Page 85 of The Enforcer

Nicola calls to us. We’re docking. I see someone jumping and waving. It takes me a few moments to realize that I’m looking at my sister. I’ve never seen her this happy.

I’ve never been this happy.

I rest my nails against the back of Alfonso’s hand. “Last night, when you were inside me, I decided to stay in Italy for a little while longer,” I say, and he groans. And then I scrape my nails down his hand, and he moans into my ear, his hips pressing forward into my ass. “Glad you’re catching up.”

Zahra

“So, how was Positano?” I ask, even though I can guess by the way Alfonso is holding onto my sister’s hand. He looks like he’ll punch a hole in anyone who gets too close to her.

She rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says.

My mouth falls open. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry.” She rolls her eyes again before looking at me with sincerity in her gaze. “Sorry I came here to bring you home. That’s not my job. From here on out, I just want to be your sister. Not another auntie.”

I’m at a loss for words, and there are tears in my eyes.

“Amore,” Giulio whispers.

“If you hug me, I’m going to take it all back,” Zoe warns.

So I throw myself into Alfonso’s shocked arms. “Oh my God, thank you,” I tell him. “I don’t know what you did. I mean, I can guess. Please keep doing that. Thank you.”

Zoe sighs irritably.

Giulio has to pull me off of him. “Stay away from her,” he tells Alfonso.

The other man looks ruffled and bewildered.

“Thank you,” I say again, emotion making my voice break.

“My God, are you pregnant too?” Zoe shrieks.

“Zahra?” Giulio gasps.

And I roll my eyes at him. “Still on birth control,” I sigh. “You know this.”

“Hallelujah, amen,” Zoe breathes.

Giulio

We head straight to the airport.

Normally, we would never travel together, but these are special circumstances.

“How long?” Alfonso asks, his face red with fury.

I hadn’t wanted to tell him this yesterday. I was hoping it wouldn’t be true by the time he returned. I wasn’t so lucky. “I haven’t heard from Salvo in nearly forty hours.”

He curses, and he has a reason to. If Andrea was telling the truth and the Serpente Nero has decided to turn on him, we might be too late to save him; he and Shae and their baby might already be dead.

“Oh my God, this is amazing,” Zoe says.

We turn to see her and Zahra sharing a box of hot zeppole.

“Right?” Zahra laughs.

Alfonso and I don’t talk about what we will tell them. If we’re right — if we’re too late — nothing we say will heal this wound.

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