Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“I should have paid more attention to my warning system,” Geno said. “I knew something was off, but I continued to think it was off in the wrong direction. That made no sense. I knew you were mine, and I was pissed as hell that you weren’t telling me everything.”
Amaranthe frowned and shook her head, pushing at the thick mass of hair. “I’m not certain about knowing I’m yours, other than our shadows tangling together. But you had two criminals in the room. They weren’t riders. I couldn’t disclose shadow rider business to them even if I weren’t aware they held two of the largest territories in Chicago.”
“Valentino and Dario are family,” Stefano said. “I know that seems impossible, but it’s true. We make it work. We’re careful of shadow rider business. They don’t ask questions about our business, and we don’t ask questions about theirs, although we’ve helped one another out upon occasion when the situation called for it.”
“You aren’t certain you’re mine, Amara?” Geno asked softly. “There’s still doubt in your mind?”
Soft color stormed her cheeks. She held her palm out toward him. “Don’t even think about letting your shadow loose again, Geno. I’m still trying to figure out how to get back to my apartment and find Carlotta’s brother without giving it away that I was the one who took the wallet out of the locker. I can’t think about anything else, and you mess up my ability to think straight.”
Before Geno could lay down the law to her, Elie did. “I think you’ve forgotten the council issued an order—you return to France, or you stay with Geno Ferraro, where they know you have a degree of protection. They want the two of you working together. If you don’t follow their orders, Amara, you risk losing your job.”
Geno raised an eyebrow at his errant woman. She might think she could run, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“I don’t see how they expect me to stay under the radar.”
He wanted to smile at her snippy little tone, but he kept a straight face. “I contacted Damian Ferraro this morning. He happens to be another cousin of ours and a renowned jeweler. As a rule, it’s very difficult to get on his schedule for a custom set of rings, particularly ones for a rider, but he was very accommodating. We’ll announce our engagement. You’re a dancer, not a rider. No one is going to question that I would be interested in a beautiful woman.”
Her skin went pale as she shook her head. “No one in the rider community would believe a Ferraro would ever consider marrying anyone who wasn’t a shadow rider.”
“Exactly,” Geno said, his dark blue eyes drifting over her face.
Comprehension was fast. Her brain processed at a high rate of speed. She thought the way he did. A smile pulled at her full lower lip and lit her dark eyes until she looked as if she could stroke him with velvet.
“Exactly,” she repeated.
“What does that mean?” Stefano asked. “What are you two planning?”
“My woman is a famous ballet dancer, a very big deal. I certainly would need to watch her perform. If there happen to be other shadow riders watching her performance, as well as two renowned heads of crime families from Chicago with their bodyguards, that would not be unusual,” Geno said.
Amaranthe beamed at him, her entire face lighting up. Geno knew her reaction had nothing to do with the compliment of her dancing and everything to do with including her as a partner in catching the killers.
Elie and Stefano both shook their heads immediately. It was Stefano who lodged a protest. “You can’t be considering using Amara as bait.”
Amaranthe’s dark eyes flashed with a dark flame. Geno filled her mind with warm amusement. They persist in thinking you are like their women. Francesca, Stefano’s woman, is soft and sweet and the center of the Ferraro famiglia. You will love her and want only to protect her. She is courageous and seeks to give Stefano a home and children. She nearly lost her life giving birth to Crispino, their son, and that was after losing at least two babies. She carried twins and only one, a little girl, Luciana, survived the birth. Again, Francesca nearly died. Stefano is very protective of her.
How sad for them. Naturally, he would be protective.
Elie nearly lost Brielle when she was wounded and elected to save her bodyguards rather than go into a safe room. She’s a shadow rider, but the shadows make her extremely ill. She is a superb investigator. In any case, neither man wants his woman to ride the shadows and work as an assassin.
Unlike you.
Unlike me.
Geno felt her genuine relief. She sent him another smile. Not only did he flood her with male pride in her but also a predatory possessiveness she couldn’t mistake. He was not only a shadow rider—he was a hunter in the same way she was. He’d recognized that trait in her the moment his shadow had connected with hers. Whether the Archambaults had brought that trait out in them both or whether they simply had it embedded in their DNA, the result was the same—it was strong in them.