Page 34 of DeLucas After Dark

“You aren’t here officially. What he doesn’t know can’t harm me.”

“He knows, testa di cazzo! I paid him a visit the day I landed, and his people are with my wife and her second husband.” I shoot the gun, hitting Pierangelo in the shoulder as shock widens his eyes.

He falls back and runs behind his desk.

“Call off your men, stronzo.”

Attracted by the gunfire, two men push through the door with their guns drawn.

I duck behind the chaise, pushing it over to provide cover as bullets pierce its tufted surface. Shit! I let the threats to my family overthrow my reasoning, opening me up to Pierangelo’s trap. An image of Sloane and Tácito’s smiling faces brings everything into clarity.

I’m getting out of here alive. At the moment I make the decision to move, frantic pulses on the device I share with Tácito and Sloane push against my skin. I have no time to look at the message, but it can’t be good.

SLOANE

“Ican’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m impressed with Enzo’s protection. If they hadn’t introduced themselves earlier, I would be hard-pressed to spot them.” My praise sours Ethan’s mood.

After my years of constantly giving him feedback, hearing my admiration for another security detail must chafe. Which is partly why I said what I said. I keep him on his toes because he protects the most precious people in my life.

“Leave off Ethan for a few days. It’s the holidays and there’s too much to see and eat for your little rivalry to last,” Tácito says while chomping down on a sgagliozze.

I take a bite out of mine, too. It’s the crunchy polenta street food he prepared during his and Valentino’s failed surprise attempt. Here, in Bari, where it’s piping hot and crunchy is a way better experience than the leftovers we ate.

Tácito laces our fingers together and we walk down the narrow streets in some of the older parts of Bari. Everywhere is decorated with string lights and other festive adornments for Christmas Eve.

“Ooh, look.” I point to the Basilica San Nicola. “I read that the real Santa Clause is buried here. Can we go inside?” I turn pleading eyes to Tácito. “Imagine the stories we can tell our child about visiting the real St. Nick?”

“As if I would deny you. Let’s go.”

Inside, families with small children line up in front of the saint’s likeness. Tácito pulls me close to whisper in my ear, “I bet the parents are telling their kids to be good or else Santa Clause won’t visit them for Christmas.”

I giggle, but sign, “I bet the kids are wondering where all the elves are and that the church looks nothing like Santa’s workshop.”

Tácito grins and pulls me in for a kiss. What I expect to be a quick press of the lips becomes me opening under the slightest pressure of his mouth on mine. He slips his tongue inside, and I lean into his body, forgetting where we are. All that matters is the man in my arms and how he fills my heart with the simplest expression. I circle his neck to get closer, but the harumph from disapproving passersby remind me where we are.

We separate with conspiratorial grins and I nod to Ethan that we’re leaving. He takes position in front of us while the three other men on his team circle more subtly around us. Outside, we visit shops and pasticcerias. We leave one with a sampling of purciadduzzi, a colorfully decorated Italian donut covered in honey, sugar, and pine nuts, and a pesce di pasta di mandorle, a fish shaped sweet made from almond paste.

“Leave some for Valentino. I’m sure he’ll need something sweet after his meeting,” Tácito says as he pops a dough ball into his mouth.

I show him my tongue and roll my eyes, to which he responds by plopping a donut on said organ until I open my mouth fully. Then he gently pushes the sweet treat into my mouth and I close my lips around his finger and lick. The sweetness from the honey blends with his flavor, and I moan around the digit.

Tácito’s spectral eyes narrow and darken with a heat that makes me wonder how far we can push the decency laws in Bari.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he warns before pulling his finger from my mouth and licking it. “Tastes even better than the purciadduzzi.”

A zing pierces my clit and travels to the rest of my body, pushing my libido in full gear. I push his shoulder. “Who’s starting shit now?”

He takes my hand and kisses the palm before dragging me closer to whisper in my ear. “There’s more to see before we meet up with Valentino. Be good and I’ll make sure tonight is epic.

My breath hitches and I nod, already anticipating being shared by my husbands. As we leave Bari vecchia’s cobblestone streets for the more modern side of Bari, the screams reach us before we can properly react.

Ethan turns to me and blood sprays across my face as he falls forward.

“Ethan!” I scream, grabbing him with Tácito’s help.

We look around, frantically, but a crowd of people make it hard to see our other guards, though I suspect they’re in a similar situation as Ethan.

“Mierda!”

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