"You're going to make empanadas? You can cook?" he asked, giving me the face I'd grown to expect.
"Yes, I can cook," I laughed, but unease slithered down my spine. I'd never cooked for Patrick or anyone else. It was one of those activities that revealed too much about my compulsions to risk it, so I avoided it entirely like the coward I was. Enzo grabbed a wooden spoon, stirring the beef as I added ingredients and worked butter into the dough with my hands.
Rebel moved to her bed when she realized more steak wasn't coming, settling down with a full tummy and having a well-deserved nap. It must have been exhausting to kill a man. I knew I felt dead on my feet, but drawing Enzo away from the melancholic place I could feel him retreating to felt more important than sleep in that moment.
Between attacking me in his nightmares and the attack at Tease, for Enzo the blows to his confidence in his ability to keep me safe just kept coming. He sighed finally, checking his phone for an update from Ryker. "He didn't work at Tease. Or anywhere for the Bellandis."
"So what the fuck was he doing back there?" I asked, furrowing my brow.
"Looking for someone. One of the guards was distracted by a pretty piece of ass. We won’t know anything about whether they were there for you or Yavin or someone else and just took what they could get until we find the woman. Yavin is the most likely target considering he’s marrying Murphy’s fiancé, but I also put a gun to the man’s head at the meet.”
"He was probably actually there for Yavin," I murmured. "Why would anyone have a plan to infiltrate Tease when I've only been there once before? It wasn't your scheduled day to go either, so it's not like someone could have learned our schedule and predicted it," I said. Enzo grinned as he listened to me speak. "He was there for Yavin, but he saw me and decided I'd probably be an easier target but still make Tiernan happy."
"Exactly," Enzo agreed. "It was a mix of a personal vendetta against me and just you being in the wrong place at the wrong time." The ground beef finished cooking as I washed my hands, and Enzo flipped the stove off. I stepped up to him, cupping his face and pulling him down to kiss him.
"It's not your fault," I said.
"But it is somewhat. My shit is blowing back on you already."
"I'll be fine. I always am. We just have to trust each other," I murmured, biting his bottom lip and teasing him into a deeper kiss.
His tongue met mine, accepting what I offered. There would be no better way to celebrate being alive than losing myself in Enzo.
And there'd be no better way to distract him from the guilt plaguing his soul.
He wrapped his arms around me finally, taking the kiss deeper and feeding into everything I wanted to give and take from him. With nothing more to stand in our way, he lifted me into his arms and set me on a clean part of the kitchen island. I broke away, smiling against his cheek as his teeth bit into my neck sharply. "This will need to be disinfected."
He laughed, "Don't care."
For just a few minutes, neither did I.
29
Enzo
Sadie slept peacefully upstairs, and I checked in on her every couple hours to make sure the events of the day didn't give her nightmares. Too bogged down in the work that came my way after a major security breach, I'd never made it to bed. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing as I dropped my elbows to the table.
Thoughts of all the nine-to-five jobs calling my name came at me in heavy droves. Knowing that Sadie and I were being targeted by Murphy specifically, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about walking away. Taking her and getting out of the city until things settled down. But neither of us would ever leave our friends or our family, and that was one thing I would never ask of her.
My cell vibrated with the call I'd waited for, Seb's voice filling my home office next to my bedroom. "Yeah?" I asked, exhaustion making my voice sound quieter than normal.
“Did you find the woman yet?” he asked, the music of the night club still thumping low in the background as he hid upstairs.
"Not yet. I'll let you know what I see when I do, but for now just proceed with caution. After Sean was in the Underground, and now this? They have to be targeting Bellandi businesses for something. Let Yavin know to keep vigilant.”
"I tried to give him another man. He said to get fucked or send him to Aoife if we have them to spare," Seb laughed. "Sometimes I forget how much I like that little shit."
"He's a little something," I grunted, still furious with him for letting Sadie be put in danger under his watch. "I'll call you in the morning."
