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“I’m nervous about accompanying a drug lord to meet his other cartel friends in Colombia,” I burst out before I could think better of it. Stefano had stepped into a separate, private compartment to make a phone call. If he’d been present, I wouldn’t have dared such raw honesty. But I didn’t have to hold back around Massimo. I couldn’t.
My dark protector’s full lips pressed into a grim line, but his fingers remained featherlight as they brushed through my hair in a soothing motion.
“I have business in Colombia,” he replied evenly. “We’ve discussed this. I won’t leave you alone in Mexico City. Soon enough, we’ll be safely back in Naples, and then you won’t need to concern yourself with my business ever again.”
“Naples?” Fear wrapped around my windpipe. It was difficult to draw enough breath to demand, “Who said I’m going to Naples?”
When I was in Massimo’s arms, it was so much easier to allow myself to drift, to live in the moment instead of falling prey to panic. My entire life was spinning out of my control, and his solid presence had been my anchor.
But he was the one taking me farther away from America. He wanted to take me to Italy with him.
His dark brows lowered into harsh slashes over his remarkable eyes. “I did. You’re mine. You said it yourself. That means you’re coming home with me.”
I shook my head wildly. “Italy is your home, not mine.”
“And what is it that you’re so desperate to get back to in Albuquerque?” He almost sneered the words. “What does that place have to offer you that I can’t provide? You said yourself that you don’t have a career there. You’re not close to your family. And your engagement is ended. There is nothing for you in America. I will give you everything you could ever dream of.”
“I’m not surrounded by criminals when I’m in Albuquerque,” I shot back, fear burning into frustration.
His silver eyes narrowed. “George Crawford is a criminal, and you shared his bed.”
I reeled back, as though the words were a physical blow.
His stunning features instantly twisted with regret. “Farfallina,” he rasped, reaching for me. I turned my face away, but he touched two fingers beneath my chin, guiding my gaze back to his. Twin blue flames burned in the depths of his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I want you to be happy with me. Stay with me.”
It wasn’t a question, but the flicker of uncertainty in his shining eyes softened some of my thorniness. He didn’t want me to leave him. For some reason, he was almost desperate to keep me.
“Why?” I asked softly. “Why do you want me to stay? You barely know me.”
“I want to know more.” His voice was deep with sincerity. “I can’t let you go, Evelyn. But I promise I will do everything in my power to make you happy with me.”
He looked at me as though I was the most important thing in his world. No one had ever looked at me like that. I craved more of his rapt, intense attention. Even though I knew it came with a price: my independence. Massimo wanted to take me away from everything I’d ever known. He expected me to go to Italy with him and start a new life.
He’d given voice to the painful truth: there was nothing for me back in Albuquerque.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to be forever associated with the mafia. Even if we left the cartels behind, Massimo was camorrista. He’d hidden the darker aspects of his business from me, but I knew he was capable of shocking violence.
I considered my words carefully. “I care about you, Massimo. But I don’t want anything to do with organized crime. George is corrupt, but until a few days ago, I believed that he was one of the good guys. I’ve spent the last two years surrounded by DEA agents. I’ve heard some of their stories about the cartels. That world is dangerous, and the people involved are evil. I don’t want to be part of that.”
My dark savior pulled away from me, the flames in his eyes extinguished. “Evil,” he repeated flatly. “The world isn’t divided into good men and evil men. I knew you were innocent, but I didn’t realize you’re completely naïve.”
I flinched, stung. “You can’t convince me that the mafia is good. It’s a dangerous criminal organization.”
His cold gaze pierced me like a knife. “I’m dangerous, Evelyn. That doesn’t mean I’m a danger to you. Do you think I’m evil?”
“No!” I replied, quick and vehement. “You told me about your childhood, about your parents’ murder. I understand that you only did what you had to in order to survive. You saved me so many times. I know you’re a good man.”
Some of the tension eased from his jaw, but his words were harsh. “And I told you that I don’t regret my life,” he shot back. “Even before my parents were killed, I saw the world for how it really is, something that they never wanted to acknowledge. They died for their pacifist beliefs, for their naivete. I wanted more than just scraping by. I wanted to be camorrista, to be powerful and rich. Untouchable. I regret that they were taken from me, but I will never regret what I’ve become.”
Untouchable. My heart squeezed, aching for him. He might not see it, but he’d made his choices out of a desire for safety and security. He’d been raised in poverty, in a dangerous neighborhood. The mafia had been his way out, the only way he’d seen open to him.
When I considered the world though his eyes, maybe it wasn’t as black and white as I’d like it to be.
And considering my own circumstances, I needed to rethink my worldview. I’d been engaged to a man who turned out to be corrupt. He was meant to be my white knight. I’d been so wrong about George.
Everything in me told me I was safe with Massimo. He’d proven that through his actions so many times.
My reality had shifted entirely in a matter of days. Really, it’d happened in a matter of seconds: when George hadn’t protected me, and Massimo had jumped into the line of fire to save my life.
