“I’m not so sure about this, Luka.”

Cat’s shaky voice both amused and humbled me. The woman could turn into a sexual goddess at the drop of a hat, then morph into an adorable, self-conscious girl-next-door with the flip of a switch. I had to constantly remind myself that despite her sometimes jaded, world-weary outlook, she was still just twenty-three. And I suspected she’d seen more in her life than she had yet to tell me.

Something had been missing from the story about her sister’s disappearance. I didn’t know what, but Cat had been holding back. I knew it with every fiber of my being.

I’d have her secrets.

There was no other option.

“I wouldn’t bring you if I wasn’t sure about it, Cat.”

For about the fortieth time, she adjusted the tissue paper inside the small bag she was carrying. “But this is your family. I’m not sure it’s even appropriate that I be there.”

That ridiculous statement had my feet stutter-stepping on the sidewalk. We were about a block away from my parents’ brownstone in Prospect Park. The chilly February temperature wasn’t too brisk, so we’d decided to walk to their place from the gym.

“Why the hell wouldn’t it be appropriate?” I barked.

I forced myself to calm the hell down when she flinched at my harsh tone. “I’m living in the apartment above your gym. I’m teaching pole dancing classes at your gym. And I’m a—” She cut herself off, exhaling heavily. “A stripper. I doubt your mother would appreciate you bringing a girl like that home to meet her.”

Mm, yeah, can’t take hearing that.

I walked her backward until she was flush against a brick building at the mouth of an abandoned alley. Off the street enough that I could say what needed to be said without our fellow citizens overhearing. I dropped the bag I’d been holding that contained Lexi and Nico’s baby shower gift and caged her against the wall with my arms.

“I don’t want to ever hear you talk about yourself like that again, understand?” I said through gritted teeth. “Stop acting like you’re not good enough for anyone above gutter trash. You’re insulting both of us when you say shit like that, so just stop. Any man would be lucky to bring a woman like you home and would see it as a fucking privilege.”

Which I did.

I was far from being an old hand at bringing girls home to meet Mom, so I wasn’t entirely sure how this was supposed to go. I’d never had a steady girlfriend before, so I didn’t even know how to be a boyfriend. If that’s what I am. The fact that it had taken Cat some serious, hardcore convincing to come today suggested that I shouldn’t jump the gun on labeling whatever we were. I was getting the distinct impression that if I dropped the “G” bomb on her, she’d hightail it out of the city so fast she’d leave a dust trail behind her.

Which both offended and infuriated me.

Patience. You’ll get her there.

“There are just a lot of things I can’t talk about.” She waved her hand in a nervous gesture. “You know, about where I come from and Luciana… I don’t want to be rude by deflecting their questions.”

I put my hand up, stopping her. “I’m way ahead of you. Believe it or not, my parents are used to their sons showing up with mysterious women who like their privacy. But they respect our judgment. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. From any of them.”

When her little body squirmed against me, every single thought bouncing around in my skull turned dark. In the most sexually forbidden, erotic way possible. Now was not the time to fuck her in a dirty alley. The idea sounded fantastic, but we had some place to be, and we weren’t exactly hidden from view. But the day before, in that locker room…

Hottest, tightest fuck of my life.

She was unbelievable. The passion, the desire, the uninhibited way she told me exactly what she needed and wasn’t afraid to demand it in graphic detail. I had never been with a woman like her in my life, and couldn’t imagine having anything less than her now.

I hadn’t just fucked her.

She’d fucked me. Like, really fucked me.

I was done for other women. All other females in the universe were dead to my dick. Because only one could get it hard and aching anymore. Much like it was right then, stiffening against Cat’s leg. As amazing as the locker room sex had been, I’d sworn to myself that the next time would be gentler, in a bed. I didn’t want her to think this was all about quick fucks on our lunch breaks for me. Cat deserved more care and consideration than that.

But all of that tended to fly out the window whenever she acted like she couldn’t care less about a bed. Whenever she encouraged me to make it as rough and sweaty and obscene as possible.

Her eyebrow notched up when she felt the hardness against her inner thigh.

I shrugged. “Can’t help that. It’s nothing new. I’m just not hiding it from you anymore.”