"Good. Get some sleep," Seb said, ending the call. The time on the phone displayed three in the morning, and I glanced over at the computer. The security footage still rolled, and I paused it in spite of my desire to find the exact moment someone slipped through the unguarded door. The only reason I'd go to bed was because I couldn't protect Sadie if I was dead on my feet the next day.
Shutting my laptop and standing to stretch, I grimaced when my phone rang once again. "What?" I answered. "Did you forget to tell me you love me?" I asked.
"Is Sadie sleeping?" Matteo's voice said on the other end of the line. I stilled, wondering why he'd be calling me in the middle of the night.
"Yeah."
"Good. Make sure she stays that way. Take her fucking phone away and do not let her watch the news. When you go to bring her to the gym in the morning, take her to the Estate instead. Don't tell her where you're going, just get her there," he said. Sirens rang in the background on the other end of the line. "She's going to need Ivory."
"What the fuck, Matteo?" I growled. "Is her family safe?"
"They're fine. Nobody was hurt, but it seems Murphy didn't take well to Ryker's present. We expected him to lash out against us when he found his man hanging from the ceiling fan in his fucking house. Not Sadie, the stupid fuck," Matteo sighed. "She's going to flip her shit."
"Matteo!" Annoyance colored my tone as panic set in. Everyone was fine.
The gym.
"It's on fire. I've got the fire department here and they're doing everything they can, but it's bad. They threw Molotov cocktails through the windows. We'll be lucky if there's anything left but the husk at the rate it's burning," he explained.
The vision of Sadie's face when she’d find out the next day assaulted my vision. Filled with the way she'd crumple as everything she'd worked for her entire life burned to the ground. "I have to tell her, Matteo," I said, holding firm against his wishes as I grabbed my shoes and boots and shoved my feet into them.
"She cannot be here right now," Matteo disagreed. "There's nothing she can do except watch it burn."
"Then she'll watch it burn, but I won't keep this from her," I argued.
"And if it's a ploy to lure her out? What then?"
I stilled, considering the words. "Then she'll have all of us right there to protect her. That place is everything to her. She deserves to know."
Matteo sighed. "Fine." The line went dead as he hung up, leaving me standing in my office and scrubbing a hand over my face as I prepared myself for what might be one of the hardest conversations of my life. It was just a building, logically I knew that.
But it was a building Sadie had grown up in. It was a building she'd dedicated her life to.
It was so much more than that for her. It was her blood, sweat, and tears.
Easing my phone into my pocket, I hit the lights off and left the office. Making my way through the house, I glanced at Rebel's empty bed. The damn dog insisted on sleeping with Sadie, and after the day before, I was only happy for it. Guarding her while she slept. Protecting her in a way I couldn't.
The bottom stair creaked as my weight touched it, and I slowly ascended the steps one at a time. Sadie's form was curled up on her side, the blankets tangled around her waist like always as I studied her for a moment. She looked so peaceful, and I hated the knowledge that I was about to ruin it.
Stepping into the room, Rebel's head was already raised and alert the moment I'd p
eeked inside. Sadie never woke, not even as I sat on the mattress next to her. It wasn't until my hand touched her face that her eyes opened slowly and she smiled up at me softly. "Is it morning?" she asked, her brow furrowing as she looked around the dark room.
"No, Baby Girl. It's not morning," I murmured, my heart pounding in my chest. "Matteo just called."
She sat up quickly, clutching the blanket to her chest even though she always slept with pajamas on. Given her previous experiences with being attacked in her sleep, I couldn't blame her for the decision. "Ivory? Luna?" she asked.
"They're fine," I reassured her, and she sighed in relief. "Somebody set the gym on fire, Carina. I'm so sorry." The words tumbled out, less graceful than I wanted. No padding, no preparation, and I watched the ground fall out from under her as she blinked up at me.
"What?" she whispered.
