Page 24 of Little Dove

“Time to go, colombina,” I announce.

“Okay,” she says, though she doesn’t look excited by the prospect.

I pause. “Everything okay?”

She doesn’t answer right away, she just stares at the door. Finally, she answers quietly, “It just hit me that as soon as you open this door, my life is done. Up until now, being down here, there’s been a chance that you’re wrong, and this is all a dream. Opening that door and going outside, that makes it real, and it means my life is over. Everything I’ve worked so hard to build for myself is finished.” There’s a sadness that leaks into her voice, and it cuts deep into my chest.

“It’s not finished, Amara,” I promise her, cupping her face in my hand. Her eyes hold so many different emotions. “It’s simply paused for now. When this is all finished, I promise we’ll make your dreams flourish again. I just need you to trust me for now.”

“You keep saying ‘we’,” she whispers, eyes searching mine.

“Because the two of us, we’re going to be so much more than you think, Amara. I’ll give you some time to get used to it, but I’m only so patient.” Then I bend down to kiss her quickly on the mouth before I force myself to pull away. We don’t have a lot of time, and we need to get the hell out of here.

I take her hand in mine once I get the door unlocked and open, pulling her out into the gun shop. I notice several things at once. First, Alonzo isn’t alone, and he’s currently glaring furiously at a woman while she glares back up at him, clearly not intimidated. Next, there’s a giant black dog, complete with a thick gold chain around his muscular neck, sitting at the woman’s side and giving a low warning growl. That thing is huge; if he launches himself at Alonzo, he’s a dead man. The only reason I’m not pulling my gun is that Alonzo doesn’t look the least bit concerned—about the dog, anyway.

Who the fuck are they?

“If you ever do that again, I’m going to beat your ass, you irritating little witch,” Alonzo hisses through clenched teeth. “You’re lucky I even brought you. I should have left you tied up on the fucking plane.”

“Try it and see what happens, Goliath,” the woman tosses back. “And I don’t need Hades to do the work for me. One hard knee to the balls and a good shove and we’ll be yelling timber. Then we’ll see if what they say about a tree falling in the forest is true.”

She looks somewhat familiar but I can’t place her. She’s a good four inches taller than Amara, with bleached blonde hair that’s almost white in color and sits just at her shoulders. She’s wearing all black and her sharp green eyes are thickly lined, but somehow it works for her. Her lips are painted a dark red, and right now they’re pulled down into a deep scowl.

Alonzo’s face goes red with fury. Shit. This woman is playing with fire. I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried. Alonzo can handle himself, but something tells me that this woman is a major pain in the ass.

“What the fuck is going on here?” I demand, pulling Amara behind me as we step further into the room.

Neither of them turns to look at me, too focused on each other, but the dog, Hades, does. His head whips around to look at us, his growl stopping as he takes us in. I can see the intelligence in his amber eyes. He must not see me as a threat because he turns back toward Alonzo, and the growling starts again.

“I told you to stay in the fucking car, and what do you do? You get out and start shooting. Putting yourself in danger,” Alonzo snarls at her. He bends forward so his face is only inches from hers. “When I give you an order, you obey. Do you understand?”

“I understand that you’re an idiot for thinking I’m going to sit back and let you have all the fun,” she sniffs. “Did you miss the memo that Hades and I are perfectly capable of handling ourselves? We helped you with the fuckers back in New York.Maybe you’d like another demonstration?” On cue, Hades lets out a snarl of warning.

“Enough!” I bellow, finally capturing their attention. I glare at them both and then order the woman, “Call off your dog. Now.” I pour authority in my tone, though she regards me dispassionately before she finally holds out her hand, signaling the dog to quiet. “Whatever you two have going on, I don’t give a flying fuck. Figure it out on the way back, because we’re leaving. Now.” I turn to pull Amara up beside me, but she’s not there.

I make a fool of myself whipping around only to discover her on my other side, watching the unfolding drama with interest. I scowl at her, but she ignores me.

“Let’s go,” Alonzo barks, and then the stupid fucker grabs the other woman by the hand and yanks her out of the room. Hades barks once and follows quickly behind them.

Jesus Christ. What the fuck is happening right now?

Amara starts to chuckle. “Well, the ride to the plane is going to be interesting,” she remarks, glancing up at me before she heads for the door as well.

I follow her out, afraid that she’s right, but also wanting some goddamn answers. Papa never mentioned a woman when he called me earlier, so he’s either not aware of her himself, or he didn’t feel it was relevant.

When we get to one of the waiting SUVs, I open the back passenger door for Amara, who quickly climbs in. I glance inside and see the woman is now sitting next to her, and the dog has stuck his head through the gap between the seats, his tongue lolling happily and his body wriggling as he looks at Amara. I want to yank Amara right back out, because no way am I allowing her anywhere near that fucking beast, but she coos, “Awww, you’re just a big sweetheart aren’t you?”

The other woman grins at her. “He is. If you pet him, just know he’s going to want you to continue for the whole ride back.”

“That’s okay,” Amara giggles, quickly scooting forward and patting the dog’s head, who instantly nuzzles and licks at her arm. “Good boy,” Amara praises, using her other hand to scratch behind his ears. “I’m Amara, by the way.”

“Rori,” the woman says with a grin. “And this is Hades.”

The name instantly clicks. This is Sienna’s best friend. I let myself relax a little, though I’m still confused about why the hell she’s here. I shut the door and climb into the front passenger seat, checking that Amara has enough room before I slide the seat as far back as it can go. She looks fine, having already curled her legs up underneath her as she continues to love on the giant dog.

The instant my door shuts, Alonzo guns the engine, his face hard and jaw clenched. “Care to explain?” I ask him in Italian.

“She snuck onto the plane when we were leaving and no one noticed,” he bites out. “How the fuck do they not notice an entire person and her gigantic fucking dog? I’ve already made my displeasure known. She also managed to get past them and into the SUVs when I ordered her to stay on the plane. She’s a pain in my ass, and I’m telling Alessio to assign her to someone else as soon as we get back.”

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