Or. Not. He wasn’t getting off that easily. Romano didn’t know how to put himself first. She’d never truly realized how selfless he was, under the comedy and jovial personality, until recently. Even in the quiet moments, or when he was in protection mode, he was constantly thinking of other people and working that way.
She watched him for a moment and realized he believed what he was saying. He never expected anything he gave would be reciprocated. His relationship with everyone, even those who supported him and called him friend, made a part of him sit back and wait for it all to end, for it to just go away and he’d be alone—again.
How she hadn’t realized how deep this went made her feel ignorant. Like she hadn’t been paying enough attention when all the answers where there, right in front of her.
Kalinda shook her head. “It would change everything, Romano.”
“Why?”
“Because a woman usually likes to hear the man she loves, loves her too. Why else?”
She should have had a damn camera. The click and flash of one told her Silva must have had the same thought.
“Score! This is going up on SpellBook. That face is priceless!”
Kalinda would ask for a copy of that picture later, but for now, she kept her eyes on her mate. Jaw slack, mouth hanging open, and eyes wide, she figured he was in shock. He’d even dropped his arms to his side, and she was sure if she blew, he’d fall right over.
“Romano?”
“Say that again.”
She smiled. This was new—this connection, this release. Romano didn’t let her hide away, and she was going to be the woman he saw when he looked at her. Letting her past and the hurt control so much of her life was over. She wanted to live here, in the now.
“I don’t need to. I love you, Romano.”
He closed his eyes, and his body shook from his shoulders all the way down. Pressing her hand to his chest, she felt his pounding heart under her fingers. She let him have this moment and curled into his chest, breathing him in.
How they’d gotten here from him threatening to eat her—in a much less sexy way to begin with—to now where she couldn’t imagine her life without him, wasn’t something most would understand. Maybe it was the life-and-death situations, or the mating call she may not have felt like he did but was intimately aware of. Maybe it was her magic, or maybe it was just a man and a woman finding each other in the storm and their messy pieces fitting together.
Whatever they were, here they stood, in his kitchen, a place that now felt like hers. She hadn’t seen her own home in what seemed like forever, and she realized she didn’t miss it as much as she’d thought.
And that was perfectly fine for her.
“I love you too.”
To hear it did more to her than she thought it would. Suddenly, she wasn’t a fan of their audience at all. There were some very fun things they could do on the island if Silva wasn’t sitting there.
“I think that must be my cue to leave. Don’t think you guys would like me to put up amateur video. Although it would really make some money if you’d like to. I’ve got a few sites we could use if you’re interested.”
“Get out, Silva,” Kalinda ordered.
“Just let me set up my tripod. I can direct this and get the money shots. I promise you won’t regret it.”
“Out!”
“Okay, okay. But don’t come crying to me when you’re broke and your boobies are hanging to your feet. No one will want to pay to see those then. Well, maybe Romano, but you’re giving it to him for free. What a waste.”
“Can I eat her?”
“If you threaten to eat another woman again, Romano, I’m going to take your balls.”
“I like when you get feisty like that.”
“Like is such a boring word.”
“Agreed. I love when you get feisty like that.”
“Good. Now get me messy on the table.”
“Your wish is my command.”
Chapter Seventeen
Romano couldn’t deny he was perfectly happy standing in the background as his mate got dressed for her meeting with the Trinity. Just two days shy of her deadline, she’d received word from the National Council, and it was going to make the Trinity piss their pants.
He’d spent a ridiculous amount of money having a dress tailored and created just for her to wear to this meeting. The sleek, white lines were brilliant, in some cut he didn’t understand, but he liked the finished product. It was long-sleeved, framed her body like a second skin, and flared a bit at the bottom. She had on white heels with red bottoms that made him want to rip the dress off and fuck her right where she stood. Kalinda looked amazing, regal, beautiful. She wore three-carat diamond studs in each of her earlobes. The mate ring, a black band with two howling wolves facing one another with rubies for eyes, adorned her left ring finger. The ownership he felt seeing it there swelled his chest.
It was the only jewelry she wore on her hands, in deference to him. He loved that even more.
“Ready?”
Kalinda slicked her hair over her high bun, smoothing every imaginary hair into place before she lifted her head. The curve of her neck made his mouth water. The mark he’d given her stood starkly against the white of her dress.
“This is really it,” she answered instead.
“You don’t have to be afraid.”
“I don’t think I’m afraid, really. I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to stand at the top, but I won’t have a choice if I want to have any control over my life.”
“Sometimes, those who don’t want it the most are the ones who get it. You didn’t ask for any of this to happen to you, but it did. And maybe you have a chance to do things in a much better way. The Council in Encantado has been running rampant with corruption and turning a blind eye to most of what occurs. Stepping in under extraneous circumstances can only help them out.”
“I never wanted to do more than live my life and feed people delicious food, Romano. I’m not in the business of politics.”
