Page 7 of Loyalties & Longings

He has no freaking idea. It’s good to be out, but I already feel like I’ll be heading straight back there in the not-too-distant future. Either that or I’ll wind up dead at his hand, thanks to my hormones and his sexy-as-sin and dangerous-to-me daughter.

Chapter Four

Lake

To celebrate Blaze’s release, my father decided to have a special dinner, which I didn’t have to cook. It was an impromptu decision, but I don’t mind at all.

Having Blaze in my house for a few hours? Yes, please.

After dropping Blaze off at his apartment shortly after lunch, Dad swung past the liquor store and grabbed two cases of beer, a bottle of top-shelf scotch, and a couple of bottles of red wine. A little excessive for four people, although now that Blaze is out of prison, I’m sure we will have a proper family dinner every weekend.

Massimo’s family disowned him when they found out he started working for my dad. From the way he talks about them, he doesn’t seem bothered that he was exiled. So, he is at our house more often than not anyway.

As for Blaze, I’m not sure what his family situation is, but I’m pretty sure his family is just as absent, probably for the same reasons Massimo’s are.

Someone close to you getting involved in the biggest criminal operation supplying firearms and drugs within the city is hard to accept.

I started putting all the pieces of the puzzle together at an early age. Especially after seeing my father always on his phone and talking to Massimo in hushed tones, and then Massimo out ‘running jobs’ for him. Add to that the things I would overhear other people say about my family as they would walk past. Thinking they were being quiet and subtle, I learned to train my senses to hear everything that was said around me, which is why it was no surprise seeing and hearing what I did when Blaze killed that guy in cold blood, back when my infatuation with himstarted.

Massimo arrived not long after we returned from lunch and picked up the alcohol, letting himself in as usual. He started drinking as soon as he arrived and is already four beers in.

Fan-fucking-tastic, he is even more disgusting when he is drunk.

Thankfully, I’ll at least have Blaze here to talk to, acting as a buffer to distract me from Massimo’s unabashed gaze. It also helps that Blaze is actually really easy on the eye. I might even enjoy this family dinner.

I dish myself up some rice and place the container back on the table, reaching for the chicken with cashews and vegetables at the same time as Blaze. The moment my fingers graze his, I snatch my hand back, almost knocking over my wine glass in the process. My skin feels like it’s burning where we made contact, the touch giving me a jolt of surging heat as if I’d accidentally bumped my knuckle on a cooktop that had recently been turned off.

“Here, you first.” He hands me the container of food. His flaming gaze on me heats me somewhere at my core.

“Thanks.”

I glance at Dad, who seems to be oblivious to the clumsy yet charged exchange, then dart my eyes to Massimo in the hope he hasn’t noticed either. His ice-like eyes are studying us with predatory, unwavering attention. Of course, he has witnessed the whole awkward exchange. He slowly brings his beer bottle to his lips, and the corner of his mouth turns up with the ghost of a smirk. Something is playing behind his eyes as they shift between Blaze and me like he is devising a chess game in his head—planning and working out all the moves in advance to ensure he wins.

“So, Lake. Enzo told me that you just finished your bachelor’s in business management. That’s amazing. I bet you’re proud ofyourself.” Blaze strikes up a conversation that isn’t about Dad’s work. A slight blush creeps up my neck. I love the sound of my name coming from his mouth.

“Yeah, well, I figured I already basically knew the ins and outs of what’s involved from helping Dad with his clubs. Why not make it official on paper too?”

“Speaking of which,” Massimo interrupts to ask Dad. “You going to get Blaze to start off slow? After being in the clink for so long, he should take over from Giovanni, no? You know, maybe just be in charge of the clubs for now?”

“Nuh, I got big plans for this man,” Dad says, nodding in Blaze’s direction before stuffing a huge forkful of beef and black bean in his mouth.

Massimo mumbles something to himself under his breath.

To take away attention from Massimo, I think about what to ask Blaze first. I have a string of questions as I want to know everything there is to know about him. I don’t want to bombard him on his first night out of prison, though, so I settle for a simple one.

“What do you plan on doing with your first proper day out tomorrow?”

“Well, first thing, I’ll be going down to the Canine Training Facility and Boarding Kennel to pick up Lucifer,” he says, looking positively excited.

“Yeah, Dad told me he was paying for Lucifer’s stay and training for you when I flagged the monthly payments a few years ago. It’s great that you wanted him taken care of,” I say, sipping my wine before continuing. “It shows the kind of person you are… that you wanted to have your dog back when you got out and didn’t get rid of him. I love people who love animals.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Dad chips in, giving Blaze another slight nod. Unspoken words of gratitude.

Massimo grumbles something inaudible again while bringinghis beer to his lips.

“Yeah, I’d had him for a little over a year before I got sent away.” Blaze gives Massimo a sideways glance while taking a sip of his water. “He is the best dog a guy could ask for. He’s the only thing I care for and vice versa. No way was I giving him up, and I wanted to be certain he was well taken care of. Enzo helped make it happen, and I truly appreciate it. I actually called the kennel to see if I could pick him up this afternoon, but they said they need at least twelve hours to process his release papers and have everything in order for me. So, tomorrow it is.”

Massimo scoffs, but we all ignore him.

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