20.1

I ride the elevator to my floor, and search around in the bottom of my bag, as I head toward my door. I manage to find my keys and hurry inside because I’m busting for a pee. Switching the light on, I’m presented with a blood-red display of paint splashed everywhere, covering all the walls and furniture in a giant fucking mess.

“Fanculo!” I dial Leonardo’s number and wait for him to answer.

“Yo, babycakes.” His upbeat voice calms me.

“I have a problem. Can you come to my dorm please?” I breathe into the phone as my eyes scan the horrific mess. The line goes dead and I know he’ll be here within minutes.

Slowly making my way further into my room, I survey the damage, and wonder who the fuck would do this? What kind of crazy person would break into my room and cover my shit in paint? I run my finger over the smears, and it’s still wet, meaning they were here not long ago. My heart sinks at the thought of them coming here when my babies were here. I’m so fucking lucky Summer took them. I take a pic to send to Summer.

Me: Thank fuck you took my babies. Look at this shit.

Summer: Holy fuck. Are you okay?

Me: I’m pissed. But glad they didn’t get to my dogs. Thank you so much for taking them. I’d die if anything happened to them

Summer: They are staying with me until this shit gets sorted. I’ll not let them out of my sights.

Me: Thanks babes. Leonardo just arrived. I’ll keep you posted. xx

Summer: Be careful!!

“What the fuck happened in here?” Leonardo strides through the open door, his eyes narrowed, taking in the mess.

“Some dick thought I like the color red,” I chuckle and I’ve clearly lost my mind at this point.

Closing the distance between us, Leonardo grabs my face in his large hands and stares into my soul. His dark eyes bore into mine and I swear he can feel the anger brewing within me. “Are you okay?” He squeezes my face gently.

“I am, and so are my dogs,” I exhale a sigh of relief.

“I know. I saw them at Enzo’s. Summer is fucking smitten and I don’t think you’re getting them back anytime soon. Summer and Enzo need to start producing their own offspring with how she’s babying your dogs.” He grins at me and places a gentle kiss on my nose.

I fall into him, which very uncharacteristic of me and feel him hesitate before he wraps his arms around me. “Thanks for coming.” I lean my head into his chest.

“You’re coming back to mine. No arguments. Capisce.”

“Capisce.” I nod in agreeance. “Let’s go, I don’t want to look at this anymore.” I pull out of his arms and walk to my wardrobe, gathering anything that hasn’t been splashed with paint.

“I need security footage for the Omega dorms. Last twenty-four hours. Thanks.” Leonardo ends the call and grins at me. “We’ll catch the fuckers, and then drown them in paint.” He strides out the door and waits for me to lock up.

Driving back to Leonardo’s, my stomach grumbles, and I realize I haven’t eaten for a while. “Can we get Chick fil A, please? I’m about to die of starvation.” I groan as my stomach rumbles at me again.

Leonardo glances at me and laughs. “Fuck man, I swear you can eat more than me.”

“Shut up.” I swat him on the arm. “But you’re probably right.”

We grab drive through before returning to his penthouse apartment, I’ve gobbled all my fries and nuggets by the time we make it to his floor.

“Lucky I bought extras.” He passes the bag of food under my nose.

“You’re funny.” I snatch the bag away from him and hold it against my stomach.

After stuffing our faces, Leonardo runs the water for the hot tub, which is exactly what I need for my aching joints.

While the tub is filling, I place my hair in a top knot, the angle of my shoulders causing me pain. How the hell am I going to explain what happened last night to Leonardo?

Fuck.

No lies. No secrets.

Walking into the bathroom, I can smell the sweet scent of vanilla filling the room, my eyes close and I breathe in the aroma allowing it to calm me. Leonardo is already butt naked, his cute ass bending over, feeling the warmth of the water.

Stripping off my clothes, I remember the dressings still covering my wounds, and I hesitate before turning to face the tub.

“You get a little kinky with the Capo?” Leonardo grins at me, the mischievous glint in his eyes confusing the fuck out of me.

“Something like that.” I stand there staring at him, waiting for him to blow his shit, but he walks to me and starts to peel the dressings off my nipples. I glance down once he’s removed them and the aftermath isn’t even noticeable. Relief washes over me knowing it won’t be as in your face as I first thought.

“Where was my invite?” He winks at me, throwing the dressings onto the bathroom counter.

“I didn’t…,” I start to explain, but Leonardo places his finger over my mouth to hush me.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain. I’m more than happy to share. There’s plenty of you to go around.” He grips my ass cheeks in his palms and pulls me into him, squeezing them hard and letting go of me just as quickly. “Now hurry up and get your ass in the tub.” He slaps my ass cheek before climbing into the hot water.

I slowly peel off the dressing on my ribs and discard it onto the counter. The pain is almost unbearable and I twist to see the damage. “Fucking asshole!” I grunt as I run my finger over the wound.

“What now?” Leonardo wipes the water from his eyes.

“This.” I turn and watch Leonardo’s eyes change to a deep shade of rage.

“He fucking branded you? How the fuck did you not know?” He leaps out of the tub and is in my face in a split second.

“I’m going to fucking murder him. Who the fuck does shit like this?” I screech, my voice turning an unusual octave too high. I twist to get a better look, and staring back at me is the fucking Romano coat of arms, branded into my skin.

“How the fuck did you not realize he was singing your skin?” Leonardo’s nostrils flare, his anger rolling and coiling through him in waves.

Glancing up at him, I almost cower at his rage, and I place my hand on his arm to settle him before he tries to hunt Giovanni down and murder him. “I’d passed out. He tortured me for murdering his dad’s consigliere.” I squeeze his arm to get him to listen to me.

“He fucking tortured you.” His arms go flying up, nearly knocking over all the cologne and shit on the bathroom counter. His muscles ripple under his tattoos as he paces the bathroom floor.

I stand there and watch him, my hand on my hip, waiting for him to calm his shit. This is my problem, my fucking skin that has been branded, and my issue to deal with. He stops after a few minutes and turns to look at me.

“Are you done?” I cock an eyebrow and smile at his overprotectiveness.

“I haven’t even fucking started.” His nostrils flare, the irritation in his voice filling the void between us.

“I’ll deal with this, don’t you fucking worry about that. But, I need to forget it for tonight. I need a normal night before the shitstorm hits this weekend,” I whisper, hoping he understands.

“What shitstorm?” His eyebrows furrow.

“It’s my fucking wedding day.” I push past him and climb into the tub, the warm bubbles instantly soothing my aching joints. “I’m not talking about it tonight. Can we just pretend it’s not happening?” I throw him a glare.

He pauses, wanting to spit his words at me, but I hold my hand up, and in the shitty fucking circumstances, he understands and doesn’t say another word about it all night.