Page 53 of Twisted Knight

“Will anybody else be joining you this evening?” the hostess asked, resting her hand on the burgundy-colored menus I knew by heart.

I raised India’s hand up and kissed the back of it. “No, it’s only us.”

The hostess let out a little sigh at the same time as India and I had to do my best to stop from grinning at their reactions.

“Very well.” The hostess grabbed two menus and gestured for us to follow her to the back of the restaurant.

We loved our privacy in the famiglia, especially with what happened to Luca’s father and how he’d been gunned down in a restaurant. Now we made sure to sit as far as possible from the windows.

“This place looks amazing,” India said in awe as we sat in the booth, hiding us from unwanted eyes or ears. This was useful when we were discussing deals that needed to be done in public, but I was more than grateful tonight to be in my bubble with India.

“It does,” I agreed, reluctantly letting her go of her hand to allow her to look at the menu.

“Do you come here often?” she asked curiously as she scanned the menu.

“I used to. Luca owns it.”

She looked at me with wide eyes. “He does?”

I laughed and nodded. “Yes, I even helped him figure out the menu.”

“Wow…” She looked down at her menu before closing it and resting her hands on top of it. “Since you’re basically the expert, pick something for me.”

“Okay.” I once again felt the warmth in my chest at the trust she put in me, even if it was a trivial one. “Anything you don’t like?”

“No, just pick.”

Once the waitress came, I ordered two ossobuco and some Dolcetto wine.

After we ordered she leaned closer and reached for my hand.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She cocked her head to the side.

I leaned back on my chair. “Like what?”

“Like you expect me to bolt any minute.”

“Ah.” She was perceptive, and I didn’t know if it was due to her field of work or our connection. “I wonder when will be the point I’ll say or do something that will make you run in the other direction.”

“I won’t.”

I nodded, then grabbed my glass of wine and took a sip. “We investigated you before letting you come,” I admitted. “You don’t seem surprised.”

She shook her head a little, grabbing her glass of wine too. “I’m not. Knowing your line of work? I could not expect otherwise.”

“I think it’s only fair for me to start sharing as well.”

“Only if you want to.”

“You know most of us have nicknames. Luca was the Broken Prince. Matteo is the Cruel King.”

“Very fitting.”

“Do you want to know what they call me?”

She looked at me silently, inviting me to continue.

I took a deep breath, apprehension growing exponentially. Sharing with her was risky but I had to. If we even had a small chance to build something, she had to know some of my darkness.

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