Page 118 of Say I Do

“He does,” Enzo said.

I stepped toward Giancarlo. “Say I nag one more time, and your fiancé will have to come get your carcass off the floor.”

The loon smiled like I’d promised him flowers. “You want to go?”

“Gin, touch my husband, and I will personally cart you to the hospital,” Benito said. He looked between the three of us. “You know I could hear all of you the entire time, right?”

“Dude, you’re walking around eating cookie dough from the roll like it’s a summer sausage. Someone’s gotta say something,” Giancarlo said.

I nodded. It was getting out of hand. “Honestly, I’d rather you came home drunk at this point. This shit is… terrifying.Me.I’mterrified.”

Benito looked at the chocolate chip cookie dough in his hand as if he hadn’t realized what he’d been snacking on.

“You know you’re getting married in a few days,” Giancarlo pointed out.

“Shit, if you can’t fit your tux, your mother is going to have a cow,” I reminded him.

Giancarlo huffed out a laugh. “That witch could birth the entire zoo and—”

“Gin,” Benito growled.

Enzo took a few steps toward his brother and held out his hand. “What do you need us to do?”

Benito handed over the cookie dough, and it felt like a step forward.

“I’m not sure yet,” Benito said. He pushed his fingers through his hair. “No one knows anything yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I’m still waiting on Chelsea. She said another day or three tops.”

The number.My chest tightened with unease. I knew that damn number. I wanted to forget the moment I saw it. The lie had felt like ash on my tongue, but I was protecting him. I’d started to get to know Benito. He was calm most times, but when it came to me or the people he cared about, he was feral. If he knew who that number belonged to, he would charge in head first and get himself killed. My stomach turned. I hoped I never had to lie to Benito again.

My knee bouncedup and down as I sat behind my desk. Harlow had perched himself on the corner of it. Every once in a while he said something to me, but I was too far gone to answer every single thing. My mind was a million miles away somewhere between exhaustion, confusion, and dread. Fingers played over my cheek. I glanced up at Harlow. He frowned as he rubbed my face and then gave it a light smack.

“Hey,” I growled.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “You’re freaking me the fuck out. Seriously, your heart is going to explode at this rate!”

I gave Harlow a half-smile I didn’t feel. Honestly, he was right. I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen when the shit hit the fan. The Acetos were as close as the Vitales, always had been. We lived, loved, and died for our families. Sure, Andre had chastised Lee, but that didn’t mean he would sit down and take his murder. Not to mention Darla Shamers.

She had been splashed all over the news, her smiling face on every channel and social media page.Have you seen me?That question made bile rise in the back of my throat every time I saw it. It wouldn’t take long for everyone to connect the dots about the questions she’d been asking and her disappearance. Even if we were innocent, we wouldn’t stand a chance against the rumors.

Shouldn’t have cut them up and gotten rid of them. If I were smarter, I would have staged it to look like a murder/suicide.

However, that wasn’t as easy as it seemed. The cops were dumb as hell, but even with some of them in our pocket, it was risky to believe that would be enough to save our asses. There was always some eager fucker that wanted to prove himself. And DNA? That shit was a nail in the coffin. I had no idea how clean the scene was to be able to stage anything. No, it was better to tear it all down and get the hell out of there.

“You’re frowning again.”

I glanced up at Harlow. “Yeah.” I wiped a hand down my face. “Sure you don’t want to tell me who those numbers belong to?”

Harlow shook his head. “Could you just believe me that you want to stay away from it? There’s nothing you could do about it anyway.”

“So you do know who it is.”

“Leave it alone, Benito.”

I searched Harlow’s face. There was none of his usual malice there, just worry and fear. For some reason, it fueled my irritation. Whoever was on the other end of those phone calls was someone Harlow knew and placed above me. He feared them, worried about me. It was as if I wasn’t strong enough to even contend with the boogey man in the shadows. My stomach tightened as I turned away from him.

What the fuck? Does he really think I can’t handle whatever this is?

It was as bad as dealing with my father. I’d almost reached forty, and he still treated me like a little boy. My fingers dug into my leg as I stared straight ahead. Whatever was in front of us, I would handle it. I had no choice but to do so. This was my family. I’d be damned if they weren’t protected.