was amazing to watch as Dante stuck up a light conversation with the man we both thought could be the mole. He was still his charismatic self, not signs of wariness or anger in his person. He didn’t need an icy mask, as I did, to hide his true intentions. All he needed was his copious charm.

“Hi,” Bambi said, having come up beside me. She looked shy, a thick sheet of golden hair curtaining her face. “I’m glad you survived the home country.”

Despite my suspicions about her relationship with Marco, I laughed. “It was close a time or two, I won’t lie.”

“You seem much happier, now,” she noted, her eyes sweeping over me. “Lighter somehow.”

“And you?”

Her lashes flickered like a failing light bulb. “I-I’m okay.”

“So, Marco is your boyfriend?” I pushed quietly as Marco, Dante, and Jaco spoke together.

She bit her pink lip, eyes darting to him. “I love him.”

“Okay,” I said easily enough, but something didn’t add up. “Is he the man you came to me about, though? I know what it’s like to be in a relationship with a man who hurts you, Bambi. If you love him, it can be hard to understand we don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

“I don’t want to talk about that here,” she whispered sharply, her big eyes narrowing. “Please. You said you would be discreet when I came to you.”

“I did, but I’m worried about you and Rora. I’m worried about Dante, too. He doesn’t want to have a man on his crew who abuses women, let alone a woman he loves and respects as much as you.”

She made a tiny noise in her throat of distress. “Please, leave it for now.”

I had to compress my lips against the tidal wave of words and worry that crept up my throat. It went against everything in me to allow a woman in an abusive relationship to continue to dig her head in the sand, but I also didn’t want to alienate her. She had come to me before, I had to hope she would again.

So, I pulled her into an impulsive hug instead. “I’m here whenever you need me. For Rora too.”

Bambi sniffed a little. I noticed her eyes were red rimmed as she pulled away. “Grazie, Elena. She missed you, you know?”

Some of my anxiety smoothed out as I looked over at the little girl chatting animatedly with her hands to the three mafiosos who all watched her with indulgent grins. It was an almost comical sight and one that moved me straight through to my soul.

“Bambi,” Dante called as he stood up with Rora and moved over to us. They exchanged kisses. “Could you take Rora to get something from the cafeteria?”

He wanted to talk to Marco without the little girl around to curb his enthusiasm.

Bambi tucked her lower lip between her teeth, gaze darting from Dante to Marco and back. Finally, her shoulders sagged a little and she nodded, taking a reluctant Rora from her uncle.

As soon as they left, Dante’s casual, charming façade dissolved like pearls in vinegar. When he turned back to Marco, he seemed even taller, so broad and dark he blocked out the overhead lights and left a looming shadow over Marco’s hospital bed.

“What happened?” he demanded coolly.

Marco winced as he tried to sit up straighter against his pillows. After a moment of hesitation, I moved forward to help him. He squeezed my hand when I offered it as leverage, shooting me a slender smile.

“Honesty, Boss, I don’t really know. Bambi and I were out to dinner at Santa Lucia Pizzeria. We left the restaurant and then Bambi forgot her purse so I was waiting for her outside but facing the door. Didn’t know I had company until I got shot in the chest. When I looked up, there was a man on a fucking scooter at the curb with a massive S&W Magnum trained at me. He got the next three shots off before I could even fucking blink and then he took off.”