Текст книги "Blood & Loyalties"

Автор книги: Ryan Michele

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© Ryan Michele 2015

Blood & Loyalties: A Mafia Romance by Ryan Michele

©Ryan Michele 2015

Editor: C&D Editing (http://cdediting.weebly.com/)

Proofreader: Julie Deaton   (https://www.facebook.com/jdproofs?ref=hl)

Cover Designer: Melissa Gill at MGbookcovers (http://mgbookcovers.wix.com/mgbookcovers)

Photography by: Shauna Kruse (www.facebook.com/kipmodelsandboudoir)

Cover Model: Josh McCann

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission in writing from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

All rights reserved.

*This book is intended for mature audiences only due to adult situations, sex and violence.*

 

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1—Catarina

Chapter 2—Jag

Chapter 3—Catarina

Chapter 4—Catarina

Chapter 5—Jag

Chapter 6—Catarina

Chapter 7—Jag

Chapter 8—Catarina

Chapter 9—Jag

Chapter 10—Jag

Chapter 11—Catarina

Chapter 12—Catarina

Chapter 13—Jag

Chapter 14—Catarina

Chapter 15—Jag

Chapter 16—Jag

Chapter 17—Catarina

Chapter 18—Jag

Chapter 19—Jag

Chapter 20—Catarina

Chapter 21—Jag

Chapter 22—Catarina

Chapter 23—Jag

Epilogue—Catarina

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Excerpt of Angel’s Halo (Angel’s Halo MC) by Terri Anne Browning

Excerpt of Lance (Roughneck Series) by Chelsea Camaron

Click the link below

http://authorryanmichele.net/ties-loyalties-preview

Dedication

To all my readers.

Always strive to be what you never thought you could.

 

Chapter 1

“YOU STUPID FUCKING bitch!” Antonio seethed like a pussy as he looked up from the filthy-ass floor of the bar, holding his throbbing crotch.

I laughed, tossing my head back for good measure. Bitch was the worst he could come up with? I had been called worse than that at work when I lost a client’s millions on a bum deal.

I lifted the pointed heel of my black, stiletto boot and plowed it hard into his windpipe, crushing it as he gasped for breath, his eyes wide with fear. He needed to be taught a lesson about fucking over a Lambardoni. It didn’t come without repercussions, and I wanted to be the one to teach him.

Unfortunately, I knew my bodyguards had called my brother Val. They always did when shit with me happened, and if I didn’t get on with it, Val would ruin all my fun. I was more than capable of handling this weak, pathetic asshole. Val should know that. He and my other brother D had trained me to fight and shoot a target with precision, but something about being “the sister” gave them the right to be overprotective and overbearing, even if I was older than both of them.

As I removed my foot, one of his hands wrapped around his throat as the other continued to grip his aching crotch. The stupid fucker didn’t know whether to grab his balls or neck, his arms flailing in both directions as he rolled from side to side, trying to ease the pain. He gasped for breath, the look of confusion in his eyes laughable. I did pack one hell of a powerful knee thrust, though. No doubt his balls were shoved so deep inside he could taste them in his mouth.

Wicked thoughts crept in my head. Using my best weapon of the moment—the hot ass boots my cousin Kiera had insisted I wear for the night—I picked a spot on his rib cage and began kicking it over and over, plowing into him, hoping like hell the blows would crack the fuckers. It was the least he deserved.

I moved with him at each turn he tried to make, hitting him dead in the same spot. He grunted and attempted to bat my foot away with his hands as he tried to hold himself at the same time. His less than stealthy attempts only made him look like a bigger pansy-assed bitch. It was amazing how much actual joy I felt from watching him struggle.

He tried to curl up in the fetal position, the dirt from the floor coating his clothes and both sides of his face. He groaned, taking each hit, but it didn’t feel like enough. The fucker didn’t even have the balls to really fight back.

“Catarina, what the hell happened?” Kiera said loudly at my side, trying to compensate for the music blaring in the distance. She was my cousin, best friend, and pretty much sister in every way that counts. Regardless, my focus stayed on the fucker on the floor as I stepped farther back from his withering body.

When Kiera and I had decided to come out to the club to let off some steam from a brutal week at work, I hadn’t realized I would be getting a hefty workout like this instead of on the dance floor.

