Another laugh and the ice clinked again. “Hell yes, I’m serious. We’re Carellis. Do we ever do anything half-assed?”
“Never.”
“That’s right.” Johnny’s laugh trailed off and the squeak of his chair moving rattled in the speaker before he spoke again. “Listen, man, I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad you got your woman and the baby back.”
“Yeah? Then why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ heading my way?”
“Nah, nothing like that. You’re a good man, Smoke and from what Dario tells me, your woman, she’s good for you.” The clatter of his glass resting on wood sounded, and Johnny cleared his throat, like he was done with the sentimental shit. “Dario and Dante, they had some shit they wanted handled for you. I was gonna step in, see what I could do, but by the time I got there, it was over.”
My brothers had been in four times with Dino to see me while I was in the hospital. They’d kept me up on what had been happening since then, but I got the feeling I didn’t know everything. And no one had mentioned anything but how my men had gone through Maggie’s place, my folks’ apartment, their business and my office and car again to sweep it clear of any cameras, just in case Maggie’s ex or that Reynold’s asshole still had shit hidden.
There was nothing.
But no one had said a word about Johnny being in town. Reynold’s wouldn’t be fucking with anyone. Cops had taken him away when an anonymous tip fingered him at the cottage and a shit-ton of drugs in his car. He’d have to explain the dead body on the pier and the gun with the scratched-off serial numbers that matched the slugs in that body.
He couldn’t.
Can’t say I liked calling in favors, but the gray business I was in did have perks. That asshole would be going away for a long damn time.
“What did I miss?” I asked my cousin, sitting up, stretching my back. The incision didn’t hurt anymore and the nap I’d taken had done some good to rest me up, though no way would I tell Maggie that. She got smug when she was proven right.
“Mickey Finney and his sticky fucking fingers.”
“You took care of it?”
“Nah, like I said, man. Between your brothers and Luca DeRosa, that shit got handled. Luca had Finney’s warehouse cleared, his bank account wiped and had the man himself pissing in his pants by the time I got there. I know you told me you had bad blood with him for shit that went down between him and Antonia, but I gotta tell you…Luca stepped up.” The chair squeaked again, and my cousin exhaled, like he hated to tell me my business but was gonna do it anyway. “A little advice? It might be time to let the past go. He’s a good man.”
Damn. Luca of all people.
I’d have to be the bigger man and get over my shit.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you saying that and I…” The door to my room opened and whatever I was going to say to Johnny died on my tongue when Maggie walked through the door. “Ah, I gotta go. Thanks for everything and I’m sorry but…” She moved closer and I caught a whiff of her perfume. “Johnny, my lady’s here. Later.”
I ignored the laugh coming from the other end of the phone and the grin I spotted on Maggie’s face.
Everything fell away from me when she came inside, her body wrapped in a short, black jacket that hit her at the thigh. There was nothing else on her legs—no jeans, no skirt, no boots. Just black nylons and stiletto pumps that I got a good look at when she leaned against the bed.
Holy shit, did she look good.
Maggie always kept herself up. She always looked put together; she gave a shit about her skin, though she never wore much makeup. But she took extra time on her hair, wearing complicated curls and braids and clothes that were modest, but so damn tempting.
Now, though, when I was flat on my back, healed up and rested, after weeks of her treating me like an invalid, now of all times, the woman sauntered in front of me looking like something out of the wildest damn centerfold my fucked-up imagination could picture.
“Dimitri,” she said, the name coming out in a whisper, like she didn’t mean for me to hear it. She moved toward me, her smile soft and sweet, but her eyes were fierce.
I only saw that from her when I had her on her back panting and wet, ready for me to take her.
Shit. I’d missed her.
My throat locked up from the thought of finally being alone with her for the first time in weeks and I thought she might be thinking the same thing.
Maybe that’s why she was dressed the way she was. I’m guessing it was why she moved to the door and locked it. My ma was nosey, but even she wouldn’t come in my room without knocking. Still…it was a smart move.
One eyebrow quirked up and that fire in Maggie’s eyes became an inferno.
“Bella,” I started, bottom lip aching from how hard I chewed on it. “Fuck’s sake, what are you doing looking like that?”
“This?” She shot for innocent and missed the mark, fingering the collar on her coat, letting her thumb slide down to the buttons holding it together. “It’s wet outside.” She nodded to the window, grinning when I didn’t bother to look out of the glass. The rain had kept me drowsy all day. It had put me in a funk which, I supposed was what had Maggie suggesting the nap in the first place. But now, especially now with this company, I was wide awake.
“Just outside?” I couldn’t help asking.
Maggie exhaled, and a low, whispering groan left her throat as she moved to my bed, sitting next to me. “It’s been weeks …since…” She didn’t finish, deciding instead to shrug, leave the explanation open likely because she knew I’d catch her meaning.
It had been weeks since we’d been together and I’d spent a lot of that time in a hospital bed replaying memories of her body, her mouth, her taste of her laugh, her smell, her hair, her smile.
She leaned closer, moving her face toward my open hand when I brushed her cheek. “And you saved me…you saved us.”
“You weren’t exactly a damsel needing a rescue, baby.”
“You know what I mean.” She came closer, brushing against me.
I fingered her hair, wanting to get that red lipstick all over my mouth. Wanting her on top of me because I’d missed how good she tasted. “I’ll always do what I need to. I’ll always have your back, bella.”
She looked down, her expression going serious. “But…if it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have gotten shot.”
“It goes both ways. Whoever comes for me, would come for you. They know you’re my weakness because anyone that sees us together can tell just by how I look at you, how much I love you.”
A small noise stuck in her throat and Maggie’s big dark eyes glistened under the light above us. She was soft and sweet, beautiful and, Christ above, all mine. “Dimitri…mi amor…I love you too.”
I’d missed her like a first love. Like a dream on repeat that always came back. It never ended. I wanted her even more now than I had that first time in my apartment on Christmas Eve.
“The…kid…”
She smiled, biting her lip. “Your mom took him. We’re all alone.”
I took her mouth with a brush of lips and tongue and the pressure of my hands pulling her down with me. “Then climb on top of me, baby, and show me how much you love me.”