I KNEW HER FUCKING NAME.

“Summer,” I taunted.

“Shade,” she whispered, breathless.

“Who’s using pet names now?” I challenged, fucking with her because I liked the blush on her face.

“What?” Looking shocked, then affronted, she frowned. “You said your name was Shade.”

“No,” I corrected. “I told you to call me Shade.”

“So what’s your name?”

Enjoying sparring with her too damn much, I fought a smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Nope.” Quickly looking away, she crossed her arms. “Don’t care.”

“Sure, princess, keep telling yourself that.” I glanced at her tits that were pushed up by her crossed arms. “It’ll be our little secret.”

Before she could give me more attitude, my burner rang.

Hating the smaller phone, I answered on speaker. “Shade.”

“We got a problem,” Luna stated.

“Fucking Cara.” I knew our exfil had been too easy.

“Not her, Antonio.”

“I figured.” Remembering Summer, I warned Luna. “Hold on, you’re on speaker.”

“This involves her,” Luna said before I could get the cell to my ear.

“How does any of what happened involve me?” Summer asked.

I held a finger up to Summer and spoke to Luna. “Did you let Vincenzo know it was his crazy wife who came after me?” If I was a dick, I’d blame Luna for putting me on the damn assignment in the first place. That woman was looking for a way out from day one, but not a legit one. She wanted another man to replace the one she wanted to get rid of.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t care how it happened, even though he’s got her phone tapped and heard it all for himself. He’s not taking the fact that she came after you lightly, so you’re now enemy number one. Then add in the scene in the restaurant parking lot that tied up his men with the cops while his trusted driver whisked his wife away right out from under them again, and he’s officially losing his shit.”

“What else is new?” It was the reason I wasn’t on the assignment anymore. The last time Antonio lost his temper was when Cara drove herself to go fucking shopping. Blaming me, he terminated his contract with Luna and brought in his own security from Sicily. “Tell him she’ll show back up back eventually.” She always did. I’d even driven her ass back a couple times.

“I tried. Vincenzo said he’s done.” Luna paused, then his tone turned solemn. “He’s not looking to keep her.”

“Fucking Christ.” I hated Cara, but I didn’t want her dead. “Find her and bring her in, then call the Feds. They’ll nut themselves to get a piece of her in exchange for WITSEC. In the meantime, I’ll watch my back till the Feds pick him up.”

“Already working on that angle, but we have another issue.” Luna stepped the whole fucking mess up a level. “Vincenzo heard Summer say her name on the call. Not only that, he heard her cuss Cara out, and whether or not he wants his wife back is irrelevant to that fact. You know how he is. He views the whole disrespect thing as a punishable offense. Now he’s not just gunning for you, but both you and Summer are in his sights.”

Anger flared. “He’s fucking insane.”

“He’s Antonio Vincenzo, that’s redundant,” Luna countered. “So, change in plans. You’re not coming back here. There’re too many of his men down here. Head to Christensen’s ranch in Ocala. I’ll text you the address. He’ll meet you there and wait with you until I get Ronan up there for backup. Once we get Vincenzo taken care of, the heat on you two should blow over.”

My day got fucking worse. Neil Christensen, former Danish Special Forces, friend of Luna’s, was a cagey, overbearing prick. He was the last person I wanted to owe a favor to. Not to mention, a ranch meant open land on all sides. I wasn’t fucking suicidal.

“Negative. I can’t watch my back on open land with only two other patrols. I’ll head across the state or north.” Luna would know what the fuck I was talking about.

I rented a condo in Miami Beach, but I had two properties that I owned that I could protect myself at. One was a penthouse with gated security and a single elevator, the other was a remote cabin in the mountains with only one access road. No one except Luna knew about my properties because this was the exact scenario I was hoping to avoid—the fucking mafia after me. But now I was burning one of my safe houses by taking a goddamn teenage client to one.

“Across the state is out,” Luna stated. “Vincenzo has operations out of Tampa.”

“Since when?”

“Since last month when he moved his cousin over there and took half his business out of Miami over a dispute with his brother.”

“Christ, is there anyone you don’t keep tabs on?” I didn’t know how the fuck Luna had the time.

“Yeah, anyone who won’t shoot me while I’m sleeping. You know what Vincenzo is like. Pendejo’s got no boundaries.”

No fucking shit, but Luna had dug his own grave on this one. “You had Vincenzo as a client before I came on the scene.”

“My biggest mistake when I started my business,” Luna admitted. “I was hoping I shook him when he severed the contract a few months ago.”

Luna probably would’ve if I hadn’t fucked Vincenzo’s wife. Then maybe her crazy ass wouldn’t have followed me. Then again, if I’d kept it in my pants, I probably would’ve still been there on assignment, racking up a portfolio of transgressions against Vincenzo I wanted no part of. Both were shit outcomes. “You’ll shake him when he’s dead.” A scenario I’d offered Luna a dozen times, and one I could’ve made to look like an accident.

“Let it go,” Luna ordered. “I don’t need an entire crime family after us.”

“Sounds like we already have one.”

“So far, it’s just Antonio. The family didn’t sanction this, which is the only good thing we have going for us right now.”

“Should’ve let me end that prick when I had the chance.” Fuck, I was pissed about this.

“Then we’d be dealing with his brother, Massimo, and you and I both know how that would’ve played out.”

“I wouldn’t have fucked with one of Massimo’s women,” I pointed out. “That paesan is crazy.”

“Exactly,” Luna pointed out. “Head north. Until I know if Vincenzo is somehow tracking you, I’m turning your Escalade’s GPS off. Power down this cell, confiscate hers, use your second burner and follow protocol to contact me when you get there. I’ll let Amherst know we’re moving Summer to a secure location until I can handle this.”

I hated taking a back seat more than I hated getting medically retired. “How long?”

“A week.”

“Luna,” I warned. If I spent a week with this chick, I’d either fuck her or kill her. And I wasn’t fucking a goddamn teenager.

“I know. I’m working on it. I’ll either get Cara to cooperate with the Feds or hand her back to Vincenzo.”

“The latter’s as good as signing her death certificate.” The hassle her crazy ass was causing me, I wasn’t sure if I cared anymore.

“Let me worry about it. Keep Summer safe so we don’t lose another client. Is there anything at your place that someone can use to track you north? Anyone else know about the location?”

“No.” Except some paperwork in my safe in my master closet, which they hopefully wouldn’t find. “But if those fuckers working for Vincenzo break into my place, just giving you a heads-up, I’m not gonna let that slide.”

“I’ll handle it. We’ve already tapped into the security cams at your building. Put me on speaker, and I’ll break the news to Summer. But next time, Jesucristo, don’t fuck a client’s wife in his bed.”

Christ. “He heard that?”

“That and more. Don’t fucking do that shit again,” Luna warned.

“Copy,” I grunted, putting the call back on speaker. “You’re on.”

“Miss Amherst,” Luna said tiredly. “There’s been a change in plans.”