Page 71 of Of Grief And Gratitude

“For now,” Shane added, eyeing his father. “Ettore Neretti is unpredictable, especially when he feels slighted.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking down at my lap, where I wrung my hands together nervously. Ettore’s murderous expression flashed across my mind, and I shivered.

Shane reached out and squeezed my shoulder supportively. “We’re not upset with you.”

“Just concerned.” Seamus glanced around, and I realized Sam hadn’t come to the meeting. I didn’t bother to ask where he was.

I let out a shaky breath and inhaled deeply, steadying myself. “How upset is Ettore?”

“He may have said you aren’t welcome on his property any longer,” Shane said, stroking the dark stubble on his jaw.

“Which is code for a shoot-on-sight order,” Sloane ventured flatly.

Seamus nodded. “Dante said as much, though my understandin’ is the rest of the family doesn’t have a problem.”

“That doesn’t mean shit if his psychopath father puts out a hit,” Sloane hissed.

“Nobody’s puttin’ out a hit,” Seamus said firmly. “But it might be best if the two of ya came to stay here for a bit.”

My friend crossed her arms over her chest. “No, thanks.”

“What if we sent you on a short vacation?” Shane offered, raising his brows emphatically. “Pick a place, and we’ll cover the costs.”

“I don’t understand.” I frowned. “If there’s no kill order, why would Sloane and I need to go anywhere?”

“It’s a precaution,” Seamus reasoned.

Shane nodded in agreement. “And Sloane isn’t in any danger. We didn’t think you’d want to go on your own.”

“I’d rather not go anywhere at all.” The thought of hiding out and having to watch my back was enough to make lunch threaten to make a comeback. “I’ll try to be careful for a while, I guess.”

“I can watch out for her,” Sloane said in support, facing her father. “You know I can do it. I’m just as deadly as any of your men.”

Seamus rolled his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. “I want to set some parameters.”

“Deal.” She nodded and leaned forward.

I sighed and made myself comfortable in my chair, listening as others talked about me as if I were a classic car that needed to be parked out of the way and covered from the elements. Even knowing the potential threat, I didn’t regret meeting Romeo.

“I’m still hungry,” Sloane declared as she pushed the apartment door open. It had taken an hour to plan contingencies before Shane dropped us off at home. “Would you split nachos with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit.” She came to an abrupt stop, and I ran into her back, nearly knocking her over.

I grabbed the door to steady myself and looked past Sloane to find Dante Neretti sitting on the couch like he owned the place. He wore that stylish black suit that complimented his strong, dark features and screamed mafia.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Neretti?” Sloane spat, withdrawing a knife and pointing it at the man.

“I needed to speak with Riona,” he said with a casual shrug.

I scoffed and shut the door behind me. “So you thought it would be okay to break into our place?”

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Dante explained.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and glanced down to find four missed calls. “I was meeting with the O’Connors, so I had the ringer silenced. Besides, I don’t work for your family anymore.”

“That wasn’t my decision,” he said defensively. “Why don’t you sit down and talk to me?”

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