“Then don’t make it politics. It doesn’t have to be that way; they’ve made it that way. The governing body of the Council is supposed to oversee interrelations and help mages find their place. Does Encantado look anything like it’s marketed to the outside world? You think the Family got a foothold here because it was just some easy mark with all the magic and power? We came here because we needed to be here. We came into power because no one else would protect those weaker and they needed some sort of help.”
“You make the mafia sound like choir boys, and we know they aren’t.”
“No, but we were just as vicious as the enemies those people faced. We are able to fight the battles they can’t, and if that means we have to take some of the pie to afford that, so be it.”
Kalinda sighed. “I just don’t know, Romano. I thought I had it all figured out, you know? Run in there, verbally smack them around, and storm out, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“You’re taking control, and sometimes that means not knowing where to go. It’s not like you’re expected to walk into this knowing what to do and just having to waive your hands to make it right. You may make mistakes, and that’s okay. I’ll be right there behind you. And Silva will annoyingly be there too.”
Kalinda chuckled. It was a small one, but Romano would take it. He didn’t want to see her questioning herself or wondering what she was supposed to do. All she had to take were the steps to put her in the position to do more. He knew, with her strength and control, she’d fit in and make her way.
“Kalinda, you’re not just some nobody. You’re a business owner, smart as a whip, and the woman I love who’s found a way to snatch me from all my fear and give me a place by your side. That’s not something easy. You fight for what you believe in, and I think you’re worth fighting for. You’ve always been worth it. And now, it’s your turn to fight for it
, to fight for an Encantado you believe in. To make it a place where mage-bloods who are forced into its borders can find a place to rebuild and call home, like you had to. You can make it easier for them.”
“You sure you were never interested in having a career in politics? You talk like a slick one.”
“I’m only telling the truth. You don’t have to have all the answers; you just have to be willing to find them.”
She sighed, running her hands down her dress. He was distracted again, watching her. The woman could make a saint want to give up everything he’d ever believed in just to touch her. Romano couldn’t deny that being with Kalinda had changed his life in ways he hadn’t been prepared for.
He was more confident, moved with more assurance because he knew, without a doubt, he was loved. That someone had chosen him, despite all the reasons in their head not too. Because she’d fought against her past and hadn’t let it run her off.
“You can do this, baby. I know you can.”
“Eventually, I’m going to have to start acting like my old self, huh?”
“As long as that doesn’t include walking away from me or trying to fight me all over the place, I’m good with that.”
“No, I don’t think that’s possible anymore. You’d remind me pretty quick if I started to.”
“Damn right. Just take the leap.”
She smiled, a soft bloom of pride and acceptance. “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Hell yeah.”
Romano took her hand in his and escorted her out of his room to where Silva waited. If Kalinda was pure ice and appeal, Silva went for sultry command. Her dress was a vibrant red, matching the hints in her wings. Whoa, they must be like mood rings or something. It was flowy and hinted at exposed skin when she moved.
The two women were magnificent. Of course, he was partial to his mate who looked over Silva with a critical eye.
“Can’t upstage me, Queen.”
“It’s your show, but we have to make sure we show up in style. Your man looks good too.”
Romano shrugged. He knew how to make a power play through the visual. He’d gone for a black on black suit to compliment Kalinda. His guns were firmly in his under-arm holsters. This time, he wouldn’t be putting them to the side when they entered the Council grounds.
They left, meeting Giuliana in front, and rode to go get Dominic. The Capo di tutti Capi had come prepared with a small cadre of soldiers. They piled into cars behind the main vehicle, and at the gate, Arturo’s lead car and his men met them.
This trip would go very differently than the first. They weren’t interested in a show of openness and an extended olive branch. Everyone here had battle skills and was prepared to use them. Zoey remained behind, in the event things got uncomfortable.
“Subdue and then control. It’s the best way to go in,” Dominic explained. “The National Council agreed to not alert the Trinity of our arrival and why we’re coming because of how the Ales was treated, so there is no telling how they’ll react. We may have their letter and stamp of approval, but we have to get them to see it in the first place.”
“I have a plan for that one, actually,” Kalinda offered.
Dominic looked to her. “What’s that?”
“Silva and I kick ass and subdue.”
“Come again?”
“They expect me to be weak, and if I use you to use brute force on them, they’ll cry about being attacked by the shifters and call foul. But if I come in hard and fast, with backup, I have a right to. They disrespected me, threatened me with death, and maneuvered to have me under their control knowing what position I was actually meant to have. I plan to pay them back tenfold for that.”
Dominic looked to Romano. “How much practice does she have with control?”
Silva answered instead. “At this point, if she’s not careful, even I can feel the bite of it pretty strongly. I still am not affected the way you all are, unless I ingest her magic directly, but I’m protected from that because of my status as Fae royalty. A normal Fae would be knocked on her ass.”
“There are drawbacks,” Kalinda warned. “I’m not all-powerful. While I can take an Alpha or two down to their knees for a few seconds, the stronger the power I’m fighting against, the more it’s possible I can be knocked out with its use. I can maintain against Silva at full power for about fifteen minutes before I’m knocked down with debilitating pain. It would probably be less time for a powerful shifter Alpha because of the difference in the magical quality.”
