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“You think he would—”
“I think Dante Russo would do anything he could to connect himself with my daughter and use it to move up in rank. He knows that if he were tied to my daughter…” Maxwell shrugs, leaving the unthinkable unsaid. “What he doesn’t realize is that I’d kill him and face Antonio’s retribution before I’d let him near my baby girl.”
“Maxwell—”
“Follow me,” he says and turns to go into his office.
I walk with him as the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I can feel an energy shift in the air, and I know whatever we’re about to discuss that I’m probably not going to enjoy. There’s one rule in my business that stands out above any others.Always be ready.
I have a feeling that I need to be prepared now.
I sit in the chair across from his desk. I’ve been here a million times over the years, staring at him on the other side, but this is the first time it truly feels like a business meeting. To make matters worse, Maxwell appears nervous. I’ve never seen that. He’s wringing his hands together on his desk.
This can’t be good.
“What’s on your mind, Maxwell?” I finally ask when the silence between us stretches to an uncomfortable heaviness.
“Are you planning marriage?” he asks out of the blue.
“What?” I ask because there’s really no way I can respond to that.
“Katherine. Whenever we have these family functions, you always bring her. Is it serious? Are you planning marriage?”
“I’m not the kind of man who does marriage. It gives your enemies tools to use against you. Katherine is just someone I scratch a mutual itch with. She knows the score.”
“What if the girl you marry alreadyisa target? What if by marrying you, she’d only be safer?”
“Maxwell, I’ve only had one drink, but for some reason, I’m having a hard time following you. What are you saying?”
“I’m offering you my daughter.”
I use the pads of my fingers to rub hard against my forehead, as if that can help me make sense of what just happened. When it fails to work, I look at him shaking my head. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Emilia. I want to give her to you.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Emilia is her own person, and she is also a kid.”
“I know this. My God, don’t you think I see what is happening around me. She’s sixteen and soon she will be way too vulnerable. I won’t be able to protect her and there’s only one man I know that can.”
“I… Let me get this straight. You wantmeto be your daughter’s guardian?”
“In a way.”
“That doesn’t make sense. You’re her father.”
“Yes, and if something happened to me—like it did with Gio—there’s no one, Niko.”
“But you—”
“I’m alone. If I die, then I leave Emilia alone and unprotected.”
“So, you want me to become her guardian if something happens to you?” I prod. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I know nothing about kids and guardianships. Even worse, Emilia is quickly becoming a woman. What in the world am I supposed to do with her? She’ll begin dating and things—if she hasn’t already—and with men like Dante circling her, it’s not going to be pretty.
“No. Guardianship leaves too many loopholes. She could be convinced to jump into marriage or anything. No, I need a better type of protection laid in place, Niko. It’s the only solution.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to dumb this down for me. What is better than a legal guardianship?”
Maxwell looks at me, delivering words I may have heard from his lips but didn’t quite understand until this moment. It could be because they are words that spread chills down my spine. “I want you to marry Emilia.”
