Page 29 of Blade

He squeezes me tight then lets go.

“And don’t worry about Zane and whatever his play is,” I say.“I’ve dealt with a lot of guys like him and I’m still here.”

I realize I’ve made a mistake as his face grows as hard as steel and his whole body tenses.

“I just mean… I don’t even know what I meant… you have nothing to worry about is what I’m saying.”I try to backtrack, but I’m sensing that I’m failing miserably.“Don’t be mad.”

He brushes a strand of my hair off my face.“I’m not mad.”

But he sure looks it.I don’t say it though, because I’ve messed up enough for one afternoon already.

“I’m just upset that you had to deal with guys like that and I wasn’t there to keep you safe.”

Something I didn’t even know was solid melts in my chest and I lean against him, resting my forehead against his chest.“My fault.Totally.”

“Didn’t you say we were in a hurry?”Zane’s voice interrupts whatever Blade was gonna say next.Probably for the best because I’d rather not start crying again.

“Not only your fault, mine too,” he says and kisses the top of my head.“We’ll talk later.But now I really should go.”

I let him go then watch him leave.The little colorful birds drawn on the stained-glass windows seem to flutter in the afternoon light, the trees and the flowers sway in an invisible wind and I’m sure I’ve finally made it back full circle.Back to the love I had, the love we shared, before it all fell apart.And I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier.I don’t think so.Even if tears are pressing against the back of my eyes.They’re tears of joy.Another thing I’d forgotten how to feel until just now.

17

Blade

We helped Bella with her chair while Moretti was taking a long lunch at one his restaurants, Divina Cucina.I bet the food is actually better than that presumptuous name else all those made men wouldn’t be eating there.But the Divine Kitchen?Come on.How pedestrian.

The place was filled with a bunch of guys in suits, including Bella’s brother, Matteo.But he wasn’t sitting at the big table with Dante, the boss.I suppose that could be a telling bit of intel.But nothing we’re gonna find out by sitting in a van curbside and watching them eat.

I was gonna leave Zane here while I went to help Bella alone, and I wish I had.But he insisted on coming along, saying the men inside are just gonna stuff their faces for hours and he was right.They’re still doing that.

It never ceases to amaze me how all these Italian restaurants always manage to look the part of an authentic out-of-the-way place in Italy.Must be the dainty tables, pristine white tablecloths, the striped awnings and the waiters in perfectly tailored dress pants, white shirts and black aprons.They all look as ready to serve you the best meal you’ve ever eaten as they put a couple of bullets in you.Whatever the boss asks for.

I lost my taste for anything to do with the Mob when I lost Bella.Or even before then, when I found out she was to be given away in marriage to secure some deal or other.Like a piece of property.

“I don’t know what Rogue thinks we’re gonna get from sitting out here watching these guys eat?”Zane says.

“Just take the pictures and try not to think so much,” I snap.

We’ve now spent days taking pictures of everyone Dante meets with and sending them back to Skye, our intel officer, to put names to.So far, a good third have come back Hydra.And that’s worrying.But as I told Rogue last night, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with us.

“Once we’re done here, I wouldn’t mind going back over to yours to get that tat from Bella,” Zane says amid pressing the shutter of the camera.

“You’re not getting a tattoo from her,” I say, thinking that’ll be the end of that.

“Sure I am,” Zane says and snaps a few more photos.“Why wouldn’t I?”

The stuffy interior of the car grows even hotter and it has little to do with the fact that there was no shade to be had on this damn, dusty road.As the VP of the club, I’ve gotten very used to people doing what I tell them to do the first time I say it, even with all the new recruits.But Zane isn’t just a new recruit… he’s something a lot worse than that.He’s an old friend.

“I don’t appreciate you flirting with my woman,” I say.

He lowers the camera and looks at me, his blue eyes the only clear and light thing about him.“I wasn’t flirting with her.We were just talking.”

I’m sure he’s fucking with me.His eyes are too innocent as he says it.They don’t belong in the head of the kind of man he is.A ruthless, psycho killer.And an old friend.I’m not sure how the latter can possibly still hold true, seeing everything he’s done.If I had to guess, I’d say Zane is no one’s friend, not even his own.

“She’s mine and that’s the last warning you’re gonna get.”

Zane sighs loudly and lifts the camera back to his face.“Man, when did you get so hard?”

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