Page 86 of Vow Of Fire

I knew it would take a long time before I got the fiery redhead out of my head.

My clothes were still in the bedroom, so I strode back, towel wrapped around my waist. She was awake now, sitting up in bed.

I could feel her gaze on me but didn’t meet it.

Pulling the blinds open with excessive force, I let bright daylight flood the room. Evelyn turned away, slanting her eyes.

With a grunt, I spotted my jeans lying tangled in the bedclothes at the foot of the bed. My shirt was discarded on the floor, along with her bra and leggings.

Jesus. Anyone would think we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.

I was just pulling on my pants when there was a knock at the door.

Shit.

“Who’s that?” Evelyn asked, straightening up.

She was still naked, and even in the stark light of day, her skin was flawless. I looked away from the gentle swell of her breasts, the enticing curves of her waist, and her wide, witchy-green eyes, and leaned across the bed.

Pulling open the bedside drawer, I retrieved my gun. I’d stashed it there sometime after I’d laid her on the bed and before I’d taken off my pants.

“Don’t know. Wait here.”

She jumped out of bed and began scrambling around, pulling her clothes together.

I checked my Glock and headed for the door.

Another knock, more impatient this time. I frowned. The cartel wouldn’t announce their arrival with a double knock, so I wasn’t too concerned. It was probably one of my men come to tell me something.

Either way, trouble could be approaching.

“Who is it?” I called through the door.

“Open up, Dante,” came the distinctly feminine voice.

Fuck. Valentina.

That was trouble of an entirely different kind. I raked a hand through my hair. I’d only left her place last night.

What the hell was she doing here?

But I knew.

Evelyn.

Valentina wanted to see for herself this woman I had secreted away at the cabin. The one I’d refused to “take care of.”

I heaved a sigh. Couldn’t blame her really. She wasn’t the head of the Marcelli famiglia for nothing. My mother liked to stay informed, and if she couldn’t pay, coerce, or bribe someone for information, she sought it out herself.

“Coming,” I growled, unlocking it.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the cabin. Her gaze was cool, appraising. I saw it wander over the living room from the couch to the kitchen table, where Evelyn had put a small bowl with some fruit in it. Just apples and an orange that Kyle had brought back from the store, but it was a homely touch. The sort of thing my mother noticed.

I tightened my jaw. “What are you doing here, Valentina?”

Her eyebrow quirked at my annoyed tone. “Am I disturbing something?”

“No, but it’s early.” She must have set off at the crack of dawn to travel the two hours it took to get to the cabin.