Carter saw Nathan’s jaw tick. Dammit! He’d seen.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Nathan called to Reno.
Carter rolled her eyes. “Oh shit …” she thought.
Reno muttered some expletives under his breath and stopped walking. He turned to Nathan, feigning confusion. “I’m sorry, boss. I didn’t hear you,” Reno said, becoming visibly uneasy.
Reno suddenly looked so small. Carter had never thought him a small man before, and she was sure he was about six years older than Nathan. But Nathan and his father had the ability to make any man look tiny. It wasn’t because of their height or build, but more because of their overwhelming aura of power.
“Carterina. She is beautiful, yes?” he asked with a hint of his distinct accent becoming audible. It was a mixture of both of his parent’s accents. Mostly Russian, in Carter’s opinion.
Reno cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Yeah, boss. She’s very beautiful,” he answered softly.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “‘Very beautiful,’” Nathan echoed.
Reno nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Nathan, leave him alone,” Carter said, feeling sorry for Reno.
Nathan ignored her. “Her hair is beautiful too, yes? It is like a soft cloud. Feels good against your skin, doesn’t it?”
Reno didn’t respond.
“Answer me,” Nathan commanded.
“Yes, sir,” Reno answered, willing himself not to lower his eyes shamefully. “It does.”
“And her skin …” Nathan smiled deviously. “Exotic, isn’t it?”
Reno nodded yes.
“Stunning shade of brown, and very smooth.” Nathan took long, slow strides until he stood directly in front of Reno, towering over him. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you enjoy touching my wife, Reno?” Nathan asked in a menacing tone. “Her skin— is it as soft as it looks?” When Reno didn’t answer, Nathan snapped. “Answer the question!” he shouted.
Reno flinched. “Forgive me! It won’t happen again, boss!” Reno said frantically.
Nathan gripped Reno’s shirt and jerked him forward. “You’re fucking right it won’t happen again, you little shit! If I ever see you put one fucking finger on my wife again, I will detach the offending hand from your body! Do you understand me?” he roared.
“Yes!”
Nathan pushed Reno back forcefully, and he slammed to the ground with a loud “Oomph.”
Nathan straightened his clothing. “Good,” he said, suddenly calm. “I was hoping you would. You’re good at what you do, Reno. It’d be a shame if this family lost a soldier like you. As long as we understand each other—”
“Yes, sir,” Reno said, standing up and making sure to show no weakness.
“All right.” Nathan gave a flick of his wrist. “Now get the fuck out of my backyard.”
Reno quickly left.
Nathan looked over to see that Carter’s four opponents had recovered and were getting up from the ground. “Goodbye,” he said to dismiss them.
With a nod, they all tried to shake off the obvious pain they were in, and they jogged out of the backyard.
Nathan shifted his gaze to Carter. She hadn’t moved. She just stood staring at him, a blank expression on her face. After a moment, Nathan closed the distance between them.
Carter arched her eyebrow. “Feel better now?”
Nathan nodded. “I do, actually. Much better.”
A smile tugged at Carter’s lips. “Did you have to be so scary?” she asked.
Nathan nodded again. “Yes, I did. There are rules, baby,” he said coolly.
Carter smiled. “Care to share with me?”
Nathan cocked his head slightly to the side, and a sexy smile spread across his face. “The rule is simple, baby. Don’t touch the underboss’s wife.”
Carter nodded her head slowly then looked up at him with a sensual smile. “Am I allowed to touch the underboss’s wife?” she asked.
She laughed when Nathan let out a growl and took a step toward her. Placing both hands on his chest, she crooned, “I don’t think so, underboss. We have no time.”
“You started it.”
“We have a full house, Mr. Salerno. Maybe later,” she promised.
“Maybe?”
Carter looked away from him and laughed. She loved her hubby’s insatiable needs. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed. “I’m going out to dinner with my new friends, Bubby,” she said excitedly. “The woman I met at the store …”
Nathan nodded.
“Katherine.” Carter said her name because she knew Nathan didn’t remember. He was the worst at remembering names. “Since we’ve been hanging out the past few weeks, she’s introduced me to some of her friends, and get this— they like me. So they want to go out tonight—” she smiled at him innocently “— and I kind of need a date.”
Nathan frowned, and she knew he wanted to decline. He wasn’t really the social type. He didn’t enjoy loud, crowded places. Neither did Carter. But Carter was going stir-crazy. Not to mention she needed to hang out with her new friends, especially since she’d hit yet another bad patch with her old one.
“Before you say anything, know that I really want to go. You know it’s been hard for me ever since my falling out with Jenna.” Jenna was now ignoring Carter’s calls. It was Carter’s own fault, and she knew it. She hadn’t told Jenna about the wedding until after it had taken place. She’d also been more occupied with getting to know her mother than calling Jenna. But it in Carter’s eyes, both were for Jenna’s own sake. Carter was starting to agree with her mother. Jenna had no idea who Carter really was. And Carter had not been ready to introduce her to Anastacia Stone, especially since Carter had previously told her that her parents were loving people and had died in a car accident.
