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ENZO
TWO MONTHS PREVIOUS
“Can’t somebody else go, Angelo?”
I don’t mean to moan and complain to my best friend and mafia boss, Angelo Medici, since he is in charge around here, but being told I have to babysit his little sister for the weekend while she goes to a wedding in Connecticut, seems a little severe even by his standards.
“You think I trust any of those friends of hers to make sure she’s safe at a wedding all weekend?” He looks at me like I have two heads.
He has a point. Valentina is almost twenty-four and the baby of the family. I’ve known her since the day she was born. I grew up with the Medicis, and Valentina is trouble, as well as stubborn in every sense of the word. While she is certainly old enough to make her own decisions and look after herself, Angelo definitely does not see it that way.
“Come on, they’re not that bad. We can send Dom. He’s discreet.”
“My six-foot-seven African-American bodyguard who crunches bones and takes bullets for a living, discreet?” Angelo laughs. “Besides, I need you to keep an eye on her. I’m sure she’s up to something she shouldn’t be, and what a perfect opportunity to find out.”
“So in actual fact, you want me to spy on her?” I shake my head. “Angelo, this is lame.”
I also don’t want to know what she gets up to.
Valentina doesn’t have a boyfriend, and from what I know, there is nobody regular on the scene. She got an invite from the bride who is a friend from high school and now I’m being roped into being the plus one. A bad idea on all accounts.
“Spying is a little harsh. Look at it like a paid vacation, one where you don’t let my baby sister out of your sight and make sure she stays out of trouble. It’s one weekend, E. She can be a handful, but you know how to handle her.’” He says that like it’s a good thing.
“Yeah, I know how to handle a gun as well, but that doesn’t mean I want to go ahead and use one.”
Of course, arguing is futile. I work for Angelo. Best friend or not, he’s the boss, and he pays my salary.
It doesn’t mean I can’t give him shit about it, though.
I’m a private investigator by trade. Though, I don’t take on much of that anymore, I’m too busy running Angelo’s security company.
I’ve been the head of Fortress Security for years. I set up the family’s entire security business operations from the very beginning. I also arrange and install security for high-end clients, political figures, and celebrities, as well as set up some of the most advanced security software in the business. I have an IT guy, Vaughn, who helps me with the software side of things. For training and recruiting staff, I have the big man, Rocco, who grew up with us, and Angelo’s main soldier, Darko.
I helped Angelo build the business from the ground up, after he inherited a one-room shanty from his late father. As soon as he was old enough to take it on, he ran with it, and it paid off.
We make a good team. He bosses me around, and I pretend to listen. Ultimately I end up doing what I want anyway.
I crack my neck from side to side, the thought of spending the entire weekend with Valentina somewhat confronting. Not because she isn’t a nice girl, or that she isn’t beautiful inside and out, because she is. It’s her temperament that has me a little on edge.
She has the Medici charm the family is known for; they’re a fucking good looking bunch. Her eyes are as blue as the ocean and her long dark hair flows around her face, usually in waves, down to her hips. She’s tall, strong, and opinionated. I suppose I should see her more as a sister because I’ve known her forever.
“So you’ll do it?” He quirks a brow.
“Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“Not really. I just wanted to see how much of a fight you’d put up.”
I shake my head. “Fine, but I wouldn’t babysit for anybody else.”
“You know it’s for a good cause, and Ma will appreciate it.”
I roll my eyes. “Bringing in the big guns now, brother,” I mutter. Maria is practically my surrogate mom, and though we’re not technically related and I’m seven years younger than Angelo, I’m one of her boys. Our moms have been friends for years.
Angelo has three younger brothers, Marco, and the twins, Dante and Fynn. Valentina being the only girl, and the youngest, hence why everyone is overprotective of her.
Angelo chuckles. “Better you than me, Enzo. I’ve got enough on my plate at the moment and the last thing I’m sure she wants is one of her brothers hanging around all weekend. This way you get to stake out the company she’s keeping as well.”