"It's still burning. The fire department is there, trying to put it out, but it's not looking good." She jumped up from the bed, grabbing sweatpants out of the dresser where she'd finally moved her clothes. Not even caring that she had shorts on underneath them, she tugged a hoodie over her head while I watched. "There's nothing we can do, Sadie," I said, trying to convince her to stay home even though I knew it would be pointless.
"I have to go, Enzo," she whispered, her voice broken as she stared at me. I moved to draw her into my arms and comfort her the only way I knew how, but she stepped back with a shake of her head. "Rebel, you should stay," Sadie said, and the dog instantly settled herself back down.
"She should come. I want her with you wherever you go," I said. One glance at her, and Rebel jumped up from her lounge on the bed to race downstairs. Sadie followed, her head hanging.
She didn't cry or show any emotion other than a vague sense of emptiness.
I knew it would come.
30
Sadie
The fire lit up the entire street, glowing like a beacon as flames crept out the windows. With my heart in my throat as Enzo pulled up at the end of the block where the police had set up a barricade, I left Enzo to grab Rebel's leash and made my way to the uniforms standing there. "That's my gym!" I announced when one blocked my path.
Enzo came up behind me, Rebel's leash in his hand as they caught up. The officers took one look at him and nodded. "Mr. Vescovi."
"Thanks," Enzo said, taking my hand and tugging me through the street. The smoke that rose from the building was black, melding into the night sky as everything faded away.
The gym.
My apartment.
Everything I owned except for a bag of clothes Enzo had packed for me.
Gone.
Tears stung my eyes, whether from emotion or the smoke, who the fuck knew. Matteo stood off to the side, surrounded by Simon and the other man from the night at my apartment, berating the Fire Chief as he stood and argued back at him. The front doors were blown open wide as firefighters hosed the building down all over the place. This would crush my father.
"My Dad's title belt is in there," I said in horror, ripping my hand out of Enzo's grip and making my way for the doors. It wasn’t a conscious thought so much as the instinctive need to protect just one thing that meant the world to him.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Enzo asked, snatching me back and glowering at me. "You can't go in there!"
"Somebody has to get it! That is his crowning achievement in life, Enzo," I shouted, trying to pull out of his hold.
"It's fucking gone!" he yelled. "There is nothing left to save in there, Sadie! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he yelled, tugging me back to the line where Matteo stood. Keeping a firm hold on me, we watched as the building burned. A tremendous bang came from the interior as the building shook. "What was that?" Enzo asked, keeping me firmly by his side while looking at the fire chief.
"Support beam collapse," he said, shaking his head. "Ain't no doubt this was no accident, Bellandi. You guys any closer to putting this bastard down like the dog he is before he destroys the city?"
Matteo glowered at the man before he sighed and hung his head. "I let Liam talk me into giving him the chance to walk away. I fucking knew better, but I respect the damn man. Now Tiernan’s as good as dead as soon as we can find him." The Chief walked away, leaving Matteo standing with the two of us as the building burned in the distance. I couldn't take my eyes off the flames, watching as my life burned away. Rebel nudged my hand even though it was stilled against my thigh. There was nothing left. No anxiety. No compulsions. Only the overwhelming grief that everything was gone.
What was the point in any of it?
"You said something about Ryker's present on the phone. How do you know this was about that?" Enzo asked. Matteo nodded his head, and we walked around the corner of the building to where my apartment stairs were. Written in red, smeared across the brick shell still standing, the words "Bellandi Whore" stared back at me. "Fuck," Enzo groaned. “I want to know who did it. A name, and when Ryker finds him you give him to me.”
Ignoring the rare cruelty in Enzo’s words because I didn't feel strong enough to handle the implications of what he might do, I focused on the only thing that I could in that moment. The one part that was still in my control. "My Dad will see that," I muttered. It suddenly seemed important that he not see his only daughter referred to as a whore in an arson attack on his business. Like words would matter in the face of something so horrific and violent.
