Liss
Damn it. My whole plan has gone completely down the drain-what am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to explain the whole thing with Matteo to Giovanni?
I sigh and close my eyes for a moment, leaning on the kitchen counter. How can I explain it to anyone if I don’t understand it myself?
Okay, when I didn’t poison Matteo due to my own conflicted feelings, I kind of had an excuse. I didn’t have a lot of time to think, so I followed my instincts rather than my rational plan. But it’s been almost a week since we had sex in my apartment-a week full of flirting, secret kisses, and him sneaking into my bedroom in the middle of the night.
I’m closer than ever to Matteo, so why can’t I do something about it?
The response comes with the sound of a message, and I blink my eyes open and reach for my phone. Another message from Giovanni. Shit. He already texted me this morning asking if the task is done, and I really don’t want to admit that things went in the complete opposite direction. But I have no choice-I need the Mexicans’ help, so I have to communicate properly.
Don’t make us wait.
Damn it. His message doesn’t look very positive, and I don’t even want to think about pissing him off, but…yeah, the sooner I admit to my failure, the better.
The plan fell through. He didn’t drink it. I need more time.
I send the messages and stare at the screen, chewing my lip and scratching the side of my phone. The message is delivered-and a few
seconds later, I see Giovanni typing a response. It can’t be anything bad, right? They need me just as much as I need them, so he can’t just…threaten to kill me or something, right?
Did you waste the poison?
I don’t like how it sounds, but…
Yes.
You know the deal.
Better give us something valuable this time.
I huff out a sigh and lock the phone, dropping it on the counter. Goddamnit. Yes, I know the deal-I give them information about the
Messinas in return for them giving me the means to kill Matteo. But how can I get him new information out of nowhere? And what does valuable even mean in this context? I have no idea what’s important to them and-
“Oh, Liss, you’re here? You were so quiet, I thought you went out with Dolce.”
Matteo enters the kitchen with a chuckle, startling me out of my thoughts, and I immediately look up with an automatic smile, hurrying to hide any trace of my distress. The last thing I want is for him to catch me thinking about things he’s not supposed to know about-like that time he found Hank’s photo in my living room.
Can you imagine how angry I was to hear Matteo ask about the person who was closer to me than anyone else, who he fucking killed? I
almost burst out and kicked him out right then and there! Which, of course, would be a total failure, so I’m glad I managed to hold myself back. The whole situation only reminded me that I should be more careful around
Matteo and that, no matter what feelings he wakes up me, I should always remember why I came here in the first place.
My brother is dead because of Matteo, and I’m the only one who cares enough to make him pay for it.
“What are you making?” Matteo peeks over my shoulder at the bunch of ingredients on the counter before continuing on his way to the coffee machine. “It smells good.”
Ah, right, Giovanni’s message caught me in the middle of making cookie dough, and it takes me a moment to remember where I was in the recipe.
“Chocolate cookies,” I say in the meantime, trying to keep my tone light and casual-like I wasn’t just talking to Matteo’s enemy about a new way to kill him. “I promised Romeo to bake them if he gets a B or higher for his math test.”
Matteo hums, sounding impressed. “Did he?”
“He got an A.” I can’t help but smile with pride as I go back to mixing sugar into the bowl. “Romeo is good at math, he just thinks it’s boring.”
Matteo chuckles, and I hear him walking closer to me. Before I realize what he’s doing, he wraps his arms around my waist and puts his
chin on my shoulder. A moment later, I catch the scent of his deodorant, the note of masculine sweetness that always makes my insides curl. My body responds to his closeness with a shiver that spreads heat through my veins, and I lean back into his touch despite myself.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you today,” Matteo murmurs, slowly stroking my waist, and I smile and turn my head a little to give him a side- eye.
“Haven’t you been working all day?”
“I have.” He sighs with a theatrical note and presses himself closer. “But you’re too distracting, I can’t help it.”
The low tone of his voice, the tight grip of his hands, and the warmth of his body bring a whole bunch of lewd images to my mind.
Damn, what is he doing to me? I breathe out and put my hand on his wrist, rubbing it gently.
“Do you want me to distract you even more?”
Matteo’s hold immediately tightens and he presses a kiss to my neck, whispering, “Well, Romeo is at school, so-”
But the sound of a ringtone interrupts him, and I can hear him curse under his breath. It’s almost cute if only I didn’t feel the same wave of disappointment. The anticipation of something more was already circling inside of me, but I guess Matteo’s work gives us no choice but to wait until tonight.
“Sorry, I have to-” Matteo murmurs, already picking up his phone and turning back to the coffee machine.
Well, whatever. I breathe out the remnants of my tension and focus back on the cookies. What was next in the recipe?
“Hey, Louis. Yes, I received your report and talked to Paolo. We think it’s better to pick it up on Tuesday when the cops won’t be around.” Matteo keeps talking, walking past me to the living room, and I perk up.
Tuesday? What will be on Tuesday?
“Yeah, it’s all settled, Riccardo has been in touch with Chen for a while. Mm-hmm, yeah.”
Shit. His voice gets quieter as he walks up the stairs, but I have to hear the rest of the conversation. It will make a perfect piece of information for Giovanni! So with a rush of adrenaline, I follow Matteo to the hallway, but I need an excuse-I can’t be so obvious. I frantically look around, and my gaze lingers on Dolce rolling on his back on the lawn outside.
“You’ll take the lead, okay? We need someone experienced there- and yes, okay, you’re the best at it. Happy now?”
Matteo chuckles while I’m holding my breath, walking faster to the front door, pretending like I’m looking for Dolce to call him inside.
Thankfully, Matteo doesn’t seem to care about my movements, so after he enters the second floor, I hurry up a few stairs as quietly as possible.
“I think it was around two. Wait, I’ll check Riccardo’s message again.” Matteo pauses at the doorstep of his office, scrolling through his phone, and when I catch sight of him I almost drop to the floor, pressing
myself against the stairs. “Yeah, two a. m. at Mount Hope. Make sure to deal with your husbandly duties by then.”
He laughs, opening the door to the office, and I hear him talking about Sasha-but my heartbeat is too loud to make any sense of his words.
I actually slump on the stairs and breathe out for a moment before slowly sliding down and out of Matteo’s proximity. God, I can’t believe that just happened. He just put the perfect piece of information right into my hands!
I can’t help but bounce in excitement, walking back to the kitchen to grab my phone. This one will give me a better weapon to get rid of him once and for all.
They have delivery on Tuesday, 2 am, Mount Hope. Good. If it works, see you on Wednesday.
It should work, right? It should, so I breathe out and finally focus on the cookies again. I can’t mess them up, not when they’re a present for
Romeo.
It’s just three hours later, and the cookies are resting on the cooling rack, safely tucked away from Dolce’s curious nose, when Romeo and I
enter the house. Or rather, Romeo barges into the house while I follow behind with his backpack on my shoulder. It’s been a long day, with a karate lesson and an art class afterward, and his back deserves some rest.
“I’m home!” Romeo announces for the whole world to hear, pushing his sneakers off and opening his arms for Dolce who immediately runs to greet him. “Have you been a good boy? Miss Liss told me that you tried to
steal a piece of butter, is that true?”
I can’t help but smile, watching him chastise Dolce in the gentlest way possible. I think Dolce himself doesn’t even understand that he’s being chastised, as a moment later he drops on the floor and rolls on his back, presenting his tummy. Ah, he is a good boy indeed.
“Romeo, wash your hands, change your clothes, and get ready for dinner,” I call to him from the kitchen a couple of minutes later, rolling up my sleeves to reheat the turkey.