Page 10 of Marrying the Underboss

She nods, walks to her front door, and opens it for me. Then she locks up behind us.

Once we get to the SUV her dad loaned me, I set down her bags and open her door.

She stops and gives me a quizzical look. “I can open my own door, Kane. You don’t have to do it.”

“You’re right. That doesn’t mean you have to. Now get in.”

“Thanks?” she says, sounding confused. She gets in and buckles up before I close her door.

This is more than a job. This is Jennifer. My angel. There hasn’t been another woman in my life since the day I saw her walk into the boss’ office wearing those tiny as fuck sleep shorts. Did I ever think I had a chance with her? Hell no. That doesn’t mean I wanted another woman touching me.

I hurry to the driver's side and put her bags in the back seat. Then I get in and get us the hell out of here. We’ve been here for too long as it is.

Jennifer is quiet on the drive from her house to mine. She doesn’t hammer me with questions about what happened tonight. Instead, she’s quiet, too quiet for her normal.

When I turn down my long driveway, I look at Jennifer. Her reaction is important. The house doesn’t look like anything special from the outside. I didn’t ever care what anyone else thought. Not many people have been to my place before. In fact, the only person who has been here in the last few years is Perrelli.

I stop in front of my garage and throw the vehicle into park. I’m about to get out to open the garage when Jennifer touches my arm. “Where are we?”

“Home.”

She tilts her head as she stares at me trying to figure out my meaning. I could have said ‘my home’ but what I wanted to say was ‘our home.’ Instead, I left it open, we’re home and that’s all that matters. I get out for a moment to punch in the garage door code. When the garage door opens, I drive into the garage and park. “Ready?”

She nods and gets out. She’s quiet as she looks around and I grab her bags. “Give me a second. I need to turn off the alarm,” I say, walking ahead of her into the house. I set her bags downin the hallway before turning off the alarm. Jennifer walks in behind me and closes the door.

After a few moments, she clears her throat. “You’ve got a nice place Kane.”

I nod and look around the open concept on the bottom floor of my house. I wasn’t planning on having anyone over, but now that she’s here, I try looking at it through her eyes. There’s nothing on the white walls and the only thing in the living room is my large sectional couch in front of the television. They are a few years old but look brand new since I barely spend any time here. I’m either sleeping, working out, or in my office when I'm home.

“Come, it’s late. You need to sleep.” I reset the alarm, then grab her bags and walk upstairs to the second floor, where my bedroom is. When I walk in, I set her bags down on the bed.

“I don’t have a guest room, so you’ll sleep in my room. The bathroom is over there,” I say, pointing at the door to the bathroom. “Make yourself at home.” I turn around to walk out but stop and look back at her. “If you need anything just let me know.”

“Wait! Where are you going?” She asks.

“I have some work to do in my office, it’s across the hall.”

She nods, then looks around my sparse room. All I have in here is a king-size bed and a dresser. I don’t need much. She looks exhausted, terrified, and a bit out of sorts. I hate that she isn’t her normal happy self. Walking up to her, I pinch her chin between two of my fingers and lift it so she’s looking up at me. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Safe with me. He can’t get you here.”

She nods her head slowly, but I’m not sure she believes me. She gives me a half smile, half yawn. “Thanks for coming to get me. I’m going to try and get some sleep now. You can go and do whatever you need to do, don’t let me keep you.”

When she steps away from me, I feel her loss immediately. I want nothing more than to pull her curvy body against mine and never let her go, but I can’t. That pisses me off to no end. The few times I touched her tonight were one too many. Instead, I turn around, walk out of my bedroom, and lock myself in my office.

It’s been such a fucked up night, and it’s about to get even worse. I grab my phone from my pocket and see I’ve got several missed calls from Perrelli. My thumb hovers over his name, knowing what I’m about to do will change our lives. I’m about to make an enemy out of my closest friend and the only person I consider family. In the end, I believe that what I’m doing is the only way I can ensure her safety. Selfishly, I want her to myself. I click on his name and call him.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” He yells across the line. I can imagine him pacing in his home office.

“I have Jennifer, she’s safe,” I tell him in an even tone.

He sighs and waits a moment to speak. “Good, but where the hell are you? I want her back at my house ASAP. I haven’t been able to think straight since that fucker ran off.”

“I understand. The thing is, she’s not coming home.” He’s going to hate me.

“The fuck? I don’t think I heard you right. Say that again.” He says in a deathly, quiet tone.

“Boss, Marino knows where you live. He’s been there thousands of times, and you can bet he knows it inside and out. Bringing her home is the last thing we should be doing.”

“God damn it! You’re right. I should have thought of that. When it comes to my family, Rossi, you know I can’t think straight. After what happened to her mother, Gia...”

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