Marco felt his phone vibrate under his pillow. He should check his messages, but he was loath to leave the bed and Lila. He opened his eyes, almost afraid she’d be gone, an apparition that visited him in the middle of the night, and yet there she was. She slept like she always did over the past week, facing him, her face pressed against his chest.
Seven days of bliss. Marco never understood happiness until now. Before her, his number one priority had always been the family business. Family came first, but now, he was rethinking his choices. He’d pulled his weight, seen his brother, Ryker and recently, even his cousin Lucas get hitched.
Maybe it was time he finally claimed a woman. Made her his wife. Something he’d thought he’d never do. His own mother died early, died in a shooting. A gang war. His father had been devastated, and seeing his proud old man broken down like that, he thought he’d never want to go through that ever again.
Women were a weakness—at least that was what he used to think, but Lila had brought him to his knees. His phone pinged again. Marco groaned and untangled himself from Lila. He snatched his phone from under the pillow and checked his messages.
The delivery was today. He nearly forgot. Marco looked at his prize soundly sleeping in his bed. He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss on her mouth. He wasn’t worried Lila would stir. She slept like the dead every night and the effect seemed to rub off on him. Marco experienced insomnia every now and then but not anymore since she started spending her nights here.
He slipped on a pair of jeans and left the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him. The doorbell rang. Marco opened to see some of his guys carrying boxes. Lila’s things.
“Morning, boss,” Johnny said.
“Where do you want these?” Lorenzo asked.
“Living room’s fine,” Marco said, stepping aside so they could enter.
He was surprised to see another familiar face tagging behind Lorenzo and Johnny. His brother always had the talent to blend into his surroundings. Matthias looked like any other average punk in the street, dressed in a hoodie and jeans. He could don a suit and look sharp if he wanted but Matthias always preferred to be anonymous.
“Did you bring breakfast?” he asked his brother.
Matthias showed him a brown paper bag.
He could smell coffee in the hallway and recognized the logo from one of his favorite sandwich places. “Come in.”
Matthias stepped in and lowered his hood. Marco still had trouble looking right into his brother’s eye without glancing at the scars that marred his face and the rest of him. His relationship with Matthias had always been complicated. A long time ago, a fucker had slipped through their defenses, mistook Matthias for him, and worked his knife on him. Matthias had survived, but he’d never been the same.
“Bad or good news?” he asked, gesturing to the dining table.
Matthias looked at the stack of boxes Lorenzo and Johnny brought in. “Does she know you took the liberty to move her things here?”
“I might’ve mentioned it before,” Marco said.
Matthias frowned. “Women don’t like it if you keep shit from them. That place means something to her. It used to belong to Stefano, didn’t it?”
Marco crossed his arms. “There’s a reason you came here and it’s not to talk about Lila.”
Johnny and Lorenzo were still there, he remembered. He’d let them grab a cup of coffee then dismiss them.
“You and her, seems serious,” Matthias said, beginning to bring out breakfast. He brought out two coffees and two salmon bagels. They sat at the table.
“What’s between Lila and me, that’s our business.”
“Lila understands our way of life, but she’s always been at the fringes, thanks to Stefano. Now she’s knee-deep in it like the rest of us.”
His brother didn’t need to remind him of that fact. Marco knew Lila deserved better. Better man. Better life. Too bad all she got was him, and he intended to keep her.
“Anything else about my personal life?” he asked in a biting tone.
“Dad visited her at the café yesterday. Seems they had a chat,” Matthias said.
Giovanni used to run the family with an iron will but he retired and handed the reins to him. That didn’t mean their old man had stopped interfering in other people’s business.
“Lila mentioned that,” he said slowly. He’d been relieved when she decided to quit her job at the grocery. Marco persuaded her to apply at one of the cafés the Familia owned and she seemed to like working there.
“Dad likes her. Always did. Bring her to our family dinner this weekend,” Matthias suggested.
“Fine.” He noticed Lorenzo and Johnny listening intently to their conversation. Marco shook his head in disgust. Horrible gossips. He knew they meant well, only wanted to see their boss happy, but everyone should back off and let him handle his damn personal life.
“As to why I’m really here,” Matthias began. “The heads of the Bratva want a meeting with us. They want a truce. The sooner the better.”
“Truce? They started this fucking war after gunning two of our men a year ago. Did they forget that already?” he demanded.
Marco thought of Lila’s devastated face five years ago. He could never forget the way she pounded her tiny fists against his chest, fighting him, fighting the world. The inevitable. Grief left its mark on her soul, on so many of them. That was part and parcel of the life they’d chosen but that didn’t mean Marco wouldn’t retaliate when they hurt any member of the Familia.
That was the reason why he set the police on them in the first place, why he wanted their businesses to take a deep plunge. Marco wanted them to seriously hurt. That drug arrest had already set them back, cost them maybe five million in losses.
“A truce,” Matthias repeated. “We both know the Bratva’s made of dicks who can’t keep their word, but a little peace and quiet won’t do the city any harm. Won’t hurt to see what they want.”