“And I’m not asking you to.”

Like the exasperating little minx she was, she thrust her hips into me.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “You know, we can give Nico and Lexi their baby gift anytime.”

She smiled. “Keeping you from your family on such an important day is certainly not going to win me any points.”

Wait, did that mean she wanted to win points with my family? I felt a weird pang in my chest at the thought.

“These are the kinds of family events that my má says are sacred,” she added.

Her face fell at the mention of her mother, so I covered her mouth with mine. I didn’t want to see her sad today. Ever since I met her, she hadn’t smiled enough, hadn’t laughed enough. And for good reason. But today, I wanted to give her just a microscopic bit of normalcy amidst the foggy chaos her life had been over the past several months.

Her silken lips slid over mine with sensual confidence. I had already memorized how her full upper lip fit against mine, how wild it drove her when I lightly sucked on it. The fact that she was letting me do this out in public was not only a gift, but a step in the right direction.

I didn’t know where this road was taking us.

I just wanted to keep traveling down it until we hit dirt.

Then we’ll just go off-road and make our own path. Together.

Yeah, I needed to get my shit together before my brothers saw me like this.

Having distracted Cat from her melancholy, I pulled out of the kiss. Something I wouldn’t have thought myself capable of mere days ago. But now I had the promise of Cat’s body waiting for me once we were alone, so I could be patient. Sort of. Besides, I was learning that with her, the buildup could be its own form of foreplay.

“Enough groping me, woman. At least try to restrain yourself from attacking me when we’re around my parents.”

Another goal accomplished. Making her laugh.

“Who attacked whom, corazón?”

Grabbing her hand, I dragged her behind me as my long stride ate up the rest of the distance to their brownstone. If I saw her pressed up against that wall for one more second, all ripe for the taking, I’d rut her like a wild animal during mating season.

“Keep talking that Spanish to me, baby girl, and you’ll have to use your pepper spray on me.”

She scoffed. “Says the man who told me how beautiful I was in Italian when I answered my door earlier.”

I grinned to myself. My parents took our family heritage seriously and had insisted on teaching all of us Italian from a young age.

I squeezed her hand tighter. My chest hadn’t felt so light, so free of complicated emotions in…maybe ever.

“Pick up the pace, bellissima. We’re going to be late.”

 

 

They were having a girl.

Nico hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, but he’d been secretly hoping for a girl. Same with Mom—a.k.a., the over-the-moon nonna-to-be—who had been clutching her rosary non-stop, praying relentlessly for more estrogen in our ocean of Rossetti testosterone.

“What the hell are we supposed to get this kid for her first Christmas?” I looked around the sunroom, where Lexi and Nico had been opening their gifts. Scattered wrapping paper and bows in every shade of pink you could imagine littered the floor. “She’s got enough diapers, clothes, and toys here to last her until she’s five.”

Nico huffed. “Shows how much you know about women. We have six bedrooms and I still don’t think there’s enough closet space for everything this baby supposedly needs.”

Yeah, he sounded really annoyed about that. As he pseudo-complained with a grin on his face and a wistful lilt in his voice.

My attention was drawn to the other side of the room where all the girls were crowded around Lexi as she opened the gift from Cat and I. Part of it was practical stuff—swaddles, onesies, burp rags, etc. But the item they were “awing” over was the one Cat alone had contributed. A tiny beaded bracelet, made specifically for babies to ward off mal de ojo, or “evil eye”, in Latin cultures.

“I know it sounds like a silly superstition,” Cat said as she explained the bracelet’s purpose to Lexi with the cutest blush on her face. “But my brother, sister, and I all wore one when we were infants, and we were hardly ever sick. At least, that’s what my má claims.”

Lexi fingered the small pink and ivory-colored beads of the tiny bracelet, smiling widely. “I love it, Cat. That’s really thoughtful of you.”

“Plus, it’s never too early to teach her how to accessorize,” Jasmine chimed in, making all the girls laugh.

I watched as relief crossed Cat’s face at Lexi’s acceptance of her gift. In fact, she had relaxed more and more over the course of the afternoon as she bonded with all the girls, Gia and Roxy specifically. It started the moment Cat met Mom and handed her the gift she’d made just for her.

