Page 100 of Humility

“If they’re after you at all,” Dario commented. I glanced at the rearview mirror, but his eyes were covered with black sunglasses, so dark that I didn’t even know how he saw the road.

“You think they are targeting Jasmine?” Angelo asked the question, but I also wanted to know the answer. “What possible reason would someone have to want to hurt her?”

“I’m not saying that is the case, just that it’s a possibility we need to explore. We are only days out from Jasmine being attacked in the house,” Dario said, and Angelo’s hand tightened on mine.

I placed my other hand on his, and Angelo’s eyes flicked to mine. If I didn’t know Angelo, I would’ve said that the news wasn’t bothering him, but his panic was obvious to me.

“Alright, I’m not leaving anything to chance. Enzo, when we get back, finding any leads or connections is your top priority.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Already on it, and I’ll put pressure on the lab testing the blood sample we collected from the one we winged.”

Angleo looked at me. “Until we have some answers, I don’t want you going anywhere alone. Not out to the garden or greenhouse, not even the bathroom.” He knew I was gearing up to argue that he was going overboard because he brought my hand to his heart. “I’m asking you to please do this. Death might as well reach up and drag me to my grave if something happened to you because I wouldn’t survive that.”

I’d never seen him this emotional, and it was freaking me out more than him being an overbearing ass. Reaching out, I cupped his face and wiped away the tear running down his cheek.

“Okay, I won’t go anywhere alone.” He leaned in and kissed me, and there was so much emotion behind it that my eyes began to tear.

“Promise me,” he said.

“I promise.”

He shuddered and sighed, the tension easing in the car like my promise had let air in, and we could all breathe again.

“Thank you.”

With a blink, he composed himself and sat up straight. I’d seen my papa do the same thing many times over the years, and it still amazed me how they were all taught to swallow emotions and take it, ‘like a man.’ It bothered me, but if I said anything, I would bet he didn’t even notice. It was so engrained into the fabric of who he was now. It wasn’t fair—the masks worn Of Mice And Men.

“Oh wow, is that where we’re going?”

“Sure is, best Mediterranean food I’ve ever tasted,” Enzo said, and a smile graced his lips for the first time all day.

The restaurant glowed like a diamond in the dark. The white walls and large arching doorways with white sheers reminded me of my home back in Italy. I suddenly felt homesick. Just looking at this place made me think of Papa and Ciro. I missed my best friend and loved and missed my papa so much, but I had no idea what would happen if I reached out.

Dario pulled up to the valet stand and turned to look back at Angelo and me. “Stay in here until the men and I have done a sweep. We’ll be back.”

He jumped out, and Enzo followed. I watched them working like a unit as they walked into the restaurant.

“Is it always like this,” I asked. “Being a Don, being the wife of a Don?”

Angelo turned away from the window and looked at me. “You didn’t see any of this back home?”

I shrugged. “Very little. My Papa wanted to keep out of whatever he could. We rarely left the property unless it was with other Dons and their families. I assume all the inspections happened before we arrived. At home, as you know, there were guards everywhere, but I grew up seeing men in suits standing at doorways. I just didn’t realize how unusual it was until I left. It has been nice not waking up to find a guard outside my room.”

“Do you not want this life?”

I searched his face and gave him a little smile. “I want whatever life looks like with all of you, but I can’t say the fear and worry is fun or that I’ll enjoy it.”

Angelo cupped my face and leaned in to kiss me. “That’s fair,” he said, breaking away. “I would keep you out of all of it if I could. I never want you to see or know what I’ve done.”

I knew he meant killing and, most likely, torture. I also knew that no matter how clean one of the businesses looked, they all had another side that wasn’t as legal. There were some things you just learned to accept growing up in this world, and I’d made my peace with who I was. Being Jasmine Falcone meant I couldn’t just be the teen who walked down the street with friends, went to the mall, or watched movies and talked about boys. I was a target, someone to use against my family.

I sucked in a sharp breath, and Angelo’s eyes went wide. “What’s wrong?”

“What if it’s not me? What if it’s an attack on my family, and I’m just the easy mark?”

Dario opened the door, and I jumped. Worry had wormed its way into my mind.

“We will talk more about this when we get home,” Angelo said and took my hand as he got out of the vehicle and forced me to exit the same side.