Vincenzo just looked at his friend. His very best friend on the planet. His business parter and literal partner in crime. Vin just looked at him with his mouth agape for a full thirty seconds before replying.
“I can’t do that, Ang. I won’t do that.”
He scrubbed his hands against his face and leaned against the back of the couch.
“I know there’s rules and shit about hooking up with your friends sister, but I’m not hooking up with her, Angelo. I’m…” Vincenzo honestly didn’t know what he was doing, not really, but it felt a whole lot more important than hooking up.
“There’s feelings involved, man. Not just hers, but mine, too. I really, really like Anabelle. I’ve been kind of trying hard not to like her so much because I don’t want to make shit weird with you, but last night, I was out and talking to people and no one was in the slightest bit interesting. And then your sister texted me that she thought someone had slipped something into her drink and she sent me a map… What could I do, okay? I went after her.”
He swallowed the bile in his throat at the thought of what could have happened to that sharp-tongued angel laying in his bed.
“She was incoherent when I found her; almost unconscious and there was this asshat bragging to his friends that he’d roofied her and I lost it. Knocked him around and then put Anabelle into a cab and took her here. She slept it off and then woke up pissed. Must be a goddamned family trait.”
Vin rubbed his back where the cactus had landed and then his jaw, which was definitely bruised from bloodying up those douchebags.
“She came to the same conclusion you did, until I showed her the texts and the photo of the guy, which I want hanging in the bar, by the way. He’s banned for life. And death. Like, eternity. And then she came to and we talked and she wanted to lay down with me. I went to bed clothed, but she stole my shirt to change into. . . There was no sex. Not with me or anyone else. She’s safe.”
Cenz didn’t really want to get into too much detail after that point.
“Anyway. Talking happened and it turns out, she likes me back. Wasn’t just flirting and teasing these past weeks. And like… I like her, man. She’s kind of perfect. Smart and sarcastic and funny and strong…” And super hot, but Cenz wisely decided to leave that bit out. “I told her we would figure it out when we woke up. Light of day and stuff. She got all pouty, but I think she understood. She’d been drugged. And then there’s the whole, best-friend’s-kid-sister thing.”
Of course, Vin had gotten long-winded. It was exhausting even him. He opened his eyes and looked at his friend again, apologetically. “I can’t hurt her, Ang. You can’t ask me to hurt her. I won’t do it.”
