Filed to story: The Mafia Boss’s Regret (Ava & Dante)
My eyes widened. “What?”
“He was shot tonight. Though, maybe you aren’t so concerned about that as you are about who drives you home.”
I frowned.
Turning around, I was frustrated enough with his barb that I forgot Dante stood so close. I bumped into him, and then braced my hand on his stomach to steady myself. Heat burned through his white dress shirt and into my palm. God, he was a furnace. My fingers unwillingly curled into the muscle before I stepped back.
“I’m convinced they should call you the Clumsy Voss instead,” he said, annoyance coating his tone.
My gaze sparked. “Cute.”
A hint of a humoring smile pulled on his lips, but he only grabbed my wrist, pulled me impolitely out of his way, and then shut my papà’s office door behind him.
I shook off the tingling warmth left behind from his grip and walked down the hall toward the kitchen. It didn’t take long to realize that Benito was going to live. Pushing the swinging door open, I stopped in my tracks, a blank gaze taking in the horror show.
Benito leaned against the counter with a hand towel pressed to his shoulder, while Gabriella-who wasn’t even supposed to be here this late-kissed a corner of his lips, cooing something too low to hear. I imagined something like, “Poor baby.”
It was a little cringe-worthy, but that wasn’t the reason I turned around and headed back to my room. That’s because her hand was in his pants. My cousin was getting a handjob in the kitchen, and while it was seriously unsanitary, I didn’t have the energy to tell them to get a room.
Later, I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling, at the lone glowing star left from years before. Because every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was fire reflected in an amber gaze.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I felt was the wrong man’s lips against mine.
“I told you we didn’t have to go, Benito.”
“I know, and I said it isn’t a big deal, Ava.”
I sighed and fell back in my seat. I’d been excited about the pool party, but after the night before, I wasn’t confident it was a good idea to spend any more time around Tyler. Especially now that I’d seen how easy it was for Dante Moretti to destroy a man’s life in five minutes flat.
Urban development and eleven o’clock morning sun blurred through the car window as we sped uptown. Benito drove with his uninjured arm, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel to the beat, while singing along to How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees. Typical behavior for him, but he’d been awfully quiet the whole drive… I watched him for a moment, a frown tugging at my lips.
“Are you on painkillers?”
His brows pulled together. “I only took three this morning.”
“You mean, like right before we got in the car. That this morning?”
“Yeah, with some orange juice.” He said it like that tidbit was important. I closed my eyes. Benito was high. He should’ve known those painkillers Vito supplied were in doses large enough for a horse, and he’d taken three.
I rubbed my temple. “You shouldn’t be driving.”
“And what?” he scoffed. “Let you drive? You don’t know how.”
“No, I was going to say we should have just stayed home.” I trailed off, staring in confusion when he took an exit off the expressway. “What are you doing, Benito? You can’t get off here.”
“Can now. The marriage, Ava.”
How could I have forgotten? As I drove on Moretti streets for the first time, it was beginning to feel real. My sister was marrying Dante. My throat felt tight.
“What are we doing here?” It felt like I was visiting another world, when it was only a part of New York City I hadn’t seen. It made me realize how sheltered I was. The only other countries I’d been to were Italy and Mexico. The former was to visit Mamma’s parents and family over there; the latter was for yearly vacations, though I thought that was just a guise for Papà’s business meetings with Mexican cartels.
“I just have to drop something off at Dan’s.”
I swallowed and tried to will my body into complacency, but I couldn’t stop the rush of anticipation from zinging beneath my skin. I gave my head a small shake in frustration. The truth was, I was incredibly attracted to my sister’s fiancé, whether I liked him or not. And I didn’t. The idea that I might get to see him from the car window was enough to have me on edge. I hated it, but I didn’t know how to turn it off either.
The city passed before my fresh eyes as we drove deeper into Moretti territory.
We lived in a classy, spacious community in Long Island. The only neighbor you could see from the backyard was Tim Fultz. He owned a law firm Papà laundered money through; at least that’s what Benito told me once. He was a nice guy, besides. Our neighborhood was quiet and private, and I’d always assumed Dante resided in something similar, but he didn’t. He lived in the middle of the Bronx, in a red-brick home with a small white porch and a private drive that went to a garage in the back.
Benito pulled into the drive, drove to the back, and parked next to Dante’s car. The detached garage door was up, and two vehicles sat inside, one with its hood open. They were both black, just like Dante’s soul. I didn’t know a thing about cars-who could blame me? I’d never even been taught to drive-but I was aware these were classics. One was a Gran Torino. I only knew that because I’d seen Gran Torino not too long ago. Benito had cried, though he would never admit it. And since seeing a man cry was the saddest thing in the world, so had I.
My heartbeat jumped when Dante stepped out from behind the hood, wiping his hands with a rag. He wore dark jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I’d never seen a man covered in grease who looked this good. I let my head fall against the seat.
“Son of a bitch. I’m bleeding again.”
Sure enough, a red stain had bled through Benito’s white dress shirt. We were going to a pool party, but he wouldn’t be swimming or dressing down. Where would he put his gun?
“Didn’t you get stitches?”
“Yeah.” He pulled the keys out of the ignition. “But I split a couple open.”
Stupidly, I asked, “Doing what?”
“Gabriella.” He smirked.
“Yeah, about that…” My nose wrinkled. “Can you keep it away from the kitchen?”
His gaze narrowed before filling with amused clarity. “I know we all have our kinks, Ava, but you’re my cousin. Find someone else to watch.”
I rolled my eyes, opened the door, and got out before I knew what I was doing. I didn’t want to sit in a hot car, not while my skin was already warmer than normal from being in a certain man’s proximity.
Dante leaned against the garage, towel in hand. His gaze found mine, narrowing at the edges, before coasting to Benito, who handed him a manila envelope. These men sure loved their manila.
“Hey, man, can I use your bathroom?”
Dante’s attention fell to the bloodstain, and then he nodded once. “Second door on the left.”
“Thanks,” Benito said, heading inside.
Dante and I stood there, watching each other. His gaze went to the white bikini strap I wore underneath a pink cover-up dress, paired with wedge sandals. It was a cute ensemble, but I only got a squinted condescending stare.
I frowned, crossing my arms defensively.
He looked at me for another second before heading back into his garage. I stared at his white-clad muscled back until he dipped his head under a car hood and ignored me. Quite the host, this one.
It was one of those days the heat grabs on and doesn’t let go. We’d had a cool summer up until a week ago, but with the start of August tomorrow it seemed to be hitting us all at once. The sun burned hot and unforgiving, enough to make my olive skin redden if I stood beneath it long enough.