or kick any knobs, and climbed over onto the driver's side, that door still open.
"So you need to keep that danger far away from my daughter. You keep it where it can't touch her. You got me?"
Gabriella jumped out of the car. "I can take care of myself."
"I got you," Dante said, walking around to the other side of the car, his gaze on Gabriella. "Get back in the car."
"Or what?"
"Or I guess we stay here."
Oh, ugh, no thanks.
Gabriella got back in the car and climbed over to the passenger side instead of going around. Her father tapped on the window, garnering her attention as she put on her seatbelt. Cautiously, she turned that way, looking him right in the eyes through the tinted glass.
"You and I are going to be having a conversation about this," he said. "Just as soon as I figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do about it."
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.
Dante didn't waste any time driving away. He relaxed once he was away from Brazzi property, tearing off his tie and wrangling out of his suit coat as he sped through New Jersey, discarding the clothes in the small space behind his seat as he blasted the heat.
"Did you have to tell him we were living together?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he asked."
She scowled. "It's not like he's your boss."
"No, but he is your father," Dante said. "Look, I walked in there today with two strikes already against me. I can't afford a third strike, so if he asks me something, I'm answering. I don't care what it is. If the man wants to know how big my dick is, I'll offer to measure it for him."
"Well, boo on that."
Dante laughed but said nothing else, the drive back to Little Italy quiet. Finding no street parking, he pulled the car into a nearby garage, securing it, before the two of them strolled down the sidewalk to the apartment. Gabriella slipped her hand into his, holding it as they walked. His fingertips were ice cold.
"I always loved this neighborhood," Gabriella said, surveying the splattering of red, white, and green all around the buildings. Street vendors opened up shop on the corners where small one-way streets weaved together, merging with bigger traffic, creating a continual flow of people.
"That makes one of us," Dante muttered. "Too much has happened for me to see anything but the bad."
"I know, but you shouldn't blame the whole neighborhood for the acts of two men."
"It was more than two men. A lot of us contributed."
"What did I tell you in the hospital? About playing someone else's game?"
"You have to play by their rules."
"Exactly." Gabriella bumped against him as they stalled in front of the market below the apartment. "You know how my father always wins?"
"How?"
"Sleight of hand."
Dante turned to face her. "Are you suggesting I cheat? What happened to little miss 'gotta play by their rules' from a second ago?"
"I'm not suggesting you cheat," she said. "I'm just suggesting you manipulate the outcome a bit."
"In other words, cheat."
She laughed. "It's another gray area. If you don't get caught, is it really cheating?"
"I don't know," he said. "If I fuck another woman and you don't catch me, did I cheat?"
She flinched at that, a surge of jealousy stirring inside of her. "You better not."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Good, because even dreaming of it is all kinds of wrong," she said. "Besides, all I'm saying is that when the odds are stacked against you, you should consider maybe changing the odds."
"Easier said than done."
"Nobody said it would be easy," she said. "But it just might keep you on top."
"Well, that's a certainly a good position to be in." Dante smiled a bit as he leaned over, kissing her. "Although, you know, I kind of enjoy you being on top."
"You're changing the subject."
"I am," he admitted as he kissed her again, whispering against her mouth, "because I'd much rather talk about that."
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, barely having enough time to get into it when a loud commotion disrupted them from across the street. Angry shouts echoed through the neighborhood, brash enough to raise alarm over the usual city chaos. Scathing voices hurled insults as people ran, others swarming the area in front of the bar. Gabriella pulled away from Dante, glancing over just in time to see fists flying, a fight spilling out into the street, a guy in a red shirt pummeling somebody.
"Come on, it's cold. Let's go inside," Dante said at once,