CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: WINTER

Luciaasabodyguard turns out not to be horrible.

Her usual humor has returned even though the serious, always watching for a threat persona is still alive and well too. She’s a little impatient but she never gets physical with me to make me hurry up, only shoots me annoyed looks and let out curses, sometimes in English, other times in Italian.

When I’d pointed out to her I didn’t know what she was saying, she’d taught me a couple of words.

Merda and porca puttana are her favorites and she uses them all the time.

When I hit my toe on the bottom step and yelled merda she’d looked at me in approval.

She complains that she's a hitwoman not a babysitter more than a few times but I know she doesn’t mean it. She seems to enjoy watching me. I have a feeling she’s making a mental catalog of everything that she's learned about me. If this was a few months ago, it may have worried me. But I know now that if Lucia has evil intentions for me there’s nothing I can actually do about it.

As it is, she just seems to be a curious person. Anytime we go anywhere, she watches all the people around us, eavesdropping on their conversations and making faces at the information that she finds out. She’d taken me to Walmart, of all places, to restock my personal things, a new perk. While inside there’d been a couple arguing about the male’s side chick being pregnant.

Lucia had made me stay beside her as we followed them up and down every single aisle so she could get the full story.

When I’d tried to wander off in the opposite direction to see if she was still paying attention to me, she’d grabbed my wrist and smacked my hand as if I was a child. There’d been quick, short Italian before she told me she’d kick my ass if she missed out on finding out what the couple were going to do about the side chick.

When, after thirty minutes, the couple’s conversation had concluded with the female saying that there wasn’t anything that could be done now but she wouldn’t be raising the baby, Lucia had been disappointed. I don’t know if she’d expected the woman to say that she would shoot the other side chick but Lucia had ranted the whole ride home that the woman was a coglione, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I’d asked her what she would do if she was in the woman’s shoes.

“Simple, I’d cut the stronza’s dick off and make him eat it, since he’s so desperate to spread his seed.”

I hadn’t wanted to laugh but I couldn’t stop it as it’d slipped past my lips. Lucia’s face had been serious but I didn’t miss the way her lips twitched.

She’s been my bodyguard for nearly a week now and I wish it was a permanent situation. My life has been substantially less miserable. Lucia has permission to take me out a lot more than Enzo ever did and I can’t help but to wonder if she’s making the request for us to go to some of the new places. She’d told me at the beginning of the week that she wasn’t excited about sitting at the house and Delerium every day all day.

And I’ve learned that she wasn’t lying, she doesn’t like going to Delirium.

The three times we’ve been to the club this week, her face instantly turned to stone and she moped around in dark corners. It was boring work for her apparently. Once, she’d taken over the bouncer’s job, throwing out a handsy customer just so she could get some entertainment in.

“Hopefully, this is my last night in this place,” she says as we walk through the back door.

It’s my fourth and final shift of the week but something about Lucia’s tone tells me that isn’t the reason for her statement. “You’re leaving?” I ask her.

At no point has she told me where Enzo has been and I haven’t asked. I suspect that he’s off with Giovanni taking care of business, since I haven’t seen him either this week. Actually, the only person I’ve seen other than Lucia this week was Vito. And he’d seemed to be in a hurry, giving us a curt hello before disappearing in the opposite direction.

Lucia inclines her head to the side slightly. Her hair is in a low ponytail today and it sways with the move. Her lips pinch together. “Yes, my cousins should be back tomorrow morning and I have other business to take care of.” She blinks, her eyes darkening. “There’s a certain little drake that I have my eyes on.”

My pulse thumps wildly. “Are they still after me? Maximo mentioned it briefly one day but no one has said anything.” And I hadn’t thought to ask more about it that day after the pool house.

Lucia waves a hand, “It’s nothing for you to worry about. I have it on good authority that they won’t be making a move on you any time soon.”

My shoulders relax. “Then why is it important?” I realize I’m grilling her because I don’t want her to leave.

It’s official, Lucia Costa is my friend.

I hadn’t considered her my enemy, since she’d snuck me out of the house to spite Giovanni months ago, but this last week I’ve really enjoyed her company. She engages me in conversation, not walking around forcing me to deal with her silence like Enzo. She’s funny, her jokes often cruel and dark, leaving me surprised when I laugh. She stops at fast food restaurants between the drive from the compound to the club, and I never thought I’d feel so good about eating cheap, processed food, but it reminds me of younger days, less complicated days.

So fuck, yeah, she’s my friend, and I don’t want her to disappear again.

When she goes off on her jobs or assignments, whatever you want to call them, she doesn’t pop back up for weeks or months.

I’d overheard someone saying it was so her and Maximo weren’t around each other long enough to stir up trouble.

I believe it was Vito.

Tags: Quirah Casey Erotic
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