Dangerous?
“I mean, considering Giovanni’s f-”
“Isabella,” Enzo cuts her off sharply and she raises a brow at him. “Maximo is here. I know you two have a lot to catch up on.”
This seems to catch the Isabella chick’s attention and she stands a little taller. “More like the three of us have a lot to catch up on.” She gives Enzo a wink and a pat on the chest. “But I know he seems to be the negotiator for the fun you two get up to, so I’ll go find him.”
Before I can piece together the meaning of her words, she turns back towards me. Her smile is radiant and it makes her face even more beautiful. “I am sorry about my rudeness earlier, dear Winter. Hopefully our paths will cross again and I’ll be able to make it up to you.”
She pats Enzo on the chest again while she scans the room. When her eyes land on Maximo, she heads in his direction.
I stare after her, feeling slightly confused.
Enzo grabs my arm and starts to pull me to the side, and I realize we’re still standing at the entrance. “Who was that?” I ask when we finally grind to a halt.
“Isabella Arccadi,” he says shortly.
“Crooked royalty?” I ask. The woman seemed to have a bubbly, if not impatient, personality, definitely likable. So, I can’t help but wonder how she fits into this room.
“She’s Abramo Accardi’s baby cousin. He’s the head of the Abramo family, who have a tentative alliance with the family. I will point him out to you when I see him, so you know who not to cross paths with,” he says.
My lips press together because I can’t argue with him on that.
I’m already surrounded by dangerous men, I don’t need to be caught in the crosshairs of another. Actually, now that I think of it, Giovanni’s instructions to not speak to anyone is probably for the best.
I think back to the conversation with Isabella, her words replaying in my head.
“When she said she needed to negotiate the fun she was going to have with you and Maximo…” I can put the pieces together well enough but there’s a curiosity that I can’t quite push down.
Enzo’s lips tighten. “We share her sometimes.”
It’s clear from the way he says the words that it’s the end of the conversation, so I don’t ask anything else. But I do allow my eyes to move across the room where Maximo has a crooked smile planted on his face as he chats with Isabella. She has her hand on his shoulder, her body almost pressed directly into his.
What sane woman would want to be caught between Maximo and Enzo?
Sure, they’re both more than handsome, hot to be specific, but…
I shake my head, not wanting to go further with my thoughts.
That’s one path of thoughts I’m going to stay the fuck away from.
A large man appears next to Isabella and Maximo. He is almost the same height as Maximo, maybe an inch shorter, but his shoulders are much broader. His dark hair is cut short and I can see dark stubble lining his jaw. He’s handsome, but even from this distance I can feel the danger leaking off him.
He says something to Maximo and from the stiffness of his body, I can tell it isn’t something nice. Maximo only gives a lazy smile and lifts a shot glass to his mouth.
“Is that… Abramo?” I ask Enzo.
His gaze follows mine and he lets out a sharp curse. He grabs my wrist before pulling me in Maximo’s direction.
I thought we were supposed to be staying away from the big dangerous man.
Giovanni makes it to the group before we do. He stands next to his brother, his posture relaxed but the look on his face is the exact opposite.
“You need to tell your brother to keep his hands off my family,” Abramo’s voice is low and deep as he addresses Giovanni.
“He wasn’t putting his hands on me, I was putting my hands on him,” Isabella sounds irritated as she stares at her cousin. Her lips stick out into a pout.
"You heard her, I‘m innocent,” Maximo says, still smiling. He shakes his now empty shot glass. “My hands were on gentleman jack, and gentlemen jack only.”