“She’s been a quick study with everything since the change in circumstance. They won’t know what hit them,” Silva agreed.
Dominic nodded. “If you believe you can, do it, but you have to get them under control within two minutes, or I take over. We won’t risk them lashing out and harming those we’re bringing with us.”
“I can understand that, and I wouldn’t want to risk anyone, but I need to do this. If I don’t, I’ll never know if I can stand up to them, and it will mean nothing.”
Romano wouldn’t allow Kalinda not to get her chance. She’d suffered enough at the hands of magic, and now she could take back her power and her life in one fell swoop. She may not know how she’d deal with the fallout, since no one knew how the Trinity would react—or if they would even bow down before they destroyed everyone.
If they did, Romano was sure the Council was going to look much different than they looked before she took them by storm. He personally couldn’t wait to see what she did.
Several hours later, and all of them tired of waiting, they pulled to the large gate blocking their last few minutes up to their fate.
“State your purpose.”
Kalinda rolled her eyes. “They really are all about pomp and circumstance,” she muttered under her breath, but not quietly enough for the shifters not to hear it. They laughed, even as she answered the receiver on the gate.
“It’s Kalinda Thorton.”
The gates swung open without anything else being said. They pulled through, ready to face whatever came. The same over-the-top fountain and circular drive met them, but the landscaping had changed drastically. There were still the large, twisting rose vines and flowers Romano and Zoey had grown, though they’d been cut and manicured to look like they were meant to be there.
Romano looked on with a critical eye. “Looks like they found a way to turn our awesome Grow and Show to their pleasure.”
“Grow and Show? Zoey will probably like that name a lot better than Miracle Grow,” Dominic commented.
“In that case, I’m changing it back to Miracle Grow. I can’t have her too spoiled, can I?”
“Since it’s my job to spoil her, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Dominic countered.
“Touché.”
The cars came to a stop one after another in the circular drive, and the familiar lion’s door waited for their entrance. As a group, they all got out. Kalinda and Silva, as planned, took up the front, Arturo and Dominic behind them, followed by Giuliana and Romano leading the soldiers. The level of firepower they had with them must have been enough to stop a small army, but Romano couldn’t deny he liked these odds much better.
At the door, the Puss refused to open. “Leave your weapons behind, and only the Ales and her mate need enter,” it warned.
“Yeah, not happening today,” Silva warned.
Kalinda stepped back, and the others took their cue and did so as well. Romano watched curiously as Silva expanded her wings to their fullest, and they glowed brightly in the sunlight.
“Away!” she screamed.
The door blasted open, splintering and fracturing on itself, and the group rushed in. Inside the parlor, the darkness from the Chaos Realm tried to press in, pushing tight until Silva screamed, a painful cry of pure loss and rage.
“Silva!” Kalinda’s cry was sharp and hard. “You bastards.”
Romano didn’t know how to explain what happened next. One minute they were stuck in oppressive darkness, all those who’d be
en touched by the Chaos Realm pressed down under the pressure, and the next, a blinding bright light cut through it all.
Kalinda stood at the center, brighter than the sun, and Silva was at her side, holding her hand. The Fae Queen and Kalinda were beacons walking them through the storm and leading them past the parlor’s darkness.
“Are you okay, Silva?” she whispered.
Silva was pale and didn’t answer.
They’d have to talk to her later, but for now, they had company.
Lennox, Yon, and Amalia stood at the top of the staircase watching Kalinda with varying degrees of surprise and need. Lennox, the bastard, looked fit to leap on her right then.
“You’ve come into your power, Ales. We are happy to see it. And you have a Fae at your side. It seems you’ve made your choice?” Amalia’s voice may have been soothing and calm, but it still grated on Romano’s nerves.
“I have,” Kalinda answered. “Come down here.”
Yon stood taller. “You do not command us, Ales. It is the other way around.”
Kalinda smiled, and it went straight to Romano’s cock. Strong, powerful, controlled. God, he loved that woman.
“You misunderstand me, but I’m kind. I’ll ask once more. Come down here.”
Lennox looked to Amalia who just shook her head. “I can’t read her.”
They were really going to have to learn they couldn’t whisper around shifters. It seemed their power had gone to their heads no matter how long they’d been working around the likes of them.
Kalinda sighed, an exaggerated sound Romano tried his best to keep from laughing at. He knew what that sound meant, and every time he’d heard it, Kalinda got exactly what she wanted.
“So be it.”
She stepped forward to the front of the group and focused on the Trinity. Yon was affected first, his ever-shifting visage stilling and jagged between two different faces. It was … creepy.
“That’s not weird at all,” Romano commented.
But he kept it quiet, only the shifters able to hear him. Yon stumbled, fighting the force holding him, and nearly fell down the stairs.
Mated to the Enforcer (Mafia Wolf Shifters) (Encantado Shifters Book 2) Page 17
