Page 19 of Pay the Piper

Nikki gives me an I’m sorry half smile then shifts his attention to his brother. “Gabri, calm down. We can’t stop living just because Le—”

“Don’t say his name.” Gabri shoots up from where he was sitting, sending his chair falling behind him. He scans the table with nothing but hatred in his eyes before storming out of the room.

Silence fills the air for a moment before Ellie’s mom speaks up. “I’m sorry, dear. He can be a grump. I’m Guilia, by the way. It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you. And you’re welcome here anytime.”

“I’ve already told her that, amore mio.” Dante takes his wife’s hand and kisses it with a flourish.

“You’ve got my approval as well,” Nonna says. “You look much better sitting next to Nikki than Teddy does.”

I can’t help but blush, but luckily, everyone is too busy laughing to notice.

“Nonna! Can’t you revel in Ellie and Teddy’s relationship for a minute before you start trying to play matchmaker with me again?” Nikki laughs.

Their grandmother throws up her hands. “Hey, don’t blame me! Ellie’s baby is going to need cousins, and Gabri is a lost cause, so I’m afraid you’ll have to step up! All I’m saying is you can at least take the pretty girl out on your bike or maybe a picnic.”

The mention of a bike reminds me of Misha, and my mind immediately goes to his giant form straddling his motorcycle in the parking lot.

“See, she’s smiling!”

Oh!

“Abby darling, do you like motorcycles?”

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to ride, but I’ve actually never been on one—”

“Perfect!” She claps. “Nikki, you’ll take Abby on a bike ride!”

Nikki gives me another half smile. “Um, sure. I can take you on a ride. When are you free?”

I should be thrilled. A date with Nikki Santori is my goal, after all. Really, either Santori brother would work, but it’s clear Gabri isn’t going to let me anywhere near him. Something like this falling into my lap is almost too perfect.

“Thanks, I’d love to. I’m free next week.”

Nikki pulls out his phone and scrolls through. “How about next Thursday? You can come to dinner, and we can go out after?”

Everything else about tonight might be fake, but my blush certainly isn’t. Feelings or not, the man is hot. “Perfect.”

We exchange numbers, and when I look back across the table, I’m met with three sets of heart eyes from Ellie, Nonna, and Guilia. God, I’m going to let them all down so hard. Pain shoots through my heart as I realize my betrayal will affect so many people. When Conor gave me this assignment, I was perfectly fine with bringing down a Mafia family, but that was before I met them. Aside from Gabri, who might be Lucifer himself, everyone I’ve met has been incredible. I would already choose their company over my husband and his band of friends.

The thought that maybe I could weasel my way into the Santori family for good flutters across my mind, but I know that’s wishful thinking. I chose my destiny ten years ago when I said “I do.” It may have been the biggest mistake of my life, but I made it nonetheless. With a plastered smile, I suppress the tears I so desperately want to cry. It’s time to lie in the bed that I made.

Chapter 10

The good news is that my withdrawal from Mila is subsiding, with my thoughts of her well-being cut back to only several times an hour. The bad news? Every free moment I have is spent thinking about my lesnaya. My forest girl. Her nickname roared unbidden into my mind as soon as I saw how wild and free she was on the ice.

It hasn’t even been a week since I met Abby. She came skating into my life like fire in the breeze, sending everything I thought I knew about myself up in flames. I succumbed to my siren the moment I laid eyes on her, and although I’m still trying to process the depth of my feelings, I can’t say I’m mad about them.

She’s brought out a side of me I never knew existed, one that has lain dormant, waiting for a particular red-headed, green-eyed goddess with the kindest of hearts to wake him…

Jesus Christ, I sound insane.

Standing from my favorite spot on the sofa, I grab my pack of throwing knives and hurl them one by one at the bull’s-eye Mila gifted me for my thirty-fifth birthday. I used to go through way too many of them, destroying at least one per week. This is supposedly made with a special material meant to hold up long term, and I guess it’s done pretty well, still standing after almost five years. I can’t believe I’m turning forty this year. Mila was right, I need to go ahead and find someone before I get too many wrinkles.

I haven’t even considered how old Abby is. Probably too damn young. Her complexion is flawless, and she’s got a youthful spirit, but she also has a warmth that can only be developed through living life. Hell, Mila has fifteen years on Thatcher, and they work. No, Misha, you need to find out how old she is before you go any further.

We got along well enough on our ice cream date, and she didn’t make any references that would lead me to believe she’s a generation younger. She also smiled softly at a toddler who zoomed past us with chocolate all over their face, and I wonder if she wants children…My growing erection twitches at the thought. “Sorry, buddy, we’ll just have to do what Nikki suggested and make up fantasies in the meantime.”

Grabbing some tissues and lotion, I head to the bedroom, cozy up with a blanket, then grab the remote. Out of all the suggestions from the guys, the princess/prince fantasy is the one that I would choose to obsess over. And to make things harder, I would pick a red-headed beauty…