Page 33 of In the Cover of Darkness

Hearing footsteps approach from the side of the house I look, and to my surprise see Ace heading toward me, a tentative look on his face.

“Based on the look you're giving me right now and the fact that I'm going to have to buy a new boxing bag because of the way Dante’s hitting it, something happened?”

“Ughhhhhhh,” I moan, resting my forehead on my knees. “I might have been a bit hard on the big man earlier. He was a little intense is all.”

Mustering my best Dante voice I bark, “Why kill a man like that when you can do it like this."

“I get it, hecanbe a little intense at the best of times. I've also noticed that when you're involved he's even more so,” he chuckles, taking a seat next to me on the back steps. “Has D told you much about the different things that happened over the time he served?”

Shaking my head, I turned to look at Ace letting him continue.

“We've known each other since basically the beginning of our careers in the military. On our first deployment, we made some stupid mistakes and a small group of us got captured. We were held for barely 12 hours before a support team came in and rescued us, no one got killed or severely injured. We only got a little beaten and a lot shaken up. D said that he never wanted to feel that vulnerable if something like that ever happened again. We had training of course, we all did, but he decided he neededto be better, to have an edge in almost every possible thing he could think of. Weapons, hand to hand combat, physical strength, strategy, you name it, he studied and perfected it. It's a big part of why he got the reputation he did. Being his lackey, I just went along with him for the ride. His obsession let him cheat death more times than I can count, and saved me even more than that,” sighing and rubbing a hand over his face.

"I don't think it comes as a surprise for you to hear that he likes you, Mila, really fucking likes you, and I think that more than anything he’s faced before, it scares the shit out of him that something could happen to you. Be gentle with him because he's far more fragile than what people expect him to be. Underneath all that scowling and grunting is a soft gooey heart and it's only beating for you these days.”

With a hitched breath, I reply “Thank you for telling me that Ace, he is lucky to have you.”

“Okay, I'm going into town to annoy Nova,” a big smile on his face, gently squeezing my shoulder as he walked back the way he came.

It's a lot to process, everything Ace said. I don't see the big gruff man that everyone else does. He's just Dante to me, my comfort, my newfound home. So I need to go get my big girl panties on and apologise, then figure out a path we both agree on going forward. With this in mind, I take my empty cup to the kitchen and make my way back to the gym to figure out a solution, and hopefully save Ace's boxing bag.

Chapter 28 - Mila

"What do you mean he's teaching you how to use a switchblade,” Nova says, the strain somewhat obvious in her voice.

“Just what I said. I want to learn self defence and after a few ups and downs, we both agreed I'm not, nor will I ever be a soldier. He's going to stop treating me like I'm his new recruit, and will teach me the basics of a few disciplines. When I'm comfortable with those, we will look at some others,” shrugging my shoulders, as we pack online orders at Pages. “It's really interesting now that we're focusing on one thing and not all the ways to kill someone.”

“Bloody hell, he's as bad as Ace,” Nova shakes her head, smiling. "When I first opened the shop Ace got me anopening present. Do you want to know what it was? I'll give you a hint, it's eight inches and the colour is silver."

“What! He got you a knife … or a dildo. No, I'm sticking with a knife, Ace doesn't strike me as a dildo man, more a vibrator guy I think,” I say winking at her.

“Mila,” she yell whispers, as I laugh. “Wait, do you think he's into toys? No, don't answer that. All I'm saying is do not besurprised if Dante suddenly buys you a fancy throwing knife instead of flowers.”

The door opens and the overhead bell rings, Sam making his way toward us. He must be on his lunch break because he's in overalls with a large oil mark on his cheek.

“I did it, I asked her out.”

“AND?!” Nova and I both yell in unison.

“She said YES!”

We both let out a loud squeal, leaping at Sam to hug him, causing the few people enjoying their coffee to turn and stare.

“Wait, why do you look terrified?” Nova asks, concerned.

Taking a seat on the chair nearby, Sam rests his head in his hands leaning on his knees, and mumbles “I said I would cook her dinner.”

“And? What's the problem? Surely you can make her a meal. I don't think she’ll be expecting Coq au Vin, so something basic would be fine,” I try to reassure him.

“Unless she's weirdly obsessed with instant noodles, I'm basically fucked,” he groans into his hands.

“Noooo don't be like that, we can help you, can't we Nova?”

“Um no,wecannot help you because I burn boiling water. But you can help him and I'll be your moral support,” she says, smiling at us both.

“Okay, what about tomorrow night after closing? We can have a practice dinner, and can use the kitchen in Beans and make … and make … Mila this is where you say what we can make,” she gestures to me.

"Oh. Um. Okay. How about Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread and a green salad with vinaigrette?"

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