"Got it," they echoed.

"Do you believe in love, Gae?" Cat asked.

Gaetano eyed her from the other end of the dining table, his wine swirling in his glass. "Why, regina?"

"Just Cat tonight, Gae."

"All right, why, Cat?" he asked again, chuckling deeply.

She watched the couple three tables down behind Gaetano. The man and woman were young, mid-twenties likely, and sitting terribly close at such a large table with so much space. Their hands were constantly touching and their gazes, dazed with something Cat didn't understand, never left one another.

Was that love? Real love?

Cat wondered what it felt like to be so adored and wanted. She supposed she was by the people in her life, in a way, but not like that.

"Curious minds," she finally said, glancing back to Gaetano.

"I can honestly say I have loved every man who has been beneath me for a short period of time. It usually ended when they left my bed with a smile."

Cat laughed. "Beautifully said, Gae."

"I try." Gaetano sighed heavily, looking over his shoulder at the couple Cat had been watching for some time before turning back to her. "Love doesn't mix well in this business. It puts roots into the ground and keeps you there. That's what you always told me, wasn't it?"

"But do you believe that?" she pressed quietly.

"Where is this coming from?" Gaetano asked.

Cat sucked in a large breath, willing her furious thoughts to slow. "He did shock me the other evening. Dante Marcello, I mean. I assumed I had him figured out like most men before I put myself in his presence, but clearly I knew nothing. When he pulled the gun on me, I-"

"You didn't respond any differently than I've ever seen you react before," her comrade interjected.

"Maybe so, but it still stuck with me. It's in here, now," she said, twirling a finger by her temple. "I'm not sure where to take that or how to move from here."

"He's just a man."

"A man who surprised me," Cat muttered.

That was dangerous territory. Men were her pawns and she was Queen. She moved them as she saw fit, not the other way around.

"What does that have anything to do with love?"

"Nothing, but it's got me to thinking."

"About what?" Gaetano asked, clearly confused.

Gaetano had been her friend for longer than Cat cared to remember about her life. Shortly after she left home at fifteen, she met a younger Gaetano who was only three years older than herself. She thought him funny and charming, and he was one of the only men who was not affected by Cat's games or guiles because he held no attraction for her.

She needed a man like him in her life. A friend, a very good one.

"I thought Vincenzo loved me once," Cat confessed.

Gaetano cleared his throat, obviously shocked at where the conversation had turned. "You never talk about him anymore."

"Well, I wonder why."

Because that awful man had made Cat who she was to other men. After running away from the emotional and physical abuse her step-father leveled on her daily, Cat found the comfort of an older gentleman she could trust while working in a club. She had, of course, lied about her age to get the job.

Vincenzo Savino had seemed like a God to a young Catrina with his money, status, and seemingly cultured view of the world. His nice clothes simply hid the snake underneath. For years, nearly a decade, he held Cat in his suffocating grip, training her to be this unfeeling, uncaring and cold creature.

"I was so open to him," Cat said.

"What do you mean?"

"To his ways," she explained softly. "After being abandoned by my biological father and then hated by the man who raised me, not to mention dismissed by the woman who should have protected me, how could I have not wanted someone to be the hero?"

"Cat," Gaetano said, scoffing darkly. "Vincenzo was no hero."

"I thought he was at first. And I also thought he must have understood me, you know?"

"Not really," Gaetano admitted.

"He gave me the perfect character to play, Gae. He turned me into this ... persona of a woman who would never be the poor girl from the village, forgotten and uncared for, lonely and afraid. Doesn't that make you think he knew what I needed, then?"

"What, to feed your hatred for men?"

"I don't hate men," Cat snapped, her stare cutting to Gaetano sharply.

"Not now, but you did. And really, you're not all that different, Catrina. You're still a goddamn maneater."

Maybe she was. It was becoming hard to tell the difference between who she was then, who she was now, and who she wanted to be. Hell, even Cat didn't know.

"Anyway," she continued, waving flippantly. "I did think he loved me once."

"But you were never involved with him, not sexually."

Cat shrugged. "No, but I needed a father figure and he gave me that."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I think he used your weakness against you and molded you into exactly what he needed."

Gaetano was absolutely correct. Cat knew it.

"This Marcello ..." her friend said, trailing off with a raised brow.

