Page 14 of Bound to the Mafia Guard (Mated in the Mafia #5)
13
TREV
“What about this one?” Rowan turned his laptop toward me. The screen was illuminated with another set of living room furniture, this time in green.
I squinted hard, trying to find the difference between this set and the previous five sets. “I like green,” I said.
His lips pursed. “It’s a whole different style. This has a more Victorian feel than some of the more modern, boxy, overly plush sofas. Is that something you’d like? Or are they too fancy? I don’t want our furniture to be off-putting. People should be comfortable in our home.”
I set my phone beside me, giving him my full attention. “Rowan, love, I can honestly say that I have zero preference when it comes to furniture—except for maybe that it’s comfortable. It could be a shit-brown color with rips all over the place, and I wouldn’t care, as long as when I sit down at night, I feel comfortable. Please, when I say pick out whatever you want, I really mean it.” Thank goodness for online shopping, or else he would be dragging me to all the furniture stores. And I would go, if it meant that my omega was happy.
He grinned. “I appreciate your honesty. This should be a joint decision. You don’t care if I pick it out on my own?”
Four days ago, we had put in an offer on the house we both liked. That had been a joint decision, and now Rowan was working on outfitting the place with everything we could possibly need. Turned out there was a lot that went into picking out things for houses. Luckily he hadn’t mentioned any repainting, though he had noted that he wanted the bathroom remodeled eventually.
That one I could get behind. A bigger shower meant we could both fit in there…
The decorative decisions I didn’t much care about. “I’ll have preferences on the television—size and placement.”
He rolled his eyes.
“And the bedroom furniture, of course. I want a big bed. Maybe one of those four-poster beds, so that we can hook up some of those straps. I can strap you down.”
Rowan giggled. “I will take that into consideration. You can be in charge of outfitting the basement then, with whatever you want for your gym area.”
“Perfect. See? Compromise.” I kissed his cheek.
My phone pinged, and I picked it up, my brow furrowed as I read over the text Cord had sent. “Do you need to go to class this week?” I asked Rowan.
“Of course,” Rowan said. “I need to go to class every week.”
“Right. But maybe you can skip this one.”
He blanched. “Why? Do you have a hot date in mind? ‘Cause I’m on board with that. But I can’t ditch just for the fun of it. We’re well into the semester now.”
I shook my head. “No. Cord said that Brutus has been spotted in the city twice now—confirmed sightings from reliable sources. I don’t want you out and about needlessly.”
“I have things to do. I can’t just?—”
“It’s dangerous. You can’t leave the mansion.” My voice came out firm, fueled by the fear of what would happen if Brutus knew that Rowan had identified him as one of his captors. I’d heard horror stories of what Brutal Brutus did to omegas. The fact that my Rowan had been so close to him for so long sent shivers down my spine.
Rowan sat back against the leather sofa. We were lounging in the library at Andro’s. He had been popping between doing his homework and shopping for furniture. Although the past hour had been fully dedicated to shopping. He crossed his arms, and he narrowed his eyes. The daggers he stared at me might as well have been real.
“Oh, I can’t leave the mansion, huh?”
“Rowan, it’s for your own safety—for the safety of our child.”
“And how long exactly is this going to last?”
“I don’t know, but I think this is the best decision.” I was getting nowhere fast with this discussion.
“No,” he said. “This is not going to be like the house, where we divvy up rooms and make sole decisions on those. This is a joint decision, and I am not going to be cooped up in this place like a prisoner. I’ve done that before. I didn’t like it.”
I flinched at that. “Rowan, this is very different. This is for your own safety.”
The door opened, and Andro strode inside with Felik next to him. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” Rowan said at the same time.
Andro’s gaze bounced between the two of us. “Is this about the information Cord sent over?”
“Yes,” Rowan said. “Tell Trev I don’t need to be stuck in this house like some sort of prisoner. I’m not made of glass.”
“When your safety is in question, then there are times when it’s going to feel like you are a prisoner in this house. For that, I’m sorry,” Andro said.
Finally, I had some backing. Surely Rowan wouldn’t argue with Andro. His decision was final.
Rowan stood up, nearly knocking his laptop to the ground. “That’s ridiculous.”
Andro crossed his arms, his stare going potent. A lesser man might’ve cowered under that look, but Rowan, being one of the omegas in the family, didn’t cower under his cousin’s stare. I couldn’t say that I would have done the same.
“Andro, I’m not going to just sit here and wait for you all to find this Brutus guy and get more information. I have to be able to live my life. You are the one who told me that.”
“Yes, and you were the one who said that you were scared to go out into the world. There are things you should be scared of out there. This is one of them.”
Another good point by Andro. Surely Rowan would see the logic to this.
“Yes, but like you pointed out, I can’t let that rule my life, and I’m not going to.”
Rowan’s gaze zeroed in on me. “Why don’t we turn the tables, and instead of hiding me, put me out in the open? Plant some information out there, some rumors that I know Brutus was involved and plan on pointing fingers or going to the police or something stupid. Draw him out.”
“Absolutely fucking not!” I said, raising my voice.
Rowan flinched, and I immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not yelling at you, love, but you can’t?—”
“It’s not a terrible idea,” Felik said.
I turned toward him with murder in my eyes. How could he possibly think we’d put Rowan in danger like that?
“The faster we get him, the faster you guys can truly go back to living life normally—well, as normal as you can when you’re involved in this family. I’m sorry, Rowan, but like Jeremiah, you will not ever leave this house without a guard. That is for your own safety and a perfectly acceptable compromise.”
Clearly he’d had this conversation with his own mate a time or two.
“I get that,” Rowan said, “and I have accepted it. I don’t want to have Trev leave his job and have us run off into the sunset or whatever. But I refuse to just hide. I can’t do that. Eventually, when I graduate, I’m going to get a job. I’m going to have to go to that job. Now, unless there’s an opening for some sort of literature expert within the mafia business, that job is going to be outside of Ferrini control.”
Andro’s lips twitched like he was fighting back a smile. “Can’t say that I have an opening for such a thing, but I’ll brainstorm some ideas. Let us think about how we can flush out Brutus.”
“Andro, you can’t possibly?—”
His stare turned on me. “We would never put Rowan or your child at risk. We could put him and Connor at a café surrounded by some of our guards after planting some information to flush Brutus out and see what happens.”
“Why Connor?” Rowan asked.
“Ever since he returned from his little hiatus, he’s been learning self-defense. Joey has as well, but with him being pregnant?—”
“Oh, so you’re not willing to risk your pregnant mate, but you will risk mine?” I shouted.
Andro’s gaze turned slowly toward me, his icy stare pinning me in place. “I will forgive that outburst because of the situation and because you are family, but do not question what I’m saying. I’m listening to what Rowan wants. The two of you can make the final decision once we have a plan.”
I groaned. “I’m sorry, boss.”
“Forgiven. I don’t love putting anyone at risk, but Rowan is right. The faster we flush him out, the better we can all move on.”
I hated that they were all right. “Let’s start planning, then. Tonight, I want to be involved every step of the way.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”