Gian (Trassato Crime Family #1)(28)

A few minutes later, we pulled into the two car garage on the garden level of Gian’s home, and I finally sat up. I blinked, cataloguing every fear and pain. My body ached, and nausea and uncertainty clawed at me, spreading through me like a slow drip IV.

The passenger door opened, and I still didn’t move.

“Come on, sweetheart. We’re safe now.” Gian circled one arm around my shoulder and the other under my knees. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling his scent like it was the antidote for everything that ailed me.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN




Gian



Still humming with adrenaline and my thoughts shifting like chess pieces, I carried Evie into my home. I didn’t know where to start. As much as I loved to believe otherwise, tonight wasn’t a random act of violence. Someone had targeted me. Or Evie. I couldn’t rule anything out at this point.

Sure, the Trassato family had enemies, which by extension were my enemies. We’d been battling for territory with the Russian Mafia for years as they flexed their muscle and crept out of Brighton Beach. They were big into heroin distribution, and for the most part, I stayed away from the drug trafficking business, which led me to believe they’d target the other capos before me. It didn’t make sense.

“Hey.” Tony stood at the base of the stairs. “Are you both okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “My car is f*cked up, but we’re both fine.”

“Put me down. I can walk,” Evie mumbled into my chest.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide and imploring, her cheeks rose-stained, and her hand a bloody f*cking mess. “Tony, I can’t talk now. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I jogged up the steps, ignoring Evie’s request. I didn’t want to put her down. I’d been in more than my fair share of dangerous situations, and I stayed calm and clearheaded. Tonight was different. They’d put Evie in harm’s way.

The miserable f*ckers who had the audacity to come after my girl would pay. I’d make sure of it. Nobody f*cked with my family or me without consequences. Nobody. Evie may not be my real fiancée, but nobody knew that, and if I let this slide, no man would ever take me seriously.

Evie lifted her head. “Where are we going?”

I opened my bedroom door went into the bathroom, setting Evie on the counter. “You’re staying in my room tonight.”

“N-n-no,” she stuttered. “I’m not comfortable with that.” When she moved to get off the counter, I wedged my hips between her legs, blocking her escape.

“You don’t have a choice. Tony has already commented on the fact that you sleep in the guest bedroom.”

“So what?” She raised her eyebrows. “You said you trusted Tony. Did you change your mind? What am I missing?”

I brushed a tangled strand of her fiery hair away from her face. “This isn’t about trust. It’s about his oath. If he finds out I lied about us, he can’t protect me, and I wouldn’t ask him to either. His primary duty is to the family, not me.” Darkness flickered across her face, and she closed her eyes for a beat. “And if tonight demonstrated anything, it’s that we don’t have any room to make mistakes.”

“I know.” She swallowed, anxiety creasing her forehead. “I feel like I’m dangling from the cliff and nobody is going to catch me.”

Turning on the faucet, I picked up her hand and held it under the water. “I will,” I said, watching the pink-hued water swirl down the drain. “We’re in this together.”

Dominick’s warning about choosing the family over Evie looped through my head, making my gut churn with more than a little dread. I blew out a breath and shoved the unsettling emotion back into a vault in the recesses of my mind. I wouldn’t let it come to a choice between the family and Evie. I’d find a way out of this mess. I dragged her into this situation, and I would get her out.

I shut off the water and patted her hand with a white washcloth. “It’s not too bad.” I rotated her wrist and inspected her palm. “You have a couple of cuts, but nothing that warrants stitches.” I pulled a stack of bandages from my top drawer and covered the larger cuts.

“Thank you.” She pressed a closed-lipped kiss to my lips, lingering longer than was prudent, given I was ready to pounce at the slightest encouragement. I tasted the lemon sorbet my mom served for dessert on her lips. All too soon, she pulled back, a weak smile picking up the corners of her mouth.

Studying her face, I trailed my hand down her side, along her hip, down the miles of silky skin on her leg. Her flesh pebbled beneath the pads of my fingers, and her pupils swelled. A tsunami of desperation and need hit me in the dead center of my chest.

I wanted to spend the night getting lost in this woman. I wanted to kiss her. Taste her. Adore her. I wanted to put the past and the future in a sealed box and pretend it didn’t exist for a few hours.

I should walk out this door right now, but the longer I looked at her, the more my logic crumbled. I leaned forward, my lips only a whisper away from hers. My brain cells scrambled.

I smelled a hint of jasmine. I saw the tiny gold flecks in her otherwise dark irises. I counted the sprinkle of freckles on her nose. She had seven. It was my new favorite number.

Fuck Tony. He could wait.

“Evie,” I groaned, unable to resist any longer. She was the forbidden fruit, and I needed another taste of her brand of sin.