“And what about your family?” Zoe’s hand jerked toward Tootsie, then me. “I’m sure the Morettis would be thrilled the boss has his number three holed up in the middle of nowhere protecting a Chronis.”
“She’s got you there,” I murmured, and both of their heads swung my way. “What? She’s right.”
“Real helpful, Sasha.”
“Never claimed to be helpful.” I shrugged, finally taking a sip of the coffee. Grimacing, I put it back down. “That tastes off.”
“It’s decaf,” Tootsie said, his eyes going back to Zoe. “She doesn’t drink caffeine.”
“Ah. Interesting.” Licking my lips, hoping my flavored lip balm would erase the weird flavor, I struggled to find a nice way to address the elephant in the room. “Why?”
“Caffeine can cause insomnia and—”
“No, Zoe. Why is Luca sticking his neck out for you?” Her mouth fell open in shock, so I tacked on, “No offense.”
Zoe let out a humorless laugh. “None taken, I guess.” She pulled her upper lip between her teeth and slid her legs under her t-shirt as if she’d suddenly caught a draft. Resting her chin on her knees, she huffed. “Luca’s nice. He’s a nice guy.”
“Okay?”
Zoe cringed, her fingers twisting the end of her intricately braided blonde hair. “Last summer, we became friends. He needed an in with my family. I needed a future husband who wouldn’t kill me in my sleep. It was a win-win.” Tootsie stiffened, a frown making his brutish features even more severe. Zoe smirked and added, “It didn’t hurt that he’s gorgeous.”
“He is.” I pinned her with a stare, and the smirk fell right off her rosy lips.
“Right. Sorry. Luca showed up a few days later, before his father’s funeral, and we hashed things out. I would stay here until my dad and brothers handled Cy, and then things would go as planned, and we would unite the families.” Her eyes dropped to my hand. “But things changed. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
Zoe nodded. “Luca called me and let me know he couldn’t marry me, but he would keep me safe like he promised. So here I am until the men in charge tell me it’s safe to go home.” Her expression of utter disdain landed solely on Tootsie.
The two of them simmered with anger toward each other. Tootsie's hands flexed as he stood, picking up our mugs and taking them to the kitchen. Zoe didn’t spare him a glance as she quietly sipped her coffee. From the other side of the counter, Tootsie watched Zoe with the kind of intensity that led to either fighting or fucking. I’d put money on the latter.
My feelings were all over the place. I was mad Luca hadn’t told me—a tiny and jealous part of me screamed it had to mean something. My more charitable side worried about Zoe’s safety, especially if Marco found out where she was. Then there was the obvious fact that Zoe didn’t know her dad was dead. There was no way in hell I’d be the bearer of that bad news.
I was exhausted.
“Are you okay?” Zoe asked, her eyes soft.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
She tilted her head and said, “You’re worried about Luca and me?” Before I could answer, she chugged right along. “Because anyone that’s seen that tattoo knows Luca is all yours.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting the urge to dive into an interrogation where I held a gun to her head as she explained why she saw Luca’s bare chest. I settled for a simple, vaguely threatening, “As long as that’s clear.”
She solemnly nodded. “Crystal.”
The tension building between Tootsie and Zoe was thick, and I wanted to get the hell out of there. I slapped my thighs and stood. “Welp. I think I’m going to head out.”
Zoe untangled her legs from her shirt and hopped up. “You can’t go! It’s almost midnight” She looked at Tootsie. “Tell her she has to stay.”
“I don’t think anyone tells Sasha what to do,” he said with a chuckle but turned his dark stare to me. “But Luca would kill me if I let you leave this late. He’s going to have enough dead bodies to contend with once he gets his hands on the Marinos.”
They were right, and I hated it. “Okay. Is there a guestroom?”
“Nope,” Zoe said, carrying her mug to the sink.
I grabbed the soft throw blanket and sighed. “Couch it is.”
Zoe laughed. “Sorry, I meant there are no guestrooms because that’s where we’re staying, but the main bedroom is free.”