Page 67 of Caruso

“I wasn’t expecting you back tonight.”

“Our business was done early, so we left.”

Matteo tears off his jacket and carefully rests his gun on the side table before pulling Taylor onto his lap, nuzzling her hair, breathing in with a relieved sigh to find her still in one piece.

I hate every second of it. This was my time. I haven’t finished with her yet.

Tommaso is filling his glass with bourbon and then hands me one along with the others.

As we sit around in a circle, the fire pit before us is a modern detail I have always loved. It creates a cozy atmosphere in an otherwise modern monstrosity. I love this penthouse, but I kind of adore our ranch in the mountains more.

“So, what’s the plan?”

I address my question to Matteo, and he understands my meaning because he scowls.

“Bed, then business as usual.”

To make a point, he rests his hand on Taylor’s hip and says softly,“Are you ready for bed, baby girl?”

Her gaze finds me, and I note the uncertainty in her expression. She doesn’t know what the right answer is, and I hate my brother for placing her in this predicament.

I won’t play his game, so I yawn loudly.

“I’m beat. We’ve had a challenging day, isn’t that right, angel?”

She smiles her gratitude, understanding what I’ve done, and I wink, causing a soft smile to pass between us, intimacy that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of my brothers.

I down the bourbon in one long gulp and say with a wicked smile, “Until tomorrow, angel. While Matteo does business shit I’ll take you to the mountains.”

He makes to speak but Tommaso surprises us all by saying roughly, “Taylor is coming with me tomorrow.”

Taylor glances up with a startled expression as Matteo smirks in my direction.

Tommaso leans back on the couch, his drink in one hand, the other tapping on the edge of the seat as he stares into my eyes with a hard expression. I know that look. He has perfected it over the years. He’s a closed book most of the time, but the turbulent waters run deep inside him. There is a reason he wants Taylor, but none of us will get to learn what that is.

I catch Matteo’s eyes and he merely appears interested. Taylor, however, looks fucking terrified.

I don’t blame her either. Tommaso hardly says two words to her, and yet his eyes drag after her like a lost puppy. He is struggling, and I’m aware of the reasons why, and I wonder if it’s too soon.

Matteo stands, gripping Taylor’s hand tightly, and as he tugs her from the room, my mind switches off. I can’t dwell on what this is. Matteo made it perfectly clear from the beginning that he gets her nights. I get her days, and Tommaso must take what’s left. It suits us, but he is already eating into my time with her, so I stop by him on the way out of the room and whisper, “You get tomorrow, but if you want your share, we must figure out a better way.”

“I told you.” He fixes me with a dark glare. “I’m not interested, but I do have business only she can help me with.”

I sit on the seat beside him and raise my eyes. “What business?”

“The guy, Jason.”

My skin actually crawls as I sense our perfect womanleaving before the ink has dried on the NDA Matteo expected her to sign.

“What about him?”

“We know where he is.”

“Fuck!”

I run my fingers through what hair I have on my head, and he shrugs. “Turns out he’s in Vegas after all.”

“Vegas?”