Chapter 13

13

Zara

"How are you feeling now?" I take Karma’s hand in mine.

Her lips curve slightly. "I do feel like I’ve run a marathon, or many marathons, but it’s all worth it."

I squeeze her fingers. "Spoken like a true mama. You are so damn brave, Karma."

"Because I gave birth?" she asks a tad dryly.

"Not only, and you know what I mean."

She glances to the side, then at me. "It was stupid of me not to have mentioned my heart condition to Michael."

"Maybe. But you wanted the baby, and I can understand why you didn’t want to worry Michael about your heart condition complicating things further."

She blinks. "You do?"

I chuckle. "Don’t sound so surprised. Granted, I’m not the most maternal person around, but I respect how important being a mother is to you."

"You’re wrong, you know." She scans my features, "You are maternal."

"I’m not," I scoff.

"You helped Isla through the ups and downs leading up to her wedding with Liam. You’re the first to stand up for the underdog. As soon as you heard about Summer and me, you dropped what you were doing and raced to the hospital. If that isn’t being empathetic—-which is really what a mother is—then I don’t know what is."

Heat flushes my cheeks. "I did what any good friend would have done."

"You went beyond the scope of friendship. You’re here holding my hand so my husband can take a break."

I dip my chin so my hair covers my features. "It’s not a big deal. Anyone else would’ve done the same."

"You have an incredibly busy life, an agency to run, and some very tricky PR disasters to mitigate, as we speak. In fact, if I asked you to pull out your phone, I bet I’d see innumerable missed calls, text messages, and an overflowing email inbox, and yet, you’re here sitting with me instead. Not once, have you glanced at your phone in all the time you’ve been talking to me. And I’ve heard it buzz."

I laugh. "I’m here because I wanted to see you. Of course, I’m not going to look at my phone while I’m talking to you. It would be disrespectful to do so, not to mention, discourteous."

She stares at me.

"What?" I scowl back.

"How many people do you think would say what you said just now?"

"I don’t know about anyone else. This is just my mindset, you know."

"Precisely." Her smile widens.

"Now what? Spit it out, woman. Clearly, you’ve spent some time thinking about this. Whatever it is." I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Actually, no, but you’re easy to read, at least, for me."

"Oh?" I incline my head.

"You hold your feelings in check, and think showing them is a sign of weakness."

"Isn’t it?" I shuffle my feet.

"See?" She jerks her chin in my direction. "That’s what I mean. Bet you have a gamut of emotions running through you right now, but to look at you, one would think you’re the very epitome of grace and beauty and sophistication. Which you are, of course?—"

"Of course," I deadpan.

"It’s just… You don’t like showing your feelings to the outside world. Maybe not even to your close friends."

I shrug. And yet, I revealed more of myself to him than I intended.

"Hmm." She purses her lips.

"Now what?" I tug on my arm, and she releases it.

"It’s just—" She surveys my features.

"Just what?" I squirm a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. I would’ve never guessed Karma’s this insightful or this intuitive when it comes to sussing out the feelings of others.

"Just… When you meet the right man, you’re going to fall really hard." Her lips kick up, once more, in that smug smile. You know the kind—where someone who is married and has a baby smiles, hinting that they know a secret, something to which you’re not yet privy.

But even she doesn’t know exactly how much Hunter occupies my thoughts, and I plan to keep it that way. I wave my hand in the air. "That person does not exist."

"So they all say. I—" She winces.

I stiffen. "Are you okay? Do you need something? Should I call the doctor?"

"Stop, now you’re acting like my husband. It was just a twinge from the stitches."

I grimace.

She chuckles. "I bet, when it’s your turn, you’ll be the one to deliver without an epidural."

"God forbid I ever get pregnant," I exclaim in horror.

"And, I bet you’ll be back on your feet the next day."

"Umm… I’m not Superwoman."

"You sure?" she says smugly.

"Wait." I blink. "Was that a trap? I feel like I walked into a trap."

"I’m not sure what you mean." She releases my hand and lays back against the pillow with a sigh.

"You sure you’re okay? I can call the nurse if you want more painkillers?—"

"You need more painkillers? Why do you need more painkillers?" Michael strides into the room. He rounds the bed and drops into a chair next to Karma. "You okay, Beauty?" He takes her hand in his, then leans forward and surveys her features. "Are you in pain?"

