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He looks her up and down. She’s still in her purple pajamas. “Lucky guess.” He smirks. “Come on, I had a room made up just for you.”
“You what?” I spit out.
Neo takes my palm. And with one hand in mine, the other holding my daughter’s, he leads us both up to the house.
“Took you long enough,” Theo says in greeting, leaning in and hugging me before grimacing as he bends down and kisses Izzy’s head.
“Are you okay, Zio T?” she questions him.
“Just dandy,bella.”
“Neo has a room for me here. Just for me,” Izzy says, jumping around. I should be thankful for how easily her innocence allows her to forget the threat we’re currently facing.
“Does he now?” T directs to Neo.
“Come on, you can show Zia Holly around your new room, Bel.” We all follow Neo into the house. When he stops at a door, he positions Izzy in front of him to enter first. And her squeals could probably be heard back in Italy. As I peek into the room, I see why she’s so excited. This isn’t just a guest bedroom where he’s added a few personal touches to make her comfortable. This is a bedroom fit for a little princess. Right down to the pink carriage bed with purple and white bedding and pillows lining the mattress.
Everywhere I look, there are purple, pink, and white touches. As well as stuffed toys. A huge wooden dollhouse with all the accessories sits in one corner of the room. A desk loaded with art supplies in another. “Neo, this is too much,” I whisper.
“What? She loves it. Look how happy she is.” He smiles, not taking his eyes off her.
“Of course she does. That’s the problem, Neo.” I pull his arm and drag him out of the room, standing just near the entrance so I can keep an eye on her, even at a distance. “She’s not going to want to go home, Neo. You’re going to fill her head with fairy tales that just aren’t part of our reality.” I know Theo and Holly hear my concerns. My sister-in-law has the grace to pretend she doesn’t as she indulges Izzy, exploring the room with her. My brother, however, cuts his eyes straight to me. A mixture of anger, concern, and pity shine in the depths of his dark pupils.
I don’t need his pity. I don’t need anyone’s pity.
“Why can’t the fairy tale become reality, Angel? Give me one good reason why?” Neo crosses his arms over his broad chest.
“Fairy tales don’t end with the villains getting their happily ever after. You and me, Neo, we are the villains.”
He leans down and whispers in my ear, “You are far from a villain. You. Are. A. Fucking. Angel.” He enunciates each word. “I will keep telling you that until you believe it.”
“Well, then you’re going to waste your life trying to convince me otherwise.”
Neo smiles. Wide. Huge. Like he’s just won the lottery. “Challenge accepted.” Then he sticks his head into the room. “Hol, can you stick around in here with Izzy for a bit? I need to show Angelica and Theo my office.”
Holly doesn’t argue. “Sure.” She takes Izzy over to the large dollhouse.
Neo grabs my hand, leading me to the other side of the house. “Maybe I should just stay with Izzy.” I tug my palm from his.
“She’ll be okay in my house.” When I don’t budge, he pulls his phone out, tapping a few buttons before passing it to me. “Here, take this.”
Live video feed of Izzy’s “new” room plays out on the screen in front of me. I look up, and sure enough there are cameras in every corner of his house.
Chapter Fifteen
My heart calmed down the moment I drove through the gates of my property. That’s what this place does for me—it’s my sanctuary. No mafia shit. No war. Nothing has ever penetrated this sanctum.
I know Angelica and Izzy are safe here. If anyone even tried to breach the boundaries, I’d know the minute they stepped over the lines. I have measures in place to stop any threat attempting to enter. I may be one man here, but this property is built to keep intrudersout.
“Okay, now tell me what the fuck is going on?” T growls the moment we cross the threshold of my home office.
I walk around my desk and fire up the laptop. My guy should have sent through the camera feed from the hotel bedroom. Or, at the very least, a fucking IP address.
“Izzy asked me if I wanted to be her dad.” I smile.
“What?” Angelica gasps.
“Why?” Theo asks at the same time.
