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It’s a shame to think that potential could be wasted.
“You know, Sera, you’re not at all what I expected,” I admit. “And hell, you’re right. It’s because you’re a girl. Excuse me, a woman. You know what? I apologize for underestimating you.”
She turns and stares at me for a long time with those wide hazel eyes. Then one corner of her mouth turns up. “It’s dangerous to underestimate your enemies.”
“Are we enemies?” I smirk back.
“Adversaries,” she corrects herself.
I raise a brow. “Really? Adversaries? I thought, given the current situation, that we were more like allies.”
“Allies, hell,” she harrumphs. “I haven’t underestimatedyou, Antony D’Agostino. I know you need a wife to continue the family line. And I know you needmyfamily’s name and my father’s relationship to the cops, politicians, and unions of this town to solidify your empire.”
Sheesh.
Once again.Point taken.
8
SERA
The last thing I want to do is work with someone I barely know to keep my father’s business and my family safe. Especially someone as confusing and disconcertingly handsome as Antony D’Agostino. I don’t trust him any further than I can throw him.
But I don’t have a choice. My father’s word is law.
After arguing with Antony about whether I should be spending the night somewhere safer, he finally relents and drops me off at our family compound. I spend a fitful, near-sleepless night in my own bed, listening to the strange silence of the house I’ve lived in my whole life. The following morning, I finally give up on sleep and rise at a little after five to face the day. I spend half an hour in our home gym running on the treadmill, trying to shake off the fatigue. Afterwards, I take a quick shower and ring the kitchen to have breakfast and a pot of coffee brought to my father’s office. Promptly at eight o’clock, I call Daddy’s head of security and ask him to come to the office.
Minutes later, there’s a soft knock at the door. He enters, a short, stocky man in a tight-fitting suit. This might be one of the only times I’ve ever actually talked to him one on one.It’s certainly the first time that I’ve been acting as head of this family.
“Have you found the ones responsible for shooting my father?” I ask without preamble, leaning against the front of the desk.
“We locked down the compound,” he grunts reluctantly. “But they either escaped beforehand, or…”
“Or what?” I demand.
The security head shifts from foot to foot. He looks like he doesn’t want to answer, but doesn’t quite dare not to. “It’s possible that one of the guests was the person responsible.” His mouth clamps shut. It’s obvious he’s trying to say as little to me as possible.
“How could that be? Weren’t all guests checked for weapons when they arrived?”
His nostrils flare, his jaw ticking as he doesn’t respond. I know he’s working to keep his temper under control. In our world, men aren’t used to having to answer to women. Even women who are the daughters of their bosses. “Of course they were,” he hisses.
“Everyone?” I insist. “What about the women?” I know the answer from my father already. But I have a point to make.
“Well, we didn’t check the women, obviously…”
“So, there was a glaring hole in the security, in other words.”
An ugly snort escapes him.“You wanna guess how well that would go over? For Mucci’s security to be frisking the wives of other made men?” he asks in a mocking tone. With an insolent curl of his lips, his eyes leave mine for an instant, traveling downwards to my breasts, before coming back up to rest on my face. There’s a challenge in his expression that wasn’t therebefore. It rattles me, and infuriates me. This man would never, ever have dared to do this in my father’s presence.
“This is unacceptable,” I say, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “Your job is to keep my father and our family safe. You didn’t do that.”
“What are you gonna do about it? Fire me?” He sneers. “You ain’t the one in charge, here.”
“I am in charge in this house, as long as my father is absent from it,” I say coldly.
“Uh-uh. I take my orders from Carmine Mucci. He’s got a problem with me, he can tell me himself. Not some skirt who doesn’t know her place in the world, and thinks she’s gonna be playin’ in the big boy sandbox.”
Oh myGod, the disrespect! A wave of fury rises up inside me at his words. I’m on my feet in an instant, fist clenched so hard my nails bite into my palms. “You are fired,” I hiss.
