Page 22 of Silent Snowfall

I blushed. I didn’t know how to do this girl bonding thing. “Um, been busy with customers?”

The look she gave me suggested I’d spilt curdled milk. “It’s the holidays. What do you think?”

I groaned. “Okay, you pick a topic.”

“I’m taking the self-defense class at seven tonight. Your grandma said you were coming. Have you ever done mixed martial arts?”

The world got all tilty again. Air choked the words that tried to form. “Ex-excuse me?”

“Yeah, she called me up. Thought it was a good idea if we met,” Sam said casually. “Now, have a cookie. You look like you’re going to pass out.”

“I’m not hungry,” I wheezed, suddenly feeling too hot.

“Rose, we need to pick up the boys,” Nonna announced, waddling up to our table and setting her handbag on it.

The same bag that held the gun.

“Is she okay?” Sam stage-whispered.

Nonna waved her hand. “Nothing that a little time with her beau won’t fix.”

Desperately begging the saints for that heart attack, I rose unsteadily, gave Sam a half-hearted goodbye, and aimlessly followed my grandmother from the café. Too busy struggling into my coat, I didn’t realize the door was being held open until a rich, smooth bass responded to Nonna’s chirp.

“Niente, signora.”

I looked up quickly and stared into a pair of beautiful dark chocolate eyes. For a split second, the world seemed to calm. Up close, the don had a fierce look about him that should have been terrifying. But it softened as we locked in a staring contest. I took a deep breath, not even minding as the winter wind filled my lungs with icy air.

And then my nonna tugged my arm, urging me down the street.

Chapter 8 – Lucian

Giuseppe narrowed his eyes and jerked his chin. “You see that?”

I locked the front door of our property, turning to see where he was looking. “The fuck?”

My brother growled in agreement. “He’s got binoculars.”

And the man in the non-descript car was looking directly at Signora Finnocchiaro’s house. Some motherfucker was sitting in an idled car, staring at the partially closed windows. Uliva was under my protection. Furthermore, she was a friend—not that I had many of those. That was without the added fact that the girl I was infatuated with now lived there.

Red tinted my vision. The nerve of this guy! He was in the wrong town to pull this kind of shit. My fingers curled into fists.

“Want me to haul his ass to the woods?” Giuseppe asked with a vicious smirk. “Samantha and I haven’t played with anyone in a while.”

I had to physically restrain myself from not rushing over there and beating the ever-loving piss out of a stranger. While my brother and I watched, the man got out of the car, hustled to the front porch, and set something on the ground.

Clearly, he was too much of a pussy to knock.

Or to break in.

I almost wished he had. That would have given me instant reason to intercept him.

But as it was, I let him go. Acting rashly led to missed opportunities. When conducting a hit, gathering all the pertinent information kept my guys safe.

“Follow him,” I barked as the brake lights flashed. “I want to know everything about this fucker—tonight.”

“On it. I’ll grab some of the guys,” Giuseppe laughed.

My brother had been cooped up in San Pietro Cove too long. With a beautiful, albeit stabby wife, he was living his own happily-ever-after. Ever since he’d gotten married the day after Halloween, he was reluctant to take any assassinations, claiming he didn’t want to leave Samantha, who was brand new to town. I had a feeling that he would permanently retire as one of our best hitmen and only teach the next generation of assassins when his family obligations allowed.