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“So. Occasionally, the need arises to ensure that one’s family is in the correct location.”
“Right.” I knew what she meant. If I went missing for any reason, they'd need to find me. But wasn't that the essence of having Romero? Father had assigned him to just me this morning, and I’d lived with some form of bodyguard for most of my life.
Romero, though, was something different. .
He was one of Father's most trusted men and having him assigned to me meant something really was brewing.
"I don't need a tracker. I'll be fine with the security detail,” I clarified.
There was another reason that I didn’t want to have a tracker in my phone. I had gotten used to using an untraceable burn phone while hiding from Xander out of the country with Gianna. I didn't need it or want it now.
Xander didn’t need to know everything about me.
Rosa leans forward. "It's for your protection."
"I know what it is for."
"Then don't make it hard for him. Or us. We need to know you're safe. The Russians aren't joking around this time."
So, she does know a thing or two about this business. How the fuck had she, someone who works for the legitimate side of the business, found out? I only knew because the news had come up at dinner yesterday.
The fact that I was once again the last to know rankled me slightly.
I took a deep breath and willed myself not to care about that. However, I still didn’t want a tracker on my phone. Getting a tracker on me meant Xander had access to my whereabouts at all hours of the day, every damned day. He'd find out about Lucian sooner than I could say 'Jack.'
I gave Rosa my iciest smile. "I'll handle this with Xander. Back to the charities, I'd like to take it on. Do I need his approval too?"
“Yes,” she responded with that same dull sneer. “He will need to sign off.”
Shit. It seems like he keeps a tight grip on everything. And considering the idea of the rest of Chicago finding out Xander had a charity. It would spell disaster for his name, his authority, his control over his routes, his drugs, and his guns.
Bloody hell!
Rosa smiles and pushes her chair back. "I'll let you know by tomorrow how everything runs around here concerning that. For today, you've got a photoshoot scheduled for after lunch. You're free until then."
With Rosa gone, I take a deep breath and do my best not to panic. I inhale again and again and decide I'm not about to let this pull me down.
Lucian is my priority, and keeping him away from Xander is becoming more impossible as the day slips away at sunset.
* * *
Xander
I arrive at Amory Corps a few minutes past six in the evening. The men at the door snap to attention, wide eyed as my car pulls up and my bodyguard Carl comes around to open my door.
I step out of the car and take the walk to the open lobby door. Rosa is standing beside Valerie, whispering something to her that has Valerie tipping her head back and scrunching her nose.
"Rosa," I call out. She turns towards me, picks a tablet off Valerie's desk, and walks over.
"Where's my wife?"
Rosa glares at me first. "You didn't say you hadn't told her about the trackers. I sounded like an asshole trying to convince her of something she didn't want."
Rosa is head of security here at Amory Corps. The extraordinarily tough woman is ex-military, and my father had paid a hefty price to get her to work for us.
I'd had her tagged to Mel immediately after Father had said he'd given her an office here. Once affiliated with the family openly, she would be the person with a target on her back, and Mel was too trusting and forgiving. She’d need Rosa to see through the bullshit.
Mel, on her own, was smart, sure. But she wouldn’t have the same instincts as Rosa.
