“Mr. Moretti. How can I help you?” My assistant answered after the second ring.
“Could you set up an appointment with Mr. Smith for this afternoon? I need him to sign some papers.”
“Of course. Right away.”
“Thanks. Text me when it’s done.” I hung up.
“You forgot to say please.” Emilia smiled at me.
“Fuck.” I grabbed the phone again and texted a quick Thank you for handling this. “I feel bad she got stuck with me. She’s always so jumpy around me.”
“You kind of used to have that same effect on me too.” She chuckled, squeezing my hand. “Trust me, there are worse things than a boss who doesn’t say please. I’m sure she enjoys the eye candy every morning.”
“I can’t tell if you’re trying to get in my pants or trying to make me feel better.”
“Maybe both.”
“Are you sure? Last time I asked, you made it sound like sex with me would get us both killed.”
“I think that possibility is on the table regardless. So, yeah, I’m sure.”
My heartbeat shot into overdrive. I darted my gaze from her face to the road, and then the highway sign that read Phoenix 30 miles. Emilia bit her lip and glanced away toward the desert landscape zooming by. I kissed her hand and took several calming breaths. It would’ve been nice for her to come to this conclusion last night when we had two whole rooms all to ourselves.
Driving into Phoenix at ten in the morning meant little traffic. We whizzed through the interstate and made it back to the hotel a full ten minutes before the time the navigation app had given us. As we entered the resort, Vic drove in front of us. I followed closely behind to the back entrance, parked the car by the loading dock, and climbed out to get Emilia’s bags. When I reached her door, Vic had already helped her out. Was the old man finally coming around?
We entered through the industrial laundry room. Several people walked past us pushing carts or hauling dirty linens, pretending we weren’t there. I forced my gait to match Emilia’s. As long as her stride was, I still had to slow down for her. Though all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and rush her to the suite.
“I’ve seen you walk way faster than this and in higher heels,” I said against her temple, gripping her waist while we waited for the elevator. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, I just didn’t want to assume.”
The elevator doors slid open at the end of the hallway, and we got on. I hit the button for our floor, dropped her bags and pinned her body against the mirror.
“Assume away,” I whispered on her lips before I covered them with mine.
She tunneled her fingers through my hair and pulled as I coaxed her lips to part for me. I got lost in our kiss, tasting her, until I realized if I stopped now we could do way more in our room. I broke the kiss first, and she rewarded me with a long sigh.
“I have a big bed waiting for us. Come on.”
She picked up her laptop bag and I grabbed her big suitcase. When the doors opened, I put my arm out to stop her. Her smile died on her lips as she followed my line of sight and found the door to our suite cracked open. Out of habit, I reached behind me and cursed when I didn’t feel my handgun. I guess it was time to stop playing the civilian. I gripped her suitcase, the only weapon I had on me, with both hands.
“Stay close,” I whispered.
She nodded, her eyes wide.
We padded down the corridor, staying flush against the wall. I peered through the gap in the door and pushed it open when I didn’t see any movement inside. I stepped into the living area and picked my way toward Emilia’s bedroom then mine.
We were alone. A normal person would call the cops, or at the very least, call the front desk to complain, but we weren’t the normal type.
“What do you think they were looking for?” Emilia shut the door behind her and threw the bolt. “Or did they just leave a mess as a warning? To tell us they knew.”
“Don’t know.” I followed her movements around the suite. Like a couple of nights ago at the bar, she had that cool composure about her, methodically taking in every detail that was out of place in the room…the papers on the floor, the ripped sofa pillows, and my clothes strewn across the room.
“They raided your minibar.” She pointed at the knocked-over bottles on the butler’s pantry.
She was a total turn-on. If I didn’t want to hurt Mickey before, I wanted to now. Once again, my plans to spend the day naked with Emilia were shot to hell. I sat on the sofa and fished my phone from my back pocket. I had a text from my assistant saying we were all set for noon. Emilia plopped herself next to me, her hand on my shoulder.
“We stick to our plan.”
I let out a long breath. “Which one?”
“One monster at a time.” She kissed my shoulder, a knowing smile on her lips.
“Right.” I chuckled. “Let’s just hope they wait their turn.”
“This was Mickey, wasn’t it? You said mind games were his thing.”
I nodded. He was great at pitting people against their fears and shortcomings. His little display here was meant to remind me that Emilia wasn’t safe, no matter how hard I tried, but if his men were able to get in, it was because Vic and I hadn’t been here. I didn’t have time to analyze this to death. We had an appointment with Levi, and our focus had to stay on that.
I sent Vic a text: He was here.
He responded right away: Need new room, less flash.
I sent him a thumbs-up before I turned to Emilia. “Don’t unpack. Vic is getting us a new room. We’ll leave some of our stuff here and sleep in the new room tonight.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks and my cock stood at attention. “Just to clarify, the sleeping arrangements are for your own safety. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”
“I want to stay with you tonight.” Her words sounded like a long-awaited promise.
“How are you okay with all this?” I asked. “I’m sorry I brought this on you.”
“Same as you. I’ve waited for this for a long time. Also, I think it’s fair to say I kind of started this too.”
