Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I raced to the door and opened it, grabbing Dante’s good arm and pulling him inside. “Come sit down,” I said, leading him into the living room.
“I’m okay. I can walk, and I don’t have to sit down right away.”
“Yes, you do. You lost a lot of blood yesterday, and you’re supposed to be resting. Rafe told me you’d try to do too much.”
“What else did Rafe tell you?”
“That you were stubborn. That it was going to be hard to keep you off your feet. That you would want to go back to work too soon. He said I should make sure you rested and took your pain medication and antibiotics. Oh, and you need to drink plenty of water.”
“Rafe would never follow any of those instructions.”
“Well, those were the instructions I got, so I’m going to see that you follow them.”
Dante grumbled as I led him to the sofa, but he sat down. When I fluffed up some pillows and insisted he relax on them, he didn’t argue. He wouldn’t let me put a blanket over him though, insisting that it was fucking hot and he did not need a blanket. Adenine came sauntering into the room, jumped up on top of Dante, and curled up.
“Good to see you too,” he said as he scratched her ears. He pointed to the chair next to the couch. “Come talk to me. What have you done while I was gone?”
“Mostly watched movies, snuggled with Adenine, and hoped you would call.”
“I would have called sooner if I could.”
“I know. I’m just so glad you’re here now. I ordered you some soup. I didn’t think you’d want me trying to make it. I might’ve burned your house down.”
He should definitely not be cooking alone. “You need a few more cooking lessons before trying that, unless you’re just heating it up from a can.”
“Are you hungry now? Rafe says you need to eat plenty to keep up your strength.”
“Jesus, did he write you a whole book of instructions?”
“No, but he probably wanted to.”
“He would. I’d love some soup and maybe a beer.”
I shook my head. “Nope. No alcohol. I’ll bring you some water.”
The next few days were going to hell if this kept up. “I might as well stay with my brothers if I’m going to be watched over like this.”
“I’ll treat you good too. Just wait.” He smiled, and despite everything I’d been through, my cock perked up. I was very interested in how good he could make me feel.
27
DANTE
Alex brought me egg drop soup, fried wonton strips, and crab Rangoon for us to share. “I know it’s not chicken soup, but I’ve always liked egg drop soup when I’m sick. My mom used to get it for me before…”
“I’m sorry you lost her.”
He shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”
“My mother died a long time ago too, but that doesn’t mean I stopped missing her.”
“She did? I’m sorry.”
“My older brother, Lorenzo, basically raised me from the time I was twelve. We had aunts and uncles and grandparents that helped, but he insisted we stay in our own home, and he was primarily in charge. My mother wouldn’t have wanted… Let’s just say she wouldn’t approve of his career path, but he did what he thought was necessary to take care of us.”
“Your family… Are you really in the mafia?” Alex’s eyes widened, and he slapped his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t mean… Forget I said anything.”
I smiled at him. “I’m not going to off you because you figured it out. I’m lucky the name Theriot is common since my cousin is something of a public figure.”
“The king of the New Orleans underground?”
I nodded. “Some say that.”
“And you…”
“I didn’t want to be a part of it. I didn’t want Lorenzo working for him, but it was his best option to care for us, and when you’re as close as we were to our cousins, you get drawn in. We learned to look out for danger as soon as we could walk. We had to be able to defend ourselves.”
He started to speak, then hesitated.
“Whatever it is, you can ask me.”
“What happened last night?”
I petted Adenine as I considered what to say. Talking about Ivanov would only put him in danger. “I really can’t talk about that.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
I rubbed his leg with my good hand. “I trust you.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
Alex huffed. “No one else does.”
“You haven’t given me any reason not to trust you. Also, you know how easily Rafe scared Randall, so you know what we can do.”
“He tried to scare me too.”
I raised my brows. “It didn’t work?”
“No. I knew you’d never let him hurt me.”
I hadn’t wanted him terrified, but it would keep him safer if he were at least a little scared. “That’s true, but if you betrayed my family, that would change.”