Blood & Loyalties

“Catarina!” Jag yelled sternly from the bottom of the stairs.

I stopped and turned around, giving him my attention, but no expression. There was no smile and no frown on my face; it was completely impassive, but looking at him made my heart crack.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he said, walking up the steps.

My body went stiff. “If you’re lucky, I’ll see you tomorrow night. It’s late, and I have to work tomorrow.” Back again to the lying. I didn’t want to see him again. Even if what he said was the truth, this will help me build up my wall and resolve where he was concerned.

I rushed the rest of the way up the stairs to the sound of his loud growl. I didn’t stop, and I didn’t answer his calls as I shut and locked my bedroom door. Then I flew into the bathroom, turning on the hot water, and scrubbed myself clean in record time. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he wouldn’t pick the lock to my room and come in. Something told me he was very efficient in getting what he wanted. Right then, however, I didn’t want to be anywhere near him or his supposed ex-wife. He had business, so let him go handle it.

I dressed quickly and took the back walkway over to Kiera’s wing of the house. It was one of the best features. It was merely a narrow walkway that spa

I quietly knocked on the door as I turned the handle and walked in. Kiera looked up from her book and smiled.

“Tell me all about tonight.” The smile instantly fell with one look of my face. “Wait. Why are you here and not with Jag?”

I locked the door and climbed onto her bed, burrowing myself under her blankets and stuffing my face in her pillow.

She set her book down on the table next to her then snuggled down with me. “What happened?”

“It was a perfect night. He fed me by hand. I fell asleep on him after looking at the stars, and then we had sex like lust-filled teens. Then”—I paused and shut my eyes trying not to let the pain eat me—“when we got back in the car, Hulk said Jag’s phone was ringing like crazy, but he didn’t answer it because it was her.” Kiera tensed. “Yeah. He says it’s his ex-wife, but who knows if he’s telling the truth? Anyway, he got pissed at something this Maria—that was her name—said and called a meeting. They’re having it right now in the rush, and I told Scraper to make sure they all left when it was over, so now I’m here with you.” The knife in my chest decided to poke in and out a few times, shredding my insides.

“You never know, he’s more than likely telling the truth.”

“Antonio’s a little too fresh for me to want to figure that out,” I snapped.

“Other than that, you had fun?”

I nuzzled into the pillow and looked at my best friend. “It was one of the best nights I think I’ve ever had in my life.” I felt the tears spring to my eyes and I tried to push them back.

“You’re falling for him.” She didn’t ask, she was telling me. She was right. When I didn’t answer, she said, “Sometimes our heart doesn’t listen to our head.”

Yeah, and then it ends up getting smashed like glass on concrete. No matter how this ended, part of me would leave when Jag did.

“Sleep,” Kiera whispered, and I did sucking back my hurt.

Chapter 7

THE BOYS—Val, D, and Matteo—walked in as I stood with Dan and Brett at my side in the rush. I would have liked to have Diego on speaker for this meeting, but that wouldn’t be happening in this room. The glares from Catarina’s brothers and cousin stabbed me like knives, but I would deal with their problems later.

“I got a call from my ex-wife. Apparently, my uncle paid her a visit in California,” I told the men at the table.

“Zan’s on the West Coast?” Matteo asked with puzzlement on his face. I hadn’t told anyone of the meeting with Vi

“He skipped town and headed to my home turf.”

“What did he want with your ex?” Val questioned calmly for once, surprising me.

“That’s the thing. Nothing except to call me and tell me he stopped by.” I tilted my head. “So, he wants me to know where he is, but I already knew because he hit up Vi

Fuck, that was the last thing I wanted to do. Even though I knew it was coming, I didn’t realize it would be this soon.

“We’ll look on this end,” Matteo stated firmly.

“Good.” I rubbed my hands over my face in frustration. “Zan appears to be unstable. With that shit with Joh

“You staying here tonight?” D asked, looking more self-assured than I had seen in a long time. He might actually be growing up, and the fact he could keep his temper in check was a deep plus in comparison to his brother.

“Yes, Dan and Brett will be with me, and we’ll set the alarms at the house. I know the girls go to work tomorrow. What’s security like there?” I pressed my fingers into my nose and breathed in and out calmly. Catarina was my first priority. She would be safe at all costs.

Matteo, Vino’s oldest, spoke up. “Security is tight, but I’ll put a call in to the head and make sure it’s stepped up. There are two main entrances to the building, and both have guards. As soon as a person steps foot in the building, their face is digitally recorded into the computer software that runs for any recognition, and there is always someone ma

I expected nothing less with Matteo’s knowledge. Sal and Vino had put most of their boy’s good heads on their shoulders.

“Good. What about meetings offsite?”

“Not allowed. All meetings happen on-site. No exceptions. If Billy Billionaire wants to invest in Lambardoni, he comes to us. We never go to him.” Nice.

“Do Catarina or Kiera leave the office during the day?” One might call this overprotective; I called it diligent.

“They may go out to lunch sometimes, but normally their assistant picks it up for them,” Matteo answered. “I’ll make calls to make sure they keep their asses there.”

I grunted. “Great. This isn’t go

They nodded in understanding.

It was after two in the morning before we broke the meeting. I knew I would have to call Vino first thing in the morning to update him. Scraper and Dune showed everyone out while I stopped Dan and Brett.

“We stay here.”

They grunted then headed to one of the many spare rooms in the place.

“No. She said for you to leave,” Scraper chimed in. The man had fucking balls that was for sure, but at least he was loyal to Catarina. I had to give him that.

I got in his face, our noses almost touching. “I’m staying and so are the boys. Shit’s going down. Even if it wasn’t, you couldn’t stop me from being with my girl.” As I said those last two words, I mentally froze. Yep, fucked. Maybe I could just throw her over my shoulder and take her with me. Yeah right. Sal’d have my ass in a sling for that one.

I walked up the staircase then turned the handle to Catarina’s door. Locked. I smiled and pulled out my phone, sending Dan a quick text. Seconds later he was at my side, handing me what I needed then dashing back off. I picked the lock with ease, opened the door, and my eyes darted to the bed. I blinked.