"Give me your advice, Gae. I'm dying to hear it."

"Don't forget, he's just a man, Cat."

Yes. But again, one that had surprised her.

"I don't know if I believe in love that is untainted and free of manipulation and filth," Cat said, dropping the conversation altogether and going back to the beginning all over again.

"Oh?"

"But I would like to."

"Ciao, buona sera, Dante," Cat murmured the moment the condo door closed. "It's a beautiful evening outside, yes?"

Dante's gun was out and pointing instantly, straight at Gaetano. "Fucking hell! How did you get inside my goddamn condo?"

"I'm good with men," Cat explained, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "For what the cost of this place probably was, the building should get security guards who can't be manipulated by a pretty woman."

Dante's gaze narrowed but his gun didn't lower. "Noted."

"Your kitchen is magnificent," Cat said, glancing over her shoulder at the black marble and stainless steel.

"It would shame my mother if it was anything less."

Cat smirked. "You Italian boys and your mammas ..."

Dante arched a brow. "What do you want, Cat?"

Satisfaction swept through Cat. She didn't outwardly show it. Part of her battle was already won if he was calling her Cat as she'd told him to and not Catrina.

"I would appreciate it if you lowered your weapon from Gaetano's direction," Cat said again. "As I said, he's a good friend."

Dante's gaze cut to a quiet, stoic Gaetano.

"How good of a friend?" Dante asked.

Cat laughed. "Oh, what do you say, Gae?"

Gaetano didn't blink. "Quite good, regina."

"Yes, he has even seen me naked a time or two. Worry not, Dante. There are three things about Gaetano that pleases me. One, he's extremely protective of me. Two, he's got an awful attitude. And three, I don't have the right bits to turn him on."

Dante cleared his throat, eyeing Gaetano again. He dropped his gun to his side. "I see."

"We're careful about keeping his homosexuality quiet, and I'm sure you understand why." Cat surveyed her manicured nails as she said, "I suppose his sexual preferences make you uncomfortable being Cosa Nostra and a devout Catholic."

"I don't give a flying shit who he fucks," Dante said sharply. "It's also a sin to eat shellfish, but my mother loves it, and you won't meet anyone more faithful to God than her. It's a sin to be left-handed, but every man in my family is. As far as Cosa Nostra, I didn't make the goddamn rules. Besides, he's not in with la famiglia, so again, he can fuck whoever he wants as long as it isn't me."

"You're not my type," Gaetano replied.

"Thanks. Now, get out of my condo."

Cat sighed. "Now, Dante-"

"Not you, him. I suspected you were going to approach me again after your men did a little disappearing act this past week on the streets. It's like this: if you want to talk, we do so one on one. He leaves. I won't have your minions breathing down my neck, Queen. I'm not some fucking sociopath who might hurt a female if I get her alone. Even if that female is you."

Cat took note of his use of Queen and not her name. "You've done some digging, I assume."

"S," Dante confirmed.

"Did you like what you found?"

"Depends on how you look at it."

Cat nodded to Gaetano. "Go to the car."

"Regina-"

"Go, Gae. I am fine. You know this."

Gaetano did as she asked, but he didn't look pleased about it. Dante stood aside to let the man pass. Once the door was closed, Cat stepped away from the wall.

"If you break into my condo again, I won't be so nice the second time," Dante warned.

"I was surprised you were nice this time, frankly."

"I'm still deciding what to do with you."

Cat grinned but kept quiet.

"I have an office," Dante informed as he kicked off his shoes. "I would prefer to have you in there."

The way Dante said the words were innocent enough, but something inside Cat reacted to the thought of him having her. It was impossible to deny Dante Marcello was a handsome man with strong lines shaping his features and body, the confident posture he sported, and the power he wielded in his family. That didn't mean she had to give in to those urges whispering in the back of her mind.

Besides, Cat hadn't let a man get under her skin in a long damn time. Dante Marcello would not be the first to dig his heels in and set her off.

"Let's go," Dante said, loosening the knot in his tie.

Cat followed behind her new companion in silence as he walked through his condo.

"Did you go through my place?"

"No," Cat answered.

"Can I trust you to be honest?"

Cat laughed lightly. "I would tell you if I did. Though I couldn't help myself with the kitchen. I had to look around and admire the setup."