Page 32 of Bulletproof Baby

Asshole Three puts on his most sympathetic face, wide puppy dog eyes as he blubbers on. "I swear the guy looks like he could be all of those things combined. We just call him Jimmy because rumor is he can jimmy any lock. I just want to go home. I never meant to get caught up in this shit."

I take a step away from the whimpering man, and Armande follows me toward the soldier by the staircase. I have a decision to make.

"I can see it in your eyes, Valley." Armande's voice is barely above a whisper. "This girl's making you soft. If we let this asshole go, it's going to be a mistake."

"She's mine, Armande. Mine to protect." Flashes of fear in Lia's eyes as she tried to escape these assholes anger me. I don't want Armande to be right, but he is. He confirms exactly what's in Asshole Three's eyes. He thinks I have compassion. He's right, but it's not for him. Lia is distracting me.

"Who's to say this guy isn't acting? What if he decides to link up with whoever this Jimmy character is and go after her again? Don Barrone—" Armande is addressing me by my title. It sits differently. We're not speaking as friends, but as consigliere to boss.

I groan, knowing my choices can incite a war. "Get every ounce of information you can from him then bury him with the other two. I might have an idea of which Jimmy this guy is talking about. This has Caputo written all over it."

"You really think so?" Armande asks. "La Familia would never sanction a kidnapping?—"

I stop him. "The dons of La Familia don't know that Lia Bonetti belongs to me now. From everything I discussed with Caputo a few hours ago, he's probably had this kidnapping in the works for a while to manipulate her family. The only thing that's changed is me buying her at that stupid auction last week."

"Why are you still invested in this girl, Valley?" Armande asks.

"Something feels different about her. I can't put my finger on it?—"

Armande chuckles. "From the look of your back and that busted lip, I'd say she put a few fingers on you. You can get any girl for your bedroom shit. Does it have to be the one that puts us on a warpath against the Caputo family?"

"It's her, because I want her. She's perfect for me."

I can see the disbelief in Armande's eyes as he rolls them before turning away from me. He glances toward Asshole Three, who's waiting for his fate.

"Perfect, huh?" Armande shakes his head. "She's the perfect amount of trouble that has you wrapped around her finger and every other part of her body. Make sure she's worth this, Valley. Once we start tangling with Caputo, there's no turning back."

"Caputo told me at Kings that Lia belonged to me so long as I didn't interfere with his arrangement with her parents. This kidnapping attempt voids that conversation. He should have stopped it. Get everyone ready. We're going to war."

15

LIA

Why me?

Flashes of men fighting with Valentino swallow up every free inch of thought as I lay on the pull-out sofa in the spare bedroom of Frankie's apartment. The room is more like a catch-all space for every piece of random furniture and workout equipment that my cousin owns. The walls feel like they're closing in as I toss and turn to get some sleep.

A glance at my phone tells me that the sun is coming up by the time I feel the weight of my eyes closing. The sound of the city coming to life lets me know it's at least after seven in the morning. But not seeing anything from Valentino is disheartening. After everything that happened, I'm not sure if he's upset that I chose to stay here instead of going wherever he planned to take me. I'm kicking myself as it dawns on me that I chose comfort over safety, but I can't just trust Valentino. Can I?

I want to. My eyes stare up at the dreadful popcorn ceilings with the chestnut-bladed ceiling fan. Petal-shaped sconces hold light bulbs in its center. I force myself to study every line to simply get my mind off the what-ifs.

Valentino has gone from a complete stranger to the owner of my virginity. He saved me from Saul. However, in my fear and desperation to save my parents, I allowed Valentino to steal my trust. The only thing I can actually trust about Val is that he wants to keep me safe, but what if it all comes back to hurt me? Being with him hasn't done anything to stop Saul from extorting my family.

When the door creaks open, I barely move my face to see that it's Frankie poking his head into the room.

"Sorry about the clutter," he says. "I'm going out for breakfast. Do you need anything? Coffee? Breakfast? A zanny?"

I giggle. "No. Anti-anxiety meds make me feel like a zombie. I just need to get some rest for now. Thanks for letting me crash here, Frankie."

"Girl, don't start that again. What else was I supposed to do when you called me at like three-something in the morning? Tell you to sleep in Central Park, or worse, on the ferry? Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

"No, I wish." Instead of insisting he let me sleep, I push myself to sit up, grateful for the distraction, if even for a moment. The bed creaks while the bottom third threatens to fold in. Frankie laughs as he plops down to stop the rickety thing from moving.

"I guess I should get rid of this thing," he says, patting the bed's thin mattress. "Oh shit, you remember when we had to hide that weed between the cushions. Nonna couldn't figure out where that smell was coming from."

The flashes of our immaturity make me laugh softly. I pull my knees up to my chest, resting my chin on them as I wrap my arms around my shins. "Wow. I can't believe you remember that."

"Yeah. I thought she was gonna have my ass shipped back to Sicily."