“So, that runs in the family,” she muttered under her breath as she looked up at me, and I gave an unapologetic shrug. It was true, and I’d never denied it.
“Then there’s the physical part, how she looks.” Vinni held up a hand to silence the chatter. “Every man has their own scoring card for this one, and it’s where it gets really personal. I’m an ass man, while Niccola here is all about a woman’s neck. Donatello is ass as well. Gain is eyes, and the boss is all about—” He stopped himself when he realized what he was saying.
She looked up at me, and I dropped my gaze to her breasts.
“Hang on, hang on,” Donatello waved his arms, “help us men out, Sienna, and give us a few secrets on how females rank guys.”
“That’s only fair.” She dragged her gaze from me. “Let’s see.” She cleared her throat and sipped her wine, which drew my eyes to her wet lips. I had been watching the doors while enjoying their banter. Even though we had ourcaposand soldiers and most of northern Italy’s police force, I was the underboss to our family, and I needed to be alert. “Like your scoring chart, it can be based on an individual, but some things are across the board. How good is he at foreplay? Does he go right for the goods or warm you up first? Is he a sloppy kisser? How adventurous is he?”
“Adventurous?” Niccola stopped her.
“Like does he have to be in a bedroom, or is he willing to do it anywhere? Missionary, or does any position go?”
“I see.” He waved her on as our food arrived.
“We all have acquired tastes.” She swallowed hard as though remembering something. “It’s finding the right man who can meet them, that’s the trick.”
“What’s a must requirement for you?” Vinni was lost in her storytelling.
“A must would be anywhere, anytime. If you want me, take me, don’t think about it. Be confident because that’s sexy as hell.”
I slid my hand under the table to land heavily on her upper thigh. I pulled up her dress and cupped her, feeling the warmth from her arousal. A reminder that I’d heard her, and knew we ticked off all of each other boxes. She didn’t push me away, but she didn’t acknowledge me either.
My eyes were drawn to Papa and Mama, who were being escorted out of the restaurant. They were followed by the DeSimones. I kept still and didn’t draw any attention to what I was seeing.
Francesco leaned down and whispered, “Tent straight out the window has eyes on you, and there’s a man out back near a vendor truck. I’ll deal with the one in front of you. Your parents will return to the house, but I suggest everything else stay normal.” I nodded, understanding what needed to be done.
When I turned back, I found Sienna watching me closely, and her hand landed on top of mine on her leg.
“Elio,” she whispered, “what’s going on?” I squeezed her thigh before I removed it and handed her my Glock 48, sliding it over her warm skin under the table. “What?” She froze. “No.”
“Put it your purse,” I ordered, and shockingly, she did as she was told.
“Just tell me what’s going on.” I could see she needed this, and for some reason, my head cleared a little and I understood. This was who we were, and she could handle it.
“We’re being watched. It’s being handled, but I need to step out back.”
“Hey.” She grabbed my arm and paused.
I leaned over and kissed her collarbone, not caring about anyone else and what we were supposed to hide. “Just act normal until I come back.” I glanced at Niccola, who nodded at me then disappeared out back.
The hired staff didn’t bat an eye when I came whipping through the kitchen or when I grabbed the cleaver from one of the cooks. I kicked the back door open and stumbled upon two men who were wailing on one of the waiters. Gain and Brando were right on my heels but stayed back, knowing they were to step in if needed. I didn’t want to risk a panic by using my 9mm, and didn’t have my silencer handy, so I fixed my grip on the bone handle and charged the men. They both jumped into fighting positions. The waiter ran toward the door with blood streaming from his nose.
“Elio Capri,” the taller man who looked to have at least a hundred pounds on me laughed, “if this is how easy it is to get you alone, we should have paid a visit a long time ago.”
“Agreed.” I entertained him, and we circled each other. From the corner of my eye, I saw the smaller man go for his gun, and I launched myself at him and jammed the cleaver in his neck, then kicked his gun over to Gain, who wiped it down and tossed it in the trash bin.
The big guy took a millisecond to digest what happened as my foot landed in his stomach, but he didn’t go down and smoked me in the shoulder. I took the hit and let myself twist to the ground to land near the smaller guy. I yanked the cleaver out of the man’s neck as arterial spray pumped from the wound over my shirt. I lunged and sliced the big man across the stomach. He chopped down hard on my shoulder as I slipped on the bleeding corpse and fell again. I heard the material on his cheap suit strain as he fought to keep his own footing. He raised his arm to shoot me, so I flipped over and used the half second I had left to live to slice him from asshole to junk. His eyes bugged out and his body stilled while he registered what I had done. I jolted out of the way as he fell straight down. I rolled to my knees and tossed his gun toward Brando. I wasn’t proud of that kill. It was messy and desperate, but I wanted to live more than I needed a clean kill.
A kitchen grunt burst through the door with a pair of earphones on, and when he spotted me, he dropped the bag of trash he was holding and lifted his hands, noticing Gain and Brando.
“Sorry!”
I moved to my feet and followed his line of sight and realized my white dress shirt and suit jacket were covered in blood.
“Shit.”
Beyond caring, we rushed past the kid and over to our table where I pulled Sienna quickly to her feet, keeping her in front of me. Everyone stood and gathered their belongings.