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“It’s hard to make a mistake with Italian wine when it’s all excellent, but tell her I appreciate her confidence in me,” she said.

Nonna retired for the evening after dinner while he and Lexi went to work hacking into the Sperlonga police station. It was easy. Within twenty minutes, they had the two names of the guys.

“Both guys are former military,” Slash mused, transferring the information to his hard drive. “Both are also officially unemployed at the moment. Mercenaries-for-hire is my best guess. Lazo will take care of them now they’re in Rome. They’ll be released shortly, if they haven’t been already, and then will vanish. Problem solved...for him.”

“I’m starting to intensely dislike this Lazo guy,” Lexi said.

“That makes two of us.” Slash leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. They’d set up their laptops in the sewing room. He wasn’t planning on leaving tonight. He’d be damned if he’d sleep one more night without her. She must have sensed his resolve, because she didn’t protest too much. After brushing their teeth, they cuddled together on the lumpy couch. She curled up against his side while he stroked her hair and stared up at the ceiling, thinking.

“What are you thinking about?” she finally asked.

“How soon I can buy Nonna a new couch.”

“Oh, thank God.”

He chuckled and then winced. “Ouch.”

She lifted his shirt and took a look at the bruises on the left side of his rib cage. “Oh, Slash. This looks like it hurts.”

“It’s tender. One of them was wearing military issue boots. Those boots connected with my ribs a couple of times after I went down.”

“I should have come earlier.”

“You shouldn’t have come at all, but I appreciate it.” He turned over his bandaged hands and flexed his fingers a couple of times to see how it felt. “At least our hands are healing.”

Her hand brushed against the gold cross he always wore around his neck, but this time she captured it between her fingers and flipped it over, examining it more closely.

“It has a red cross with pointed, not squared, corners engraved on the back.” She looked up. “What does it signify?”

“It was given to me upon my induction to thesodalitium pianum.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?” She studied him quizzically and he wondered what she was thinking. “You never take it off.”

“It’s a reminder,” he said, gently taking it from her fingers and pulling her close, her cheek resting against his. “To make amends.”

He felt her sigh against his skin, but she didn’t bring it up. Instead she stroked his bruised jaw and lip. “Is there anywhere you aren’t hurt?

He thought about it and pointed to his stomach.

“Your belly button?”

He nipped at her ear. “You asked me where it didn’t hurt.”

She laughed, lowered her head, then kissed it. “There. Feeling better?”

He pretended to think it over and then shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Apparently I require additional ministrations.”

Her hair brushed against his stomach and his abs clenched. “Did you get into a fight so I would do this?” she asked.

He hadn’t, but if it got him this kind of attention, he’d sure as hell consider it. “I’m sorry, but that’s an operational secret.”

“So is this.” She reached over him and pulled the chain on the lamp, plunging them into darkness.

An hour later, he could say with great certainty, he was feeling alotbetter.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Lexi