"No, I’m not, Capo," she says softly.

His chest rises and falls, and he seems to be controlling his emotions with great difficulty.

"Are you sure? If there’s anything else I can do to make you more comfortable..."

She shakes her head. "I’m fine. Have you seen him yet?"

He holds her gaze. "I’m looking at you now."

A shadow crosses over her features. "He looks so much like you."

He swallows. "I almost lost you."

"But you didn’t. I’m not going anywhere, Capo. I plan to live to a ripe old age, and have more kids with you, and nag you so much you’ll wish you’d have never married me."

"There’s not a single day that goes by when I don’t thank God for bringing you to me. As for more kids?—"

She lifts her fingers to his mouth. "Let’s not argue about that yet."

He seems like he’s going to argue, then shakes his head. "Fine, we won’t talk about that now. But Karma, you have to realize, I can’t let anything happen to you. If anything had happened to you?—"

"Kiss me, Capo," she murmurs.

A-n-d that’s my cue. I pick up my bag, rise from my seat, and head toward the exit. I spot Hunter talking with another of the Sovrano brothers. It’s Luca. I know who he is because Karma introduced us earlier.

All of the brothers I’ve met so far are tall, dark and good-looking in that swarthy, slightly exotic way that Sicilian men seem to possess. They’re also stone-faced. And while Luca comes across as testy as them, he also possesses a streak of wickedness that marks him out as more unpredictable than the others.

Hunter is as tall as Luca, and on the face of it, more easy-going, but I’m coming to realize that’s a fallacy. His brand of charisma is more lethal, for he can hypnotize you into thinking you’re making your own decisions while, in actuality, you’re following his lead. Hunter’s brand of dominance is more dangerous, in that sense. You think you have a choice in the actions you take, but actually, it’s him influencing you to do what he wants, without you having an inkling of what he’s doing.

In a way, it’s similar to how I operate. Which is why I recognize his technique. We’re more similar than I realized; it’s what makes him such a dangerous adversary. I can anticipate his moves, as he, no doubt, can mine... I have a sense of how he thinks. And while he may often be two paces ahead of me when it comes to planning his move, I’m going to do my best to outwit him.

"Excuse me." I jut out my chin.

Luca steps aside at once. Hunter, on the other hand, stays where he is.

I glower at him.

He shoots me a lazy smile.

My blood pressure spikes. "May I pass through?" I say through gritted teeth.

"Not stopping you," he drawls.

"This isn’t the time, Hunter."

"On the contrary” —he slides a hand into the pocket of his slacks— ”I’ll take any time I meet you as the best time to try to convince you to date me."

"That ship has sailed," I snap.

"You’re still standing here, aren’t you?"

I pull back my shoulders. "Let me go, or I’m going to kick you in the balls."

Luca chortles.

Both Hunter and I glare at him.

He glances between us, then backs up a step. He turns and engages one of his brothers in conversation, keeping his voice so low I can only make out the odd word in Italian.

Hunter turns back to me. "You won’t knee me, Fire." His lips twist. "You have a vested interest in my balls, remember?"

A chuckle bubbles up, and I bat it away. "Ha! Keep dreaming."

He looks between my eyes. "And my dreams are always of you."

My heart jumps in my chest. My stomach flip-flops. Stupid, stupid, school girl crush that I have on this guy. I’m acting like I’m sixteen again. Strike that, I’ve never had such a crush on anyone, not even when I was sixteen. I was too busy laughing at boys who’d fall for me and ask me out, and then I’d turn them down. Like I did with him. Only this time, I can’t stop thinking of him. All the more reason to put this madness behind me and move on with whatever is next on my agenda and in my planned career trajectory.

"Hunter," I say in a low smooth voice. "Let me through."

"Nope." His smirk widens.

"If you don’t, I’ll?—"

"You’ll—?"

"I’ll, uh, have to go through you."

"Please." He leans forward until the heat of his body envelops me. I shiver. My blood pressure elevates, until I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. Sweat beads my palms, but my mouth is annoyingly dry. To hell with this. I turn sideways, then ease myself through the gap between the door frame and his heavily muscled arm.