Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

S he has no idea what she stole from me. I've seen this happen to other members of my family. The moment they meet their person, the one who takes their heart instantly and completely.

I'm not supposed to fall for someone like her. A cop. A fucking FBI agent with a hard-on for putting my ass behind bars. My heart doesn't belong to her, and yet she's taken it anyway. I knew there was something about her the first time I saw her. It was clearer last night when I saw some fucker putting his hands all over her in that bathroom.

The rage I felt, the way my stomach turns at the thought of something happening to her. That doesn't mean I'm any less determined to be the one to destroy her. There is nothing I won't do for my family. Breaking my own heart is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I've gone my whole life without knowing true love. I can continue on without it just fine.

And let's be honest. Up until last night, I wasn't a hundred percent sure my heart even worked. I love my family, beyond measure, but these odd feelings my little thief is bringing out in me are foreign and I can only assume it's what I see in all the relationships within my family. My parents, my aunts and uncles, my grandparents. They all have that storybook love, the once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that only happens in movies.

A man like me, though?

Like I said, I can live without it. It's probably for the best. Love makes people do stupid shit. Take my little sister, for instance. Right now, she's sacrificing everything in the name of love. At first, when I heard about her plan, I was against it. I'd do anything to bring her home. But now, I think I get it. I still don't like it, but I get it.

I don't look back to see if Kayleigh is following me. I have a feeling she will. She wants intel. The best way to get that is to actually spend time with me. She's not getting shit out of me, of course, but she doesn't know that. Yet.

"This is a nice place. How exactly does a college student afford a place like this?" she asks while her bare feet pitter-patter behind me.

Straight into interrogation mode, I see.

"I made a deal with the devil." I chuckle. Little does she know, I am the fucking devil. At least when it comes to her.

"Riiight. There's no shame in being a trust fund brat," she says, her voice teasing.

"I'm not ashamed of my family or where I come from." I shrug.

"What's your major?"

"Business, you?" I pull two plates down from the overhead cabinet. When I turn around to look at Kayleigh again, she's staring right back at me, or at my chest at least.

"That's an interesting design. What is it?" she asks, pointing at the colorful ink that fills my right pec and shoulder.

"It's the aurora polaris, the sun and the moon," I tell her. "It's symbolism for my little sister. Her name is Aurora. And, well, you could say she keeps my life colorful." It's the truth. I should have made something up, but it's no secret that I love my sister.

"You must be close with her. Your sister, I mean. Does she go to NYU too?" Kayleigh is trying to appear nonchalant. She's failing. She's practically frothing at the mouth, thinking she's prying intel out of me.

"I am very close with all of my family. There's nothing I wouldn't do for them. What about you? Do you have siblings?" I turn the conversation back to her, while avoiding her questions about my sister.

"I'm an only child," Kayleigh says.

"Your parents got it right the first time, then?" I laugh. It's a joke in our family. My Zio Luca and Zia Katy always say they didn't need more than one child. That my cousin Orlando is perfect, and since they got it right the first time, they didn't try for another. If that theory were true, my parents definitely should have stopped after me. "I didn't know what you liked, so I went with the safe option. Bacon, sausage, eggs. And toast," I tell her.

"I'm a vegan," she deadpans.

I drop the frying pan back onto the stove top with a thud. "Well, I guess toast it is?"

Kayleigh starts laughing. It's a sound that I find myself wanting to record, just so I can play it over and over. "I'm kidding. But judging by the look on your face, anyone would think I just killed your cat," she says. "I eat everything, but I'm not sure how much I can actually stomach right now."

"Are you sick? I can get a doctor here to check you over?"

What the fuck was I thinking? I should have done that last night. God only knows what she was given.

Before Kayleigh can answer, my phone vibrates across the counter and my dad's name pops up on the screen.

"I gotta take this. Dish yourself up some food," I tell her, swiping up my cell and walking out of the kitchen. I hit the green answer button and press the device to my ear. "Pops, what's up?"

"Your sister called," he says.

"She did? Where is she?" I ask him.

"She wouldn't say and we couldn't get a track on her, but she sounded okay. I just thought you'd want to know," he says.

"Of course I want to know."

"You'll be at Sunday dinner?" he questions, like it's actually an option to miss it.

"I'll be there," I tell him and then an idea presents itself. "Oh, and I'm bringing someone. Spread the word. Tell everyone to tone it down a bit. She's an outsider." I know that by the time I get to my grandparents on Sunday, all signs of the family being involved in organized crime will be gone. The guards will be well hidden, and no guns or weapons will be in sight.

I should warn my father that my houseguest is an FBI agent. I don't. I want to string her along on my own. I'm going to feed her little bits of information—nothing on my actual family, of course. Just little bits of bullshit that will all lead to dead ends. It'll drive her mad. I know it would drive me insane, if the tables were reversed.

Now, I just have to worm my way into her life, get her comfortable enough to come to my family's Sunday dinner. Although, if she's as thirsty for insider information as I think she is, it won't be all that hard to convince her.