Page 59 of Joey

“Will you be safe?”

“Always, baby girl. Because I will always come back to you.”

“I miss you, Max.”

Fuck, hearing those words from her lips makes my heart and my cock ache painfully. “I miss you too, baby. Get some sleep, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow when I get a chance.”

I end the call and turn my attention back to the dipshit on the floor. Taking my foot off his hand, I stare down at him as he pulls it toward his body and sobs quietly. “Should you hear anything from Vito, or any of his old associates, you tell them Max DiMarco is looking for him. You hear me?”

Snot runs down the guy’s face as he nods.

I turn and walk away from him. There’s no use looking for Vito here in Chicago. New Jersey is where I’ll find my answers.

* * *

“You sure youdon’t want me to come to the airport with you?” Kristin asks as I throw my bag over my shoulder.

“No. Do not leave this apartment under any circumstances until I get back.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Not even if it’s on fire?”

“As long as you don’t attempt any more awful cooking, it won’t catch fire, will it?”

She fakes a scowl. “Hey, I made you bacon and eggs yesterday.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“You’ll be two days at the very most?”

“Yes.” I don’t plan to spend any longer than necessary in New Jersey, hundreds of miles away from Joey. Being apart from her, even while we’re in the same city, is the most agonizing torture. I make a mental note to call her from the cab. It’s been way too long since I heard her voice.

I give Kristin a hug. “I’ll check in with you as soon as I land.”

“And if I don’t hear from you?”

“You will. As soon as I land,” I promise. “I have to go. My cab will be outside.”

“Be careful, Max. My father was a very cautious man, and they still got to him.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assure her.

The cab is on the street by the time I get downstairs. I’m just about to pull the car door open when a woman with a stroller bumps into me and drops a bag of groceries at my feet. “I’m so sorry,” she exclaims.

“No problem.” I crouch down to help her pick up the items that spilled out, and she ducks down beside me. Smiling sweetly, she takes hold of my hand and something pricks my skin. “Night, night, pretty boy,” in a thick Russian accent are the last words I hear.

ChapterTwenty-Five

JOEY

Isit on the bench in the garden, swinging my legs and chewing on my thumbnail. I need to find a way to fix this. I cannot be responsible for tearing my family apart and Max never being one of us again. If I’d known this was the price we’d all have to pay, maybe I could have fought my desire for him harder.

Jumping up from the bench, I head into the house to find Anya and Kat. I need my girls to help me out.

I find Kat and Anya in my niece’s nursery. Kat is putting Gabriella down for her afternoon nap while Anya watches them from the rocking chair. I love how close they’ve become since Anya and Lorenzo returned home from Italy last year.

“Hey, I need your help,” I say quietly, careful not to wake the baby, although that kid could sleep through a tornado.

“With Maximo?” Anya asks with a wicked grin.