Page 23 of Mafia Maiden


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CHAPTERNINE

Andrea had told me that he would be in contact with me when he had a plan. I was not sure how that would work considering that I was surrounded by guards most days, and I could not exactly anticipate when he would want to meet.

“Fucking asshole,” I muttered to myself as I recalled our conversation.

Andrea had not agreed to allowing me to handle the Leo situation myself. Not that I needed him to agree. He was a Blanchi, and he had absolutely no say over me.

The only reason I would ever consider even helping him was because I could see the benefit in getting Leo out of my life.

“You look lovely,” Natasha said.

“Thanks.”

My cousin was sitting next to me as we were driven to my father’s home for dinner. I received a call from my grandmother this morning informing me that I was to attend dinner at my father’s house with the Petrovs that evening.

I’d considered not showing up, but I knew that I was going to have to play nice. For now, at least.

I had bigger plans for Leo.

“Is everything alright?”

I looked at Natasha incredulously, hardly believing that she would ask such a thing. She blushed. “I mean, I know that you aren’t happy, but you’ve been acting weird since this morning.”

“Weird how?” I tugged on the sleeve of my suit dress. The structured Dior number in teal was not to my taste, and I found the shoulder pads to be too stiff. I had wanted to wear a Chanel dress that was much more modern, but my grandmother had sent this monstrosity over. “I hate this thing,” I groaned.

Natasha slapped my hands away from tugging at the shoulders. “You look like Princess Di,” she told me.

“That’s not exactly my style match.”

Natasha followed the royals religiously. If Princess Diana wore it, she did too. Personally, I was more Michelle Pfeiffer than Princess of Wales.

“I think that Leo will really like your outfit. From what I could see, you two could not keep your eyes off one another the whole night. Is that why you are acting like this? Are you worried about liking him?”

I looked over at my cousin whose large eyes were wide in her face, and I was once more blown away by her innocence. We had grown up in mostly the same way, but she was still someone who believed in the good in the world.

I reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said. “I just…” I trailed off trying to put my feelings into words. Natasha was a good person, and at that moment, I wished that she had been born in another family. Ours was likely to end her beautiful life before she fully got to enjoy it, and if it didn’t, I worried that by the time she was forty she would be angry and bitter.

The thought made me sick.

“I love you,” I said.

This time she looked panicked. “Did you do something?” she asked. I could feel her pulse racing against her wrist. “If you did, tell me, and I can help you fix it.”

I shook my head and dropped her hand. “I didn’t do anything,” I assured her.

She looked as though she did not believe me. “Do you swear it?”

“Yes,” I said, as the car pulled up. “I guess I’m just grateful that you are here. That’s all.”

Her eyes looked at me suspiciously, and I knew that I had shown too much emotion. I needed to get my shit together. If I was going to play double agent, I could not be getting weepy every time I thought of my cousin.

I was not some whiny debutante.

Natasha reached out and took my hand once more. She squeezed it tightly, and I felt the warmth and strength of her small fingers.

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