“It’s probably stupid,” Cat had said to me on the walk over. “Handmade gifts are considered cheap these days, aren’t they?”

I’d shot her an admonishing look. “They’re considered thoughtful and meaningful.”

When Mom opened the gift with a curious smile, her entire face had softened with affection.

“It’s a gardening apron,” Cat had explained, referring to the crochet apron with multiple pockets. “Luka said you enjoy working in your garden, and I thought this might be more convenient than carrying a tool caddy around everywhere.”

She’d winced in what had looked like humiliation.

Until Mom pulled her in for a tight hug.

Then Cat had hugged my mother back, fiercely. When they separated, her eyes had been noticeably watery, something she’d frantically tried to hide.

“This is wonderful, Cat,” Mom had said, holding the apron out for her inspection. “I can’t imagine how long it must have taken you.”

Cat had ducked her head sheepishly. “I’m a night owl and an early worm, so I have a lot of time to spare.”

She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.

“I got a call this morning from the state prosecutor’s office,” Bryce Connelly said in a low voice, jarring me back to the present. He spoke lowly, so only us guys on this side of the sunroom could hear him. “And you’re not going to like it.”

“Not like what?” Dad asked sharply from the wicker chair he lounged in.

“Santi Gabbiano’s trial has been moved back another month.”

We all released simultaneous curses under our breaths.

“What’s the problem now?” Cris spat, his gaze flickering over to his wife before returning to us. “Last time, the defense team tried getting some bullshit past the judge about Santi not being fit enough to stand trial due to his physical health.”

Bryce’s face was grim, raising my alarms. “Well now, it’s the witnesses for the prosecution. They’re being threatened, and some are retracting their statements.”

“They were warned about the possibility of threats,” Rome pointed out, his finger peeling back the label on his beer bottle. “They’re all under protection, aren’t they?”

Bryce nodded, his face looking wan. “They are, but they’re not the only ones being threatened. The prosecution team have all received death threats. Including the lead prosecutor.”

“Carmen LaMacchia?” I asked.

Another grave nod from the detective.

His expression was understandable, considering that was the woman he looked at with far more in his eyes than professional courtesy.

“That means he’s got to watch his back behind bars for another month,” Ace spoke up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Raphael tries to knock him off. After all, Santi did go after his Boss seat.”

“Speaking of Raphael,” Dad cut in, “where are we on the trafficking situation?”

I threw my arm across the back cushion of the wicker sofa. This position gave me a better angle to stare at Cat. “My win last week gave me an in with a Romanian named Ivanov.” The man in the white suit. “Ace ran his name through some international databases. He’s been on Interpol’s short list of suspects for international sex crimes, but they’ve never been able to get enough evidence on him. The only thing he’s ever been charged with was operating an illicit massage parlor in Bucharest, but he somehow managed to avoid conviction.”

“He’s heavily connected, then?” Cris asked.

Rome nodded. “And well financed. Seems like he’s ready to do business with us.”

Dad leaned forward in his chair. “And you think he’s here in New York for the next auction?”

Once again, my gaze found Cat across the room, who was giggling at something Gia was whispering to her. I hadn’t told anyone about Luciana except for Rome, and this sure as hell wasn’t the place to share with everyone else.

“Most definitely,” I answered Dad. “There’s no doubt he’s deeply involved. I have another fight in a few days—”

“And we have a plan to flush information out of him,” Rome interrupted.

My jaw clenched, my fingers clutching the cushion so hard I heard a seam pop.

It was his dumbass plan and one I’d never agreed to. Wouldn’t agree to in a million fucking years. Because this one put Cat’s life at risk, and that was something I would never allow. Even if it could get Ivanov to spill his bloated guts, it still wasn’t worth putting Cat in a situation where her safety would be comprised.

That was unacceptable. Period.

“What’s the plan?” Ace asked.

I glowered at my twin, whose expression said you got a better one?

Bless my sweet, saint of a mother because she saved me from answering the question.

“No, no, no,” Mom sang from the rocker next to Lexi. She was waving her arms at us like she was guiding an airplane around the tarmac. “I forbid any business talk. All your surly faces tell me you’re discussing something unpleasant at my grandbaby’s shower.”

