Theirs to Protect (Mafia Menage Trilogy 3)

“I’m fine, angel,” he promised, his aquamarine gaze filling my world. “I’m right here. We’ve got you.”

The fear fogging my brain finally cleared, and I leaned into their strength, allowing them to support me. I needed to convince them to lean on me, too.

“Ciro approached me because he wants to lure you to him. I don’t know who he is, but I won’t let him hurt you,” I swore. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I turned to Marco. “Either of you. Please, tell me what’s happening. Let me help. Not with fighting,” I said quickly, stopping that argument before they could turn into cavemen. I was well aware that I couldn’t come close to matching them physically.

“I mean, let me help you. Both of you. You’ve been upset since yesterday. I should’ve noticed before, but I was so stressed about my test, and I let myself get distracted from what’s really important.” I placed my hands over their hearts. “You. Us. Our family. Talk to me, please. Who is Ciro, and why does he know our names?”

Marco held my hand to his heart, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his taut features eased, the last of his volatile emotions soothed away as though my love was a healing balm. Joseph lifted my other hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss into my palm.

“You do help us, angel,” he murmured. “Every day.”

“I didn’t want to tell you about Ciro, about any of it.” Marco uttered the words like a confession of a grave sin. “I didn’t want you to be afraid. Joseph wanted to tell you.”

I fixed him with a steady stare, willing him to peer inside my soul and see the depth of my love for him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Marco. You were trying to make me happy. I understand. That’s why it’s important for us to talk about this now, so we can figure out how to handle stuff like this going forward.”

His fingers tightened around mine. “There will never be anything like this ever again,” he swore.

I offered him a gentle smile. “We don’t know that for sure. And that’s okay. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

“Yes,” Joseph agreed, equally intense. “We’re in this together. Right, Marco?” He added extra weight to the last, calling Marco back to us.

“Together,” Marco vowed, pressing his forehead against mine.

“Ciro Amato is associated with the Amato crime family,” Joseph explained, finally fulfilling our promise to face our problems as a team. Over the next half hour, he and Marco told me everything, from Rafael stalking me, to Joseph’s dad sending Rafael’s name and address. Joseph went pale when he recounted how he questioned the man, but I didn’t hear him say anything that suggested violence.

“Hey.” I cupped his cheek in my hand and traced the line of his square jaw, rough stubble teasing my fingertips. “You didn’t hurt Rafael. It sounds like he was already messed up when you got there. You just scared him. Right?” I looked to Marco for confirmation.

“You barely touched him, Joseph,” Marco reassured him. “Your expression and your voice were scary enough to make him piss himself. You got Rafael to tell us what we needed to know without hurting him.”

Joseph blinked, as though seeing the scene clearly for the first time. My heart squeezed. Where had he gone in his head while he questioned his enemy?

“Thank you for talking to him,” I said quietly, soothing. “We know more about what Ciro wants now.”

Marco ran a hand through his hair. “But knowing what he wants doesn’t help. He still wants to eliminate us.”

Joseph stared off into the distance, at something I couldn’t see. “I could call my father,” he said hollowly.

“No!” Marco and I barked at the same time.

“Please don’t,” I continued, hugging him close. “There’s another way. We can figure this out.”

We were quiet for a moment, just holding each other and coming up blank. Clearly, a solution to our problems wasn’t going to appear tonight. We were all exhausted.

“Unicorn kittens,” I declared. “We all need unicorn kittens.”

“What?” Joseph shook his head slightly, as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly.

“It’s a video,” I explained. “I made a whole compilation to watch with Marco, but I think we could all use some cute unicorn kittens. And bunnies. There are red pandas, too. Where’s my tablet?”

Marco chuckled and retrieved the device from the desk. When he returned to the bed, Joseph had scooted us across the mattress, fluffing up pillows so I could lean comfortably against the headboard. My men settled on either side of me, cocooning me in their warmth and strength. I found the playlist I’d made for us and started the first video.

As I snuggled in their arms, I was certain that there was nothing in the world better than this.