Page 53 of Little Rabbit

I move over to her, sitting down next to her and looking at her seriously. “Your optimism is something I admire about you, Sienna. But as much as I want you to keep it, you need to understand things are not like that in this world. Once you’re in, you’re in. There is no getting out, no bettering yourself. These men knew what they were signing up for. What they were signing their families up for. And as for their children, a provision of this life is that the families are provided for as long as they are loyal to the family they serve. More than likely, those sons will grow up and replace their fathers when they’re old enough. It’s a constant cycle.”

She scowls. “None of that makes it right.”

“Maybe not, but that’s the way things are.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from me, but I can see her wrestling with what I’ve said.

“Dante, I want intel on good targets for us,” Nico orders briskly, clearly finished with the discussion. “Then have our men get ready, but make sure they stay fucking quiet. Your interrogation will have to wait; we’ll handle that as soon as this is finished. We need three teams, and I want our security on high alert until we see their response. Triple the patrols, and all staff is to be escorted in and out, no exceptions. The teams leave as soon as we’ve identified targets, because I’m not waiting any longer to give these sons of bitches a chance to get in here.”

“Done,” Dante says, heading for the door. “I’ll also set up for double patrols of the house. Two guards per floor.” Then he’s gone, and I can hear him barking orders.

“Lazaro, ensure that our men are aware that they are to assist, and anyone disregarding orders will answer to me,” I add firmly. Lazaro nods and also steps out of the room. “Alonzo, you’ll assist Dante to identify our targets, and you’ll be leading one of the teams. I assume Dante will lead the other?” I ask Nico.

“Yes,” Nico answers. “Lazaro can lead a third if you’re willing to risk sending him.”

I snort. “As if that bastard would stay out of it. He’d be pissed if he didn’t have the option.”

“How on earth can Lazaro do something like that?” Sienna asks incredulously. “Have you seen the size of him? They’ll see him coming for miles.”

“Lazaro is far stealthier than you think, cara mia,” I tell her with an amused smile. “All the Cattaneos are. That’s why they are some of our best soldiers. They might be large, but they have trained their entire lives to go unseen when they need to.” Sienna looks doubtful but doesn’t argue.

“Alright, that’s settled. I’m going to get a couple hours of sleep before we have to deal with this bullshit,” Nico says briskly, rounding the desk.

“Goodnight, Boo Bear,” I call after him, unable to resist. “I know it’s not the same as sleeping with me, but if you need a little something, I’m sure Sienna and I could make room.”

Nico stills and turns around, dark and foreboding. Despite the tension in the room, a wicked grin splits my face, while Sienna just sighs and shakes her head. “Your father isn’t here to stop me from killing you, fucker,” Nico reminds me tightly. Then he’s out the door.

“I swear, sometimes you really do have a death wish,” Sienna huffs as she gets to her feet. “I’m going to bed.” She starts to head for the door, but before she can reach it, I move quickly and scoop her up. She gasps in surprise and glares at me when I carry her out of the office and down the hall toward the stairs. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m making sure you can’t get away from me. Besides, isn’t this what women want? A sexy man to sweep them off their feet and carry them to bed?”

She rolls her eyes. “Someone’s full of themselves,” she mutters. “I’m perfectly capable of walking, thank you. You can put me down.”

I hitch her higher against my chest instead, as I reach the top of the stairs and head down the hallway toward our room, ignoring her. I hear her grumbling under her breath, and I can’t help but grin. When we reach the bedroom, I walk inside, kicking the door shut behind me. I set Sienna on her feet but instead of saying anything to me, she walks into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her. I hear the lock snick before I can even start to head that way.

I narrow my eyes at the locked door. She really thinks that is going to keep me out? I shrug out of my suit coat, hanging it up on the back of the door, and try to battle back my irritation. Every time I think we make some headway, we take two steps back. I know she’s struggling with what was said downstairs, but instead of leaning on me, or talking to me, she’s shutting me out.

I grind my teeth as I angrily pull off my tie and then unbutton my shirt, hearing the water run for a bath. As much as I want to rage at her, I hold it back as I walk to the door and make quick work of the lock. I open the door just she starts to pull her shirt over her head. She stills and her eyes narrow on me as I shut the door behind me, leaning back against it. “Get out, Alessio,” she orders as she continues pulling her shirt over her head and letting it drop to the floor. Her black sports bra snags my attention for a brief moment before I force my gaze back up. “Did you not hear me? I said get out. I don’t want company.”

“Never lock me out, coniglietto,” I warn her tightly. “You have shit to say, you say it, because a lock is never going to stop me from getting to you.”

Her face twists into an angry scowl. “Maybe I just wanted privacy, ever consider that? What if I was on the toilet or something?”

“You really think that’s going to bother me? Cara mia, there is nothing about you that I won’t know by the time this is all done. And we both know that wasn’t what you were doing the minute you started your bath.” I ease away from the door and shrug off my shirt.

“For fuck sakes,” she mutters under her breath, but I can hear it anyway. I still, though, when she looks up at me says, “I need some time to myself, Alessio, and you need to not be an asshole and let me be, okay?” The statement is calm, even casual, but I don’t miss the look in her eyes. Confusion, uncertainty, and even desperation.

I don’t move for a moment, the two of us locked in a tension filled stare until she finally looks away and moves over to turn off the faucet in the tub. When she turns back, I’m already behind her, and she lets out a gasp of surprise as she stares up at me wide-eyed. “What’s wrong, coniglietto?” I ask her, reaching up and cupping her face in my palm. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me the problem.”

Apparently that’s the wrong thing to say, because she instantly pulls away and scowls at me. “I don’t need you to fix everything for me, Alessio.” She moves around me, and despite the urge I have to pull her back to me, I let her walk to the vanity and open the cabinet door. She pulls out a jar of bath salts and walks back over, the scowl still plastered on her face. “I’m perfectly capable of handling things on my own, and right now, I need to process some shit on my own without you hovering over me and acting all growly. So, get out and leave me be.”

She dumps the bath salts in the steaming water, and then lets out another gasp of surprise when I lean over and snatch the jar from her hands, setting it down on the thick ledge of the tub. She glares at me, but I ignore it. Instead, I pick her up and stalk over to the vanity, setting her down on top of it, caging her in with my arms, and lean down so we’re eye to eye. “You are not processing anything on your own, Sienna. I’m your man, and that means you tell me what the fuck is wrong so I can either fix it or figure out how to solve the problem. That’s how this shit works.”

Her eyes narrow at me. “You and I aren’t anything more than fuck buddies at the moment, Alessio. Which means you are not entitled to my thoughts all the fucking time.”

I clamp down on my temper, reminding myself that losing it isn’t going to be helpful. “That is where you are very wrong, coniglietto. Do not cheapen what we have by calling it what you’ve had with your previous lovers. Because there is nothing buddy about us.”

I expect her to argue with me, but instead, her eyes lose all their fire and her head falls back, eyes closing in defeat. It’s such an abrupt change that at first I’m not sure what I’m seeing, but then she opens her eyes and looks back at me with a pleading expression that makes my gut clench and my chest burn. “Alessio, I don’t have the energy to fight with you, so please, I need you to leave me be, okay? I just…I need to be alone.”

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