I stared down at the man I’d thought loved me, who had said I was the one for him. The only one. Stupid. I should have known by now that the only reason men found any interest in me was because of my father and family. Each one seemed to want that pivotal “in” to the business, and for some reason, they thought I could get it for them.

I knew Antonio wanted to move up in the ranks with his family, but it wasn’t in the cards for him. That right there should have been a huge red flag for me, but I had trusted him when he told me if he couldn’t move up in his own family, he didn’t want to move up at all.

Lies. All fucking lies. One would think I had learned this lesson after twenty-nine years on this earth, but I kept falling for it: hook, line, and sinker. The word sucker was plastered on my fucking forehead, and the life that I craved so much was completely unobtainable. Not anymore. This would be it. This fucker would be the absolute last.

Being the daughter of a very powerful man came with a stiff price, the biggest being whom to trust, which I had learned—mostly the hard way—wasn’t many. Family was about the only ones I could, and damn if that didn’t suck ass with finding a love life.

Even women had proved too scarce in the honesty department. Most wanting to fuck my brothers rather than actually get to know me. That was why Kiera and I had stuck together over the years. It was safer for everyone. No one else understood this life.

I wasn’t and never had been a weak person. Growing up in the Lambardoni family, it wasn’t an option. Between my father, uncle, brothers, and cousins, both Kiera and I had been taught with an iron fist—a loving iron fist—but still, a strong-gripping fist.

Glancing down at the floor, I couldn’t believe I had wasted my time on this man. I would have to thank my brother Dominic—D—for teaching me kickboxing. It proved handy, even if my technique was shit at the moment, but it was kind of hard to really show technique when the guy was on the ground.

The asshole growling under my feet thought he could profess his undying love for me and then go fuck some blonde whore in the bathroom. Mistake. Big mistake.

When he told me he was going to get drinks then headed in the opposite way of the bar, every flag in my head stood to alert. Val had taught me how to observe one’s surroundings, promising me it would come in handy one day, and that day was definitely one of them.

Throughout Val’s teachings, my eyes became sharper in viewing my surroundings and noticing key things that were out of place: a car parked somewhere it shouldn’t be or a person walking a bit too closely. I’d see it, and it would keep me on my toes.

Realizing Antonio turned down the hallway in his quest for drinks, I’d motioned for my full-time guard, Scraper—yes, that was his name—to follow him. He took off, only to report back minutes later that Antonio had a piece of ass in the women’s bathroom.

The pained expression on Scraper’s face sent me into action. I knew it was pained because of the betrayal to me, and I would be putting Antonio’s ass on a stick.

I rushed through the crowd with Scraper on my heels, trying to get through the crush of people. I knew Scraper would stay out of the confrontation until or if he needed to intervene. He had been my guard for the past six years, and while at first we couldn’t stand the sight of each other, he’d grown on me over the years. After growing up together, I even liked him, and he knew when to step back and let me take the lead so I could prove myself capable to my family, which was a must.

I’d caught a glimpse through the crack in the door of that piece of shit, confirming he was in fact balls deep in pussy that wasn’t mine, and then I waited. I was exceptionally patient, one of my many redeeming qualities. As I stood back in the shadows of the darkened, narrow hallway that led to the bathroom, I tried reining in my anger. It would get me nowhere and cause me to make stupid mistakes. Having a clear head was the only way to go. Hurt had already gone out the damn window. There was no need for that or any other emotion.

Scraper had stayed on the other side as my back-up. He knew the fucker had to pay, exactly as I did. It would actually just be the start of his repercussions. Once my brothers, cousins, and—God help him—father and uncle heard, he would get a hell of a lot worse than what I was about to dish out. It was probably demented, but I was actually happy about that.

After the blonde whore left, swaying her fake ass down the hallway, Antonio came strutting out like the cat who got his mouse. There had been a wide smile across his face and even a bead of sweat on his brow. Before he could see me, I’d lifted my knee with every ounce of power I could muster in my five-foot-ten body and kneed him in his balls. He hunched over, and I helped him to the floor by kicking his legs out from under him. He plummeted to the ground hard, his shoulder taking the weight of the fall. Stupid fuck.

“Just handling some trash. Caught him fucking some blonde in the bathroom,” I said to Kiera, whose beautiful face turned glacial in seconds. The smooth skin around her eyes narrowed with lines as she released a heavy breath.

