Page 63 of His Passerotta

“How did you know Finn wouldn’t just kill her?” Maksim asks.

I frown at him as if he’s even dumber than I thought then splay my palm toward Bailey. “Look at her. Only you would be careless enough to waste that beauty.”

His lips purse as he studies Bailey. She’s gorgeous even with her current resemblance to a raccoon, but Maksim doesn’t seem as easily persuaded as the rest of us mere mortals. Still, I think he gets it.

“Worst case scenario, he kills her. More likely, he spends some time with her, opening his big fucking mouth like Finn does, then puts her on the street. I would’ve been back to claim her in a few days.”

He nods slowly, carefully contemplating it. “It’s a good plan. Why would you not go through with it?”

“Because I have a heart of gold,” I sarcastically say. “And because, like I said, she’s too pretty to waste. I’ve become a bit territorial over this one, so for your sake, I hope you didn’t harm her.”

He shakes his head, not the least bit concerned. “No one hurt the girl… We’re allies. In the future, I’d appreciate it if you could be more generous with your secret agendas.”

“Then they wouldn’t be secret,” Lorenzo chimes in for the first time. I’ve been ignoring his presence, but I’ll have to face him soon enough. He’s kept quiet about Bailey up to this point, but everyone has their limits. It’s only a matter of time before this reaches his.

Maksim is quiet for several seconds while he appears to think, but finally, he looks at Hugh and nods to the van.

Hugh pulls out a cell phone, the burner Bailey got last night, and tosses it to me. I catch it with one hand as he starts for the van, and Maksim lags only long enough to give us a dismissive dip of his chin.

As soon as they’re driving away, Lorenzo looks at me with a smirk. “Your spy, huh?”

I hold out my hand, knowing he has a knife on him. “Go fuck yourself.”

“Clever lie, really. That one could’ve fooled Settimo.” He tucks his hand inside his suit jacket to retrieve the blade. “Then again, that doesn’t say much.”

“Just give me the fucking knife.”

He snickers before handing it to me so I can crouch behind Bailey. She’s tense, and her breathing is still erratic, reminding me that this is serious for her. I run my hand gently up her arm while using the other to slice the zip tie around her wrists.

As soon as she’s free, she jerks her hands in front of her while I pull the gag from her mouth and cut the cloth.

She spins on her knees to face me, immediately wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself against my chest. She doesn’t whimper, so I don’t think she’s crying, but her chest puffs with each breath.

“Thank you,” she whispers like she doesn’t want Lorenzo to hear.

I pull back, caressing her jaw. Still no tears. She’s just shaken.

“Are you okay?” I ask, flicking my eyes over her face. “Did they hurt you?”

She shakes her head. “Hugh just tied me up and put me in the van. It felt like a long drive. I thought…”

I don’t need her to finish the thought. She thought they were going to kill her.

“You’re safe.” I move one hand to her shoulder to squeeze, then I lean in to kiss her. I don’t know if I’m trying to comfort her or if it’s an impulse from thinking about it so often, but either way, her tense muscles loosen beneath my touch.

Then I remember Lorenzo.

I break the kiss, glancing at his curious expression before standing and helping Bailey up.

“I’m taking her home,” I say with my back to my brother.

“No.”

My muscles coil at his voice, and I slowly turn to face him. I expect Bailey to hide behind me, but she hovers at my side instead.

He tries to smile to soften the command, but he’s horrible at forcing it. It comes off awkward. To Bailey, probably even frightening since she doesn’t know him.

“I mean, you both should stay. You’ve barely made an appearance at the reception.”

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