“Don’t. You drive me fucking insane with your godawful attitude, but it’s part of your charm. Don’t change it. Don’teverchange, Star. You’re exactly how I dreamt you.” He kisses me again. “Now shut your beautiful mouth and get to sleep. I’m exhausted, and I need to be up at nine.”
“Coffee?” The maid asks when I come downstairs around noon.
I slept like a baby, didn’t hear Dante’s alarm, and didn’t feel him wriggle out of my embrace. “Yes. Cappuccino. “
She bobs her head without a smile and retreats to the
kitchen. I braid my wet hair into two braids and check the phone to find a voicemail from Frank.
Nikolaj is coming over for an early dinner. I want you back home before three.
The maid enters the room with a silver tray in hand. “Would you like breakfast?”
“Yes.” Dante enters the living room. “Pancakes with honey for Layla, eggs benedict for me.” He leans over the back of the couch to kiss my head. “Morning. Sleep well?”
“Yes, but looking at your energy, I’m starting to doubt it. You hardly slept; how can you be so cheerful?”
He shakes his jacket off, throwing the car keys on the table. “Two coffees, some good news, and my girl waiting at home might have something to do with it.”
“Your girl needs to go home after breakfast. the Capones are joining us for dinner today.” I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Frank’s trying to impress Julij so he doesn’t cut him out when he takes over New York.”
Dante sits, creases on his forehead. “Is Nikolaj retiring?”
“He doesn’t have much choice. He’s got cancer. From what I gather, it’s bad. He’s not long left. That’s why they flew over, to tell Frank that Julij’s taking over.”
Dante seems lost in thought for a moment but snaps out of it quickly, pointing to something behind me. I look over my shoulder, and when I turn back around, he’s sipping my coffee.
“I don’t like that you’re spending time with Julij, but at least you won’t be here alone. I have to leave again in an hour.”
“Will you be disappearing like this all week? If you will, can I sneak in here to work on my dissertation?”
“Yes, this is your house. You’ve got the keys.”
“It isn’t but thank you. I’d love to return the favor, but you’d leave in a body bag if Frank found you wandering around his house.”
A shadow sweeps across Dante’s face, forcing the fine hairs on the back of my neck to stand on ends. “Yeah, that’s not the best idea.”
“Did you know him?”
“Be precise, Star. Who ishim?”
“The one who ended up in a body bag last night.”
A small smile curves his lips. “Clever girl. How did you know? No, I didn’t know him.”
“I suspected it yesterday, but I wasn’t sure, but your body language betrayed you just now.” I scoot closer to him, weaving my hand through his hair. “I wanted to know if it was one of your people.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s been taken care of.”
I bob my head, and moments later, we sit at the table to eat breakfast.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Dante
It nears eight in the evening when I exit the police station. Along with a couple of bribed officers and the chief himself, we schooled Luca’s look-alike. He has to know the fabricated story of last night’s events by heart.
According to the revised version, Jonathan, the look-alike, walked into Delta around midnight high as a kite. Forged blood results are already on the prosecutor’s desk. He started the brawl, and once security kicked him out, he took his anger out on Alex—the jaw-split-open guy.