Marco’s first thought was refusal but he pondered on Matthias’s words carefully. When he first took over from Giovanni, he’d always resorted to force before other options. He made the hard decisions so the Familia could stay at the top. Marco knew fear wasn’t enough to rule a city. Respect had to come with it, so he’d show these Bratva fuckers the Severin Familia had honor.
“Set up the meet. Make sure it will be in neutral territory,” he said.
“Ryker and I don’t trust them either,” Matthias said with a shrug.
“Marco?” asked a sleepy, female voice.
Lila stood in the corridor, dressed in nothing but one of his shirts. Marco clenched his jaw. A tick rode his cheek. Possession filled him. He rose from his chair, not liking the fact Lorenzo and Johnny could see her half-dressed like this. Matthias wouldn’t give a damn because he had a woman of his own, but if Johnny and Lorenzo didn’t stop looking at her, he’d cut out their eyes.
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize you had company…” Lila trailed off then spotted the boxes in the living room. She was looking at one in particular, the one closest to her with the top barely sealed off. She walked toward it and peeled off the tape to hold out one book. She opened the flap and began taking out more books. She finally said, “These are mine.”
Marco had a feeling he’d just stepped on a landmine. He didn’t need this right now, not with the Bratva meeting coming up.
“Are these all my things?” Lila directed that question at him. Her tone was accusatory. This was one argument he couldn’t brush off.
“We’re leaving,” Matthias told Johnny and Lorenzo. His brother shoved the two other men out, leaving Marco to deal with the mess he’d created.
“I don’t have time for a fight. I have a lot to think about.” Marco immediately regretted the first words out of his mouth. She stomped up to him, looking like a mad little hellion, and poked a finger into his chest.
“Don’t have time? Don’t you think you should’ve discussed this with me first? Do those boxes contain everything I own?” she demanded. “You’re so used to making decisions for everyone, aren’t you?”
“This is for your own good,” he said. She clenched her fists by her sides. He lifted her hand but she brushed him off. “I’ve told you plenty of times. That neighborhood’s pretty shitty.”
“That’s not the point. Ask those guys to come back, to return my stuff.”
Marco evenly met her gaze. “No.”
Didn’t she understand what he was asking for? Lila spent most of her time here anyway. What was the point of her returning to that crappy apartment? It was more convenient this way for the both of them.
“No? Are you kidding me?” She let out a laugh.
Fuck, but that defiant look only made his dick hard, despite the inappropriate situation. Marco wanted to bend her right over the couch or table and fuck the resistance out of her. They’d forget about this ridiculous argument but only for a moment. She’d be twice as mad later on, once she regained her senses. Marco stayed put.
“Fine. I’ll move them back myself,” she said.
Stubborn woman. What was he going to do with her? Marco grabbed her wrist.
“You’ll do no such thing. Listen to me, Lila. Every single enemy of mine in this city probably knows about you now. I need to keep you close. Safe.” Hell, he wondered if he should lock her in her for her own safety. Lila might end up doing something wild and dangerous if he didn’t step in.
She wrenched her hand from his and that stung a little. “You said you didn’t have any time. Go. Conduct your damn business.”
Realizing she wouldn’t listen to reason at this rate, he let her go. She retreated to the bedroom. Marco heard her slam the bathroom door a moment later. Marco was, in a word, pissed. Lila didn’t need to show such a prissy attitude, although he had to admit, he might’ve moved her things here too hastily. Maybe they should’ve discussed this together. He could have gone about it differently.
Even Matthias had told him it wasn’t a wise move.
A headache hammered at his skull. Marco would need to deal with this later. What did Lila have planned tonight? She had a day off, so she was meeting Sky and Lara for lunch. They were supposed to have dinner later, but she might decide to blow him off. Okay. That was actually good. Lila wouldn’t stand up her friends.
Marco picked up his phone and called Gino. He answered immediately. “I want you to watch Lila today.”
He always sent someone to watch her the moment she headed out to work. Even if that café was owned by the Familia, Marco wanted extra protection for her.
“Of course, boss. Can I ask why?”
Marco blew out a breath. “She’s pissed at me right now, so if she sees another Familia member she doesn’t recognize shadowing her, she’ll go ballistic. You, she has a soft spot for.”
“She does, doesn’t she? I’ll watch her like a hawk.”
“I’m counting on you,” Marco said. He ended the phone call. Marco called Sky next.
“You and Lila had a fight?” she asked. “Must be your fault.”
Why did the women in his family all have to be obnoxious? No wonder Lila fit in with Sky and Lara’s little club.
He sighed. “Just do me a favor and keep her busy.”
“And you’ll make it up to her?” Sky asked.
“I will.” That answer seemed to satisfy Sky. He ended the call.
Five minutes later, she hadn’t emerged from the bathroom. Marco decided to let her be. Perhaps when evening arrived, both of them would have sufficiently cooled off.