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His laughter was tinged with darkness. “You didn’t see the way these men looked at you when you walked into the room, princess.”
Luca raised his eyebrows. “They know she’s taking Sofia’s place.”
Rian’s answering gaze was hard and angry. “Then they know she’s mine—ours—and they should keep their eyes respectful.”
I shouldn’t find his possessiveness so fucking attractive. Certainly,hedidn’t need to know it was turning me on. I slid out of his grasp and walked away to join my father.
Papà clasped my upper arms, gently pulling me toward him to give me a kiss on each cheek. I returned the gesture, surprised at the crepey texture of his skin. “How are you, Ginevra?” he asked me, sounding like he actually cared.
I tamped down on my innate cynicism and didn’t comment on the fact that he’d agreed to sell me to three Irish gangsters the night before. “Why don’t we sit down and figure out what’s going to happen next?”
My father stood behind his desk, and gradually the room fell silent. Liam scooted over on one of the leather sofas, obviously making space for me. Rian was on his other side, and Cormac stood behind him. There was no way to refuse him without drawing attention to it, so I squeezed in beside him, trying not to think about the heat of his body pressed against mine. When Luca’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, I realized how neatly Liam had boxed me into a statement about where my alliances laid.
Damn.
Even if I didn’t understand all of the relationships and machinations of the gangs that ruled Yorkfield, I needed to focus and start treating these meetings like the cutthroat corporate boardrooms I was used to.
“Ginevra has been back for less than a day, and the Russians already shot at her,” my father began.
Alexi snorted. “Were they shooting at her? Or were they shooting at these upstarts over here who think they have a right to flirt with ourpiccolina? Why are they here, Antonio?” Alexi asked my father, gesturing to the three Irish gangsters, including me in his contempt.
Instead of answering him, my father leaned forward on his desk. “If you have an objection to their presence, Alexi, you can leave. It is, after all, a failure of your security that my daughter was shot at today!” His face turned red as he yelled. Was he furious because it was humiliating for the Russians to have done it on his turf, or was he genuinely incensed that I was in danger? It didn’t matter.
Liam rested his arm on the couch behind me, so close, I could feel loose curls from my hair catching on his sleeve as I shifted in my seat. He leaned closer. “Your father’s going to ask us to start security now, even though neither of you have signed the contracts yet.”
I didn’t respond.
Liam continued, the closeness of his lips to my ear driving me mad as he murmured. “We’ll do it, but we’re going to take it out of your hide.”
I turned to him, not bothering to hide the movement. “What does that mean?”
“Give us the pleasure of your company for two days, and we’ll make sure your family stays safe while we’re negotiating.”
The pleasure of my company.What was he asking me to do? “One day,” I countered.
“Twenty-four hours. No safeword.”
My breath caught in my throat and I turned away from him so that I could collect my thoughts.
Instead of blurting out the panicked objections running through my head, I turned back to him and asked, “When?”
“Tonight,” he breathed in my ear, tugging on a strand of my hair behind me.
“I have to work tomorrow,” I said, shocked that disappointment colored my voice.
“We’ll let you work,” he answered, the soft feeling of his fingers tangling in my hair strangely intimate.
My father was grilling hiscaposabout their recent interactions with the Russians.
I leaned back over to Liam. “Am I an idiot? Why doesn’t someone just pick up the phone and ask the Bratva what the fuck is going on?”
Liam’s chuckle was dark. “Admit a weakness? That your intelligence isn’t good enough to have predicted it, and your security is too weak to prevent it? This was a test, and your father failed it.”
Rian was leaning forward, his eyes intent on my father. “Are you suggesting that we share intelligence and cooperate on security prior to signing the contracts with your daughter?”
Papà raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, he looked like the cruel and powerfuldonI’d grown up with. “You’re a damn fool if you don’t already realize what a gem Ginevra is, and twice the fool if you haven’t already increased protection for her.”
Liam whispered in my ear. “We have, if you were wondering.”