"We'll get it washed off as soon as they get the fire out. There are no windows on this side, so they've been focusing the water elsewhere. That's probably why they painted it here. They wanted to make sure we'd see it, but we’ll clean it up," Matteo reassured me. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, he tugged me into his side. It was the rare moment of affection from a man who mostly seemed to barely tolerate me that sent me over the edge. My body heaved with the force of the first sob, my breath wheezing out of me as if my body couldn't fight the need to cry anymore. "Fuck," Matteo groaned, tugging my face into his chest. "Your dad has insurance, Sadie. You guys can rebuild."
He handed me off to Enzo after one more squeeze, and I buried myself into his chest as my tears soaked his jacket. Gentle fingers stroked through my hair, letting me cry even though I still vaguely knew he'd be pissed at me. "Let's get you home, Baby Girl. There's nothing we can do tonight," he said, guiding me to the SUV. Rebel's leash dragged along the ground next to us as she walked on her own, never deviating from the path Enzo set.
I sniffled back my tears as Enzo helped me into the passenger seat. He closed the door, his body tense as he walked around to the driver's side.
"If you ever try something like that again, so help me, Baby Girl. I will lock you up like Ivory if I have to and not let you leave the house until the war is over. I almost lost you today, and you decided it would be a great idea to run into a burning building for a fucking belt?" His fury made his tone harsh, not helping the tears that continued to stream down my face.
"I wouldn't have actually gone in. I just had a moment of panic! Everything I have is in that building!"
"Is your father in there? Your mother? Brothers? Ivory? ME?!" he yelled, making me flinch from the sudden wrath. "You have more than things in your life. You have people who love you. You are more important to all of us than a building and some stuff." He was right. I knew it without a doubt, but his anger only intensified the force of my sobs as I tucked my face into my knees and tried to breathe.
"That gym means everything to him," I cried. "He always knew I'd fail, and now I have."
"You didn't fail. Some asshole lit the place on fire, and it has nothing to do with you. Your dad will know that, even if he doesn't know the reasoning for the fire." Enzo reached across the seat, tugging me into his lap and starting the car so that the heat filled the cold interior. "I never should have brought you here tonight," Enzo whispered.
"I needed to see it," I whimpered back, nuzzling into his neck. "I'm sorry I was stupid. I just—"
"Later," he murmured, tuc
king my hair behind my ear sweetly. I knew the repercussions would come eventually, but I settled into the moment of comfort. Enjoying it for as long as it lasted.
We stayed in the car; the fire crackling up the street as I cried in his arms.
When the sun rose over the horizon, Enzo slid me back into my seat and drove us home. The car ride lulled me to sleep, the sweet peace of emptiness feeling like a warm embrace compared to the uncertainty of what reality would hold for me soon.
Enzo was silent as he guided me into the house. We hadn’t spoken a word since he woke me up to tell me we were home, his body rigid and his face cold.
The only piece of him that held any traces of the man I knew prowled in the depths of his hazel eyes. Buried beneath the harsh glint of them as they fell on me, the power of that gaze settled on me like a physical touch and sent a shiver of warning down my spine.
With a swallow, I watched as Rebel retreated up the stairs, the leash still dragging behind her in her urgency to escape the danger prickling the air like electricity.
We smelled like smoke, the scent of the fire clinging to my clothes. Focusing on the immediate need to be rid of it, I made my way for the steps to follow Rebel in her hasty retreat.
The dog sensed danger like an alarm. I wouldn’t ignore that, even if I couldn’t feel it for myself. Enzo’s grip came down on my wrist, stopping my retreat and leaving me with no choice but to spin and face him. “Are you going somewhere, Baby Girl?” he asked. His face remained expressionless, trapped beneath the blank mask of cold fury that gave me nothing.
I wanted the slightly mysterious Enzo back. The one who was sarcastic and made jokes about murder. The one who held me while I cried.
“I need to shower,” I answered, touching a hesitant hand to the top of his. The heat of his skin branded me, his grip a searing stranglehold when he refused to release me.
Shielded Wrongs: A Dark Mafia Romance (Bellandi Crime Syndicate Book 4) Page 28
