Marco had had a long day. He’d been looking forward to seeing Lila all day long. Finally, she lay close within his reach. All his for the taking. Tempting him to spirit her away, lock her up in his apartment. Stubborn woman. He knew he could’ve lost her when he mentioned her apartment. She probably thought she’d won that particular argument, but she was wrong on so many levels.
Marco was a patient hunter. He’d strike when she least expected it, when all her guards were down.
“Your turn. Ask any questions you like,” Marco said.
“Questions?”
“Isn’t that how dates go?”
“You haven’t been on many dates, have you?”
That question would’ve aggravated another man but not Marco. “I don’t have time for dates. I see who I want and I fuck them.”
She fell silent again. He cursed himself for picking the wrong words. Lila didn’t understand. He’d been waiting for her for a very long time. She was all he ever thought about, an obsession that would last him an entire lifetime. Lila was special, different from all the other women he’d been with before.
“If I had a best friend, she’d tell me to stay away from a man like you,” Lila said. “Too bad it’s just me.”
Lila sounded a little sad. His heart ached for her. Marco knew that aside from John, she didn’t have plenty of friends where she used to live, people she could count on, and both her parents were dead.
“Okay, then,” Lila began. “What’s with the police earlier?”
“There are some aspects of my business you don’t need to know about. The rule’s the same for the women in the Familia,” he said. “Let’s just say the chief needed my help.”
More like Miller gave him a headache, another mess to clean up, but tonight, Marco wanted to think about more pleasant things, like what he intended to do to Lila’s sweet body.
“I see. Giovanni handed you the reins of the business recently. How’s it like, finally being the boss?” she asked.
“Work keeps me busy,” he answered.
Talking with Lila felt good. He didn’t need to hide anything from her because of her father. Would Stefano be dancing in his grave right now if he knew what Marco was up to? He respected Lila’s old man. She got her streak of stubbornness and yards of guts from Stefano, but Marco had zero intentions of backing away from this path.
They spoke about more mundane things. He felt himself relaxing, letting his guard down around her. They understood each other, back then and now. He’d only spoken to her a few times when they’d been younger, but it had been enough.
Marco paid for dinner and they left the restaurant. “Let’s go for a walk around the neighborhood,” he suggested.
He’d texted Alejandro and Antonio—the two men watching his back today, earlier and told them to get dinner. His brother Matthias and his trusted lieutenant Ryker always told him to have someone with him at all times. Just in case. Marco knew this neighborhood. No one would dare touch him here and besides, he could take care of himself and Lila for a few hours.
Lila shivered. Must be the cold, he thought, taking off his jacket and placing it over her shoulders.
“Thanks. I forgot my cardigan,” she said.
“Not a problem.” Marco liked seeing his clothes on her. He could already picture her wearing nothing but one of his big shirts in his apartment. That image would be reality soon, he mused.
“Truthfully, I’m a little glad to be back here,” she confessed to him. “Gino’s already taken me out twice and I’ve met some of his friends. Recognized some of them, because they were my dad’s old buddies. It’s nice. He’s like the uncle I never had. Almost feels like having a family again.”
Marco heard the longing in her voice, the loneliness, and decided to eradicate it completely. She would never feel alone again. He’d make sure of it.
“You’re too young to hanging out with old geezers like Gino,” he said. “Do you remember my adopted sister Sky? I’ll give you her number. It’ll be good if you meet the other women in the Familia, women your age.”
“Sky? She’s always been nice to me, but we’ve lost contact over the years.” Lila paused. “What do you mean it’ll be good?”
Marco regarded her for a few moments. He’d never bother mincing his words so he told her the truth outright. Lila had stuck around when other women would’ve run by now. She deserved to know what the future lay in store for her.
“I expect you to be a permanent fixture in my life.”
Lila halted in her footsteps, widening her eyes. “Marco, you don’t know what you’re saying.”
He faced her, placed his hands over her shoulders, and brought her close. Her breasts pressed against his shirt. His dick woke up. Marco’s want went up another notch, grew almost unbearable. It felt like he had a beast inside his skin, eager to tear its way out of him. Take what rightfully belonged to him.
Lila was it for him.
Marco knew it from the moment they’d first kissed, back when she’d only been fifteen. A daring, playful, and girlish wraith who’d grown up and turned into this captivating woman. She claimed she was weak for falling for a man like John, but everyone made mistakes. She stood up to a bastard like Crane where others would have crumbled. Lila possessed steel in her spine and didn’t even know it.
“I know,” he said, cupping her cheek so she looked right at him.