Kiera lifted the heel of her beautiful, hot pink pumps and smashed them into Antonio’s nose, causing blood to splatter at my feet and across the floor. I had been going for no blood, but shit happened.

“Dammit, I just got these boots, too.” I pretended to whine, stomping my foot for added emphasis. In actuality, I couldn’t give a shit. I would go buy new ones tomorrow.

Never in my life had I wanted for anything, but don’t think for a moment that I hadn’t worked for every penny of it. In my family, you learned very early on everything you got, you worked hard for. Your blood, sweat, and tears went into every dollar you spent; hence, why Kiera and I wanted a fun night out, hoping to get a reprieve from life. Life had other ideas, though.

“We’ll shop tomorrow,” Kiera spat down on Antonio as he started shrieking nasty names at us. Some in Italian, some in English. I ignored him as I hacked up a wad and spit it down on his worthless body.

Spitting on someone in my family was the formal yet disgusting sign of a person being dead to you. If someone was trash and unworthy of you, you spit. It was pretty damn gross, but people understood it and normally asked no questions once it was done. If they did, they were more than likely going to get the shit beat out of them again. In Antonio’s case, I hoped he would, just for fun.

“All right, ladies. It’s done.” Scraper slid up to us and rested his hands on our shoulders, giving a slight, comforting squeeze.

I wasn’t quite ready to give it up. The tension in my body was still wound tight and needed release, but I looked over to Kiera who nodded in agreement, deflating my plans.

Kiera was always my voice of reason. It was why we worked so well together. We complimented each other to a T.

“The boys will be here soon to clean up. Let’s go get you ladies a drink,” Scraper said with another squeeze as we stepped farther back, and I tried to pull out of my tension.

Antonio tried hard to stand, his feet and knees wobbling underneath him as he groaned in pain with each movement. He was able to partially get up, but he was bent at the waist and kept shifting from one foot to the other, like either one he chose hurt too much to put his full weight on.

“I’ll fucking kill you for this, bitch!” Antonio snapped at me. He didn’t seem to understand the concept of ‘you just got your ass handed to you, so shut the fuck up.’

Scraper pulled both Kiera and I behind him then landed a hard punch to Antonio’s jaw. The loud crack echoed through the hall, even over all the boisterous music playing. Antonio’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell onto the floor, his head landing with an audible thud on the tile. His body was unmoving from what I hoped was just being passed out. I didn’t need to explain this man’s death to my father or uncle.

“Come. Now,” Scraper commanded, looking down at the piece of shit. “Or else a bullet goes through the fucker’s head.”

I rolled my eyes. While I knew he would totally do it, I also knew he would pick a more discreet location than right by the bathroom in a bar. Too many witnesses. Even though no one was around us at the moment, a gunshot would surely bring everyone running.

“Let me wash up.” I didn’t wait for a response from either of them, entering the bathroom to clean off Antonio once and for all. I hated having Antonio’s blood on me in any way, even on my shoes.

Months of my life were wasted on that piece of shit, time I would never get back. I sighed, wishing things had been different. I thought he might have actually been the one. Who was I shitting? The one, my ass. He didn’t exist for me.

After I was done, I stepped out of the bathroom to a waiting Kiera and Scraper.

“Come on, girl. I’m thirsty.” I needed to get something inside of me to calm the hyped up feeling I had coursing through my veins. Love it or hate it, the crash from adrenaline usually sucked, and I wanted to be drunk when it happened. Forgetting seeing Antonio and that whore fucking was an added bonus.

“I bet you are,” Kiera giggled, grabbing my arm and pulling me back up to the VIP section.

Scraper led the way up the side stairs, but I could feel Dune and Case behind us. They were Kiera’s guards. She had two because of the whole being the daughter of the great Vino Lambardoni thing. We each had two other guards who we called Ghost One and Ghost Two. We had met them there, but they hid in the shadows, only coming out when necessary, which was seldom. They were there yet not there. It was eerie in a way, but we got used to it like everything else.

I couldn’t remember a time in my life when she and I hadn’t had guards of some sort tailing our every movement. Most would say it wasn’t normal, but what the hell was normal, anyway? Our fathers did it for our safety, and we accepted that. Although I’m not saying back in the day we hadn’t tried to ditch them and escape the confines of our fathers.

