“I can’t guarantee that,” I told him honestly. “What I can do is do my best to make certain this is about me and Darius and it doesn’t leak to the rest of the posse. And I’ll do that.”

But Lee was now glaring at Eddie, and after I finished speaking, he bit out, “You cannot be cool with this.”

“I’m not. Then again, hermano, I haven’t been cool with this shit for seventeen f**kin’ years,” Eddie replied.

Lee again closed his mouth.

He wasn’t cool with it either.

I took in a breath and held it.

Lee looked back to me. “I’m not involved.”

This was disappointing. It was also unsurprising. There was never a time when there wasn’t a Lee, Eddie and Darius. Even when Lee and Eddie were fighting (which happened often) and when Darius was on the wrong side of the law and Eddie was a cop.

They had a bond. They were brothers.

And if you love your brother, you had his back and backed his plays.

So I nodded.

Lee’s body partially relaxed when he informed me, “You don’t know this but he takes care of them.”

“I do know that. It isn’t about money and protection, though,” I replied. “It’s something bigger and you know it.”

“He does what he can do,” Lee stated and I totally dug it that he was defending his best friend.

But he needed to wake up.

“Your baby is growing in my best friend’s belly,” I reminded him and his head jerked. “And God forbid something happens between you and Indy or to you to change you or take you away from them in any capacity. You think on that. You think on Indy going it alone raising your child. She’d have money, no doubt. But you know that’s not even the half of what it takes. And, last, you think on your child growing up without knowing all the righteousness that is you. That would be a tragedy. So you think on that, Lee. Then you come back to me and tell me I’m doing the wrong thing. I still won’t believe you and I’ll still do what I intend to do. But I’ll be even more disappointed in you.” I looked to Eddie and finished, “The both of you.”

I thought that was a good parting line so I made it one, moved forward, shoved past Lee and walked out the door.

* * * * *

“Babe, it’s going to be cool.”

That was me, sitting with Ren at his dining room table, watching him not eating the seafood linguini he’d made us and instead sipping wine, staring at the table and brooding.

I’d told him everything. About what was happening at Smithie’s and about the wheels I set in motion in regards to Darius.

I did not expect him to lay a hot and heavy celebratory kiss on me after he shouted, “All right! My woman is going to be in the line of fire tonight!”

So I was giving him his space, but I still wanted to assure him I was going to be all right.

I mean, Mace and Luke had my back. That was nothing to sneeze at.

At my words, he turned his head to me, sipped more wine and when he was done, he stated, “I’m gonna be there tonight.”

I fought back a sigh but nodded.

I expected that. It was intrusive and maybe wrong. But my man had a protective streak, and until he was entirely down with what I was doing, I needed to give him some leeway.

He went back to brooding.

I reached out and touched his thigh. “Honey, I’m gonna be okay.”

He looked at me and declared, “Santo got into Snookie Rivers’s apartment today. He has a room dedicated to pictures of you. He’s a stalker, and not the tame harmless variety. The sick and twisted variety. Lucky was on him and he must have made him, because when Lucky went to get the drop on him, he got the drop on Lucky and got away.”

I shot back in my seat.

Holy shit!

“There’s an unknown weirdo out there taking pictures of me?” I asked.

“Yeah. Everywhere. All you. At work. At home. Both of ‘em. Your apartment and here. Just you. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.”

Hundreds was bad.

But thousands?

“I… what…” I stammered, then pulled myself out of my shock and got it together. “What the hell?”

“I don’t know. My mind doesn’t work like that. What I do know is while I’ve been thinkin’ on this and whether or not to tell you, I didn’t think on whether or not to give Darius the heads up. So I did. And you might be pissed, but he’s at your back often so he needs to keep an eye out. I left it up to him, and now you, if you share with your brothers. But my vote, you do, and someone, I don’t give a f**k who, closes that guy down.”

This grossed me out, but still.

“I’m not sure it’s illegal to take pictures of someone, Ren.”

“The way he’s doin’ it?” he asked, but didn’t want an answer mostly because he already had one. “Fuck yeah it is. You need a restraining order. Which won’t do jack. So that means he gets a message. And I’d like it to be me that gives it to him. But if Darius, one of your brothers or one of his men get there before me, I won’t argue.”

This did not make me feel warm and fuzzy.

“It was that bad?” I asked quietly.

“Thousands of pictures, Ally,” he answered, not quietly.

Whoa.

He wasn’t being broody about my job that night.

He was being broody because I had a sicko taking photos of me.

“Do we have a picture of him so I know who I’m looking for and they will, too?” I asked.

“Darius says he’s got Brody on that. DMV. Whatever. Brody will find somethin’ and he’ll give it to me.”

I nodded.

“You watch your back. You also drive to work tonight with me.”

Oh man.

“Ren—”

“Do not fight this, Ally,” he cut me off. “It’ll get ugly, I assure you, baby, and you won’t win. I got a man fixated on my woman and you gotta let me do what I have to do. You with me?”

I thought on it, but not long enough for the Italian Hothead to wake up and decide he needed to make his point.

Then I said, “I’m with you, honey.”

He took in a deep breath and let it go.

Relief.

“Though, I’ll say, I miss our fighting,” I continued.

His chin jerked back and his brows went up before he asked, “Have you lost your mind?”

“No. Without fights there’s no angry sex.”

That got him

His lips quirked. He put down his wineglass and picked up his fork as he asked, “Am I fallin’ down on that part of the job, babe?”