Page 31

Milo

O ur trip home mirrored our flight to the island.

Isabetta slept in her seat, while Renzo, Havoc, and I were deep in conversation.

We really had worn our girl out, but she had taken everything we had planned for her, and more.

We weren’t done, not by a long shot. I still had so many things I wanted to show and teach her.

The more she learned, not only about what we enjoyed, but what she enjoyed, the more things I imagined doing with her.

I could envision the people we were and the life we were going to live together.

Renzo was mad at me. He had given me the cold shoulder since we had gotten on the plane.

I knew he would simmer until he was ready to either talk about it or punish me, and I wasn’t sure which one I wanted, if I was honest. All the time I had spent with Isabetta this morning had me feeling mostly sated, but yesterday watching from Renzo’s office while she had been with Havoc, stoked a fire which still smoldered.

None of us could agree with the others about what Isabetta was ready to experience.

I had been firmly on Renzo’s side in the beginning.

We had spent so long keeping her as far from the violence in our lives as possible.

There was an innocence about her I loved, and I wanted to cherish.

But Havoc was very persuasive when he wanted to be, and he was sure she was ready for this.

Ready for everything we were, and everything we did.

It was true she hadn’t broken, run, or fought us.

So I had tested her. I knew if I had talked to Renzo about it, he would have shut the conversation down immediately.

I rarely agreed with Havoc’s position of it being better to say fuck you than ask for permission, but today it had produced results I couldn’t deny.

Havoc was going over the new information he had gathered.

His men were working hard to dig everything up on the Alps.

The wedding hadn’t been a secret—half the city had been invited—so a honeymoon would be expected.

Renzo’s father had been openly talking about retiring and having Renzo take over, so the marriage had been the obvious last step needed.

But none of us or the people we spoke to had heard of the Alps before.

They weren’t from our city. So how had they known what was going on, and why did they think we were weak enough to attack?

There were so many questions, and getting answers was our priority.

Unless you asked Havoc, who was convinced that killing all of them was the only thing we needed to do.

This was why we needed Renzo, he balanced us.

He wanted revenge for the damage to his territory and reputation, but also wanted answers.

He wanted to know how this had happened so he could make sure it never did again.

We were so caught up in planning that the plane had landed before any of us realized. It was a little disappointing to not repeat the best part of our earlier trip, but there would be plenty of time for that later. And Isabetta really needed to rest.

Renzo carried her to the car, careful not to wake her.

She still wore only one of his shirts. I was surprised he hadn’t given her something more to wear to travel home, but I also wasn’t complaining.

I was tempted to reach out and run my hand up her leg, but the look Renzo leveled at me when my fingers slid toward her made me return my hand to my lap.

Yeah, I was in trouble.

She was just waking when Havoc pulled the car through the gates to our new home.

Renzo had insisted on buying it before the wedding.

It had more space than we knew what to do with, and most of the rooms were empty.

Turning it into a home would give Isabetta something to focus on, though I was going to miss the brownstone where we had spent our late teens and early twenties.

Technically, we had still lived with Renzo’s parents, as his mother had not wanted to let him go until she had to, but Renzo had always made sure we had a space that was just ours.

Havoc was out of the car first, talking to the staff and giving orders.

He was being respectful of the late hour and keeping his voice down.

I stepped out next, looking around. I may not have been a fighter to the same degree as my brother, but I swept over all the thoughts I could pick up to make sure no one was lying in wait.

Hiding to take us out was the sort of thing we expected from the Alps.

I didn’t like the feeling of paranoia, or waiting for them to attack, but we needed to be careful.

Isabetta tried to climb out of the car next, but Renzo pushed her back into her seat.

I could see the smirk on his face as he shook his head.

He climbed out of his door and walked around to my side.

Once I nodded, he reached into the car and scooped Isabetta out, carrying her like a bride to the door with her protests falling on deaf ears.

If she thought this was the last time one of us was going to scoop her up and carry her, she was in for a shock.

Havoc was fond of slinging girls over his shoulder and carrying them off to be ravished.

I followed them into the house, where Renzo was already halfway up the stairs, taking them two at a time, effortlessly carrying Isabetta.

I was glad he headed that way, and not to his office or the kitchen, the girl needed more sleep.

The plane ride was brief and her nap this afternoon hadn’t been enough, especially considering how many sleepless nights were headed our way.

It didn’t matter how much we wanted to shield her it was going to be a fight.

The main bedroom was one of the few rooms that was already furnished and decorated.

Not because Renzo didn’t want Isabetta’s input.

I was sure she would add her own touches.

It was because the bed took up most of the room.

Doors led to a dressing room, a closet, and a bathroom, but since we planned for all four of us to sleep in here, Renzo had the bed custom-made.

The posts were sturdy, the tie-down points were hidden in the carved design.

The dark sheets matched well with the wood and the dark green of the walls.

Renzo tossed Isabetta on to the bed, her mussed hair lit by the glow of her halo.

It was enough to add a soft light to the room, but I turned on two of the lamps as well.

I wanted to see her laying, finally, where she belonged.

It was a shame we were coming back to a fight, or the three of us would have kept her in this bed for a week straight.

It wasn’t a bad idea of how to celebrate when we won.

I would have to suggest it to the others later.

“You need to sleep, tesoro, there will be a lot to do tomorrow. And the day after. I am sure your mother will want to see you soon. In the morning, we will go over the rules of the house.” Renzo pressed a kiss to her temple as he urged her to lie down.

She would not like some of those rules, but others she was going to enjoy immensely, even if it took a little convincing.

Out of all of us, Havoc was looking forward to her breaking the rules the most, but that wasn’t a surprise.

Renzo had straightened up and was halfway across the room before Isabetta found her voice.

“Wait!” Even for an exclamation, it was soft and hesitant.

Her hands were inside the sleeves of her shirt and she was chewing her lip.

All signs of nervousness that I had never seen from her before. Isabetta wasn’t a shy girl.

Renzo and I both looked at her, curious about what she had to say.

It took her a few seconds to speak, and the pair of us waited on tenterhooks.

Was this when she fought back? I had been expecting some rebellion from her, but I had thought it would take a few days of chafing under Renzo’s rules to kick in.

Hell, Havoc and I were vexed by them ourselves sometimes, although Havoc much more than I.

“I’ve seen you and Havoc together. And I was hoping, maybe, if you feel like it, I could see the two of you together…”

By the end, her words were no more than a squeak, but they brought a grin to my face and a song to my heart.

This was what we had been hoping for, Isabetta to accept not just Havoc and me wanting her, but all of us together.

I had to keep a tight lid on my excitement, as Renzo was still angry at me after all.

There was every chance he was going to say no, or put it off, using her need to rest as an excuse.

I held my breath, looking at her so I didn’t stare at him, waiting to hear his answer.

“I could never deny you anything, tesoro. You could ask for the stars themselves, and I would move heaven and earth to set them at your feet.” I was glad Havoc wasn’t around to hear Renzo’s reply.

Not because I thought he wouldn’t like it—his words were beautiful and spoke of the love we all had for her—but if a few words from Isabetta were all it took to get us out of trouble with Renzo, it was something Havoc would take advantage of every chance he had.

My breathing started again, and I couldn’t smooth the silly grin from my face. Isabetta mirrored my excitement, already shifting on the bed, so she was sitting up against the headboard, a mound of pillows around her. She was still biting her lip, but her expression had a much saucier tone.