Page 13 of Ludovico's Vengeance

A snap from a few feet away pulls my attention back up to find Giovanni walking toward me with a frown pulling at his lips. He stops at my feet, looming over me.

“You’ve been out here so long you’ve been adopted by a cat?” He cocks a brow at me as he takes in the fur ball in my lap.

I giggle, a sound I've only made once before. His face relaxes into a wide grin at my reaction to his comment. He looks so free when he smiles like this.

“I don’t know what that means,” I admit as I pull the cat to my chest for a squeeze before laying him on the soft lawn. I take Giovanni’s outstretched hand. He pulls me to my feet with a wide smile on his face as he loops his arm around my waist and holds me tight against his chest. My stomach twists with a fluttery feeling inside at the connection between us. This reaction seems to be happening more with each passing day. “How was your day?” I ask, trying to ignore my body’s response to him.

We take a few steps to find the cat following us. He keeps pace with us and refuses to lose his sight of me. Giovanni chuckles and shakes his head as he releases me to pull out his phone. He taps a few times on the screen before bringing it to his ear. After a few seconds someone must answer because he starts speaking.

“Go get a few litter boxes to put around the house, cat food, dishes, treats and litter, obviously.” He pauses and his eyes darken as he listens to whomever is on the other end of the call. “Did I ask for your opinion? No, go get the stuff and be back within the hour or I’ll shoot you in the foot. Got it?” His response comes out in a snarl, and he hangs up, sliding the phone back into his jacket pocket before we step inside. My eyes dart between him and the cat several times before he explains what just happened.

“It’s called the cat distribution system. I’ve heard of it, but never seen it in action. That cat is yours now, Short Stack.” He leans down and drags his fingers through the cat’s fur. “What are you going to name it?”

With my mouth agape, I stare up at him with question after question rapid firing through my mind. I feel the warmth of fur wrap around my leg as the cat,mycat, weaves between to capture my attention. My eyes begin to well with tears and I launch myself at the man who has become a pillar in my life in such a short amount of time. My arms fold tightly around his muscular middle as I take in the familiar scent. Tears begin to fall, and my shoulders begin to shake as I sob against this beautiful man. He wraps himself around me like a snake strangling its prey, but this is protective and maybe just a little possessive.

A shrill scream and yowl jolt me out of an already restless sleep. I untangle myself from the covers and throw them off my body as I leap out of bed, remembering to grab the Glock from under my pillow. My feet pad hard against the smooth hardwood floor as I run in the direction of the noise. As I quickly rush toward Nina’s room, the screams and yowls become louder and masculine grunts become clearer.

Fury begins to pump through my veins, I slam my body into the bedroom door and it splinters before crashing to the floor. Her cat, which she still has yet to name, is clinging on to the back of an intruder. The nails of his front paws are digging into the man's shoulder while her cat uses its hind legs to scratch the hell out of the intruder’s back.Good kitty.Nina is hanging over the man's shoulder, repeatedly punching his back, which isn’t even doing so much as to make the man flinch.

“Put her the fuck down,” I snarl at the man who stiffens. Nina’s eyes find mine; she has tears streaming down her face, a mixture of fear and anger etched across her face.

When he stands to his full height, I catch sight of the bald head with a very distinct tattoo on the side of his skull. I realize it’s one of the men that have been hanging around with Mr. Barone. Interesting. His lips turn into a malicious grin as he slides her down the front of his body. The cat is still clawing his back as he climbs up to the man's shoulder and sinks his teeth into the balding head. Barone’s man jerks and ends up tossing the cat onto the floor. I hear Nina’s scream as I raise the gun, my hand tightens around the grip as I aim at the man's head and squeeze the trigger. A loud shot rings through the room as Nina scrambles across the space to reach the fur ball.

Don’t fuck with my woman or her cat.

I shove the gun into the back of my briefs, the mixture of heat from the recent discharge and coolness of the metal causes a strange sensation. My feet are moving at their own accord to reach Nina andPinhead. She’s curled over top of him protectively. When I pull her onto my lap, I see the cat is sitting on his haunches licking his fur clean. Of course he wouldn’t be phased by taking on a mobster. Fucking fur ball.

“Bella? Short Stack, can you look at me?” I whisper just as Milo and Danny enter the room. Nina ignores my request and buries her face in my chest, not looking up.

“Holy fuck.” Milo’s shock echoes through the room as he takes in the scene before us.

“Where the fuck were you?” I stand, pulling Nina up with me as I cradle her to my chest. “You are supposed to guard for her at night. So, explain to me exactly how the fuck this happened.”

As I approach Milo and Danny, Nina whimpers for her cat. I glare at Danny before I turn to set Nina on her feet. Gently cupping her cheeks between my palms, I stare into the depth of her baby greys before I speak.

“Get Pinhead and gather whatever you’ll need for the morning. You’re staying with me in my room from now on.” The words come out as a whispered command but her small nod in response relieves some of the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I turn back toward my men while my hands are still on her cheeks to keep her in place, “Cover the body, she doesn’t need to see this.”

Danny is the one to move, swiftly pulling a sheet from Nina’s bed and draping it over the bald intruder. Once he’s covered, I release her to do as I asked.

I usher my men into the hall and before another word is uttered my hand is wrapped around Danny’s throat. With a quick step forward, I slam his large frame against the wall. His eyes remain calm as Milo steps in beside me.

“Johnny, I pulled him this afternoon because I needed someone who understands the severity of the situation to do surveillance down at one of Barone’s properties.” Milo explains, “Michael and I assigned Rich to Nina tonight.”

I drag my eyes from Danny to take in my friend. Milo’s sincere expression has me lowering Danny who begins to cough as he attempts to catch his breath.

“Where the fuck is Rich then?” I snarl at Milo.

“I’ll have Michael review the security footage and let you know as soon as I have that information.” Milo slides his phone from his suit. He taps a handful of times on the screen before returning the phone to the inside jacket pocket. “He’s taking care of it now.”

Nina steps out of the bedroom with Pinhead cuddled tightly to her chest. Her strawberry blonde hair is now pulled into a tight bun. Her shoulders relax when she sees that I’m still standing there. I extend my hand for her to join us, which she does. Her tiny body fits perfectly against mine.

“Sir, what would you like us to do with the body?” Danny is the one who speaks this time.

My chest rises and falls with a heavy exhale before I speak. “Check him for any ID, however I recognized the skull tattoo. He’s one of Barone’s. See what you can find and then dismember the body and have the pieces delivered to all of Barone’s known hangouts.” Nina tilts her face up to look at me with a question in her eyes.

“Why would my dad have someone try to take me like this?” Her voice is shaky as she asks the question. “I don’t understand why he suddenly cares enough about me or where I am when he essentially sold me to you.”

My arm tightens around her shoulders, and I press my lips to her hair, inhaling the soft scent of lavender. She melts further into me, if that’s even possible.

---