Page 71 of Murder & Mayhem

Neither of us says anything for the rest of the journey home. As he parks the car outside the house, I turn to look at him. “How is this going to work, Enzo? I need to be able to check in on my brother, not to mention I’ll have Reaper jobs starting to pile up.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Sawyer,” he says with a raised brow. “I know you grabbed your burner cell when you were at your apartment.” I open my mouth to protest, but he waves away my excuses. “It’s fine. I won’t tell Dante. Just give me names, and I’ll sort it.”

“You’re going to send someone to kill my targets?” I clarify in disbelief.

“It’s the easiest solution for now. You’re going to have to tell Dante abouteverything, though.”

“Absolutely not,” I fire out instantly. “I don’t trust him. He’ll put a stop to it if he finds out, and I’m not about to tell him about my brother.”

He sighs, shaking his head. “Or he might just surprise you.” He pushes open the door and climbs out before I can respond, but I highly doubt that would be the case. Dante is even worse than Cain—which is fucking saying something. He’s the very definition of controlling, and I don’t think the whole vigilante persona meshes with the mafia-housewife image he has for me.

Following him out of the car and into the house, I mutter some excuse about needing to be alone before I head up the stairs to my room. I dig in my duffel for both burner phones. Taking the one I use for Reaper jobs, I lift the mattress and hide it under it. With the one Cain gave me in my hand, I move into the bathroom and run the shower before lowering the lid of the toilet and sitting down on it. I’ve already gotten text messages from both Cain and Oliver. Bringing up Oliver’s, I find his number and press dial.

The phone only rings once before he answers. “Is everything okay?” He doesn’t sound panicked, but he does sound as though he’s ready to jump into action if I asked him to come get me.

“Yeah,” I sigh, feeling exhausted. “I just miss you.”

He chuckles softly. “I miss you, too, Trouble. Where are you?”

“We’re back at the house.”

“You know you don’t have to do this,” he says, his voice taking on a serious quality. He didn’t fight me earlier like Cain did, and I’m so thankful for that. I know it’s not because he was fully on board with my plan, but he doesn’t feel the need to constantly push my every button, unlike Cain. “Just say the word, and we’ll come get you. You can be naked in my bed, screaming our names before it’s even dark out.”

I laugh softly, liking the sound of that. “I have to do this.”

“No, you don’t. We can find another way.”

I shake my head, even though he can’t see it. “This is our shot. Besides, it’s about more than just that…” I trail off, unable to explain everything. I told Cain and Oliver about Dante and Enzo earlier, but I didn’t go into any detail about justhowfucking complicated everything is getting.

“There’s more going on than you let on,” he correctly deduces. He doesn’t sound angry, just curious. “This Enzo guy, do you trust him?”

“No.” My response is quick. “I don’t trust either of them.”

“But you’re confident they won’t hurt you.”

I sigh wearily. “Yeah, I am.”

There’s a heavy silence before he speaks again. This time I can’t decipher the emotion in his voice. “Do you like them?”

“I…” My voice peters out as I fail to come up with an honest response. It’s not as simple as yes or no. No, I don’tlikethem, but does my body react to them? Yes. Do they intrigue me and have me wanting to know more about them? Absolutely. But do I see any future where there is any trust, and we aren’t all trying to kill each other? Hell no.

Eventually, I hear Oliver sigh down the phone. “Just be careful, okay? We are here for you. Nothing is going to change that. I love you.Welove you.”

My response is a quiet whisper, and I’m not even sure he hears me. “I love you, too.”

Chapter 25

I barely see Dante for the next week. He seems to be awake and out the door before dawn, and he doesn’t return until late at night. On the other hand, Enzo appears to be around every time I leave my room. Isn’t he meant to be Dante’s bodyguard? Shouldn’t he be going wherever he goes?

“As the new wife-to-be of the next Don, Dante felt you needed your own security detail,” Enzo explains when I ask him as much.

“And let me guess,” I drawl. “That would be you.”

He beams. “Right on the first guess.”

I roll my eyes. “Doesn’t he know that you’re trying to steal me from him? Dante doesn’t strike me as the sharing type. Surely, he sees you as a threat.”

“That’s the thing about Dante. If he cares about something, he’ll do what needs to be done, even if it’s not necessarily what he wants.”

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