The past three days were quite tense. Elio and I didn't talk. But hopefully, this distance can help to cool things down. 

Even though I knew steering clear of each other is beneficial for both of us, it'd be a lie if I say there weren't times I waited for him to show up and initiate something, anything.

At least, during these awful three days, Marco has been keeping me company, updating me about the latest news going around the house.

Elio had to confess his true plans and his guesses regarding someone playing a grand game with them. Slava, obviously wasn't happy and tried relentlessly to change Elio's mind and persuade him to whack me. Thankfully Marco and Elio stood firmly against it and anyone who agreed with Slava.

Pietro has been pissy, to Marco's displeasure, because as Elio's underboss, he expected to be aware of all these things.

Other than that, life has been the same, when Marco isn't around, I have nothing to do except look out of the narrow window. Very productive, I know.

A knock on the door snaps me out of my mindless sky-gazing. I twist on my spot, my brows furrow with confusion. Marco just left, has something new happened?

"Come in," I say as I slide myself off the bed.

The door opens and I freeze. Elio walks inside and stops in the middle of the room.

My mouth hangs open as we gaze at each other for a long moment. My heart rate picks up and I internally smack myself. He's not supposed to have this effect on me. Dammit.

"You said you want to accompany me in every sitdown. Are you still up for that?"

Hesitantly I nod.

"Good, tonight we're meeting Enzo Esposito and a few of his men. Someone will be here in an hour to help you get ready."

"For real? You're taking me with you?"

He shrugs, his mouth set in a straight line. "If you screw it up, it'll be the last time you leave the house."

I purse my lips but don't argue back as he turns and walks away.

Asshole.

It takes me over three hours to shower, argue with the woman who had come from a boutique with four racks of clothing, and dress up. By the end, I'm somewhat satisfied with how I look and a range of colorful clothes has been added to my wardrobe.

I survey my reflection. The unbuttoned pine green sheer blouse, is a few shades darker than my eye color and the black skinny jeans I chose are comfortable enough for the night. My compromise was allowing the woman to persuade me into wearing strappy black heels.

I decided to keep my hair open for tonight, the auburn of my hair is a nice contrast to the green, and hopefully combined with my necklace, it should be a good distraction from the plunging neckline of my blouse.

I saunter out of the room. Just as I shut the door, hurrying footsteps give me pause. Marco jogs toward me.

"Elio ees waitinga." He stops next to me and offers his hand.

"Thanks." I smile at him as I hold on to him for balance as we set down the hallway.

"You looka verry nice," Marco says as we reach the staircase and I thank him again, slowly descending the steps.

Down the first flight, Elio comes into view standing at the bottom of the staircase, clad in black, the first two buttons of his shirt are undone, showing the edges of his tattoos.

His head snaps up from his phone and his eyes latch on me. The intensity of his gaze sets my entire body on fire and my mouth goes dry.

He drinks in my form, his gaze moving from my head to toe so slowly it makes my breath hitch. His eyes dip down my cleavage, staring for a moment too long before finally dragging them up to my eyes.

"Non puoi essere più ovvio sulla tua cotta per lei, amico," Marco says with a grin the second we reach Elio.

Elio's features darken and he spits, "Bafangu chooch."

Marco throws his head back guffawing and I watch them while entertaining the idea of smacking them both.

"Vaffanculo," Elio mutters at Marco's grinning face before motioning his hand at me. "Let's go."

I wave at Marco before following Elio, and once near the entrance door, I dare to ask, "What did he say?"

"Something stupid," he grumbles dismissively and I don't push the matter as we exit the mansion. The car is already waiting for us, with the doors held open.

Silently we climb inside and Elio's men shut the doors for us. The driver sets down the path leading outside.

"Stay close to me the entire night or maybe in the back, just don't be too much in the center. If you need anything either tell me or Pietro. And don't start a figh-"

"I'm not a kid," I snap, glaring at Elio.

"But you do have a problem with keeping your mouth shut."

I huff, twisting on my spot and turning my back on him.

"It's not like you guys are going to talk in English," I grumble.

