Chapter 15: Chapter 15

When I walk into Franco’s house, I hear one of the triplets crying. Following the sound, I find Franco in the living room, trying to soothe Augusto.

“Hey,” I say, and smiling at the baby boy, I take him from Franco. “Aww…did you miss Uncle Dario.” I rest him against my chest and press kisses to his head.

Augusto sticks his thumb into his mouth and starts to calm down.

“How the fuck do you do that?” Franco asks as he slumps down on one of the couches.

I take a seat, and leaning back, I press another kiss to Augusto’s soft hair.

“I have the magic touch,” I chuckle.

Within seconds, the little one falls asleep in my arms, earning me a thankful look from Franco.

“Tell me about the woman you’re dating.”

“It’s only been one date,” I say.

“You took her to Skylar’s restaurant. It means you’re serious,” Franco states a fact I can’t deny.

I take a minute to examine my feelings and gather my thoughts before I admit, “I like her a lot. She’s different from other women.”

Franco locks eyes with me. “Where did you meet?”

“I saw her dancing at the ballet company, and one thing led to another.”

He lifts an eyebrow at me. “Oh, so she’s a ballerina?”

I shake my head. “No, she’s a waitress at a diner.” A frown forms on my forehead. “I’m actually not sure what she was doing at the ballet company.”

“And you didn’t think to check into it?” He leans forward and rests his forearms on his knees. “Hacking and tracking is your job.”

“I know.” I shrug, then admit, “I don’t want to invade her privacy. I want to get to know her like a normal person.”

“I’m going to assume she doesn’t know you’re a part of the Cosa Nostra,” he mutters.

I nod while rubbing my hand up and down Augusto’s back.

“I’ll tell her once we’re an item.”

Franco lets out a sigh. “Good luck with that. I almost lost Samantha when she found out.”

Yeah. I have no idea how Eden will react to hearing I’m a mafia boss, but that’s a problem for later in the relationship.

The corner of Franco’s mouth lifts. “Have you slept with her?”

I glare at my friend. “I’m not telling you shit about my sex life.”

He lets out a burst of laughter that has Augusto stirring in my arms.

“I’m taking that as a yes, which means you’re more serious about the woman than you care to admit.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t serious about Eden.”

We’re quiet for a moment while I take a deep breath of Augusto’s addictive baby scent, then I say, “I asked Frankie to keep an eye on Eden.”

A dark frown forms on Franco’s face as he asks, “Frankie, the gangster?”

“Yeah. Eden lives in Brownsville.”

“Christ,” my friend mutters. “Damiano just fucking declared war on Miguel’s gang. Didn’t you hear a thing he said at the meeting?”

“I’m well aware of what’s happening in Brownsville, hense me asking Frankie to watch out for Eden.”

“Why not just get her out of there?” he asks.

“Eden has one hell of an independent and defensive streak. If I push her, I’ll lose her.”

“Kidnap her.”

“My kidnapping quota has been filled when I stole Bella earlier this week.”

“Who the fuck is Bella?”

A grin spreads over my face as I dig my phone out of my pocket. “Come sit here so I can show you the photos.”

When Franco takes a seat at my side, I open the gallery on my phone and scroll through photo after photo of Bella.

“A dog,” Franco mutters. “You stole a dog?”

“Not just any dog. Isn’t she the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?”

“It’s a dog, Dario.”

I shoot my friend a glare. “She’s not just any dog! She’s my baby.”

A photo of Bella sleeping in bed with me pops up, and I grin again. “Look how cute this one is. I could just eat her up.”

Franco lets out a chuckle, and shaking his head, he reaches for Augusto. “Let me put him in bed.”

“I’m going to hit the road,” I say while climbing to my feet.

“Thanks for stopping by.”

I let myself out of the house, and once I’m behind the steering wheel of my SUV, my thoughts turn to Eden.

I learned a lot about her today. Even though she’s a fighter, she also craves love. The way she looked at me when I kissed her told me as much.

Fuck. I loved kissing her.

Thinking about her dire circumstances, has my jaw clenching and my fists tightening around the steering wheel.

With a snap of my fingers, I can change her entire life, but I know she’ll fight me on it. Eden doesn’t come across as the type of person who’ll willingly accept handouts.

Inspecting my feelings, I think it’s safe to say I care about her. She’s got a hold on me, I can’t shake.

At the rate things are progressing between us, it’s only a matter of time before I fall completely in love with her.

After I park the SUV in the basement, I take the elevator up to my apartment. When the doors slide open, Bella lets out a bark, and a second later, she comes running toward me with her entire backside wiggling from excitement.

I scoop her up and let her lick my jaw as I say, “Did you miss Daddy?”

Esmerelda gets up from where she’s watching TV, and I smile at her. “Thanks for babysitting.”

She comes to rub Bella’s head. “She was so good. She nudged me with her nose every time she needed to go out.”

“Aww…”

“She should be fine for the rest of the night,” Esmerelda says as she presses the button for the elevator.

“See you tomorrow.”

Esmerelda takes the elevator down to the fifth floor, where her apartment is. I have another apartment on that floor, which I purchased as an investment, but I never got a tenant for it. It’s something I’ll get around to when I have some spare time.

I switch off all the lights, and head to my bedroom with Bella in my arms, while thinking Esmerelda’s been with me through thick and thin.

She’s more like family, especially after my parents died in a fire that almost killed me as well. Esmerelda woke up in time and managed to get us out, but my parents weren’t so lucky.

I place Bella on the bed before grabbing a pair of sweatpants. When I head into the bathroom, she comes after me.

While I shower, Bella lies down on the pile of clothes I left on the floor.

I love how she follows me everywhere.

“You’re glad I stole you, right?” I ask her.

She lifts her head and just looks at me for a moment before going back to sleep.

When I’m done in the bathroom, I climb into bed and hold the covers up so Bella can crawl beneath them. She presses against my side and rests her head on my chest before instantly falling asleep again.

“I wish I could fall asleep as quickly as you,” I mutter as I shove an arm beneath my head.

Staring up at the ceiling, my thoughts go back to Eden, and I think of how my beautiful dancer is creeping into my heart.

Grabbing my phone, I unlock the screen and type out a message.

Dario: I want to see you again. Don’t make me wait a whole week.

Knowing she might be asleep, I set the device down and close my eyes.

If Eden tells me she can only meet me on Sundays, I’m not going to be happy.

There’s a burst of exhilaration in my chest as I realize I want to see her every single second of every day.

Christ. I’ve already fallen for her.