I could tell she was uncomfortable with me, and I hated it, but now wasn’t the time to try to fix things. She finished off her wine and licked her lips, which made my erection twitch. I could have her under me night after night and never tire of being inside her. Every inch of me wanted to find a quiet room and let loose. Yes, we both used sex as a weapon, but it also helped ease the unspoken tension we had toward each other. I admired her dress, the way it emphasized her breasts, hugged her curves, and stopped entirely too short on her thighs.
Focus.
“Where’s Abramo?” I asked as I looked about, unable to spot him in the crowd.
“No clue.” Her voice had an edge to it.
Before I could ask what she meant, Vinni came running up with Niccola right behind him.
“Boss, he’s here.” Niccola had his phone to his ear. “He was just spotted over there.”
“Who?” Sienna glanced around.
“Caio.”
“Oh, is he a tall, wiry, bald guy?”
“Yeah?” I glanced a question at Niccola, who pulled his phone away from his ear. “How do you know what he looks like?”
“We just had a drink together. He knew me by name and said he was a friend of yours.”
“What?”
“Ah, yeah.” She glanced around at the three of us. “He seemed nice. Why?”
Vinni filled her in. “Caio is one of Stefano’scapos. He works directly for the Coppola family.”
“He didn’t mention that.” She turned a little pale. “Oh, my God.”
I rubbed my mouth with both hands and felt the tick in my jaw start. She could have been taken, or…I stopped my train of thought.
“Sienna,” I lowered to look at her straight on, “what exactly did he say to you?”
“He wanted to know how I was enjoying the festival, what I thought of the wine, would I be interested in writing an article for the local newspaper, nothing that sent any red flags. Trust me, if he said anything that was out of the norm, I would have come directly to you and not stopped to talk to Tieri.”
“Maybe he was testing her out?” Vinni tried to make sense of it all. “Or maybe he was trying to see how much she’d say?”
“No,” my chest tightened, “he was sending a message that he could get to her in broad daylight at a family event.”
“You need to leave, Sienna,” Vinni hissed.
“No,” she held up her hands, “they had their chance and didn’t take it. If I leave, it means they got to you.”
“She’s right,” I cut in, scanning every face in the crowd. “If she leaves, it shows weakness.”
“Boss?” Vinni looked at me in shock, clearly thinking I wasn’t in my right mind, but I was.
“Hey,” I pulled her closer and spoke quietly into her hair, “I know we have things to work out, but give me today to prove to these snakes that we’re not backing down. Tomorrow we can fight.” I couldn’t help but rub my thumb over her arm as I held her close.
“Okay.”
“But you need to stay close to me, understood?” She nodded, but I shook my head. “I really need you to say it.”
“I understand and will, but, Elio,” she tilted her head to look up at me, “just today.”
I squinted at her. “What does that mean?”
“Sir,” a waiter came up, “your table is ready for you and your party. If you would just follow me.”