I laughed thinking about it. We had been so dumb and had no understanding of what kinds of threats were out there for us. We were honest to God lucky nothing had happened to us.

Music thumped through the large speakers while men and women shook their asses and everything else they had on the dance floor below us. All of them were oblivious to what just occurred in the back of the bar, which was perfect, easier to clean up. It was also a sure sign life went on even in the midst of someone’s mistakes.

Scraper led us to the plush red velvet chairs with the white trim in our closed off room. We took a seat in the dimly lit space where glass mirrored walls lined the front, allowing a great view of the bar and dance floor.

The waitress with her tight red and white shirt and barely there black shorts approached hastily after we were seated. “What can I get ya, ladies?”

The perkiness of the woman’s voice made me want to wretch. I had been a lot of things in my life, but perky was not one of them, and I was seriously not in the mood for a bubbly cheerleader. I let it go, however, ignoring it.

“Shots!” Both Kiera and I said together then smiled, looking at each other knowingly. I loved how we could always read each other’s minds. Sometimes it was a bit scary when we could do it from across the room.

“Patrón, please. Just bring the bottle, glasses, and limes,” I said.

She nodded, rushing off down the stairs with Dune’s eyes latched on to her ass. Men.

Kiera leaned back in the chair, her eyes flickering around, surveying our surroundings. She had a radiant beauty about her. Her long, chestnut brown hair in a shade or two different than my own flowed down her back. She had brown eyes with golden specks flashing inside of them, so different than my bluish-green eyes. She drew in any man she wanted, but rarely did she take a guy up on his propositions. She was happy with herself just the way she was, and I loved her dearly.

With Scraper at the entrance of the VIP area, Dune and Case made themselves at home on the other side of the small space, leaning against the wall, mirroring each other with arms crossed over their chests.

We loved having our own area up here. It gave us the opportunity to dance when we wanted and then get away without anyone bothering us unless we wanted them to. It was no secret who we were—personally or professionally—but neither of us ever let that shit go to our heads.

“Antonio had the fucking balls to screw some chick while he was here with you?” Kiera broke the silence between us, obviously not done talking about what had happened. In truth, I wasn’t done, either. I needed to get shit out and calm the hell down.

I chuckled even though I didn’t find any part of it a bit funny; it was just what came out with an evil death twinge to it. “Stupid, huh? And he must have set it up ahead of time because he wanted to make it quick. There’s no way he just picked this chick up tonight. He was in there less than five minutes. I should feel bad for the woman, but I don’t. He never could keep it up long. Loser,” I growled with the laughter. He always had been fast to the punch, but it was one of those things I’d overlooked.

“I thought you said he was good in bed?” She raised her eyebrow in question, staring at me. I had never lied to Kiera and never would.

I shrugged. “Define good. He made me come. Was it mind-blowing? Fuck no, but he made me feel good, told me I was beautiful, blah, blah, blah. He acted like he wasn’t afraid of my dad or brothers beating the shit out of him, but who the hell knows?” I wondered if all of that was a lie, too. More than likely, yes.

“Dumbass. He should have worried about you,” Kiera said with another slight giggle.

She had seen my handiwork over the years. Some of it was a bit overdone, but I always had a purpose, like tonight. I wasn’t one of those women who were lovers and not fighters. While I wanted to be, I was more the opposite. I always blamed it on my brothers because I sure as shit didn’t want to blame myself.

“No shit there.” I laughed for real this time. Everyone, including my family, sometimes underestimated me. It worked out in my favor, though. I was a snake—lethal when you pissed me off and would strike when you least expected it. “What a fucking pussy. Did you see him?” I rolled my eyes, waving my hand, unable to help myself. “I didn’t realize how big of one he was until tonight.” Antonio didn’t come off to me like that for all the months I had known him. He had always been a standup guy, even to my father. It was like he did a one-eighty.

“Sorry, babe.” Her arm snaked around my shoulders, and she pulled me to her side, giving me a squeeze as I leaned into her comforting touch. The compassion she gave me filled my heart.

If anything, I knew I would always have her by my side. We might grow old and gray together because no man had the balls to step up to either of our fathers, but we would have each other.

