Okay, so the last thirty minutes have been weird.
First, Enzo sees me in nothing but a towel. Next, he had some sort of possessive moment, not liking me wearing a sweater that belonged to a man I haven’t seen in almost four years—then proceeded to strip that sweater from me, clearly not expecting me to not be wearing anything underneath.
Why the hell did I not wear at least a bra underneath it? I’m so used to not wearing one around the house that I just didn’t think.
A mistake I won’t be making again.
The mood has changed now though. The usually aloof and carefree Enzo is looking at me like he’s hesitant to even tell me what is going on.
“Tell me,” I say again when he still hasn’t said anything. I swallow and shift uncomfortably whilst I wait for the bad news that he’s clearly about to give me.
“The man who threatened you was sent by a rising gang who your brother owes money to. Apparently, Jeremy joined their ranks, stole the money and fled. The gang is called Blue Vipers and they’re fucking bad news, angel. I’m talking human trafficking, bad news.”
My body trembles as panic sets in.
Human trafficking.
They sell people.
Wait.
Enzo’s family is the Mafia, does that mean that they sell people too? Do they work with the people who want me?
“I can see the look on your face, and I’ll tell you right now that my family has never and will never deal in the skin trade. We actively don’t allow it and will be putting a stop to the assholes thinking they can buy and sell people in our city. We’ve also just started working with an… underground organization that tracks auctions, sales, shipments and anything else related to the skin trade.”
I nod, believing him. The look on his face is pure determination and a little horror. It’s clear he doesn’t condone it and I believe him when he says that he and his family will do anything to stop it.
“Anyway, the guy who turned up for you—Troy—was just a lackey sent by the higher ups. He was supposed to take you to an address which my dad sent a team to check out, but we came up empty. They must have had eyes on us when we picked up that fucker who put his hands on you.”
This is all so surreal. What the hell is my brother playing at messing around with gangs? Stealing from them? He’s lost his damn mind and now I’m left with the fallout.
So does that mean they’ll come back for me?
Break into my apartment again?
Will they take me and sell me to someone even worse?
Oh God, what if they—
“Shhh, you’re okay,” Enzo murmurs before wrapping his arms around me—I was so deep in a spiral I didn’t even see him approach me.
His arms circle my body, and he tugs me into his chest before he cradles the back of my head and presses a kiss to my hair.
“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, angel. They’ll have to go through me and my family before they get to you and that ain’t gonna happen,” he whispers against my hair and his softly spoken words help calm my heart rate and settle my trembling body.
Before I even know what’s happening, Enzo’s picking me up off the ground and walking into the living room. He sits down on the sofa with me on his lap, still cradling my body to his as he whispers in my ear about how he’ll never let anyone hurt me again.
My eyes blink open and I find myself lying on a bed, sunlight shining through the crack of the drapes.
It takes me a minute to get my bearings and once I do I realize I’m in Enzo’s spare bedroom. I have no idea how I got here, the last thing I remember was sitting on his lap as he held me.
I must have fallen asleep like that, and he must have brought me in here.
“Morning, angel,” Enzo’s voice rasps and I almost jump out of my skin. I sit up and my head swivels to the side to find him sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
What the…?
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice thick with sleep.
“You were scared last night, and I know you won’t be used to sleeping in here. I didn’t want you to wake up and panic, I wanted to be here if you needed me,” he says and shrugs sheepishly.
I open my mouth to reply but the words get caught in my throat.
This big scary Mafia man was worried I’d be scared if I woke up alone so he slept in a chair all night so he could be here for me.
I swear this man lives to surprise me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and his lips tip up in a shy smile before he stands and stretches his arms wide. Clearly, he hasn’t been very comfortable.
“All good, angel. Now get dressed, I’m taking you out for breakfast,” he says as he walks towards me. He presses a kiss to my forehead and strolls out the room, leaving me to gape after him.
Once I’m showered and dressed for the day, I head out of the bedroom and find Enzo waiting for me in the kitchen with a coffee in a to-go cup. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that the man knows exactly how I take my coffee.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he helps me into my coat.
“A little diner just around the corner, I’ve been going there for years. You’ll love it.”
We leave the apartment side by side and walk for a few minutes until we reach the diner. I’ve lived here for years and didn’t even know that this place—Angie’s—existed. Enzo holds the door open for me as I step inside, and we’re immediately greeted by an older woman in an apron.
“Enzo! I didn’t know you were coming, caro,” the woman says in a thick Italian accent when she spots him. Enzo bends down and presses a kiss to each of her cheeks before placing his hand on my lower back.
