Page 124 of The Devil Can Be Kind

“We… Um, Well…”

“Fuck?” He offered and then scoffed. “Well clearly!”

I chuckled darkly. “Well, yesthat.” I let out a sigh. “But that’s all it is Jess.”

“I don’t know about that.” He said, shooting me a skeptical look. “You seem pretty cozy to me.”

My heart fluttered. The idea that we looked like a couple to anyone on the outside made a small smile stretch across my face. I speared another piece of ravioli and popped it into my mouth to cover it up.

“Have you even talked about what’s going on between you two?” He questioned, undeterred by my silence.

“No, we haven’t.” I sighed, “But I’m not sure I want to anyway. I’m enjoying whatever this is between us, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Why do you think it would ruin it?” Jesse asked and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, come on Jess. I’m not naïve. I know that none of this can last.” I could see he was about to ask ‘why?’ so I continued, “He’s aDon, Jess. And I am only one person… I’m not enough for someone like him. If you could have anyone in the continental USandSicily, why settle for a Mannino like me?” I shrugged my shoulder, pretending like the words didn’t pierce a hole straight through my chest.

He gave me a peculiar look for a few seconds. His dark eyes roaming my face as if trying to examine whether I really believed the words I’d spoken.

“Seriously?” He cocked a brow at me, taking a deep swig of his beer.

“I’m not stupid. I know that what we have is just temporary and I’m okay with that.”

He shook his head in disbelief. His troubled eyes indicated there was more that he wanted to say, but he didn’t elaborate any further and we didn’t broach the subject again the rest of evening.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was becoming restless. I couldn’t help but worry about where Marco was or whether he was safe. No news was good news, but it didn’t help the unease and anticipation that compounded me as the days wore on.

My feelings toward the Don were burning stronger than ever despite the distance between us. It was exhilarating, unnerving and exciting. It was just like how I imagined falling would feel like.

The only problem was, inevitably, one day I was going to hit the bottom.

I closedmy office door and strolled down the hall toward the elevator bank, looking around in the hopes of finding Jesse loitering somewhere amongst the many rooms.

The clock had already hit five thirty, and yet my best friend was suspiciously absent from my office. He’d driven me to work that morning and disappeared soon after we arrived, informing me about some update meeting he needed to have with the casino’s security. But that washoursago now, and I hadn’t seen him since.

Alonso and Tom straightened as I approached the foyer, walking straight toward their corner of the space. It didn’t matter what I was doing or where I was going, these two men were like my silent shadows.

“Alonso, where’s Jesse?” I asked, coming to a stop beside the men.

Alonso fought against a smile as he turned to face me. “I think he’s somewhatoccupiedat the moment, Miss Adalyn.”

“Occupied?” I raised my brow and Tom snickered. “Well, whatever he’s doing tell him we should have left thirty minutes ago.”

“I’d love to, Ma’am, but he’s not answering his radio right now.” Alonso smirked.

“Well, is he alright? If he’s not answering his radio…”

“Oh, he’s definitely alright.” Tom grinned and both men shared a look.

“Then can you go and get him? I’m dead tired and?—”

Alonso started laughing and Tom grimaced. “Ugh…polite pass.”

Right, what is so damn funny?

I sighed, “What the fuck is going on, Boys?”

“Uh…” Alonso scratched his chin but otherwise didn’t continue. Well, that was a fucking first.

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