Page 72 of Under His Control

“We need to secure the properties better. If they’re going to continue to come at us, this can’t be happening. No one can be sneaking in.”

I nodded. “Are you suggesting a lockdown?”

“Damn near it. We have to. If they’re banking on immunity and protection from the law with this middle man in the governor’s office, they’ll only get cockier and attack more.” Romeo looked up as more men rushed in. He gave them directions where the men were, but he dismissed them from offering to assist him.

“Just a graze,” he said of his wound.

I waved them off.

Before we walked back to the house, I glanced at the men I killed.

“We’ve faced worse,” Romeo said. “We can handle this.”

“Hell, I have too.” I'd faced many hardships and horrors over the years I served.

I checked that he wasn’t dizzy from blood loss as we walked.

“But that was in war, in the army. For the military.”

Now, though, the stakes were higher. Much higher. I was far more vested in this version of “war” even though the adversaries were Mafia men and motorcycle gangsters.

It wasn’t the time to get comfortable. With this dead biker’s news of a different layer of support they were leaning on, we had to buckle in for more danger.

And I’d face it head on. I would do anything to protect these people, but most of all, Eva and Olivia.

I was vested inthem. In us. In the future we would have one day, but not while we had to fear more attacks.

As we walked back to the house, I saw the irony in the timing of this all. Right when I wanted to tell Eva that I wanted her to be my wife, to propose, I’d need to save that conversation for when it made more sense.

I went all my life not realizing I wanted a traditional family, not that the Constellas were a conventional family unit. A kid and a wife. But now that I’d had a taste of it, I would make it happen, one way or another.

I came here not knowing what direction my life would take me, but I knew now. And I’d never lose sight of where I belonged.

28

EVA

Liam returned after I’d already fallen asleep. Tessa received a call from Romeo that they were safe and the perpetrator was killed.Allthe perpetrators were killed near the back property wall.

Just like I’d known he would, Liam handled the danger well. He was my soldier man, undefeatable, but I still sighed with relief at the news.

“He’s still out there with them,” Tessa reported to me. “Still cleaning up and discussing with them what to do next.”

I yawned, nodding at her as I held Olivia to me. After the excitement of getting ready for the wedding—that felt like it happened a week ago, not hours ago—and the worry about not reaching the house, I was exhausted. “I expect he’ll be busy yet.”

“Heading to bed?” Nina asked.

“Yes.” I didn’t want to sound flippant or dismissive. I’d been tense waiting for word from Liam, but this was the second episode of that specific anxiety. When he went to plant those bugs at the MC’s compound, I was up so late, worried to the nth degree. Then tonight, anxious for word after he ran out of the house after that man, I experienced more of that gut-wrenching nervousness.

I wasn’t blowing anything off. I was desperate to see him. To kiss him. To check him over with my own eyes and hands andknowhe was all right.

But I also had faith in him. If he was wounded or needing any kind of help, Romeo wouldn’t lie about it.

Besides, this break-in would necessitate a lot of strategy and follow-up. Uncle Dante didn’t only raise me to be guarded. He’d also trained me from early on that sometimes, the men had meetings that took precedence over all else.

I could be patient. With Olivia comforting me, we could rest until he was prepared to call it a night. He would never suffer nagging pressure from me to check in. I got it. I really did.

Olivia didn’t stir as I took her to bed. I didn’t like letting her sleep in our bed with us, but since it was just me right now, I wanted to have her close. I laid her in bed and formed a line of pillows so she couldn’t roll out. She didn’t move much in her sleep. She was a cuddler, but not a busy toddler kicking and moving all over in her sleep. Liam and I were like that, too, so the risks of co-sleeping were likely lower, but tonight was an exception.

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