"You could have asked me for some notes with the crucial words and memorized them," he smugly replies.

I glower at him. "You fucking infuriating asshole."

A smirk twitches his mouth as he drums his fingers on the armrest. "Which reminds me of, I was hoping if you wouldn't flaunt this entire we can't stand each other matter at Enzo's face, it'd be beneficial for us."

I purse my lips and decide to not answer him.

Long moments of silence pass by, silence takes hold inside the car. I fold my arms and sigh as I gaze out of the window.

"About your father," Elio starts, grabbing my attention instantly.

He shifts on his spot as if it's physically bothering him to say the following words. My brows furrow and my heart pounds as I grow more anxious.

"That man is safe, he hired a few more bodyguards and is being protected by the government. He's pretty much untouchable at the moment." His eyes jump from one place to another, avoiding me entirely.

I nibble my bottom lip, moving closer to him. "Are you sure?" I hesitantly ask.

He curtly nods, his jaw ticking. "I checked myself," he mutters.

Instant relief floods me and I lean back into my seat, a smile threatening to spill over my face. "Thank you." From the corner of my eye, I glimpse Elio clenching his jaw and pursing his lips.

I play with my necklace, tracing the pendant's shape, curiosity burns brighter in me and even though I know I probably shouldn't, I can't help myself. "Did you find anything about Ruby?"

"No." At last, he turns to me, his face devoid of emotion as his eyes bore into me.

I sink into the seat, clasping my hands over my thigh.

We fall into a heavy silence.

Elio breaks it by saying, "You can call her if you must, but keep it short."

My eyes widen and my head snaps to him. "Really?"

"And you have to do it in front of me," he adds.

Even though I bite my bottom lip, a grin spreads across my face. "Done. When can I call her? After we get back or maybe tomorrow evening?"

Excitement bubbles up in me. It's a small thing to get so happy over but I understand the risk he's undertaking. Half of me still isn't convinced he's actually going to let me do it but I've missed her so much and I need to ensure she's alright.

Elio presses a button on his armrest and the shield slides up, separating us from the driver. He pulls out a phone from the inside pocket of his jacket and holds it out for me.

"If you talk about this to anyone, even Marco, I'll make you regret it."

Grinning, I snatch the phone from his grasp. My fingers shake slightly from anticipation as I tap down her number. With a deep inhale I steady my breathing, paying no heed to Elio's burning gaze fixated on me. I stare at the phone for a moment, hoping for the best before hitting the call button.

I press the phone to my ear, razoring my lip between my teeth as I anxiously wait.

After three rings, the call is answered. "Hello?" Ruby's uncertain voice comes from the other end and I almost cry from relief.

"Ruby?"

She gasps. "Cerise, is that you? Oh my God, I thought you were dead, oh my God, are you okay?" she rambles, her voice shaking.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Ru, listen-" But she doesn't and instead bombards me with questions.

"Where are you? I tried calling you, where did you go suddenly? Where have you been? With who are you? Are you alone? Are you running away from-"

"Ruby shut up," I sharply cut her off. "Just listen, I have to keep it short, I'm safe but everyone who has worked with me or has been close to me, is in danger, including you. Please, ask for protection and don't come looking for me, I'm okay. Just lay low and stay out of trouble for a while and don't go on any risky missions, okay? You're all in danger."

"Do you know that judge you used to work wi-"

I interrupt her. "I do, and he's not going to be the last, please stay alert and careful. Hire protection and don't go anywhere alone and unarmed."

"Okay, but where are you?"

"I can't tell you, but don't worry about me, I'm fine. I have to go now, just stay safe, okay?"

"Girl I missed you, I knew you were going to get yourself in trouble," she huffs and I can't help but giggle.

"Ruby I need to go-"

"Don't worry about us, I'll keep myself, and your Caleb, alive for you." I can hear the smirk in her voice.

"Oh my God," I laugh, shaking my head. "Love you, just be careful."

"Love you too," she laughs. "Don't die."

"You too, bye." I hang up, unable to get the stupid grin off my face as I ease back into my seat.

