Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Clara

"So… where has Gio been lately?" When I'd shown up at Hailey's home for lunch—the vast mansion housed multiple members of her husband's family—I'd hoped he might appear at some point, but so far, nothing. It had been three days since he'd appeared in my bedroom and… well, not quite ravished me.

I was starting to think it really had been a dream on my part.

If I could just see him, if I could look him in the eye, then I would know whether it had really happened or if it had been a particularly vivid figment of my imagination.

Hailey gave me a stern look.

"Please tell me there is nothing going on between the two of you."

"There's nothing going on between the two of us," I parroted, batting my eyelashes at her. There hadn't been for three nights in a row now. "I was just curious. But what would be so wrong if there was? Am I not good enough for him?"

"Of course you are!" She looked aghast at the suggestion.

I nodded slowly, tapping my spoon against my lower lip.

"Ah, I see. He's not good enough for me. But no one is, so…"

Hailey sighed, but her lips were threatening to curve into a smile against her will. Regardless of how frustrating she found me, she was also entertained.

She looked around the room, as if waiting for someone to appear, but there was no one. It was just us.

We weren't far apart, but she leaned forward all the same, and I did as well so she could keep her voice as soft as possible. My heart started to pound. If she needed to escape, I was still here to help. We'd figure it out.

"I don't want this life for you," she said softly, almost sadly. Her hand made a small gesture just above the table that somehow encompassed the entirety of the massive house we were in. "The Familias … once you're in, you can't escape it. I thought I had and look at me now."

"Do you want out?" I asked, just as softly. I reached my hand across the table to put it atop hers. "We can get you out."

"You can't. But even if you could, no, I wouldn't want to." She shook her head ruefully. "I can do good work here. I am doing good work here. I feel like I'm making more of a difference than when I was working at the precinct. And, despite everything, I love my husband."

I searched her expression for any signs of duplicity or hesitation, but she was completely sincere. I knew her well enough to be able to tell. That she was able to do more as a future mafia don's wife rather than a social worker at the precinct didn't surprise me. I quickly learned that in this world, money and connections mattered more than anything else when it came to getting things done.

No matter how hard we worked, no matter how hard we tried, the effort only went so far without money or connections.

"You love him?" I asked a little dubiously, just to be sure. Considering she'd been forced into marrying him only a few months ago, a little healthy skepticism was required.

"I… do." She shrugged her shoulder, and now one side of her lips did cant up in a half-smile. "A mad love, as he calls it. It is mad, and yet, that's how I feel."

A mad love.

That resonated in an unexpected manner.

Not that I was in love with Gio, but this dance we were doing around each other… it was madness.

"Well, I'm not sure Gio's interested in me anyway, but he is very fun to flirt with." I grinned at her. I'd never told her about the way he watched over me because I'd known she wouldn't approve. I certainly wasn't going to tell her that he'd either snuck into my room and done filthy things to me or that I'd dreamed he had.

"I think he is interested in you, but I've warned him to leave you alone." She gave me a pointed look, sitting back in her chair, her voice returning to a normal volume. "Don't you go undoing all my hard work."

I stuck my tongue out at her, but that was very interesting to know. Obviously, Gio hadn't done a very good job of following her orders. I knew he was Don DiNardo's nephew, but Hailey was the don's daughter-in-law… Who had more authority? Would he get in trouble for pursuing me despite Hailey's wishes? Who would Don DiNardo side with? I wasn't sure.

"I can take care of myself." Not for the first time, I was tempted to spill my secrets, so she understood just how well I could take care of myself, but it was too dangerous. Especially when I had been occasionally stealing from her family. She might not have wanted to go back into the life, but now she was, and her first loyalty was probably to her family.

"I'm sure you can," she said patronizingly. Then she sighed again, giving me a pleading look. "He's been given an assignment guarding something, okay? I have enough to worry about right now; please don't give me a hard time."

I decided not to tell her that my interest in Gio had nothing to do with giving her a hard time. I was too interested in what hard time she was having now. If things were going well with Jack, then what was wrong?

