“I know, but I really need to get the bar operational again. It’s important.”
“It is, but you have a lot of people on your payroll, so delegate. Assign one of your men to supervise the window replacement and another to hire a cleaning crew to take care of the broken glass. There’s no reason to handle all of this on your own.”
“Okay, but my crew’s numbers are in my phone. I left it behind the bar, so I have to go get it.”
“Romy can bring it to you.”
Adriano shook his head. “He has to work.”
“He took the week off when you were abducted,” I said. “He can bring you the phone and whatever else you left at the bar. He was planning to come by later anyway, because as he reminded me, it’s not okay to dodge the police when there’s a shooting. So, he’s bringing his cop friend to take our statements.”
Reno sighed and muttered, “That’s just great. Then if anything happens to Greco, guess who’ll be the first person they haul down to the station?”
“So, we’ll keep it vague and play down any sort of feud or rivalry,” I said. “We also won’t say a word about your illegal gambling operation, obviously. For all they know you’re just an innocent victim, so why would you retaliate?”
He raised a brow and asked, “Think they’ll buy it?”
“Who knows? It’s worth a shot, though.”
After my bath, I drained and refilled the tub for Adriano. Then I made him get in and relax while I texted his brother. When he joined me in the bedroom sometime later, I said, “Turns out, Romy already took care of cleaning up the bar this morning. He also picked up your phone and laptop case, which he’ll deliver this afternoon. Plus, he found the receipt for the glass company you used last time and is having them come back out to install a new window.”
“He didn’t have to do that.”
“He wanted to, so now you don’t have to worry about it,” I said. “There’s more good news, too. Your mom’s boyfriend convinced her to spend the rest of the week in L.A. with him, which means Mandy’s Place will be closed for a few days. Hopefully things with Greco will be resolved by the time she returns, so the bar won’t continue to be a battleground.”
Adriano looked surprised. “I can’t believe he convinced her to go. She almost never closes the bar.”
“Apparently he has an art show in L.A., so he used it as an excuse.”
“That’s actually a huge relief,” he said, as he opened the bedroom door and picked up a stack of clothes and a first aid kit. “Now I know she’s safe, for the next few days at least.”
It seemed several Dombrusos had loaned both of us some clothes. After we got dressed in clean T-shirts and sweats, Reno carefully disinfected and rewrapped my wound. Then, by some miracle, I actually convinced him to get back into bed with me.
He stretched out on his side and closed his eyes. But a moment later, his eyes flew open, and he sat up and exclaimed, “You pushed me out of the way!”
“What?”
“It was all a blur, but it’s coming back to me now. When Greco’s men started shooting, you saw them before I did. You could have ducked behind a table and saved yourself. But instead, you stepped forward and pushed me to the floor, and you ended up taking a bullet.”
“You were facing away from the window, so you had no idea what was about to go down. It was the only way to make sure you didn’t get shot.”
“But why would you save me, instead of saving yourself?”
“Because I care about you so much, Reno, and I needed you to be okay.”
He caressed my cheekbone and studied me with wonder in his eyes. When his lips met mine, the kiss was sweet and tender.
Then he held me in his arms and rubbed my back. As I let myself relax, I marveled at how effortless it was to be with him. I’d spent so much of my life afraid to trust, afraid to let anyone in, lying by telling myself I was fine on my own. But I didn’t feel afraid anymore. Instead, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged.
I wanted to explain to him how huge this was, but I couldn’t find the words. What I said instead was, “I’m so grateful for you, Reno.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at me, and he said, “I’m grateful for you too, doll face.” That made me so happy.
* * *
We spent the next few hours in bed, alternately talking or napping. I knew it was hard for Reno to allow himself to relax, especially while the situation with Greco was weighing heavily on him. But he managed to be present in the moment, and it meant a lot to me.
Finally, in the early afternoon, we emerged from our room to meet with Romy’s cop friend. Reno and I were both unfailingly polite to this guy, but there was also a lot of stiffness and formality, which definitely wasn’t our norm.