Page 9 of Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions 1)

“On it.” Tony rose, pulling his phone from the pocket of his Under Armour twister jacket. “I’ll text Aunt Berta to bring up her electric blanket.”

Around the same time they’d renovated this apartment, Tony’s uncle Renzo had died of a massive heart attack, leaving behind his wife, Berta. The family had been worried about Berta—who’d never had any children of her own—living alone, so Tony had created a small apartment for her on the second floor, claiming Moretti Brothers Restorations didn’t need so many offices. Berta had been delighted by the invitation to move closer to “her favorite nephew,” a line she used when talking to every single one of the Moretti boys.

And while Berta had her own place on the floor below, they were more likely to find her tidying their apartment—claiming she didn’t know how two such intelligent men were incapable of properly cleaning a bathroom—or in their kitchen, cooking them incredible, delicious meals. Those meals were the reason he and Tony were outside at the ass-crack of dawn to run, taking the risk of freezing their balls off. Aunt Berta—as she insisted everyone call her—had sort of become their unofficial third roommate over the past couple of years, as she, Tony, and Rhys formed a strange but working living arrangement.

Rhys unzipped Jess’s boot, observing that it had seen better days. He grimaced when taking note of her attempts to keep herself warm with not one, not two, but three pairs of socks. He suspected she would have kept adding more if she could have gotten the boots over them.

Jess winced once her foot was finally free, the chill of her skin almost painful for Rhys to touch. “How does it feel?” he asked.

“It prickles. Like p-pins and n-needles,” she responded.

“That’s good.”

“It is?”

He smiled. “Means we’re looking at a case of frostnip, not full-blown frostbite. Trust me, this is better.”

Looking over his shoulder, he called out for Tony. “Make sure the water in the tub is warm,” he stressed. “Not hot.”

“Got it,” Tony yelled back from the bathroom.

“What about Jasper?”

Those were the first words Jess had spoken this morning that weren’t labored, either by shallow breathing or trembling. She was beginning to warm up.

“Hang on, Miss Impatient,” he said. “You have another foot.” He removed the second boot and socks, checking it out as well. Like the other, there wasn’t a sign of frostbite, but there was no question if she’d remained outside in that cold car for much longer, the damage would have been more severe.

Jasper had remained quiet during the examination, his wide eyes tinged with fear. Rhys offered him a comforting smile. “Your mommy is fine. She just got a little bit too cold. How are you feeling?”

“Hungry,” the little boy answered honestly, and Rhys laughed. Even Jess managed a weak smile, clearly relieved to know Jasper wasn’t suffering like she was.

Now that she was warming up, her energy was waning fast. Jess looked like she hadn’t seen the inside of her eyelids in months. Her face was gaunt, pale, making the dark circles under her eyes all the more prominent.

Rhys was angry at himself for not noticing the subtle changes in her…but now that he considered it, shehadlost weight in the past couple of months, and the tiredness that was now amplified by a thousand had been right there on her face the last few weeks when she’d waited on them as well.

“The clothes tent was w-warm enough?” she asked Jasper, who nodded.

“Yeah. I liked car camping, Mommy, but I don’t want to do that again.”

Jess shuddered, blinking rapidly several times. “I know.”

Rhys noticed that she didn’t offer any reassurances that they wouldn’t have to—which told him exactly how bad Jess’s situation was. Bur there wasn’t time to delve into that. Priority number one was getting her warm.

Tony returned with the tub of water and a couple towels. He placed the tub on the floor, then slid it between Rhys and Jess. Rhys checked the temperature, nodding with approval. “This is probably going to sting, but it’s the quickest way to bring your temperature back up. I assure you, this water isn’t hot enough to burn. It’s lukewarm at best.”

Jess nodded wearily as Rhys lowered her feet into the water. She winced at the first contact, then closed her eyes, trying hard not to let them see her discomfort.

She stilled for a few moments, her breathing slower, steadier, and he let her acclimate to the water.

Tony lifted the hot water bottle in his hands. “Still need this?”

Rhys took it from him. “Yes. We’ll wait a few minutes for her feet to warm up, then she can lay down and sleep with this against her chest.”

Jess’s eyes flew open. “I—we can’t stay. I have work in a couple of hours.”

Tony scowled. “I’m sure they can make do at the diner without you this morning, Jess.”

She shook her head. “Not the diner. I work as a housekeeper on the weekends. At Crossings Motel, just on the outskirts of town.”

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