“Why? Because you agreed to see me again at the bar? That’s bullshit.”
“No, because I decided to move back to Phoenix. If I had stayed in New York, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“We. Why is that so hard for you to remember? We’re in this mess together.”
“I’ve never been in a mess together with someone. Other than my mom, of course. You know what I mean.”
I tilted her chin up and kissed her lips. “Me neither. How about we each take credit for our share?”
“Works for me.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “Did we get an appointment with Levi?”
“Noon.”
She glanced at her watch and sighed. “I guess we should get going.”
“Yeah. I need to change clothes.” I fell back on the sofa and pulled her with me.
She didn’t fight it. Instead, she cuddled in the nook of my arm. After today, everything would change for her. Whatever was coming our way, it would be better than spending the rest of our lives cowering in some dark corner of the country. Emilia deserved to have her life back.
15
Your Pound Of Flesh
Emilia
I’d imagined this moment many times in the past ten years. When we’d first left Phoenix, every time I thought of Levi finding us I felt trepidation. As time went by, he became the monster under the bed. The thing that made me lock every door at night and check every window. A person could only live for so long with this kind of dread in her soul. Now, seeing Levi standing in the conference room at the end of the hallway made me feel a kind of peace. A certain calm before the shit storm I was about to walk into.
“Join us when you’re ready.” Dom squeezed my hand and sauntered toward the double glass doors ahead of us.
When I’m ready?
Was I ready? I stood frozen. My legs didn
’t respond because I couldn’t command them to move. Words eluded me. Instead, the memories of the last time I saw him face-to-face flickered in my mind like the previews of some horror movie.
Jess had been the one who’d told him where we were. I blamed her for everything for many years. Yet in a way, she’d been the one to save our lives too. The scars on my back tingled as they did every time I saw him in my head standing over us, striking my back over and over until I finally uttered the words that made him stop.
She’s pregnant.
What happened after was a blur. His words sounded muffled as he picked up Jess from under me and shoved her out the door. He returned to shoot me twice before he left us for dead.
Mom had kept us alive all this time. She’d done her part until I was ready to end our story with Levi. Hot blood rushed through my body and the urge to kill him returned. I pictured Dad lying on the marble floor—cold and so still. I let out a breath and replaced Dad’s face with Levi’s. I knew there was a better way to end him, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of one. All I wanted was to see him dead. Tears stung my eyes, and everything in front of me turned blurry. My feet shuffled back toward the elevator and the room swayed out of focus.
A small hand pressed against my back. “Mr. Moretti asked me to get you some coffee.”
Dom’s assistant’s timid words made the room stop spinning. I took the mug from her. The side of it read Harvard. Just kidding. I chuckled, and the tears spilled down my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Can I get you anything else? I have ginger gum.”
“I’m fine, thank you. The coffee is all I need.” I wrapped my fingers around the mug, and the pressure on my chest let up. Dad wasn’t here to see what I’d become. He’d die all over again if he came back to find out I’d become a killer. The choices that led him to his demise, he’d made for this very reason. He wanted something different for me. I sipped the coffee.
Time to face the monster under the bed.
I put one foot in front of me and then the other. By the time I reached the door, my legs were strong again. I entered the room. Dom’s cheeks turned a little red. The only tell he was worried sick for me. I smiled at him. He responded with a curt nod as a proper opposing counsel would do. This prompted Levi to turn in his chair. I stood a few inches taller when all the color drained from his face. Was I more than someone he killed a long time ago? Or had I become the ghost that haunted him at night?
The adrenaline rush that filled me when I first walked in spiked again. He really didn’t know I was alive, which meant Jess had been telling the truth. She hadn’t told him about Mom and me. I looked at Dom. Here was proof that Mickey was behind the shootings, and maybe even behind Jess’s sudden urge to make amends with her family and divorce her husband. If Dom had come to the same conclusion as me, he didn’t show it.
Levi’s knuckles turned white as he tightened the grip on the armrest. Why did I think he’d take out a gun and shoot me the second he saw me? He blinked fast as he recovered from the initial shock and swiveled his chair to face Dom.
“What the fuck is this?”
I strolled around the long table and set my folio and mug on it. My movements were slow and calculated. I wanted him to see that I was real and that I was no longer afraid. A smile pulled at my lips because it was true. He was a spineless coward not a monster. All these years, I made him to be bigger and scarier than he really was. If Dom weren’t sitting next to him, I was sure he would’ve fled already. Not so scary without a gun in his hand and cronies to back him up.
“I didn’t think we’d need introductions.” I pulled the chair out and sat. “We haven’t changed that much.”
His gaze darted between Dom and me. “Where’s Jess?”
“Safe.”
“She put you up to this?” He turned to Dom.
The jerk was actually surprised and offended. I’d expected more, a reason to shoot him and be done with it, but this was Levi…he had to let me down one more time.
“I asked for the meeting, yes,” Dom said.
“What do you want? Jess wants to stay with me. What’s this?”
“You mean, how am I still alive?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
So he was willing to admit he knew me. It would’ve been hard for him to pretend otherwise given his initial reaction. He was definitely going for amnesia. Suddenly, he couldn’t remember if I was supposed to be dead. Fine.
