“Are you two coming to bed?” West’s voice cuts through the quiet of the kitchen.
I sigh. I’m so mad at him and Zeke, but I don’t want to fight with them. Especially if … A sob wells in my throat.
“They’ll be fine,” Xander whispers. “We’ll be there in a minute,” he calls over his shoulder.
The guys are already under the covers by the time I’m done in the bathroom and ready to crawl into bed.
Xander pats the space between him and West. “Saved your spot, shorty.”
I climb over West, and he shuffles back, giving me space to slip under the covers.
Zeke props himself up on one elbow and peers at me over Xander’s shoulder. “Did you enjoy your surprise?”
“The part where my brother and Dean came to visit? Yes. The part where you and West have agreed to get yourselves killed? Not so much.”
Growling, West wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. The heat from his skin warms my core. “We’re doing this for you.”
“But I don’t want you to do it for me. I want you both to stay here, with me and Xander and our dogs, where we’re all safe.”
Xander laces his fingers through mine.
“And what if he finds out you’re still alive? How safe would we all be then?” West snaps.
I close my eyes as guilt rolls in the pit of my stomach. “I’m sorry for putting you all in danger.”
“No. You don’t get to do that, baby doll. We should have taken our revenge on your father a long time ago. We won’t walk away this time. You are not responsible for him being the man he is, but there’s not a chance in hell that we’ll let you spend another day of your life living in fear because of him.” He reaches over Xander and cups my chin. “Do you understand me?”
I nod.
His scowl tells me he doesn’t quite buy my compliance, but then his face softens. “Good.” He lies back down and scoots forward, pushing Xander closer to me. His leg drapes over the two of us, and Xander wraps an arm around my waist, just below West’s bicep. West burrows his face into my neck, and we lie in the darkness, a sea of bodies and limbs all fused together like one.
West is right—if Carmine finds out I’m alive, none of us will be safe. He’ll assume that their importance in my life means they know the whole truth too, and that puts them in more danger than they realize. I’m the one responsible for this mess. I need to be the one to fix it.
I wake early the next morning to the sound of Snowflake’s soft snores. He and Stella are supposed to sleep in the den, but he sneaks in here in the middle of the night and curls up next to the laundry hamper, and occasionally in it.
“You need to go out, boy?” The reliable little pup lets out an excited bark.
“It’s too early, Snowy,” Xander grumbles.
“You sleep. I’ll take him outside.” I jump out of bed before any giant arms can haul me back in and offer to take him instead.
“Hurry back, princess,” West says with a sleepy growl.
Snowflake rubs himself against my bare legs as I pull on one of the guys’ sweaters and my sneakers. “We’ll be right back, won’t we, boy?”
He lets out a little woof and wags his tail, and I grab my coat from the hook in the hallway. Stella hears us passing by the den and ambles out to join us.
I give her a scratch behind her ear, taking comfort in her steady presence. “Morning, girl.”
Opening the reinforced steel door that leads to the rooftop gardens, I’m hit by a blast of cold air. Undeterred by the chill, the dogs run out ahead while I pull my coat tighter and take my phone from the pocket. It’s only 2:30 a.m. in Vegas, but that’s not an issue. The person I’m calling rarely sleeps, or so I’m told. I dial the number I memorized six long years ago, and despite my confidence that one of them would have let me know if it had changed, my heart stops beating until I hear her voice—soft and sweet and reassuring. Nothing like the ruthless queen with ice in her veins that she’s purported to be. Vicious and calculated, Ludovica Santangelo. The first and only female head of the Vegas Mafia. Niece of Giovanni Santangelo.
“It’s me.”
“Liliana?” My name comes out almost like a plea.
“Hey Mom.”
“Mia dolce figlia.” I can’t help but smile. She’s the only person who’s ever called me their sweet daughter. “Are you okay? Are you safe?”
“I’m safe,” I assure her. “For now, anyway.”
“What do you need, Liliana?”
“I think it’s time to show the world who I am.”
Chapter
Sixty-Seven
LILY
“Have a good day, princess.” West gives me a soft kiss on the lips. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cling to him like I might never get the chance to touch him again.
“Hey. We’ll be okay,” he says, eyes narrowed as they hold mine. I guess he can feel the anxiety in me, just like Xander and Zeke did when I left the penthouse half an hour ago. When I kissed them like it might be the final time. “And we have fun plans for later.”
I raise an eyebrow, needing to maintain some semblance of normalcy and pretend that the world as we know it isn’t about to change forever. “Do they involve me being naked?”
The corners of his mouth turn up. “Always, princess.”
I run my fingers through his thick dark hair. “My favorite kind of plans.”
“You’re going to be late if you keep looking at me like that, Lily.”
I roll my eyes and sigh. “You’re right.” Before I climb out of the car, I kiss him one more time and try not to think about the email that will land in his inbox in a few hours. The same one Xander and Zeke will receive.
The car doesn’t pull away from the curb until I’m safely inside the building, and I stand in the lobby, watching it disappear. I roll back my shoulders, refusing to let fear and anxiety take hold. This is the way it has to be.
I spin around to head to the elevator, but two men in dark suits bar my path. They aren’t familiar to me, but it seems that Carmine didn’t want to waste time sending his best once he learned of my whereabouts.
“Liliana,” the shorter of the two says, sneering.
“No.” I try to push past them, but they block me.
The second one opens his jacket to reveal a pistol. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Liliana. Up to you. But whatever happens, you will be leaving here with us.”
My heart kicks into a gallop. “Is that so?”
The shorter one licks his lips. “He’ll pay us double if we bring you to him alive, but I’d be prepared to take a pay cut to snap your pretty little neck.”