Page 36 of One Filthy Kiss

“We’re on our way out,” Ric says. “I’ll tell Mr. Sabatelli that you stopped by.”

Enzo straightens; his wide smile fixed firmly in place. “What’s the rush? Can’t I even have a coffee with my brother’s friend before you go?” He says all the right words, but something in the way he says them doesn’t sit quite right with me.

Still, he is Gio’s brother, and I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with his family. So, I tell myself that I’m being overly suspicious since Nikki’s text.

“Sorry.” I match his smile. “We’re going to the zoo, and we’ve already been held up once.”

“The zoo, huh? Maybe I’ll come with you. It’s been a while.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Ric places his bulky frame between me and Enzo. “Mr. Sabatelli left them in my care.”

“With all due respect—” Enzo peers around Ric’s shoulder at me “—I don’t think the decision is yours to make. What do you think, Megan? We could get acquainted outside the monkey enclosure. It’s as good a place as any, and I’ll even buy you a coffee myself.”

Between Ric’s imposing stature and Enzo’s persuasive argument, I’m confused.

Why is Ric so against Gio’s brother being here? Is it because he has been entrusted with our safety, or is my suspicious mind creating conflict between them that doesn’texist? I’m frantically trying to preempt both scenarios on offer here: taking the private elevator up to Gio’s apartment and switching on the coffee machine, or, allowing Enzo to tag along on our trip to the zoo.

Think, Megan.Think!

“Are we going to the zoo, Meggie?” Amber solves the problem for me.

“Yes, sweetie.” I address the back of Ric’s shoulder. “Is it okay if Enzo comes to the zoo with us?”

His spine stiffens, and I realize a beat too late that I shouldn’t have asked the question, I should’ve told him that Enzo was coming. Now, I’ve given him the opportunity to refuse, something that my dad is always telling me I should never do. It’s a tough habit to break.

Ric turns around to face me and slides his phone from his pocket. “I need to make a call.” He walks away, phone raised to his ear, and I wonder if he’s trying to get hold of Gio, who is probably a few thousand feet in the air right now.

“So,” Enzo fills the awkward silence between us. “How long have you known my brother?”

I don’t want to tell him that we only met a few days ago, and I’ve been staying in his apartment ever since. I’m not worried about what he’ll think of me, I’m worried about what he’ll think of Gio. It will alter his perspective of Gio’s security team taking care of me and Amber when we hardly know him, and I don’t want to pique his curiosity.

So, I smile and say, “Not long.”

Before he can interrogate me further, Ric returns. “The car is in Mr. Sabatelli’s private lot.” He guides me and Amberthrough the lobby towards the basement parking area, and Enzo follows us.

He doesn’t sit in the front passenger seat next to Ric. Instead, he joins me and Amber in the back of the car and keeps up a steady stream of chatter about places we should visit while we’re in New York.

Unlike when we’re with Gio, Amber presses her body against mine and doesn’t speak, and I question whether bringing Enzo along was the right thing to do. It already feels as though I’ve spoiled her day, and we haven’t even arrived at the zoo yet. But I’m still torn. He is Gio’s brother after all.

When we get there, Ric walks two paces behind us like a protective big brother. For the first time, I’m aware of Gio’s other men nearby, and I think I know how the animals feel inside their enclosures being gawked at all day by humans. It’s hard to be real when you’re constantly being watched.

Enzo has no such qualms.

He hardly pays any attention to the animals, and it quickly becomes apparent that he’s here out of curiosity, or perhaps because he wants Gio to know that he stepped into his shoes for the day. He’s like the kid brother who breaks a toy and then blames it on his sibling because he knows that he can get away with it, and I find myself trying to imagine them as children growing up in Sicily.

While Amber is in the children’s area petting the rabbits and guinea pigs, Enzo heads to the café and returns with two coffees in takeout cups. He gestures to a bench where we can keep an eye on Amber, and I sit down next to him.

“So, how did you meet?” His eyes roam the enclosed area,noting everything that is going on. It’s one thing that he has in common with Gio.

“We met in LA.”

I’m conscious of Ric hovering somewhere behind us. Will he listen to our conversation and report back to Gio later? I don’t know how I feel about it if that’s the case. Having his bodyguards around for protection is one thing but not being allowed to have a private conversation … that’s a whole new level of control that makes me shudder.

That was how it began with my mom and the bastard who killed her. He told her who she could speak to and when she could go out. He timed her and got angry if she took a few minutes longer than anticipated, even if it was because she got stuck in traffic. If I’d paid more attention, I might’ve stopped it from going too far, but men like Amber’s father are insidiously clever and sneaky. They’re in control before the victim even realizes that it’s happening to them.

I mentally shake myself. Gio isn’t like that. I can’t possibly compare him to Amber’s father, and if Ric is following our conversation, it’s purely for my protection. I have no reason to believe that it will go any further.

“At Gio’s film studio,” I add.