Page 87 of Villainous Kingpin

“Hannah,” Bianca scolded her, giving her the most threatening look she could pull off. It resembled a mean kitten. I was sure her twins were shitting their pants.Not.

The little blonde just shrugged her shoulders and folded her arms in front of her chest. “What? I have to earn money somehow.”

“Holy fuck, we should get this one to give us some pointers,” Ivy mumbled. “They should totally attend our school.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Juliette added, then turned to face Nico. “Would you consider sending your kids to our school? It might be ready by the time they are old enough. We just have to find some other mobsters to rob,” Juliette muttered. “You were a bad choice.”

“You think?” Nico mused, entertained.

“No, no more stealing,” Davina hissed, glaring at her friend who batted her eyelashes.

“Can you lay her down and then fight him?” the other twin asked.

“Nobody is fighting,” Bianca said firmly. “But you two might earn yourselves a timeout. Separately,” she warned, giving them a pointed look.

That seemed to have the desired impact because the two of them made themselves scarce right away.

“Let me show you to the guest room,” Bianca offered and I nodded, but before I left the room, Brennan called out.

“When she’s awake, I want to talk to her,” he said, his voice dark. My shoulders tensed, knowing that it was inevitable that Wynter and Brennan talk. Honestly, I was surprised to have succeeded in keeping him at bay for this long.

I followed Bianca through their estate home. She kept chatting softly, probably her way of releasing her tension. Unlike Cassio’s wife or Luciano’s wife, Bianca and Bella had never gotten completely comfortable around men like us. Their husbands were the exception, of course.

Once we were in the guest bedroom, I laid Wynter’s body on the bed. She lost some weight in the last two weeks. From what I heard, she usually had a healthy appetite but not since her run in with the old DiLustro.

“Is she going to be okay?” Bianca whispered.

I nodded. I didn’t give Wynter enough credit. Shewasstrong. I’d seen it over the last three weeks - in her persistence and determination. She just had a very big heart and I feared a romantic one that she hid underneath her ice princess persona.

“I can’t believe I have an Olympic gold medalist in my home,” Bianca murmured. “Maybe the twins will take note and try to aim for something more than just being little devious troublemakers.”

My lip quirked. “Then you might want to keep them away from Wynter and her friends. They are quite accomplished troublemakers. Reckless too.”

She chuckled softly. “I gathered. What were they thinking trying to make money in Nico’s casino by counting cards?”

I suspected it was their way to get attention. Davina shot me a message, telling me of their plan. Of course, she waited until they were elbows deep into it.

“How’s married life treating you?” I asked her curiously. “I still remember that Hallmark drama wedding. I think the only thing that beat that event was catching these four reckless criminals,” I tilted my head towards Wynter’s sleeping form, “... pushing an armored vehicle into a river after they stole millions.”

“Jesus!” Bianca sounded slightly appalled. She watched Wynter sleep for a few seconds, then added, “You know, I can’t help but think she had a point.”

I raised an eyebrow. “About?”

“Being kept in the dark,” she clarified. “It is in y’all’s genes to protect women. It’s like it has been beaten into you since you were born.” She wasn’t far off. “My family did it. Nico still does it, with me and the girls. And while I don’t mind it at all, in fact love it, I worry how it will impact our children. Especially the girls. Like Wynter said, she’s so protected, she wouldn’t know if she was staring into the face of an enemy.”

I didn’t disagree. Wynter was so oblivious to the cause of the wedge in her and DiLustro’s family that she went and fell in love with one. Yeah, she refused to say she loved him. But it was plain as fucking day.

Wynter stirred on the bed and Bianca was forgotten. I took two strides to the side of the bed and lowered to my haunches.

Her eyes fluttered open and those green eyes that had the world falling at her feet met mine.

“Hey, rebel.”

For a moment she just stared quietly, probably trying to figure out how she got here.

“Panic attacks aren’t good,” she finally whispered.

“No, they aren’t,” I agreed. “But they’re manageable.”