The waitress flounced back into the room, setting glasses full of clear liquid, the bottle, and a bowl of limes onto the small table in front of us. Kiera released me, leaned over, and handed me a shot while taking one for herself. Then she held it high in the air, and I followed. She was clearly in a toasting mood tonight. Fine by me.

“To one day finding Mr. Right who loves to eat pussy and not be one!”

I laughed hard at her words, clinking my glass to hers and watching the clear liquid sway around the glass. We tossed back the shot in unison, and I felt the burn race down my throat then splash into my stomach. I sucked on a lime and squinted at the sourness on my tongue, already thinking it was time for another.

If anything, Kiera’s love life was worse than mine when it came to her family. With her dad—my Uncle Vino—being the head of the family, guys flocked to her, too, but their main goal was to be with the boss’s daughter, marry her, and then take over the business. At least with my dad as second in command, it wasn’t as bad.

Who was I fucking kidding? We were both doomed.

Several shots and some serious lime sucking later, our laughter billowed all around us. My body relaxed, and the tension from the asshole melted away.

I scanned the joint, seeing if there were any potential men in the crowd—hey, I was a free woman now—but none were calling to me. Maybe it was just me. Getting laid had never been the problem; it was all the other shit in my life that came into play. After the night I’d had, I wasn’t feeling it all that much.

There might not be potential men, but that was a moot point as my brother Val, his best friend Ace, and a man I had never seen before—but holy hell would like to see more of—entered the VIP section. I breathed out deeply and quickly turned away from the handsome man, my body fluttering by merely being in the same room as him.

What was wrong with me? Men didn’t do this to me. Ever. My eyes connected with my brother’s, whose tight brows, sky blue eyes glaring, and thin-lined mouth told me he was pissed as shit. Too damn bad. I was too drunk to care.

“What mess did you get yourself into this time?” Val asked in a clipped tone. Most people would probably fall at his feet and pray for mercy or cower in a corner at that tone. Me? Not so much.

Being my younger brother by two years, he thought it was his job to protect me. For some reason, he thought he was the older sibling and took the overprotective brother thing to another level. Too bad he was wrong.

Val and I were almost carbon copies of each other, with the same dark hair and golden-toned skin. The only difference was Val had blue eyes, while I had ones that were sometimes blue and sometimes green. It simply depended on the lighting. Even with his more rough and demanding features, no one would mistake that we were siblings.

I waved him off, flicking my hand in the air because nothing would tap down his anger. It was too raw in his eyes. Whenever something went badly that involved me, he had serious issues. God love him, but he needed to calm the hell down.

I leaned back in the chair and took a sip of the cranberry juice and patron I’d had the waitress bring a while ago. “Scraper’s handling the cleanup. No big deal,” I told him. It was over and done with, and Scraper had guys taking care of the rest.

“Bullshit. That asshole fucks some bitch in a bathroom while he’s dating my”—he pointed his finger to his chest and pressed firmly for emphasis—“sister. I’ll handle this shit,” he growled deeply, the veins in his head throbbing and his face turning beet red. He was seriously going to have a heart attack before he reached thirty at this rate. He needed to relax and not let this shit get to him so bad.

“No need. He learned his lesson. If he didn’t and comes after me, I’ll take care of it.” I took another drink, feeling maybe a little bit cocky, letting the liquid bounce to my stomach, but by then it didn’t give me any aftereffects.

I had every bit of confidence in myself that I would be able to handle whatever situation came up. Even drunk, I could deal.

“Hey, Val,” Kiera greeted, breaking up the thick tension that was spiraling out of control from my brother. “Take a breath, boy.”

Kiera was my age, only younger by three months, but that didn’t matter with her brothers, either. She dealt with this same shit, so she understood. She normally would have a calming effect on my brother, which she had on most people, but not so much this time.

Val turned to Kiera with the same fury, but he lightened up just a tad. “Kiera, your dad’s gonna be pissed you’re in this shit.” He pointed at both of us with a hostile glare, his eyes darting between the two of us. “You know he’s part of the Capella family.”

Since rolling my eyes at him and yelling duh was way too immature, I decided against it. “No shit, Sherlock. I don’t care.” It was my turn to growl at my brother. Family was family. If the Capella’s had a problem, they could deal with their own fuck-up of a member. Not my problem.

“There’s a meeting in a few days with Remeo. This will not go well.” Val shook his head, grabbing the back of his neck. Remeo was the head of Antonio’s family.

