He thought she was dead. Thought his plan worked since none of his men returned alive to say otherwise. Did he sleep well? Did he have regrets? Or was her death just another day in the life of a mafia kingpin?
“He got what he wanted,” she said. Isabella hadn’t realized how much of a trance she’d slipped into until she smelled her oatmeal burning. She snapped back to the present and turned off the stove. Her breakfast was ruined, but her appetite had already disappeared.
“We’ll use this to our advantage. Don’t use the phone. Don’t even go near the windows. I want everyone to believe you’re dead.”
“What are you going to do?”
“He wants to rub this in my face, to try to make me feel like a pussy for not saving my own wife. He won’t be able to resist a face-to-face.”
“Klaus, I don’t want you hurt. He’s crazy. If he’d kill his own flesh and blood, imagine what he’d do to his enemy.”
He scoffed. “Baby, I’m not afraid of your father. I’m afraid of myself. What I’m capable of.”
She gently grabbed his black silk tie, smoothing her fingertips down the length. “You’re the mafia monster,” she whispered.
“So they say.”
“But you’d never hurt me…”
“Never. Bella, I’ll be coming home. When I do, I want you naked on this counter. We should be focusing on making babies, not staying alive.”
“You’re right. I want a life with you, the whole white picket fence. Will that ever be possible?”
Just envisioning little dark-haired children running around the house made her heart swell. She wanted everything she’d never had—love, family, security, traditions, and happiness.
“I’ll keep fucking you until you’re ripe with my child. Then we’ll start again. I can’t wait to see your body grow.” He slipped his hand along the swell of her stomach, then cupped her pussy. She gasped, dropping her weight into his hand.
He chuckled.
“Please, Klaus.”
“Tonight, I’ll give you what you want.” He kissed her temple. “I won’t be long.”
She felt the hard ridge of his cock in her palm. He felt so good pressed tight to his slacks, and she knew exactly how he could make her body thrum.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
He kissed her one more time, backing away. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll never get out of here.”
Isabella had a bad feeling and almost begged him to stay home. But they couldn’t avoid their problems. If they didn’t face them today, they’d be waiting for them tomorrow.
“Are you protected?”
“You have to ask?” He opened both flaps of his suit jacket to show he was fully strapped with weapons. Seeing him draped in firepower only served to turn her on more. That wasn’t her intention.
“Be safe, Klaus.”
She watched him leave. After what happened yesterday, maybe she should be terrified to be alone again. But she trusted Klaus. He’d have this house with more security than Fort Knox. And she was used to drama and gunfire since she was a child. It didn’t faze her like it would most people. If it wasn’t for their warring families or the contract on her head, they’d be a perfect match.
Isabella opened the top left drawer in the kitchen and looked at the handgun without touching it. She’d found several hiding places in the house from when she first moved in. It was the same way in her old family home.
Although she wasn’t uncomfortable with guns, she’d never fired one herself. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to pull the trigger. Klaus had a long kill list. Isabella wondered if those deaths haunted him some nights or if he was truly as cold-blooded as the stories told.
Chapter Nine
Klaus had expected taking out her father would be difficult. But Carmello Lastra clearly had a death wish. Renzo climbed into the passenger side of the car.
His brother hadn’t gone too far and knowing he was by his side did make Klaus feel better. Not that he couldn’t take care of himself, but if something were to happen, Renzo was the only one he trusted.
Renzo had proven over the years that he didn’t want the role of being a capo. All he cared about was killing the enemy and fucking as many women as he could.
“Do you think you should be driving?” Renzo asked.
“I don’t care if I should or not. I’m getting to Lastra. That fucker thinks he’s taken from me. I can’t give him the satisfaction.”
“Tell me again why you’re not going to embarrass him at say, a public event? His daughter’s dead in his mind. Why not show up like that? It will certainly bring a lot of questions.”
“Because that will humiliate him and it will put Bella’s life in danger. I’ve already made that mistake once. I want to protect her. I don’t want to hurt her any more than she already is.”