I hand the phone to Elio, noting his furrowed brows and tilted head as he observes me. His gaze lingers on me even after getting the phone before blinking a few times. He busies himself with taking off the sim card and snapping it in two and throwing out the pieces.

"Thank you," I say as sincerely as I can.

"Just don't go behind my back again to contact someone."

I sigh and nod. "It was wrong, but I never thought you'd let me call Ruby or anyone."

"Neither did I," he mumbles under his breath so softly for a beat I second guess myself, not sure if I actually heard him or if my mind made up that answer.

"What?" I squint at him but he doesn't look away from the window.

"Nothing," he mutters.

I frown. "Why did you let me?" I pause, pondering and realizing how stupid I've been. Obviously, he wants something back and now he knows who to blackmail me with. Damn it. But I had to call Ruby, I had to make sure she was safe. "What do you want in return?"

His body tenses. "We'll discuss it later."

"No, I want to know right now," I demand.

He releases a heavy sigh and turns to face me. "Take this as a peace offering. You said you want to stand against our enemies, I'm just showing you, it'll be in your best interest to not do anything behind my back and peacefully work alongside each other until this mess is fixed."

I scrutinize him warily. "What you're saying is, you don't want anything in return?"

He presses his mouth into a line.

My eyebrows jump with surprise and despite the unlikelihood of the situation, my heart flutters. "Were you just nice to me for no reason?"

His features darken, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle flickers. The car stops.

"Don't make me regret it," he says through gritted teeth and throws the door open, climbing out.

I gasp and get out of the car. "Was the big bad, monstrous capo feeling bad for overreacting the other day?" I hurry after him, giving up on my useless effort of hiding the stupid grin.

The dimly lit alley is narrow and the plain iron door at the corner of the building is probably the nightclub's backdoor. Blasting music is coming from the other side.

He halts, his dark eyes locking on me. "Listen." He jabs his index finger at me, his voice dropping dangerously low. "You offered to be partners. I knew you weren't going to be the one to come and apologize, so I did what I had to do to set things back on track. Now-"

"Aww," I cut him off, striding to him, I plant myself so close to him his musky cologne scent engulfs me once more. "If I apologize would it fix your grumpy mood?" I smile innocently at him as I tilt my head. He glowers at me and I bite my lip to stop myself from giggling.

Someone's not used to being nice.

I step closer to him, tilting my head back to hold his gaze. I ignore how my heart races and let my fingers trace the outer line of his shirt alongside the few undone buttons.

His breathing grows heavier and his brown eyes darken, his pupils dilate even more regardless of the lamp post a few paces behind me, throwing its white light over Elio's face.

"Well, since I'm a good enemy and even a better partner," I start softly, gazing at him through my lashes. "I'm sorry I went behind your back and tried to contact my friend and my dad, it was wrong, especially since we hate each other's guts and don't trust each other one bit."

He leans closer to me as I get drawn to him even more. Our eyes stay locked and I let my fingertips halt over his chest, feeling his heartbeat underneath them. To my great surprise— and pleasure —it's beating faster than mine. Every cell in my body buzzes with excitement. The fire his gaze set me on only grows stronger burning me from inside out.

In a whisper I continue, "Thank you for checking on my Dad, and thank you so much for letting me talk to my friend. I really appreciate it." I coyly smile at him, surprising myself with the sudden burst of confidence. Maybe it's knowing he's affected by me as much as I am by him. Even if he manages to hide it, his racing heart and ragged breathing are a clear giveaway.

Against every fiber in my body aching to close the small space between us, I take a long stride backward, putting distance between us.

His face hardens with annoyance. I hold his gaze with a smirk and he glares at me. I might not be experienced in these intense matters, but I sure as hell can use his tricks on himself.

"Let's get this night over with," he roughly says, taking my hand in his, leading me into the nightclub.

❈ ☯︎ ❈

I hope you enjoyed this chapter (vote if you did), comment your thoughts?

Was Elio really just being nice or do you guys think there's an ulterior motive? =)

Thank you so much for reading this chapter.

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