Broken Protector (Gentle Sinners Book 1) by Amber Warden

Author:Amber Warden [Warden, Amber]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Panda Lily Press
Published: 2023-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Giovanni continued to avoid her into the next day, so Nera grumpily made her way to the kitchen.

“Hey, none of that.” Antonio stretched as he walked beside her.

Enzo had taken over for him during the night, so for the first time in a while, Antonio had gotten enough sleep. Nera had forced herself to move away from the door when Antonio mentioned the Bratva to his uncle.

Not that she minded knowing things. She’d had her suspicions about what Giovanni was up to. Listening at doors wasn’t an honest way to get information, though. She was a long way off from Giovanni wanting to share things with her, if he ever wanted to.

Without Giovanni taking a shift outside her door, she’d become a bigger burden on the other two. The rest of the Di Salvos seemed friendly enough. They’d complained when Enzo ate more than his fair share of what she’d baked that morning, but it had been good-natured ribbing. Nera didn’t fully understand Giovanni’s concern over her safety with them, but she trusted his judgment.

She’d called the school late the night before, which had been morning hours for them. Tommaso had told her what time the flight was that Giovanni had scheduled for her. He had said none of the other Di Salvos were to know, so she hadn’t mentioned it to Enzo or Antonio.

Nera was starting to resign herself to the idea that Giovanni wouldn’t talk to her at all before he saw her off.

“You know you don’t have to help with lunch or dinner, right?” Antonio asked as they drew closer to the kitchen.

The French cook was inside, already muttering curses.

“I like to keep busy,” Nera reminded Antonio.

“Just don’t overdo it with the arm!” he called after her.

Nera thought he might have lied before. He was a bit of a worrywart, even toward her. While she was helping the cook, Antonio often shoved her aside to take over. He wasn’t nice about it, despite his smile, but she’d started to believe he was well-intentioned, if still an ass.

Halfway through preparing lunch, Nera let Antonio take over lifting the tray and pulled out her vibrating phone.

“Sneaky, sneaky,” the cook said, more than obvious in his attempt to peer over her shoulder. “Is that another lover? Be careful, the Di Salvo men can be possessive.”

Nera stared down at the incoming call from the school. If she waited to call back, it would be too late in their time zone. She accepted the call, moving to the side of the kitchen.

They wanted to verify her start date. Very aware of Antonio’s presence and what Tommaso had told her, she kept an eye on him as she answered their questions with single-syllable words.

The cook helped by asking Antonio to pull something out of the far oven.

“Tomorrow,” Nera murmured in response to their question about her flight. “No, thank you.” She declined their offer of help getting from the airport to her lodgings and ended the call as soon as she could.

“Going off to France?” the Frenchman asked in a low murmur.

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