3. Tony

3

TONY

I forced myself to break eye contact with Elio. I wanted to kiss him so fucking bad. And after that I wanted to push him up against the wall and claim him over and over. I wanted him to be mine.

I glanced out the window at a very dead Billy Dunn.

Vinnie was going to explode.

I wasn't supposed to kill Billy. You can't get money out of a dead man . I'd had that lesson literally pounded into me, but after what Elio told me, there wasn't any way I was going to let Billy live. I'd have to convince Vinnie I'd done the right thing.

I could buy myself a little time by calling Micky.

Elio stepped back when I awkwardly tried to extract my phone from my left pocket using my right arm. He pushed my hand away, and my dick twitched when he slid his hand into my pocket and pulled out the phone for me. Jesus, what was it about his man?

His eyes widened, and he looked away. At least I wasn't the only one affected.

He's made for you.

I was in trouble from too many angles. The story of my fucking life.

Micky answered on the first ring. "I need a cleanup crew at my location."

"This wasn't supposed to be a hit."

"I know, things went south. I'll explain later. There was another party here. I'm bringing them with me."

Micky sighed. "Vinnie's going to go fucking ballistic."

"I know."

"Don't fuck this up, Tony."

"I'll try. Just give me a chance to explain."

Elio was shaking his head. "I can't?—"

I held up a hand, and he scowled at me while I finished talking.

When I ended the call, he said, "What do you mean I'm coming with you?"

"You just watched me kill Billy." Like that was the real reason.

"Jesus, did you kill him just for me?"

I wished I could kill him a second time. "Fuck yes, I did. The bastard hurt you."

"But I'm nothing to you."

"You're wrong about that."

"Tony, I can't leave with you."

"I didn't say you had a choice."

Elio blew out a long breath. "You don't understand."

"I understand that you're a witness to my criminal activities. I've got to bring you in and put you under my protection, or you could end up the next target."

"If you take me in, you're going to be a fucking target."

"For taking you from this asshole? If he had had better friends, he wouldn't be lying there dead."

"No." Elio laid a hand on my good arm. "From my family."

"Your family?"

"You don't know my name."

I really didn't like where this was going. "Are you telling me your name isn't really Elio?"

"It is Elio. Elio Barruchi."

A knot formed in my stomach. "Fuck."

"Yeah. You can't take me with you."

"Who's your father?"

"Giacomo."

The head of the family. Damn, I really knew how to step in it. "You're still coming with me." I'd already fucked up. I might as well bring one of our enemies home.

"You're crazy, Tony. I mean, maybe you'll get lucky and my father will decide I'm not worth the trouble, but he likes to defend what's his, even if you did capture his most worthless son."

I growled and took hold of Elio's chin, forcing him to look at me. "You are not worthless. Your father is a fucking fool if he thinks that."

"I'm not like the rest of my family. I never wanted to be involved in all of this shit."

"I didn't either, but here we both are."

"But you,"—he gestured toward the dead body on the lawn—"you're good at this."

"I'm a good shot, and I'm willing to do the work. Especially when the asshole has hurt someone I care about."

"I think you're confusing good sex with caring about somebody."

"What if there could be both? I've been trying to find you ever since you didn't show up that night."

His eyes went huge, and he pulled away from me. "What? You actually thought about me again after…."

"I thought about you every fucking day. But you were like a ghost. I couldn't find a trace of you."

"I thought about you too." He sucked in a breath and put his hand over his mouth like he hadn't meant to say that.

"Good. Why did you stop showing up?"

"I figured out who you were, and I knew it was safer for you if I stayed away."

"I don't give a fuck about safe."

He sighed. "You know this can't work, right? You can't take me with you, and we can't be together."

"Maybe you don't have a choice. I'm taking you with me. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you."

Elio pushed his hair off his forehead. "You're fucking crazy. Do you know what's going to happen when my father finds out the Trevisanis have me?"

"I'll figure things out."

"You're not invincible. Do you really understand what you're fucking with?"

"Do you really understand how much I want you?"

"Enough to start a war? Enough to have your family and mine thinking everyone is better off if they eliminate us?"

I smiled at him. "Taking your ass is fucking heaven."

"Oh my God. You did not just say that."

I grinned. "It's true. I must have made an impression on you too."

"You did, but that is not going to help us against our families."

I held out my hand. "Come with me, and let's see what we can figure out."

"This is insane."

"And what just happened here—you sneaking back in, me killing the man I was supposed to get money from—isn't?"

"Of course it is, but…" He glanced outside at Billy's corpse. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I don't defy my orders for just anyone."

"I hope not."

"Come on. The cleanup crew is on the way. Let's get out of here."

When we circled the house, Elio eyed my bike with suspicion. "I'm supposed to ride on that?"

"You've never been on a motorcycle?"

"No, I usually get chauffeured."

"So how did you get here?" I hadn't seen any cars.

"I took the bus, then walked."

"I wish I could kill Billy all over again, and I'm thinking your father should be next on my hit list."

The color drained from Elio's face. "No. That would…you'd be dead in seconds, even if you pulled it off."

"I want you free and safe."

"And yet you're forcing me to come with you."

Because he belonged with me. "That's different."

"Is it?"

"Yes, and I didn't force you, you agreed."

"Under coercion."

"Come on." I swung my leg over the bike, and Elio awkwardly climbed on behind me. It was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

"Hold on tight," I ordered before I cranked the engine.

Elio clung to my waist, and my dick got way too excited about it to make the ride comfortable.