He gestured behind him, to the side street by the library across the road. Much more subtle than Dom and Gino’s earlier stake-out point. But then again, they were idiots. ‘Calvino and I were watching the diner.’

‘Why?’

Nic narrowed his eyes. ‘We think there’s something in there,’ he said, cagily. ‘Something your uncle needs.’

‘What?’

Nic clamped his mouth shut and frowned.

‘Why are you giving me that dirty look?’ I asked him.

‘How long have you known he’s with the Marinos?’

‘I’m not getting involved in this,’ I told him sharply. ‘I don’t know anything about anyone.’

‘Do you know what this means?’ he said, but I got the impression he wasn’t really asking me. He was asking himself. The implications were huge. They were etched across his face.

‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ I said. ‘You don’t know anything for sure. That girl didn’t mention anything about Jack.’ It was a brazen lie, but better than letting the anger escalate, better than fuelling the fire.

He pulled his hand through his hair, cupping the back of his neck. ‘Do you have to be so difficult?’ he murmured.

‘Do you ever take a holiday?’ I countered. ‘Like, do any of you just wake up and think “Today feels like a pyjama day.”? Or is it always, “Today is a good day for murdering and stalking.”? Seriously, Nic. Seriously.’

He came closer, until I could feel the heat of his body.

‘Seriously,’ he echoed, his voice strained.

I stared at his chest. I didn’t want to look at his eyes. ‘You are so … frustrating.’

Nic loosed a loaded breath, and I caught the edge of his smile in a mistaken glance at his face. Don’t look at him. ‘I know that feeling,’ he said, his murmur warming the shell of my ear. I wanted to scream, cry, shove him and then possibly make out with him. Dammit. It felt like my whole body was on fire. It occurred to me that I might be on the verge of having a breakdown in the middle of Gracewell’s parking lot. The stakes felt too high all of a sudden.

What was he doing here? What the hell was Jack playing at? What was in that diner?

And where? I knew every inch of that place.

‘Sophie, ti prego.’ Nic’s words were a quiet nudge. He curled his arm around me, pulling me into him. I pressed my fingers against his chest, feeling the quick th-thump of his heartbeat. Human, fallible. Scared, I realized. Scared of what was to come. Gently, he pressed his forehead to mine. ‘Everything will be OK,’ he whispered, his heartbeat galloping beneath my fingertips. ‘Just tell me what she said to you.’

I made the mistake of looking at him. I could smell the faint scent of alpine, almost feel the heady blissfulness of the last time we had kissed. I swallowed. ‘She didn’t say anything.’

He inhaled sharply. ‘Fine, let’s talk about something else, then.’

‘Like what?’

His eyes were trained on my lips. His hand moved to the small of my back, the other cupped the back of my neck, pulling me into him. ‘This,’ he said gruffly.

He pressed his lips against mine, hard and searching. I shivered against him as his kiss grew stronger and more urgent. No. I made myself think. I made myself remember. He dragged his hand down my back, brushing his fingers along the waistband of my jeans. No. I pulled my lips from his just as he slipped his hand into my back pocket. I pushed against him, but it was too late; he was already pulling the card out from where I had tucked it.

He jumped back from me as I lashed out at him. He jerked his head and my fingers caught his chin. Quick, but not quick enough. His hand flew to his jaw.

His eyes went wide. ‘Sophie.’

‘How could you?’ I gasped.

‘I’m protecting you.’ He shook the alarm from his face and flipped the card over, his dark eyes slitting as he read Jack’s handwritten message to me. ‘I had to do it.’

I glared at him.

‘You weren’t going to give it to me,’ he said.

‘It was mine! I didn’t have to!’

‘You don’t know what you’re dealing with here, Sophie.’

I had to curl my fingernails into my palms to keep from trying to slap him again. ‘In that one kiss, you just cheapened everything we ever had.’

Alarm spread across his face. He stepped into our bubble again, his hands reaching out for mine. ‘I didn’t cheapen it. I did it to look out for you.’

I backed away from him. ‘Just leave me alone.’

‘You can’t go see your uncle, Sophie. I don’t care if you’re mad at me, but you can’t go into that club. That’s Black Hand territory. It’s not safe for you there.’

I gestured around me as I walked away. ‘It’s not safe for me anywhere!’

He matched my quickened pace easily. ‘Listen to me. Donata Marino doesn’t care about Jack. The Marinos never associate with anyone outside their family. They’re using him, and if you get sucked into their world, they’ll use you too. I’m asking you – I am begging you – do not go to that club.’

I didn’t look back at him. ‘It’s none of your business what I choose to do.’

‘I’ll make it my business to go in there after you.’

I turned around. ‘You wouldn’t!’

He set his jaw. ‘Try me.’