“You don’t need to pretend with me,” she said, tone light. “We’re both adults. I know what I’m getting into. Men like you—”
Marco tangled his fingers into her hair, tugging her closer. He silenced her with a kiss. She didn’t know what she was saying, probably confused. He’d make her understand the easiest way he knew how. He plundered her mouth. She tasted of tiramisu and coffee as she kissed him back. Fierce little thing.
Marco drew his mouth back. “There are no other men like me,” he told her simply. “Lila, I’ve watched you. I’m done waiting.”
Hearing hurried footsteps running toward him, them, made Marco react on instinct. He pulled Lila behind him and reached for the gun tucked in his belt. Marco studied his surroundings, assessing the situation calmly.
They had wandered quite a distance away from the restaurant and entered the park without Marco realizing it. He’d been so lost in her, in their moment, and now someone had to fuck up all his hard work. That pissed him off.
A man in his early thirties ran toward them. He wore a hoodie, torn jeans, and sneakers. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was wild and sticking up in all directions. Marco’s adrenaline spiked up. Everything moved in slow motion. The man whipped out a gun tucked in his pants, his hand on the trigger. Marco also had his gun out by then and pointed it steadily at the guy.
Lila clutched the back of his shirt tightly. He could feel her breaths coming out short against his neck.
It was dark in this area of the park, and the man looked like he was high on something. The fucker would most likely miss or get lucky.
“Die, you mother fucker!” the bastard screeched.
Marco’s heartbeat was steady, confident. The world fell silent as he went to the quiet place where he killed and felt nothing. He took the shot and a second later, the bastard did the same. His favorite revolver practically had no kick to it, and he had a silencer on it.
The bastard went down like a stone, screaming. Marco felt a sting on his arm. He looked down to see the bullet had sliced right through the fabric of his shirt, drawing blood. Lila let out a gasp behind him.
“Marco, you’re hurt,” she whispered, touching the wound lightly, her fingers coming away with blood.
“Just a graze. I need to make a call, but I need you to do something for me.” Marco offered her the gun. She looked so pale, her eyes so wide and frightened that he almost thought she’d run, but she didn’t. With shaky hands, she accepted the gun. She seemed to know how to handle it. Good. Stefano must’ve taught her how to shoot.
“What do you need me to do?” Her voice was steady.
“I got him in the leg. He’s not going anywhere. Just point the gun at him. That’s all you need to do.” The cops had a fifteen-minute response time in this area, Marco remembered. Someone must’ve heard the shot this fucker fired.
Marco needed this mess swept under the rug fast, so he called Ryker. Ryker immediately picked up. He could hear Sky, Ryker’s wife, asking him what happened in the background.
“Get in touch with Chief Miller,” he told Ryker. “This doesn’t get to the press.”
“You got it, Marco,” Ryker answered. “I’ll be right there with two of our men in ten minutes or so.”
Marco ended the call. He gently pried the gun from Lila’s fingers and walked up to the bastard who tried to take his life on a very important day. The drug addict was still trying to reach for the gun which had slipped from his fingers when Marco shot at him.
He kicked the gun away. The man stared daggers at him and was about to open his mouth but Marco bent down and shoved the gun right against the bastard’s shaved skull. He noticed the tattoos there. Russian stars. The Bratva. He silently swore. This guy wasn’t anyone he recognized, probably just a disposable fall-guy from the Bratva.
“Marco? I think I hear police sirens,” Lila whispered. “Are you going to kill him?”
She stuttered on those last words. The druggie’s crazed eyes moved from him to her and Marco didn’t like that. This fucker had seen her, the two of them. If the bastard somehow managed to get out of this mess, he’d only blab whatever he saw to his superiors. Not good. If the police arrived, they’d arrest this lowlife, but the Bratva could still bail him out.
He had to make a split-second decision now. It was no longer just his life he was concerned about but also Lila’s, and the Bratva were a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s necessary,” he told her.
The druggie’s mouth fell open, probably about to plead his case. Marco had no mercy left in his body. This bastard could’ve shot Lila. If he’d somehow managed to shoot Marco, he’d turn on his woman next. She would be nothing more than collateral damage. That was unforgivable.
At this close a range, he’d create an unavoidable mess. Marco pulled the trigger, grimacing as blood and chunks of brain matter splattered his shirt. He stood back up and realized he must look like a horror show to Lila.
Fuck. Marco wanted to slowly ease her into his life, not terrify her on their first date. Lila was a Rossi, so she didn’t run. She wasn’t a coward, but would this event change everything between them? Marco couldn’t let her go now. She’d witnessed him kill someone, but he couldn’t afford the druggie to rat anything back to the Bratva.
“We’ll wait here until Ryker and more of my men arrive. Don’t worry about the police,” he said.
She was still staring at the dead man. Lila was sheet white and looked like a corpse herself. Marco grasped her arm and she let out a shrill little cry.
“Lila, are you with me?” he asked.