Nico frowned at us from his chair on Lexi’s other side. “What am I missing?”

Mom pushed to her feet, tripping over the area rug, to stand in the middle of the room. It was no secret that Valentina “Val” Rossetti was the biggest lightweight in Brooklyn. “Not today, boys. I’m not hearing it and neither is my granddaughter.” Then she lifted her glass in a one-woman cheers and knocked back its contents.

Roxy and Jasmine looked ready to catch Mom in the event she started to tip over. Lexi was rubbing her five-months swollen belly with a dreamlike expression, as if she hadn’t heard a word Mom said. Nico was also rubbing his wife’s belly, but he only had eyes for her.

And Gia was recording everything on her phone.

“Mom, you know that’s hard pink lemonade, right?” she mused.

Mom’s brow furrowed as she examined her empty glass. “You don’t say. I guess that explains why I couldn’t stop laughing every time Lexi said ‘Boppy Pillow’ earlier.”

That set everyone off.

Rome spit out his beer. Dad shook his head, smiling widely at his wife. It looked like Lexi was crying from laughing so hard. Pretty sure Jasmine may have fallen out of her chair too.

And Cat…she was smiling.

But it was almost sad. Longing.

“That reminds me of when you chaperoned my eighth-grade winter dance,” Gia wheezed. “You remember that?”

Mom waved her off. “It wasn’t as bad as you make it out to be, Gianna.”

“What happened?” Cat asked.

Gia wiped the tears from her eyes. “It was a Sadie Hawkins dance, where the girls ask the boys to dance, right? But everyone’s being kind of shy and no one’s really dancing. So, my chaperone mother here took it upon herself to get the ball rolling and drag every boy in my class onto the dance floor with her.”

Cat pressed her lips together in an effort to contain her laughter. “How does alcohol come into play?”

Gia jabbed her thumb toward our mother. “The woman didn’t realize some of the boys in my class had spiked the punch. After five cups, she was three sheets to the wind when she tried teaching my first crush how to mambo.”

Cat slapped her hand over her mouth at the same time Roxy snorted. Ace hid his smile behind his hand while Nico took a healthy pull from his glass of whiskey.

“I got called into the counselor’s office Monday morning,” Gia added. “She was concerned about whether or not my mother was receiving treatment for her alcoholism.”

“Did anything happen with your crush after that?” Cat asked, still giggling.

“Oh, yeah, something happened. He walked up to me at my locker a week later and handed me a folded-up note. I, of course, thought it was for me.” She shook her head. “Nope. He’d fallen in love with another Rossetti woman.”

Cat bit her lip. “You’re kidding.”

Gia sighed. “The first line of the note literally read, ‘Will you be my Valentina?’”

The whole room burst into another round of guffaws.

Cat was full-on belly laughing, while Cris barked out a loud laugh from beside me. I even heard Rome chuckle once.

“It’s a damn good thing I never had a sister,” Gia grumbled. “If she had tried pulling that crap on me, she wouldn’t have left adolescence alive.”

“Uh, hellooo.” Roxy bumped her shoulder with Gia’s. “You do have sisters now.”

Gia scowled. “Yeah, but you guys are all so dick-whipped, there’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Four people spoke at the same time in response to that comment.

“Gianna Isabelle!” Mom scolded. Then went to refill her glass.

“Damn right,” Cris postured, puffing out his chest.

“Thank you.” Ace raised his beer bottle.

“At least we know mine works,” Nico quipped as he went back to rubbing Lexi’s belly. “Can’t speak for anyone else.”

One second I was grinning, and the next I was staring across the room in horror. A tear slipped down Cat’s face. One she quickly wiped away to replace with a jubilant smile. But I saw it.

Ah, Jesus. Way to go, dumbass.

I couldn’t believe I’d never considered how being around my family would affect her. Of course, it would remind her of Luciana and the rest of her family she’d left back in Mexico. Of course, she would be reminded of how much danger her sister was in and of her own fear for Luciana’s safety.

Of course, the despair was inevitable.

And I saw the moment it began to sink in with her.

I had to rectify my mistake.

Once we left my parents’ place and I had her all to myself, I planned to do exactly that.