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I moved from the side of the counter where I stood and scowled down at her, lifting her chin with my fingers. I was hyperaware of her kid sitting there, watching my every move, but I didn’t say anything. “If you’re living in my home, you’ll follow my rules like everyone else.”
To my surprise, she shrugged. “Then I’ll go somewhere else.”
I pursed my lips, considering all the wicked ways I could get her to concede—ways I knew she’d enjoy. But with her son sitting right beside her, I forced those thoughts away. “No, you won’t.”
“Then I suppose we’re at an impasse.”
I took a deep breath, calming the part of me that demanded she concede. She was the first person since taking my position that so blatantly disregarded my command. Everyone else would have been against the wall, a gun to their throat. But despite it, I wanted her against the wall in an entirely different position. My cock throbbed as I considered that specific position, and I stepped away from her.
“You understand you aren’t in charge here, right?” I asked. “If I don’t want you working, you won’t be working.”
“I spent over twenty years being bossed around by a mob boss, and I am not doing that again,” she said. “I left that situation, and I’ll leave this one, too. I don’t take well to assholes bossing me around, so keep that in mind before trying again. We can be friendly, but not if you treat me like I belong to you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Should I be applauding the bold way she said the words, or should I be appalled that she believed she had so much control over this situation? If she were anyone else—
I stopped mid-thought. Shewasn’tanyone else. And despite her threats, she wasn’t going to leave me again. I’d made up my mind the moment I saw her in that bathtub. She was mine, and there wasn’t anything she could do to change that. Not anymore.
I supposed now was as good a time to share my plan as any, so I smirked at her and tilted my head. I knew the predatory gleam in my eyes as I spoke, but I didn’t erase it. “You’d better learn to take orders, baby, because starting today, you’re my wife. And wives in this business don’t question their husbands.”
“Absolutely not,” she argued, but I shook my head.
“You have a few options here. Two if we’re being precise. You can decline my generous offer, or you can accept it.”
“I decline.”
“You didn’t hear the consequences,” I said with a click of my tongue. “If you decline, I will lock you in a room in this house, and you won’t go anywhere until the threat to your life is handled. I don’t give a fuck if you want to work or not. I don’t care if you want to go to Starbucks, Target, or whatever women like. You’ll stay here, and if I find you disobeying my order, I will tie you to my bedpost and leave you there.”
She gasped at my threat, but I remained unfazed. “You can’t just hold me hostage.”
“I can, and I will. You’re not leaving me this time. I will go to any measures to see you safe, even if that means tying you to a bedpost and leaving you there for a few days. Don’t worry, though. I’ll come in and make sure you get the proper… exercise.” She gasped again, paling at my implication. “Option two is you accept my proposal. It will have your enemies thinking twice before coming after you. Hurting my wife is the quickest way to die, and it will get most people off your back. You can continue to work at the bar with a protection detail, and you can do as you please as long as you have protection. You choose the option, and I’ll make the necessary accommodations.”
I could give an inch. If I let her work, I’d send her with my most loyal and deadly men to keep her safe. Maybe the small taste of freedom would persuade her not to make my job so damn difficult.
She exhaled a long breath as she considered everything I just said. I could see her warring with herself, but she knew I was serious. Those were her two options, and I wasn’t sugarcoating either of them.
She didn’t say anything for a long while and finally huffed, taking a bite of the food in front of her. It was all the confirmation I needed. She wouldn’t like it, but she’d fake a marriage with me for her own safety and her child’s safety.
“I’ll have the papers to you within the hour,” I smirked.
The tension in the room was thick as my team stared at me and Ciara went to great lengthsnotto look at me.
Nadia stood and approached, breaking a bit of the tension. “Hi,” she introduced herself with a wide smile. “I’m Nadia. And who is this strong boy?”
Sean instantly perked, the rest of the room falling away as he looked at the young, dark-haired woman before him. “I’m Sean,” he said enthusiastically.
“Sean,” she said, turning over his name in her mouth. “What are you, like fifteen?”
He beamed, and with that smile, Ciara relaxed a bit. “I’m only eight, but I look older.”
“You sure do.”
Nadia, apparently a natural with kids, continued talking animatedly as Damien scowled in their direction. Andrei watched Ciara as if trying to uncover something about her. I considered what she’d said and her adamance to live her own life, and I wondered briefly if she realized that she was left alone because of her father. He was my enemy, and he had done something to warrant her hatred, but she’d only been left alone by the mob for this long because of his order.
Now, there was a new boss in town, and he was making the mistake of a lifetime.
Unfortunately, with a woman who didn’t take well to listening to me, it would be even more impossible to keep her safe. I may have controlled every other person under my rule, but Ciara would never be one of them.
Chapter Four
