One Way Out

“Niccolo. That’s what started this whole mess tonight. There was some kind of accident at Santa Palazzo.” Joey shoved a fifty-dollar bill at the waitress when she brought the two bottles of scotch. “Niccolo was on the beach with Rhea and somehow he was dragged under water.” He looked over at Jackson. His friend’s grin was gone, and so was the mischief in his green eyes. “You’re sure Stud Williams is on his way to prison, right?”

Jackson nodded. “He confessed yesterday.”

“At least that’s one problem solved. I don’t need to worry about him with Rhea back in town.”

“Sunni’s relieved, too,” Jackson offered.

Sunni Blais was Jackson’s soon-to-be wife. He’d been assigned to protect her a few weeks ago. It had been a scary couple of weeks, but in the midst of the craziness, Stud Williams had been charged with murder and Jackson and Sunni had managed to fall in love.

Lucky said, “Letting Rhea stay with Niccolo should make her happy.”

“Should I care if Rhea’s happy?” Joey didn’t mean for the question to be answered. “It’s Niccolo’s comfort level I’m concerned with. But right now, all he cares about is his teddy bear and his mama. You should have seen him when he laid eyes on Rhea. He just about flew out of my arms to get to her.”

“He was just scared, Joe,” Jackson reasoned.

“He was scared, all right. And I didn’t know what the hell to do or say to calm him down.”

“That’s not your fault,” Lucky argued.

Joey knew his brother and Jackson were trying to make him feel better, but it didn’t ease his stinging pride. “I thought I had it all figured out this morning. The nanny was going to start tomorrow, Rhea was in a room three floors down—and then all hell broke loose.”

“So maybe you shouldn’t have moved her in,” Lucky considered. “If you want Niccolo to start relying on you, then—”

“Rhea pointed out that I don’t know a damn thing when it comes to Niccolo’s needs. And she’s right. I don’t have a clue.”

“He’s a kid, Joe, not a high-tech robot,” Jackson pointed out. “How complicated can he be?”

Lucky motioned to Jackson. “We can help out.”

“So now you two are experts on how much juice my son needs to prevent constipation?”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Joey stole a cigarette from Lucky’s pack on the table and lit it. Taking a long drag, he reached for his glass of scotch. “You hear anything from Frank?”

“No. He’s still in Florida. They’ve got hurricane winds beating the coast. My guess is he’ll be knocking on your door sometime tomorrow if he can get his plane off the ground.”

Jackson let out a low whistle.

Joey thought it was in anticipation of his confrontation with his father, but as he followed his friend’s gaze to the bar entrance, he saw whom the whistle was meant for.

“Dammit.” Joey eyed Sophia D’Lano in royal-blue glitz, noting that the dress advertised her curves like a lit-up billboard for Viagra. “What else can go wrong tonight?”

The minute he’d spoken the words, she spied him and waved, then started over.

Lucky asked, “How do you want to play this? You plan on telling her you’re a daddy, or do we keep Niccolo and Rhea a secret for the time being? The latest rumor is that she’s determined to get you to the altar before New Year’s.”

Joey ground out the cigarette. “We don’t tell her a damn thing. Not until I talk to Frank.”

“What are you doing here, Joey?” Sophia arrived batting her long lashes and smiling like she’d just had her teeth cleaned. “Your secretary told me you were out of town.”

“I was.” Joey stood, leaned forward and kissed Sophia’s flawless cheek.

She glanced at Lucky and Jackson, then at the empty seat. “It looks like there’s room for one more.” She tilted her head and batted her eyelashes at Joey. Turning slightly, she made sure her breasts brushed his arm. “I haven’t seen you in days. Let’s catch up.”

Joey stepped aside and allowed Chicago’s mafia princess to slide into the booth, then sat down beside her. Since their breakup, Sophia had been inching her way back into his life. But for the past three months, she’d been pushing harder than ever. He admitted that she was beautiful, with rich caramel eyes and sooty black hair that fell past her shoulders, but he’d never envisioned himself marrying her.

“So was it business or pleasure?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your trip?” Sophia licked her lips. “Your secretary didn’t say. You’re not hiding some big dark secret, are you?”

Jackson choked on his beer, while Lucky almost bit in half the cigarette he was lighting. But Sophia didn’t notice. She was too busy situating herself closer to Joey so he could look down the front of her dress.

The waitress came and took Sophia’s drink order. Two Moonshots later, she was snuggled close to Joey, purring in his ear. Thirty minutes later, Jackson excused himself, claiming he had to go home and rescue Sunni from Mac—Mac being Jackson’s once K-9 partner who was now retired and spent most of his time on the sofa watching Westminster and dreaming about a long-legged greyhound with an attitude.