Nathan’s gentle touch on her face brought her back from her thoughts. “You and Jenna will fix things, baby,” he said.
Carter could hear that there wasn’t much confidence in his words. He knew what Carter knew. A friendship built on lies didn’t last. Jenna loved the version of Carter that was a façade. Jenna loved Carter Alexandria Matthews, not Carterina Anastacia Stone. The two were not the same, and never would be.
“I don’t know, Nathan,” she said softly. She smiled sadly as she looked into his eyes. “We’ll see. But tonight, I don’t want to think about it. I want to go out with my new friends— and I want you to come with me.”
She pressed her face against his chest and leaned her full weight against his body.
Nathan sighed and kissed her forehead. “All right baby, we’ll go.”
Carter smiled wide. “Really?”
Nathan rolled his eyes, but still smiled. “Yes, really.” He chuckled at her excitement.
“Yes!” she squealed and jumped into his arms. “You’re the best husband in the world, Bubby.”
“Aww. I know I am, baby,” he said as he brought her into a hug.
Carter laughed and hit his arm. He was so delightfully arrogant.
After giving her a kiss, he looked at her with a familiar expression.
Carter chuckled softly. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Mr. Salerno?” she asked playfully.
Nathan pulled her tightly against his body. “Well, Mrs. Salerno, since I’m kicking ass at this whole husband thing, I think I deserve a reward.”
Carter smiled and nodded. He deserved whatever he wanted.
“I’m thinking a little role play tonight …”
Carter bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Role play again, huh?”
“I think we both agree that the last time was—” his tongue glided across his bottom lip, and a sexy smile spread across his face, “— quite tasty. And kudos on the Oscar-worthy performance as my ice cream sundae. I’ve never had a sundae that screamed my name before.”
Heat rushed to Carter’s cheeks. “Nathan …”
“I liked that part a lot. Now, I have another idea—”
Carter
looked up at him. “And what’s that?”
Carter let out a squeal when Nathan palmed her behind and lifted her body until they were face to face. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, then her legs around his waist.
“Tonight, I’ll be Nathan with a little extra cash.”
Carter burst into laughter.
Nathan smiled and nodded his head, seeing that she had guessed what he was going to say next. “I see that you can tell where I’m going with this, my sexy little exotic dancer.”
“What if I don’t want to be your exotic dancer?” Carter asked playfully.
“You’ll love it. I promise.”
“You’re very confident, Mr. Salerno.”
“Mmm … that’s because I know what Mrs. Salerno likes.”
Carter smiled and gave him a kiss so passionate he moaned in her mouth. She loved when he did that.
Once she broke the kiss, she tried and failed to wriggle out of his embrace. After a little more playful struggling, he let her go and took her hand. They began to stroll back toward the house.
“I know we’re going out tonight baby, but we need to make sure we’re back— ,”
“I know, Nathan,” she said, cutting off his words. “We need to be ready for the last meeting tomorrow before we head back to New York.”
She was more than ready for the big day of reckoning. This mess could finally be put to an end, and Carter could move on and be happy.
Nathan nodded, and they ascended the large staircase to their back door.
“Carter! Nathan!”
Both Carter and Nathan stopped mid-step and turned to see their parents. Angelo walked forward and patted his son on the back. “We’re leaving now. We just wanted to confirm the meeting for scheduling tomorrow.” He leaned forward and kissed Carter on the cheek.
Carter smiled. “Yes, I’ve already contacted Aniyah. Everything is in order.”
He smiled warmly and nodded his head.
Anastacia came forward and gave Nathan a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then did the same with Carter.
“We’ll see you two tomorrow, okay?” she said softly.
Nathan and Carter nodded and smiled, but they both sensed that something else coming.
They were right.
Anastacia shot Angelo a quick glance before smiling uncomfortably and clearing her throat. “Also, we need to add another meeting before the big family meeting back in New York,” she said.
Carter became immediately unnerved by the look on her mother’s face. Her mother had never been one to show much emotion, but right now there seemed to be hundreds of emotions passing through her eyes. This didn’t sit well with Carter at all.
The newlyweds glanced at each other quickly before turning back to their parents.
“What type of meeting?” Nathan asked. “I’m sure it can be covered tomorrow. Carter and I had hoped to use the morning before the family meeting to settle back into the penthouse.”
“That will have to wait, Nathan,” Angelo said.
“This is important,” Anastacia said. “We can’t put this discussion off any longer.”
Carter looked at Nathan and saw a change in his eyes. She looked at all three of them and could tell by the looks on their faces that they were all on the same page. They all knew something she didn’t. A frown enveloped her face as it became increasingly clear that she was the only one still confused.
20
Trouble in Paradise
It was the second to last meeting they would have before returning to New York. They’d discussed the security upgrades and the meeting in the sanctuary two days from now, and now they were discussing the scheduling. Carter loved working like this, but she was feeling a little tense and had been all day. Although she was excited about going back to work, she had awakened this morning with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t about work, either— it was about the extra meeting Angelo and her mother had planned for tomorrow.
After Angelo and her mother had left, Carter asked Nathan if he knew anything about what they wanted to discuss. That was when he told her that he’d been keeping one more bit of information from her.
