“What are you doing?” Lucia asked.
Roman answered.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“At your father’s. The last of the family is just leaving.”
“Are Natalie and Jacob there?”
“Just got here. She’s pissed.”
“Well, don’t unpack her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m calling a family meeting. It’s an emergency. I want you to bring Natalie and Jacob to my house. And I want my father and Dominic here.”
“What?” Lucia asked.
“What meeting?” Roman asked. “What’s going on?”
“Tomorrow morning, I want a second meeting with you, my father, Dominic, both Paul Pagani Sr. and Jr., and Isabella DeMarco. I want you to arrange it.”
“Izzy?” Lucia asked, her eyes wide as I pulled the car to a stop at the front door.
“I’ll give you an hour to get the family over here. Call the others for tomorrow morning. Seven o’clock. That should give them enough time to get here. This is going to end.”
“Let’s meet with the family first and discuss this, Salvatore. I think it would be wise for us to—”
“This is fucking ending, Uncle. Period.”
I disconnected the call and turned to Lucia.
“Salvatore, you can’t involve my sister.”
“She’s already involved, Lucia. She involved herself.”
“No, I won’t allow it!”
“You won’t allow it?” I asked, getting out of the car and going around to her side. She’d already swung the door open and had her crutches on the ground, trying to climb out. I took the crutches in one hand and lifted her out with the other.
“Put me down. I can do this.”
“I don’t have time for this, Lucia.”
“I said put me down!”
“Christ. You are the most pigheaded…” I set her down, and she leaned on me until she could get the crutches under her. “Let’s go inside.”
“You want my sister in with that room full of killers?”
“It will be a peaceful meeting.” We entered the house, and I closed the front door behind us. “This is my house. I make the rules.” I dialed another number on my phone. Once it started to ring, I covered the mouthpiece and turned back to Lucia. “Go upstairs to your room. You’ll wait for me there.”
“I am not a goddamned child!”
“Then stop acting like one.”
Marco answered the call. He was still at the hospital. “Yes?”
“I need you back at the house. Arrange for two men to stay at the hospital. I’m calling a meeting for tomorrow morning. I need more men here. We’ll have the Pagani father and son along with Isabella DeMarco. The Paganis will bring their own guard. I’m calling for no weapons, but I want the manpower here.”
“I’m on it.”
“Thank you.” I could trust Marco to take care of things every time.
“You already sound like you’re the boss of the family,” Lucia taunted, still standing there, not having moved an inch.
I checked the time and tucked my phone into my pocket before turning to her. I looked her over, her dress rumpled, her eyes looking a little tired, but she was still too damn pretty.
“You need some time?” I asked, closing the space between us. “With me?” Sliding a hand to her waist, I tugged her close.
“Salvatore, this isn’t—”
“Shh.” I kissed her mouth and took one of the crutches away while the other one slipped out from under her arm as she wrapped it around my neck. “Let’s go upstairs.”
She gasped when I lifted her, cradling her in my arms. I carried her up to my bedroom. I sat her on the bed and tugged her dress over her head before pushing her to lie on her back. After stripping off my shirt, jeans, and briefs—all while Lucia watched with rapidly darkening eyes—I slid her panties over her hips and off her legs. I brought them to my nose and inhaled deeply.
“Salvatore!” She tried to tug them away, but I held them just out of reach.
“I like your smell,” I said, leaning over her to kiss her, swallowing her moan in my mouth. She tasted so sweet, so innocent. I dragged my mouth from hers and trailed kisses down over her jaw and to her throat, across her collarbone and down to one breast, then the other, drawing out the nipples, making her cry out when I bit just a little harder than she liked.
I ran my tongue down the center of her chest and tickled her belly button before sliding it lower. I settling myself between her legs to take her clit into my mouth.
Lucia sighed heavily.
“You taste fucking amazing.”
She curled her fingers into my hair and tugged. “Wait.”