“Except you do, but let’s put that aside for a moment. Let’s talk about you. What do you want, Levi?”
“I want my family back.”
“Okay. For whatever reason, Jess wants that too. Is that it? I walk out of here, and you’ll move on and keep pretending I’m still dead.”
His head snapped up at Dom. “I’m always happy to see my wife’s family.”
“Cut the bullshit. You left me for dead ten years ago. I’m done hiding. I want my life back.”
A slow burn swirled in my belly. I would’ve preferred he’d come at me with guns blazing. This wasn’t how I’d pictured this would go. I’d come here for a fight, not this gaslighting bullshit. I racked my brain for something to say, to cut him deep and get a rise out of him, but I didn’t know Levi at all. Even back when I thought I did, I really didn’t. What was the one thing he cared about?
“Mom has Jess and Izzy. They won’t come back to you until you convince me that we’re through.”
His lips turned a pale white. So Jess and his kids were the only things he cared about. Could’ve fooled me.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“A guarantee that you won’t come after me and Mom.”
“Okay. Let Jessie go.”
“Okay? No, asshole, it’s not okay.” I pushed my chair back and jerked to my feet. I wanted to hurt him. This thing with him wasn’t over. I knew it wasn’t. “You don’t get to betray your own family and then say okay to me.”
The idea of offering a kind word or a sorry didn’t even cross his mind because he wasn’t sorry. And for a moment, I wondered if maybe he really had forgotten what he did to Dad. How else could he just sit there, with surprise yes, but then not beg me for forgiveness and not cry his eyes out for the horrible thing he did to us. I was in the way of something he wanted so he agreed to my one demand.
I pressed my lips together and turned to Dom. The crease between his eyes got tighter as his chest rose and fell. He shook his head once. Was that his apology? An apology for not being able to give me the release I needed. Levi met Dom’s gaze as if seeing him for the first time. When he switched his attention to me that usual greedy tint to his eyes had returned.
“You want to kill me? You can’t. Unless you want every headhunter in the city to come knocking at your door.” He stood, bracing his hands on his hips. His eyes bored into mine. How could he be so sure I wouldn’t kill him in his sleep? Because he thought I didn’t have it in me? Because he didn’t think he deserved it?
“Is that what Mickey offered?” Dom finally broke his silence.
“No.” He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. The mention of Mickey’s name made him step back.
“I know he’s been to see you. Mickey doesn’t leave home. Ever. If he came, it’s because he thought it’d be worth his time and effort. What did he ask for?” Dom asked in his lawyer voice. There was no threat in his tone. If someone were to walk in on us now, they’d see this as any other deposition. Except for the fact that Dom was interrogating his own client.
Levi swallowed. “He did me a favor, that’s all.”
“What kind of favor?”
“He came to warn me that someone was hell-bent on doing me harm.” He shook his head as if he was disappointed to find out it was me who’d been wishing him dead.
“Wait, Mickey knew I came back to Phoenix?” I turned my attention to Dom.
“I’m sure he keeps tabs on everyone around me. He never really let me go.” Dom shook his head, glaring at Levi. “He didn’t ask
for anything in return?”
“No. He only mentioned that if I ever needed a good lawyer, I should call you.”
“Jesus, so Mickey knew Jess and I were going to file for divorce?” For Mickey to know about our plans, he had to have set up some kind of surveillance at our house. A cold shiver ran through me. This was a new level of creepy.
“He left me your card.” Levi’s gaze darted between Dom and me.
“That’s it? A stranger comes to your home, warns you about a plot against you, leaves you my card, and you just let him walk away?”
“I had no choice.” He bit the inside of his cheek. “I had him followed. He didn’t like it.”
“No, I can’t imagine he did.” Dom sat back on his chair. Somehow Levi’s response satisfied him. Was he just glad to have been right about Mickey? Or was this something else?
“I get it. You’ve come for your pound of flesh.” Levi waved his hands in my general direction. “I’m not an idiot. You come at me, and I will burn your house to the ground.”
Was Levi afraid of me?
“I’ll make this easy.” Dom stood, and Levi’s shoulders tensed. “Your initial response was the right one. As far as you know, your wife has no family left. Amnesia is the best medicine for whatever ails your soul. No one is coming for you, and all you have to do is do nothing.” Dom’s voice reverberated in my chest.
His calm demeanor made the hair on the nape of my neck stand. He advanced on Levi the way a predator would approach its prey—slow and calm at first. Dom’s leering eyes pinned Levi in place. This wasn’t Dom, the lawyer. This version of him was someone he’d fought hard to leave behind. I knew that now. I hated I was the one who brought it out of him, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to back down. I squeezed my fists, biting my tongue because what I wanted to ask of Dom wasn’t fair. Yeah, Levi deserved to be shot dead. However, this wasn’t Dom’s problem. It wasn’t his job to rid me of Levi.
Levi peered at him, memorizing every detail of Dom’s beautiful features. Levi had to recognize they weren’t the same. Dom was the big bad wolf looking at Levi like he was something to eat. Dom was bigger, deadlier.
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