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“He’s your bodyguard,” Niko corrects, not bothering to even look at me while speaking. His gaze is still centered on Vic.
“Andmy friend.”
“Then, I’ll see to it that he’s replaced with one of my own men. He’s here to keep you safe. That’s his job. If he can’t do that and that alone, I can’t trust him.”
“It’s not your place to do anything when it comes to me. You aren’t responsible for my safety—or for anything really. You are overstepping.”
“It won’t be a problem,” Vic interrupts.
I turn to look at him with shock.What is going on here?
“See to it that it’s not. Now, Emilia, it’s time we talked.”
“I want to have this out. You can’t just march in here and start giving orders.”
Niko is finally looking at me and he’s about to speak when his cell begins ringing.
“Hold that thought,” he grumbles, answering his phone. “Niko.” He’s silent for a minute, but I see the anger on his face. There’s also frustration. That’s an emotion I can completely commiserate with. “No. Contain him there. I’m heading that way,” he adds in a growl. He clicks off his phone and looks to my father.
“Is that about the situation we were discussing?” My father questions cryptically.
“I’m afraid so. I have to go. I can—”
“I’ll handle things with Emilia. You may speak with her later.”
“Handle things? Will someone please tell me what is going on here?” I huff, panic leaking through my words. For some reason, I look to Niko to answer instead of my father. Rather than explain, he chooses to lean down and kiss my forehead.
“We’ll talk soon.”
Before I can respond, he walks away, dismissing me completely and leaving me to stare at my father.
“What is going on?” I ask. I can tell from the look on his face that my earlier feeling was correct.
I’m not going to like his answer.
CHAPTER13
Niko
“You can leave, Victorio,” I order as I walk into the flower garden in Korslova’s back yard.
It’s a very pretty area that is surrounded in old, hand-carved stone. The flowers are full of bright and tropical, which makes them true to the region. There are climbing flowers along the stone, half walls. Bright pink, red, and white mandevillas are climbing over the walls and there are lights strategically placed throughout the garden, along with steppingstones and benches.
The first bench overlooks a large koi pond and that’s where Emilia and Victorio are sitting.
“Yes, sir.”
It doesn’t escape my attention that he squeezes Emilia’s hand softly for encouragement before he leaves. It rankles my anger. He knows that Emilia is to be mine on her twenty-first birthday. I don’t like how close those two are—at all.
I can tell by the look of mutiny glowing in Emilia’s beautiful blue eyes that she wants to argue with me. She doesn’t, although the anger contained in her gaze bores into me, sending its own message.
“Do you have nothing to say to me?” I ask when she continues to be silent even after Victorio leaves.
“Would it matter if I did?”
I lean back against the stone column, unbutton my suitcoat, and cross my arms. I look down at her, watching her face closely. She keeps emotion contained inside. It’s almost as if she doesn’t have any at times, but I have learned that if you pay attention, it’s there.
“It will always matter, Emilia. It may not change a damn thing, but it will always matter.”