“It’s not my fault his dick didn’t stay in his pants. He got what he deserved.” He had, but I was sure I would hear from my father about this and maybe Uncle Vino. However, I wouldn’t change what I had done to that sorry ass. I was only a little pissed at myself for allowing him to leave with his balls still intact.

“Dammit, you think I don’t know that? I just hate this drama shit.” I couldn’t see any of the men in my life being pissed at me. If anything, they would rip Antonio apart, so I was in the clear for the most part. Business-wise, I didn’t work alongside any of them to know what that outcome would be.

“Hi, Ace.” I winked at the man who’s been by my brother’s side since we were kids.

“Hey, babe. How you been?” Ace’s sexy voice fell over the room as he slowly walked closer to me.

I wouldn’t deny for a second that I found Ace dreamy as shit. With his dark hair, deep chocolate eyes, and a body built like an Italian rock, I throbbed every time I saw the man. Problem was, he had a girl and had since high school—Beth.

“Great. Who’s your friend?” I nodded toward him, sweeping my gaze over to the man with sharp denim eyes boring holes right through me, sending shivers down my spine.

Now Ace was hot, but this guy tipped the hot-o-meter by another twenty plus. Broad shoulders pulled his V-neck, black shirt tight, showing every ripple underneath of muscular perfection and giving a glimpse of a slight dusting of dark chest hair. Not the long kind, but the kind that looks like he cut it short, and it was sexy as hell. Tattoos lined his arms and snuck under the sleeves of his shirt, making my mouth water from wanting to lick up and down every muscle. His face was like something chiseled from a damn sculpture, and his beard and slight stash made my thighs quiver. I wouldn’t mind a little rug burn.

“This is Jag.”

Jag’s eyes continued to set me on fire as they raked up and down my body, taking in every inch of me. I was not a small woman, but I had been told my curves were what set me apart from others. All ass and tits, one man had told me. Even better, I loved every one of them.

“You done eye-fucking me?” I boldly asked, smirking, before hearing my brother’s exasperated sigh beside me.

“Not yet.” His deep baritone voice glided over my skin like a silky glove just waiting to slide on. His terse words caused every sense in my body to come to full alert, and the hair rose on the back of my neck like a shock wave. My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my breathing slow, not allowing any signs show.

“No, she’s my sister. Off limits,” my brother said.

I turned and glared at him, standing with my hip cocked and my hand resting on it. “Don’t you dare, Val. No wonder the only men I hook up with are fucking douches.”

My brother gave nothing except fury at my words that had never been truer. I could name five guys off the top of my head whom Val had played a role in making disappear from my life, and I’d had enough.

Val stepped in my space, getting close to my face, his hot breath bouncing off my nose. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I told your ass to get rid of Antonio as soon as I heard you were dating him.”

I stared, my nostrils flaring in rebellion, clenching my fists at my sides. Not the most attractive sight, but it got my don’t-fuck-with-me vibe going. The sad thing was, it hadn’t intimidated him since we were kids, but I refused to be walked over.

“I was hoping it would work. I was wrong. Better I learned that for my damn self instead of my overbearing brother getting in my damn business every time I turn around!” My voice rose, bringing more attention to our conversation as the guards took a step forward. “What the hell do you want from me? Just to live with Kiera for the rest of my life, have random fucks with men, and never find my one?” I had lost control by letting the last part slip out, but it was out there. Time to deal.

“First, no random fucks. Ever.”

I blew out an exasperated breath, trying to calm myself as I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling it tersely.

“Second, living with Kiera keeps you both safe. Third, what the fuck is this ‘one’ bullshit? Don’t tell me your little clock is ticking, and you need to find a man.” He chuckled sardonically, actually making fun of me.

Blood boiled in my veins as I stepped closer. Even with my heels, I had to tilt my head to connect with his eyes. I needed to get my point across and have his full, undivided attention. Inside, I vibrated, pulsing with anger that fled through every cell of my body, eating away at me like a virus.

“This damn bubble you and Daddy have me in is about to burst. I am a grown-ass woman you all have taught well. I run a damn business with Kiera, so I am not fucking stupid. Antonio was a poor choice, but with your dictation, my choices are pretty damn limited. I’m sick of this shit. Done. You keep this up and you will not like the results.” I stepped away.