“I’ll take that answer for now. I wouldn't have put it past you before, so I can see where he’d think that,” he popped off like it didn’t bug me in the slightest for him to think I was so cutthroat. I mean, he wouldn’t be wrong, but still, it wasn’t polite to bring it up now. To top it off, we were going right by the scene where my panties were murdered in broad daylight. It was like that murder mystery game, only the adult version. ‘Marco Carlotti committed the crime in the upstairs hallway with a boner and a hood ornament.’ Of course, the dick’s cousin had to bring it up, too. “What was that all about? You know it’s not nice to play with him if you’re not going to stay.”
It was my turn to grunt, and fuck it if it wasn’t ladylike. We passed closed bedrooms, all silent except for Marco’s music thumping away behind his door, while I debated what to say. As we came to an open, unoccupied room, I finally answered him, voice tart with being put on the spot about it. Not to mention that I still desperately needed to change my clothes and was kinda cranky about it. “Apparently, I went and caught feels despite my sense of self-preservation telling me not to.”
At my candid response, Tony nearly fell through the door he was pushing open, but he quickly caught himself as he muttered, “Yeah, and it was contagious.”
I couldn’t hold in a laugh at the consternation on his face when he did the gentlemanly thing and held the door for me. I patted his cheek as I edged by him and my suitcase. “It’s definitely an adjustment for sure, but I can’t say I’m disappointed that you were struck with the same illness.” I winked and gave him a shrug when I seemed to take him off guard again. If the future wasn’t so uncertain, I’d be a bit more hesitant, but fuck if I knew when Vinnie was going to tag me in on his scheme. I didn’t have any time to waste.
“Take it easy on Santos...and Vanni too. They’re not quite up to your new… whatever this is.” He waved his hand up and down at me, probably at a loss for a description that wouldn't threaten the state of his balls. My frown was immediate, but not at him, and he seemed to clue in on that. “Ah, so he did tell you,” he said, referencing Vinnie, though that only made me nervous that I was about to be blamed and in deep shit for Tony finding out after I’d been told to keep my mouth shut. “Don’t think I don’t know my father is up to something. He wouldn’t be in his position if he was a man without strategy. But know this, if whatever he’s cooked up makes me lose any of you, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
It was much the same thought I’d already had, and a lump full of trepidation lodged in my throat until all I could do was nod that I understood him, but at least he didn’t know the extent of what his father had in store for me. “I’ll leave these here and let you settle in. Let me know if you need anything.” Another nod from me, and he turned to go. Immediately, he doubled back with a “Fuck, it,” pulling me in to brush his lips against my forehead before leaving and shutting the door behind him. I touched my fingertips to my lips as I stared at the door, my heart torn in two at the necessity of going behind their backs to protect them and the betrayal they would feel if shit didn’t go as planned.
In my experience, Eden Moretti didn’t have much of a lucky streak in her...