Who the hell is this guy, and can we trust him?
Without waiting for a response, he tells us to come with him and walks away. With no other way to find Lily, we follow him through the lobby to a large private area. Finally, he stops outside an ornate black door and knocks softly before pushing it open without an invitation. Swallowing a ball of dread along with the acute concern that we might get our heads blown off, I follow him inside. We should have brought one of the dozens of weapons that were stashed in the back of the minivan, but it wasn’t exactly feasible to sort through grenades and semi-automatics with the cops hanging around.
“West!” Lily’s voice is like music to my ears. “Xander! Zeke!” She launches herself into my arms, and I bury my face in her hair, squeezing the life out of her.
“Thank fuck, princess. Are you okay?”
Her face is wet with tears. “I’m okay. They took my phone and I tried to call from Nico’s but you must have been in the air and I was going to leave a voicemail but then a call came through and then the cops were on their way and I had to get out of there—” She gasps for air.
Snarling, I brush my fingers over the purple bruise blooming across her cheek. I fucking hate that someone hurt her. She shivers, which makes me feel like an ass. I push a dark curl behind her ear and cup her beautiful face in my hands. “It’s okay. We’re here now.”
“Come here, shorty.” Xander’s voice is little more than a growl as he pulls her from my arms so he can hug her too. The distance gives me the opportunity to scan her body, and I’m relieved that she doesn’t appear to have any major injuries.
Xander finally lets her go, but Zeke stays back and just stares at her.
“Hey.” Her soft voice seems to break whatever spell he was under, and he reaches her in one long stride. Picking her up, he crushes her to his chest.
A throat clears, and we all turn to see an elegantly dressed woman with long dark hair and eyes the exact same color as Lily’s. Her icy glare sends a shiver down my spine.
Lily blushes beet red. “Guys. I’d like you to meet Ludovica Santangelo. My mom.”
Chapter
Seventy-Three
ZEKE
Taking a seat at the huge table that dominates the room, I pull Lily onto my lap and bury my face in her hair. Ludovica eyes me suspiciously, and while I’m mindful that she’s the head of the Mafia and I currently have my hands all over her daughter, I gotta say, I don’t give the smallest sliver of a fuck.
I inhale Lily’s sweet scent and squeeze her until she giggles and squirms. “Zeke. You’re going to crush me.”
I relax my grip just a little and press my mouth to her ear. “You are going to get the spanking of your life when we get home. Mafia princess or not.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and offers me one of her sweet smiles. “I sure hope so.”
My cock jumps at the thought of punishing her and taking care of her after. Maybe I won’t even wait until we get home.
“Mr. Cavanagh, may I have a word with my daughter?” Ludovica says in a clipped tone. Of course she knows who I am. Given the fact I’m dating her daughter, I have no doubt she knows my shoe size and what color underwear I currently have on.
I stare back at her. “Go ahead. But she’s staying right here.”
“Zeke.” Lily shoots me a warning look. Acquiescing to my girl’s request and not her mother’s, I allow her to climb off my lap. She sits in the chair next to mine and directs her attention at her mom. “You can say anything you have to say in front of Zeke, West, and Xander. I trust them.”
Xander and West sit on either side of Lily and me, and Ludovica eyes us all before finally taking a seat. A tall man with a neat gray beard stands guard behind her. Tossing her long hair over her shoulder, she fixes Lily with a hard stare. They might have the same bright green eyes and dark curls, but where this woman has ice in her veins, my girl has straight fire.
“Tell me. What now, Liliana? Carmine is gone, and Nico will take his place as the new head of the family. But you are the rightful heir to the true fortune, the Constantine hotels and casinos.” She arches one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “A simple DNA test will prove it.”
Lily leans back in her chair. “I’m going home. To New York.”
Her mother frowns, and an inscrutable emotion flashes in her eyes. “You don’t want any claim over your father’s legacy?”
“Nico is the rightful heir because he’s the best man for the job. Even if not by birth, he’s my brother in every other sense of the word. I’ll have some papers drawn up renouncing my claim on everything related to Constantine Holdings. And I’m sure he’ll have a fairer and more tolerant reign than his father ever did. My father’s legacy isn’t the money he made or the casinos and hotels he built. Those things are tainted with the blood of all the people Carmine killed to get his hands on them. My father’s legacy is sitting right here in front of you.” Her back straightens and she tilts her chin up. “And I am going to change the world.”
Fuck yeah you are, buttercup.
Ludovica’s eyes crinkle at the corners, and her lips curl into the faintest hint of a smile. Maybe the woman is human, after all. “Then I look forward to watching that happen, Liliana. Or is it Lily now? Lily Sloane.” The name rolls off her tongue like she’s testing it to see how it tastes.
Lily hesitates, but when she speaks, her tone is totally confident. “Liliana is fine. I told you it was time to show the world who I truly am.”
I look over at West and Xander. They look as confused as I feel, but we keep our mouths shut and continue to watch this scene unfold.
“Liliana Constantine is back from the dead then?” Ludovica asks.
“She is. A lot of good can be done with a name as powerful as mine. And like I said, my father’s legacy will be greater than the things he built.”
Ludovica’s lips twitch. “And your mother?”
Lily fixes her eyes on the woman who birthed her and lets out a breath. “I’m sure she’ll continue to watch from the sidelines like she always has.”
“Protecting you,” her mother adds with a frown.
“I don’t need protection anymore.” My sweet Lily laces her fingers through mine and Xander’s, then looks past me to West.
“You will always have my protection, mia dolce figlia, whether you need it or not.” Her eyes well up, but she blinks quickly until they’re clear.
Lily smiles at her. “Well, let’s hope I never need it.”
The man behind Ludovica bends his head. “Ma’am, you need to leave now.”
Closing her eyes, she nods, and when she reopens them, her ruthless Mafia mask slips and shows the woman underneath, laying bare all the sacrifices she made to become what she is. Fascinated, I watch the two women move together and stand facing one another as though they’re peering into a mirror. Ice reflects fire.
“Thank you, Mom.”