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“It’s simple. I need yours to protect mine.”
Chapter 1
Nova
Twenty Years later
Istare at the bed as another ridiculously overpriced scrap of material is tossed onto it.
“All I’m saying is you need to make yourself fucking scarce for a few hours. What’s hard to understand about that?” the snippy voice from inside the closet yells at me before another dress finds its way onto the discarded pile.
“I can’t very well guard you, Gia, if I’m not beside you,” I point out, ignoring the curse words flying out of her mouth. Honestly, this is nothing new. Gia is every inch the spoiled Mafia princess. She’s also the sole remaining heir to the Fiore family throne after her brother and mother were killed on a night that ushered in what people called thedark days.
“I don’t fucking get it.” She stomps out of the closet completely naked, her hands on her hips, as she snarls at me, “You’re my day guar?—”
I hold my hand up before she can go off on atangent. “Mike and David are sick with a stomach virus, so you’re stuck with me until your father says otherwise.”
She growls and stomps away like a petulant child, not a twenty-four-year-old grown-ass woman.
I roll my eyes and lean against the wall, wishing I was at home watching TV in my pajamas. Not that I get to do that much, but right now, I’d rather get fingered by Freddy Krueger than babysit Gia.
“Aldo is the underboss. My daddy?—”
“Would not let you be alone with him, and you know it, Gia. You’re the princess here. You know the rules better than I do. So, tell me, what would your father do to lover boy if he found you two alone together?”
When she says nothing, I push my point home. “Underboss or not, your father would slice him up before delivering him back to his family, piece by piece.”
“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it, Nova?” She hisses my name before she slips on a sparkly metallic dress without underwear. “You’re bitter and jealous that I’m the princess, and you’re nothing more than the help. It’s fucking laughable. Theconsigliere’sdaughter becoming a bodyguard… You’re a joke. What man will want to marry you?”
I sigh and cross my arms over my chest. “I know this is a hard concept for you to grasp, Gia, but not all of us want to get married. Not all girls dream of being a bride. Walking down the aisle of a church filled with people I barely know, who eagerly await their first glance at the morning’s bloody sheets, holds no appeal to me.”
“Liar. You say that now, but we both know that once I’m married, my husband will get rid of you in a heartbeat. Either that,or he’ll give you to his guards to play with.” She smirks as I sense a presence behind me.
Spinning, I have my gun in my hand and pointed before I realize it’s my boss, Vigo Fiore.
Ignoring the gun in his face, he looks at his daughter.
“Gia,” he reprimands. He doesn’t usually stop her vitriolic attacks, so I’m surprised he says anything now. “Nova’s father is myconsigliere. If nothing else, you will respect that.”
Dropping my gun, I refrain from rolling my eyes. Of course, the dressing down was for my father’s benefit, not mine. I am just a woman, after all.
“Now, where is the rest of your dress?”
“It’s Versace, Daddy.”
“It’s not befitting of a Fiore,” he states coldly. “Change or stay home.”
Wisely, Gia bites her lip, knowing better than to argue with him.
Turning to me, I brace myself as he looks me up and down. Thankfully, I don’t get any skeevy vibes from the man. Still, there is something in how he looks at me that makes me feel off. There have been times—like now—when I swear I catch flashes of guilt in the older man’s eyes, but before I can be sure, it’s gone, replaced with a look of scorn and dismissal.
“You will finish watching Gia tonight and return to your regular duties tomorrow. I have moved some men around to cover those who are sick.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply. He nods, watching my face a second too long for my liking, before he walks out, leaving me and a pissed-off Gia alone again.
“This is allyour fault.”
“Yes, I put laxatives in your guard’s food because I miss you so much at night I can’t bear to be apart from you,” I answer dryly.
