Page 35 of His Playground (Owning Vegas #2)
Chapter Thirty-Four
C arlo sets me back down on my feet, and I stumble. If it weren’t for him holding me upright, I’d probably be on the floor right now. Carlo’s face changes from one of post-orgasmic bliss to concern in a flash.
“What’s wrong? Fuck, Antonia, you said you were feeling better,” he curses.
“I am. I’m fine. I just got dizzy for a minute,” I tell him.
“You’re not fine. You should be in bed.” Carlo wraps his arms around my waist and holds me against him.
“Yeah, that’s kinda hard when your home is broken into by people who want to kill you,” I remind him.
“That should never have happened. I’m sorry.” He sighs.
“It’s not your fault. I don’t know why my father wants you dead, but you need to make sure he doesn’t succeed, Carlo. I’m just getting used to being your wife. I’m not ready to become your widow.”
Carlo’s body stiffens. “You think I’m gonna let you off that easily? We’ve got a lifetime together, babe. We’re going to grow old and have grandbabies running around.”
I lean back. “Jazzy said something.”
“What?” he asks.
“She said that men visited her mom. She’d hide Jazzy from them, but the poor kid heard the men asking about you, Carlo. Do you think they were my father’s men?”
“Why would your father do that? He knows where I am?” Carlo counters.
“I don’t know why Joey Marciano does anything he does.” I shrug.
“I’ll sort it out,” Carlo says. And I know that he means he’s going to kill my father.
There’s a very small part of me that feels remorse. What kind of daughter is okay with their parent dying? He wasn’t father of the year by any means, but he was the only parent I knew. Unlike my mother, he didn’t leave me.
“Come on, let’s go get Jazzy.” Carlo doesn’t let go of me. I take a step back, and his hands shift to my arms to make sure I’m steady on my feet.
“How long do we have to stay here?” I ask him.
“I don’t know, but do me a favor. Make sure you’re with me or one of our guys. Don’t wander off alone.”
“You don’t trust Emmanuel?” I raise a brow.
“I do. It’s the men working under him I don’t trust,” Carlo grumbles.
“I’m aware of the type of men they are.”
We found Jazzy still bowling with Sammie. The guy seemed a little off. I’m guessing it has something to do with Lailani, but I wasn’t about to bring up that elephant.
Jazzy was exhausted, so I found a guest room for her. And now I’m sitting in here while she sleeps. Carlo went to meet with the guys. I know they’re planning to attack my father. I want to help. I also know there is no way my husband is going to agree with my plan.
The door opens, and Charlotte and Evie walk in. “We came to check on you. How you feeling?” Charlotte asks.
“I’m good. You?”
“I’ve been better, but I wanted to thank you. And reprimand you at the same time,” Charlotte says.
“For what?”
“For shoving me in that panic room and not getting in it yourself. Don’t do that again.” She smiles, but I know she means it.
“I didn’t want Jazzy to be in there alone, and you’ve already been shot once. That’s more than enough for a lifetime.” I shrug.
“Still, don’t put yourself before me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you,” she says.
“I’ve been trained for these situations my whole life,” I tell her. “Actually, I need to find Carlo. Could you sit with Jazzy for me?”
“Sure,” Charlotte replies.
“They’re in Emmanuel’s office,” Evie adds. “Want me to show you where it is?”
“You know, for someone who’s only been here once, you sure do know your way around.” Charlotte looks at her friend expectantly.
“I didn’t say how long I stayed.” Evie laughs.
As soon as we’re out of the room, I look at Evie. “So you and E, huh?”
“There is no me and E,” she says sharply.
“Does he know that?”
“I wish he did.” She sighs.
“I don’t know him that well, but I do know the men in this world. If they want something, they’re not going to give up without giving it everything they’ve got,” I tell her.
“I’m learning that,” she says.
We get to a door that is guarded by six men. “Bit of an overkill, don’t you think, fellas?” I ask. They glare at me in return.
“Can I see him?” Evie says, her voice quiet, shy.
“Always,” one of the guards replies, and then proceeds to tap a rhythm on the door. Seconds later, it swings open. Emmanuel stands in the now open space, his eyes landing right on Evie.
“Sorry, Antonia needs to see Carlo,” she tells him.
Emmanuel drags his eyes over to me. Steps aside and holds the door open. “He’s in there.”
Walking past him, I jump when the door slams behind me. Emmanuel doesn’t follow. He’s still on the other side with Evie.
“Everything all right?” Carlo asks.
“I have an idea,” I tell him.
“An idea about what?” His lips tip up at the corner as his eyes travel from my feet to my face.
“Not that kind of idea. I know how to get to my father.” This gets the attention of Sammie and Louie.
“You don’t need to worry about that. We’re handling it,” Louie says.
“I’m aware, but my plan will work and it’ll be quick and painless,” I explain.
“Let’s hear it,” Sammie chimes in.
“My father is still expecting me to deliver that drive to him. All I have to do is call him and tell him I found it. Go meet him.”
“Absolutely fucking not. You are not going anywhere near that asshole!” Carlo yells.
“He’s not going to do anything to me,” I say, although I’m not a hundred percent sure about that.
The three men share a look. They’re keeping secrets. Why am I not surprised?
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask Carlo.
“Nothing,” he lies.
“Nothing? Okay, well then, have a nice life. I’ll have my attorney deliver you the divorce papers.” I turn and storm out of the office.
He promised he’d never lie to me again, and he just flat-out lied to my face. Fuck him. Screw this. I will not be the wife who just sits around and looks pretty, coming out of her cage when it suits her husband.
As I’m walking down the hall, an arm wraps around my waist and my feet are lifted from the floor. “Argh, put me down.” My fist slams into whatever part of his body I can reach from this angle, which isn’t much.
“Divorce papers, really, Antonia? In what fucking world do you think I’d ever sign fucking divorce papers?” Carlo growls against my ear.
“In the world where you continue to lie to me even though you promised you wouldn’t.”
He walks into an empty bedroom, and then my body lands on a mattress, his torso covering mine so that I can’t move. “Keeping painful truths from you for your own good isn’t lying.”
“Yes, it is,” I grit out through clenched teeth. “Either you tell me the truth, or whatever hopes you had of having a happy marriage are slashed. I will not be kept in the closet, Carlo Bianchi.”
He stares at me for a moment. Then he sighs. “Your father isn’t just trying to kill me, Antonia.”
“What? Who else is he after?” I ask him.
“You,” he says. “Which I will not let happen.”
I laugh. “He’s not going to kill me, Carlo.” I shake my head. Denial is a son of a bitch.
“Are you sure about that? The chef said that bowl of soup was supposed to go to you, not me.”
I freeze, a chill traveling up my spine. “What?”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Carlo leans down and presses his lips against mine.
“My plan will still work,” I tell him.
“If you ever mention divorce again, I will lock you away somewhere. You are not leaving me, Antonia,” he says, without addressing my idea.
I don’t doubt for a minute that he would follow through with his threat. “Then don’t lie to me, Carlo. Don’t give me a reason to want to leave,” I tell him. “Don’t break me again.”