"What are you worried about?"

"My cousin Leonardo is in town." She made a face. "I don't know why. It has Jack worried. So far, he hasn't done anything, but just his being here makes me worry… especially since we don't know why."

"He hasn't come to visit?"

"He stopped in to speak to Lorenzo, but not me. I still don't know what they talked about." She tapped her fingers against the table. "Jack and Lorenzo keep me and Serena out of the Familias business, and they stay out of ours. I don't like it, though."

"I don't think I met Leonardo. Was he at the wedding?"

"Good. You're better off that way. Yes, he was there, but I avoided him as well. He's going to be my grandfather's successor, and he's just like my grandfather, but younger."

And Hailey's grandfather was brutal and cold, even for a mafia Don. If she thought her cousin was worse, that was saying something.

"Well, don't spend your time worrying about me. I'm just fine."

"Good. So, how are things at the precinct?"

I grinned and settled in to tell her more about what was going on in the precinct. She'd delivered Chief Barnes an amazing setdown not long after her marriage. He knew that I was reporting on his actions to her, yet he couldn't do anything about it without angering her. Watching him squirm like a fish on a hook whenever he had to talk to me—especially whenever I went to him to request something I needed—was a daily joy.

The social workers were getting more support than ever in the precinct, really allowing us to make a difference, and it was all thanks to Hailey.

Money and connections—that's what made the world go round.

I'd always been short on connections, but I'd had money, thanks to my evening activities, and now I had a connection. The only thing I didn't have was an answer about Gio.

He was guarding something, was he?

Perhaps from a thief who occasionally pilfered from their stock. Well, since he was frustrating me so much, maybe I should return the favor.

* * *

Gio

Waiting for the thief to show up so I could catch him was an exercise in frustration. By the time he showed his ugly mug, I was going to be ready to pound it in. Four nights now, he'd kept me from claiming Clara. Wondering what she was doing in the meantime was driving me up the wall.

Staring down into the dimly lit shadows of the small warehouse from the catwalk for the fourth night in a row, I wondered if the thief had given up. Had he done a bunk, leaving me to sit here, waiting forever in ignorance? If that was the case, I had no way of hunting him down. We'd scoured the premises every time he'd stolen something from us and never found any evidence other than what was missing.

At least I'd put all the men on notice that Clara was mine.

They might not be able to watch over her at home or tail her when she went out dancing, but if they happened to see her, then they knew she'd been claimed. If she was in trouble, they'd step in to help. And none of them would dare flirt with her, much less lay a finger on her. It was all I could do for now.

Tomas sat on the other side of me, my silent companion. For such a big man, he was incredibly light on his feet, making him ideal for hunting the thief. He hadn't complained when given the assignment.

I'd made sure to set the bait carefully.

We had big shipments coming in all at the same time, and one small one. Obviously, the bulk of our guards were on the bigger shipments. This stash of moonshine from Virginia, in this out-of-the-way warehouse, had the least number of guards—obviously, because it was the smallest and least important. The biggest difference was that it had me and Tomas, watching all night every night.

The sound of creaking metal made me sit up, but in the dim light, it only took me a few moments to recognize Jack as he moved out onto the catwalk with us.

"Shh." I scowled at him.

"I don't think the thief is going to show tonight," he murmured, keeping his voice down despite his statement.

"We don't know when he usually appears other than at night." Though privately, I agreed with him. It was getting into the wee hours of the morning. Once dawn broke, I'd go home and get some shuteye. The thief never stole during the day. "Why aren't you home with your wife?"

"Father wanted me to check on how you're doing." There was a hint of warning and concern in his tone.

I tensed. That was a bad sign that my uncle was sending Jack to check on me. He was losing patience. I had better be right about where the thief would strike… and hope that he actually did. It was the first time I'd ever hoped someone showed up to steal from me. But I didn't want to go back to my uncle empty-handed. Again.