He told her of the conversation that he and her mother had had while she was in the hospital— how Anastacia had said it was unsafe for her to be in New York, and that there were many things she needed to discuss with them both before they returned to work. He also told her that they’d been talking for the past few months about her recovery and when Carter should return to work, as well as the increase in her security.
Initially, Carter was shocked that Nathan had kept so much from her. She hated that he had chosen to discuss those things with Anastacia and not her. Carter had asked him as calmly as she could why it had taken him so long to tell her everything, and his lack of response had spurred a full-blown argument that cancelled whatever plans they’d had for the evening. It was the first time they’d ever gone to bed angry at each other.
They still hadn’t spoken. Even now, Carter sat at a distance from him. She sat next to Lucca on the floor of the living room, while Nathan sat across the living room on the couch with her mother and his father. It was ripping her apart inside, and she hated it. She wanted to stay mad at him for keeping secrets from her after she’d told him not to, but she also wanted to make up with him because her heart was breaking.
“Carter?” A female voice cut through Carter’s thoughts.
Carter looked at the phone in the middle of the living room table.
“Ms. Stone?”
“Salerno—” All four of the Salerno men corrected the secretary at the same time without even looking up from the documents in their laps.
“I-I’m sorry,” the secretary apologized.
Carter chuckled softly, trying to feign a good mood. “Don’t mind them, Aniyah.” Carter wrapped her arms around the waist of the giant Salerno to her left and hugged him tight. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nathan staring at her, but she forced herself to pretend she didn’t notice. “They may sound scary, but in truth they’re all big, cuddly teddy bears.” She looked up into the eyes of her cousin-in-law, and he winked at her. Carter chuckled and turned back to the phone. “Okay, Aniyah. You can continue …”
Aniyah was Angelo’s personal secretary at the Salerno Organization in New York. They were all gathered at her and Nathan’s house once again, preparing for their return to New York tomorrow. Carter was in charge of setting up the meetings and cleaning up both Nathan and Angelo’s schedules for the week. It was a sort of an amplified secretarial position with sundry added responsibilities. It basically involved her threatening some extremely insistent criminals, and Carter was very good at it. Carter was a fringe benefit that they hadn’t had before she’d come along. She had given the business something they’d needed, and now their days— and their business— ran a lot smoother.
Aniyah continued. “Don Bonaducci wants a sit down with Don Salerno— -”
“No,” Carter said. She didn’t even need to hear the whole message.
That was one New York crime family that her father-in-law was not interested in associating with. Those disrespectful motherfuckers made a huge mistake when they pissed off Angelo Salerno.
“What should I tell him?”
“Not that you should have to explain, but to avoid future calls, just tell him that Don Salerno isn’t interested in peace. The Bonaducci family is not a friend to the Salerno family until Angelo says otherwise. Explain to him that he should already know this, but if he has any questions, he should feel free to contact my office.”
“Got it.” She continued, “Andrew Reeves wants a sit down for a loan.”
Carter chuckled. “Schedule it. I’ll take that meeting.”
“How’s Thursday?” Aniyah asked.
Carter detected amusement in her voice, and she knew the girl wanted to laugh. As two of the few women at the Salerno Organization, Carter and Aniyah stuck together and had become instant friends when Carter s
tarted working there. As the highest paid secretary in New York, Aniyah was entrusted with many dangerous and illegal secrets. She was the only girlfriend Carter had that she was able to be completely honest with. She also had a crush on Kyle.
“Thursday’s fine,” Carter replied.
“Okay. You’re free at three. I’ll schedule it for then.”
“I’ll go with you,” Anastacia said.
She was sitting across the room on the couch in the middle of Angelo and Nathan helping Nathan go through financial records for his businesses.
Carter smirked. “But he’s probably afraid of you. You did threaten to burn down his family’s restaurant … with him and his family still inside it.”
Everyone laughed softly, but Anastacia just shrugged. “He’ll be fine.”
Carter shook her head. “You’re such a meanie.”
“I know I am,” Anastacia replied, and then she turned her gaze back to the work in her lap.
For the next few minutes, Aniyah and Carter tidied the boss and underboss’s schedules. When finished, they were able to move on to late payments. It was ridiculous, really. After the attack on Nathan and Carter, the focus at S.O. had shifted to updating security, working with law enforcement as well as judges to cover things up, and figuring out how to move forward without Nathan there. Things had gotten lost, and payments had been forgotten for a little while— but no more.
Even though they were fighting, Carter had decided to save her husband from doing a ‘pay what you owe’ beat-down tour around New York and Las Vegas. She put on her scary “Mrs. Salerno pants” and gave every one of the bastards a personal call.
After an hour and a half, she’d finally made it to the last call of the evening, Bryan Reynolds. He owed some serious money in Las Vegas. She was slightly amused by his reaction to her call.
“I apologize, Ms. Carterina. I meant no disrespect. I’m glad to hear you’re alive and well.”
“Let’s be honest with each other, Mr. Reynolds. You wish I was dead. But unfortunately for you, I’m not.”
“I just need a little more time.”
Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess Page 27