Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“If you ever need someone to talk to, Enzo, I’m here. Your world is new and strange to me, and I will do my best not to judge. But I want you to know that not every question is a judgment.”
He turned with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Ren.” And then he shocked me by pulling me into a hug so tight and so comforting I knew that he was going to break my heart.
Again.
Chapter 16
Enzo
Waking up with Ren in my arms felt like I’d slid into a life I’d once planned and then ceremoniously buried. Her body was warm and soft against mine, her curves pressed flush to me, her thigh slung over my leg like she’d never left. One hand rested low on my stomach, fingers relaxed and trusting. The intimacy of it stole my breath in a way no violence ever had.
I didn’t move. Hell, I couldn’t. Having her here like this, in a way I never thought I’d get to experience again, was better than any fucking victory over the years.
I stayed there, holding her like that for a long time while I memorized the weight of her, the slow and steady rhythm of her breathing. When she stirred, murmured something I couldn’t make out, then settled back into sleep, I tightened my arm around her and let my thoughts spiral.
I pictured her seventeen years ago, just after I made the call that had broken both of us. I wondered how she’d pieced herself back together after us, or if she had healed. Had she been walking around in a half-alive haze the way I had? I wondered if she’d ever thought of me, if she ever imagined forgiving me.
Thoughts of Ren and the past inevitably brought me back to the life I’d given her up for. The DeRossi organization. The current threats. The traitor in my ranks.
Some dumb fuck who didn’t know they were already dead was feeding information to my enemies, and worse, they were close enough to know about all the DeRossi businesses. I needed to figure out the why behind the betrayal. Were they just fed up with my leadership style? Was it just a plain, ruthless money grab? Resentment? Or did someone else think they could replace me? I had no fucking clue, and until I did, I couldn’t act.
Not effectively.
Not decisively.
The emergency phone rang on Ren’s nightstand, and I picked it up in the middle of the first ring. “Yeah?”
“This is Damien, sir,” came the calm voice on the other end. Calm and steady, exactly why Luca had chosen this team. “We’ve got a complication.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m listening.”
“There was an attempted breach of the perimeter last night.”
I sat upright so fast the mattress shook, jostling Ren’s sleeping form. “Why the fuck am I just hearing about this now?” My voice remained low out of habit, but that tightness that always came when I thought about Matteo in danger reared its ugly head.
Damien didn’t answer right away, but when he did, his voice was just as steady and calm as before. “The breach happened about an hour ago. We responded quickly and had to secure the area, search for accomplices, and focus on cleanup.”
Cleanup. I knew exactly what that meant.
“I’m on my way,” I said, already on my feet.
“I’ll meet you at the kitchen door in five,” Damien instructed, the voice of a man used to ordering around powerful men. He ended the call as if his word was final.
Dammit.
Ren stirred beside me. “Is everything okay?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep but threaded with worry.
“No.” I scanned the floor and reached for my boxers and pajama pants. “Someone got onto the property last night. I need to go see what’s going on.”
She pushed herself up on one elbow, nodding carefully as her mind woke up. “Okay. Are you all right?”
I shrugged, pausing for a second because no one ever asked me that question. Not even Sofia had asked because it was just assumed that I was fine, because I had to be. I shrugged again and chose honesty. “Not especially. But this is my life.” I looked at her closely, studied the way she watched me with concern she hadn’t tried to hide.
If I stayed another second, I wouldn’t go at all.
I went to my room and dressed quickly, pulling on jeans and a hoodie before I hurried downstairs to meet Damien.
Damien was waiting at the back entrance, standing beside a golf cart that looked comically small beside his large frame. He nodded once in greeting and settled into the seat, aiming the golf cart down the narrow path that led to the security house, its headlights cutting through the early morning fog. The farther we went, the quieter it felt. It was the kind of quiet that didn’t belong to nature. It felt unnatural without the usual sounds of crickets, bullfrogs, and birds.