Page 5 of Not Mine to Keep

When our eyes met, she boldly stared back at me, and the playful, teasing looks she’d given me when I’d only been a stranger in a suit were gone. Unable to handle the sight, my attention settled on her hand as she flicked the strings.No ... fingered? Stroked?

I needed my late sister, Bianca, who’d been a writer and basically a human thesaurus; she’d tell me the word I was trying to think of, as well as make fun of me for sounding like a sex-starved teenager hoping to get laid for the first time.Fingeringthe strings should not have popped into my mind while watching her strum the guitar. Fuck, evenstrumstill sounded sexual to me right now. What was this woman doing to me?

Before I could contemplate writing a quick check, then ditching the plans to meet up with the man who’d sent me the invite—along with his demand to show up, or else—my burner rang.About fucking time.

I forced myself to walk away from Callie and took Gabriel’s call outside on the balcony. “Where are you?” I nearly barked out.

“Not there.”

“That’s obvious. Why amIhere, though?”But really, why?I massaged my temple with my free hand as I went over to the railing, taking in the view of the river.

“I need to hire your secret little security firm that you and your family run on the side.”

At his words, my arm fell and I bowed my head. “You’re out of your mind.” And apparently, our firm’s existence was no longer a secret to criminals. I wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.

“It’s a long-term gig. Three months. Maybe six,” he went on. His Italian accent would have stood out way more than mine had he been the one talking to Callie.

“Are you high? What’s wrong with you?” Realizing the song was coming to an end, I faced the main room. “There’s no way in hell my family would—”

“You’re indebted to me, Alessandro. You owe me a favor.” He repeated his words in Italian, as if trying to nail in his point.

A debt was a debt. Even when it came to a criminal. And this criminal was my former childhood best friend, so the lines were murky as fuck. The man had saved not only my life years ago but also Constantine’s while he’d been on a mission for the US government (a story for another day). Two lives saved in my world really meant two favors, so I was lucky he’d only demanded one from me “when the time comes.” And now was that time.

Ensuring no one was within earshot, I hissed, “No kidnapping. No killinggoodpeople. And anything else that’d send my soul to hell will be a hardnoas well.”

He laughed. “My friend, your soul is already heading there. But maybe this is your chance to redeem yourself.”

“We haven’t been friends in decades.”

“Don’t you wonder what would’ve happened had you stayed here instead of moving to America?”

Gabriel was one of those guys you wanted to hate, but he made it damn difficult, because he’d been the one to take the punches for me when I was bullied and Constantine wasn’t around to do it. He was also the guy who’d give you the shirt off his own back so you didn’t freeze.Buthe was a bad guy now. He’d chosen the dark side. He’d made the choice, and I had to drill that into my damn head.

“What do you want?” I was done with the back-and-forth.

“I told you, I want to hire you. I need your help taking down Armani DiMaggio.”

My stomach dropped, and a chill flew down my back despite the warm May air. “The head of the most powerful criminal organization in Italy?” I swallowed the knot in my throat and added, “And ... your boss.”

“Sì,”was all he gave me.

I closed my eyes and sighed. “And how do you propose I do that?”

“By marrying his daughter.”

“Come again?” My eyes snapped open, and that chill turned into an ice storm in my veins.

“I’ve been watching you on the cameras, and I believe you’ve already made her acquaintance.”

The band was now playing a new song, but she was no longer there. “Calliope,” I said under my breath, putting it together.

“No man can resist a siren like her, and that woman drew you straight to her. And now, if you want to save her, you’ll need to make her your wife.”

CHAPTER TWO

Calliope

“Imani, do you mind if I look at the guest list? I met a potentially big donor, and he—”

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