“Angie, this is Robyn. Robyn, this is Angie, the owner of the diner and the best cook in the city.”
Angie looks between us with wide eyes before a wide smile lights up her face.
“Lovely to meet you Robyn,” she says as I smile back at her.
“C’mon angel, let’s get you fed.” Enzo steers me towards a two-person table in the corner of the diner and pulls my chair out for me. Once we’re both seated, Angie comes over to drop off the menus before hurrying away again.
“I guess you come here often?”
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. Angie’s husband is my dad’s friend, so we grew up coming here every week. I don’t think my brothers come here very often anymore but I still like to pop in when I can,” Enzo says with a smile, and I realize he’s nothing like the man I thought he was.
The rumors make him sound like a complete killing machine. But he’s just a man who grew up with a family different to most, he’s still human, he still enjoys things every other person does. He just feels emotions differently than most. It’s clear that he’s not very in touch with his feelings, and he’s probably gone a long time avoiding any sort of emotional connection. Until me, that is. Angie comes back and takes our order before we sit and make small talk.
“Why are you doing all of this, Enzo? What are you expecting to get out of it?” I ask and his brows furrow but before he can answer, our breakfasts are placed in front of us by a waitress whose eyes linger a little too long on the man in front of me.
It shouldn’t bother me that she takes an interest in him, but for some weird reason it does. Maybe it’s just because he’s clearly here with me, and for all she knows we could be here on a date. All I know is, it’s taking everything in me not to claw her eyeballs out for staring at him.
Luckily, Enzo’s eyes don’t leave me during the whole interaction. He doesn’t even spare her a glance. He mutters a short thanks, clearly dismissing her and she finally gets the hint before scurrying away.
“I’m doing this because I feel a deep-seated need to keep you safe. Your safety is the only thing I care about. Whatever else happens is up to you, angel. I’ll never push you for anything you don’t want.”
“So you’re okay with us just being friends?” I ask, because getting involved with a man like him would be a one-way ticket to a broken heart and I don’t think I could handle any more hurt in my life.
“You wanna be friends, angel? I’ll be the best damn friend you’ve ever had. I understand why you don’t want more from me, and I can’t blame you, Robyn. You’re my obsession, and I know that sounds bad, but I just want to be in your life in any way you’ll let me. I fought to keep away from you for a while, but that’s done now. I pushed the feelings away and I ended up leaving you alone to get hurt. If you ever trust me on anything, let it be this: I will never let anyone get close to hurting you again. I’m fine with being friends, but if you ever want more? I’ll be here ready and waiting for you.” The determination in his eyes makes my breath stutter.
I knew he was obsessed with me, and I figured he would find a way to make me fall for him, one way or another. But I can tell by the sincerity in his voice as he spoke that he really will just be my friend if that’s all I want.
I nod my head and continue eating, not knowing what the hell to say to that. He said everything I wanted to hear, so why does it hurt so much?
I shouldn’t want to be anything more than friends. Hell, I shouldn’t even want that much.
All I know is that I want to keep him in my life. Not only because he’s protecting me, but because he makes me smile like no one ever has, because he makes me feel things I didn’t know I could feel and because even though he is a bad man, who does bad things, he’s good to me.
I’ve never met a man so hell bent on being in my life, and for that I want to keep him right where he is.
We head back to the apartment once we finish breakfast. Angie gave me a hug goodbye and told me she’d love it if I came back with Enzo. I honestly don’t know what to think of the whole interaction. Everything that’s happened in the last few days is just turning my head to mush.
Enzo helps me take off my coat once we step inside his apartment then guides me to the sofa. He waits for me to sit down before he takes a seat opposite me. His eyes don’t leave mine as he sits, and I wait for him to speak.
“After everything I found out yesterday, I want you to stay here until we can sort all of this shit out with the Blue Vipers, and I want to assign you one of our men to guard you.”
“Guard me?” I say with a raised brow.
“I won’t keep you prisoner Robyn, and I know you need to work, so this is the best option unless you want me to be your shadow every second of the day?” he asks, and I shake my head. He nods his head as if that’s what he expected.
“You just need to stay here until we can sort everything out, then you can get back to your life. They may not even bother coming for you now that they know you’re under my protection, but I can’t be sure and I’m not willing to take that risk.”
“Are you sure the man who broke into my apartment won’t come back?” I ask. I know he somehow got him to tell him everything, but what if he decides to come back for me anyway?
“He’ll never be able to hurt you again, Robyn.” His usual relaxed posture stiffens, and his features turn to stone as he speaks.
“How can you be sure?”
“He can’t hurt you if he’s dead.”
