His gaze cut to her, and then he rinsed the pan in the sink. “That’s never going to happen, querida, so don’t hold your breath. I’m leopard. I stay in control, but I have to release it somehow or my male gets so edgy it’s nearly impossible to hold him back. I think we feed on each other’s bad temper. But you, and certainly our children, will never be in danger.”

Our children. She liked that he thought of a future for them. She didn’t respond, because she didn’t want to have to ask him again to explain what he did. How he came to work for Drake’s security company when he was a major player in the underworld. She had said one step at time and he’d told her he’d lay it out for her. She was going to give him the opportunity to do it.

Elijah deftly buttered bread and placed it in the frying pan, adding slices of cheese and then putting on the second piece of bread. “A man by the name of Rafe Cordeau disappeared a few weeks ago. Cordeau was a major player in Louisiana. He ran everything from drugs, guns and a very large stable of—um—prostitutes to business protection there. He had his hand in just about everything, and he made a fortune at it. No law enforcement agency was ever able to bring him down, and they tried. Over and over. He was known for his violent retaliation. He had no qualms about torture and murder. Every witness that ever thought about testifying against him disappeared, and most turned up dead. They died hard. The others simply disappeared.”

Her grandfather had mentioned Rafe Cordeau. She nodded her head. The butter sizzled and the scent of melting cheese reached her. Her stomach growled. She was definitely hungry. She rubbed her chin on the tops of her knees and waited.

“When Cordeau disappeared, he left a huge, very lucrative territory up for grabs. Everyone made a move on it. Some were willing to divide it up and share, others wanted it for themselves, and a couple of Cordeau’s men were making a bid for it as well. Your grandfather was one of the bosses who wanted to keep it all for himself. He had Luigi Baldini and Angelo Fabbri taken out because he feared they’d fight him for it. Angelo was making noises in that direction. Antonio went after me for the same reason.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And Don Miguel and Carlo Bianchi? That was months ago, before Cordeau disappeared. Carlo was his friend for years. He spoke at his funeral. He cried. I had to finish his talk for him.”