My uncle was tough but fair. He would understand, but at some point, someone was going to have to pay for the thefts, and I was the one in charge of guarding the warehouses.

"Still waiting for the thief to show up."

"Perhaps the bait isn't as appealing as you thought," Jack suggested.

"It's similar enough to what he's stolen before." I scowled at him. "The more I looked at it, the more I could see at least some semblance of a pattern. He doesn't want to get caught, so he never hits the most highly guarded warehouses."

"Do you think he's one of our own?" Jack asked thoughtfully.

The thought had occurred to me three thefts ago. I shook my head.

"I compared everyone's shifts and schedules. Not a single man had all the nights off that the thefts occurred. Unless it's a team, which I can't see being that worthwhile, it's not one of ours." Though sometimes it seemed like the thief had insider knowledge, which was why I'd thought of it. "I also looked into all our men—no one is in need of money for any reason."

The DiNardos took good care of their own, but I had checked to make sure. Being too trusting could be a Family's downfall, especially when it came to certain blind spots. We were family, but not all family members were built the same. And sometimes, people made bad decisions for those they loved, but all our men were accounted for, no one had a sick relative they couldn't pay a doctor for, no one was in gambling debt, no one had a mistress they couldn't afford…

There was literally no reason for it unless one of them was doing it for the thrill. But even then, the schedules didn't work out, and I couldn't see two people being dumb enough to risk the don's wrath for the thrill of it. That was playing a deadly game.

"Hmm. It might explain why the thief hasn't shown up now," Jack suggested. "He's too busy guarding one of our other warehouses."

That was a thought that made me want to pound my head against the wall. I groaned, scrubbing my hands over my face. Even sleeping during the day, I wasn't getting enough rest, and I knew it. The stress over both the thief and Clara was keeping me up.

"Just… shut it."

Following my request, Jack sat in silence with Tomas and me for at least two minutes before he started talking again.

"Clara came by for lunch today. Hailey said she asked about you. I didn't tell Hailey that you've claimed her."

"Why not?" It wasn't like she wasn't going to find out eventually—at the very least, the wedding would clue her in.

Even in the darkness, Jack's smile gleamed bright.

"Because I want to watch you do it."

"She'd take it better coming from you."

"That's why I want you to do it. This way, she won't be mad at me, and I get some entertainment."

I snorted. "You think she won't be mad at you when she realizes that you're not going to stop me?"

"Why does it matter?"

Both Jack and I jolted at the unexpected question, and I turned to look at Tomas. He was watching us both, a perplexed expression on his face. Well, as much of an expression as he ever got, but he did seem confused.

"Why does what matter?"

"If Gio wants Clara, why does Hailey get a say?"

"She doesn't," I muttered while Jack laughed.

"Happy wife, happy life," Jack said. "I'm just trying to keep my wife happy so she doesn't murder me in my sleep."

Now, it was my turn to laugh. Hailey had come into her own as Jack's wife, but I doubted she'd ever had a violent thought in her life. She was a gentle soul who wanted nothing more than to help others, and while she was getting used to being able to boss certain men around, Jack was never going to be one of those men. But I respected him wanting to keep her happy.

I'd be the same with Clara once she was my wife, though, of course, there were some things she'd have to stop—namely, constantly going out dancing with other men.

Tomas looked back and forth between Jack and me, as if he was trying to figure out if we were joking or not.

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "It's not like you're ever getting married, right?" Both Jack and I laughed. Tomas had quite the reputation when it came to the ladies—he fucked like a bull but always at their places. He never brought one home or around the Familias . A family man he was not—he'd likely be a loner all his days.

"Even my mother has given up on him," Jack said, shaking his head. "The last girl she introduced him to, he just stared at her for five minutes before she finally gave up and walked away."

"She should find him a woman who won't notice that he never talks." Now we were both laughing.

Tomas shook his head, which was as much of a reaction as anyone ever got out of him, and went back to watching the floor below us. Unfortunately, it was another long, fruitless night.