AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Because of the threat arriving the night before. My mind had issued a blank. So when my father had called, insisting I come home, I’d caved into his request. Now I felt like I’d lost the backbone I’d gained while living in New York.
I hated myself for being weak, for allowing some asshole who didn’t even know me to scare me off from my dreams.
I’d pursued both interests, earning degrees, but music had been added on after being discovered at a little bar where I worked as a pianist and singer for extra money. I certainly couldn’t tell my father that I’d moonlighted as a singer, or he’d have a cow.
The dual major had kept me in school a few months longer, but it had been worth the extra time and effort. I’d been fortunate in that my father had allowed me to pursue whatever I’d wanted,protective yet not domineering. Although I’d sensed music hadn’t been his first choice. That’s why I hadn’t told him about the audition.
Then again, I wasn’t certain he was fond of nursing either, even though I’d always wanted to help people. Maybe that had been because no one had saved my mother. Still, his promise to allow me to decide had been a huge surprise given he was considered a brutal, vile man to almost everyone who knew him or of his reputation.
Here I was, home as required, forced to face the one man who I couldn’t have. For about a bazillion reasons I was nervous, so much so the second glass of wine I was in the middle of consuming wasn’t doing me any good. There were far too many memories in my old room. I glanced at one of the pictures of my mother, her smiling face reminding me of my own. Daddy had told me I looked exactly like her, which I’d come to realize had initially been difficult for the man who’d grieved for years, only Raven able to bring him out of the darkness.
Now, as I stared at my reflection, I was the one who felt the grief even more and I wasn’t certain why. There were other pictures I’d saved, birthdays and a special visit with Santa. It was strange to see me at eight or nine, Maddox looming in the background, allowing my father to bask in the moment of his only child getting photographed on the lap of some unknown man dressed as Santa. In truth, I hadn’t saved the picture because it was a favorite memory. I’d saved it because it was one of the few I’d had of Maddox. I’d forgotten to pack it when I’d left for the airport the day I was headed to New York.
I’d been glad I had given the horrible conversation I’d had with the man who’d always been my bodyguard. My bodyguard. No one had ever called him that. He was far too important in theThibodeaux organization, the third in command after my father and one of my uncles, but he’d always been there protecting me.
A hot flash rushed through my chest, heading to my face. There was no reason to be embarrassed yet that’s what I felt. At least it had changed from thinking of myself as a stupid little girl with a ridiculous crush. I shifted my attention to the other pictures, able to smile.
I ran my fingers across one photograph in particular, Maggie someone I’d missed after moving away. We’d called each other a few times, had promised to stay in touch. Maybe it had been my fault our friendship had fallen apart. It had been my turn to play catch-up by calling her. I’d been busy, or so I’d told myself. The truth was I’d wanted to end another connection to New Orleans. Not doing so was too painful, especially when she always actively talked about the man I’d had a crush on since I could remember.
She’d known all along everyone who worked for my father was considered off limits to me, so why not pursue Maddox like the little vixen she was? According to our last conversation, they’d hooked up more than once. I still wasn’t certain if she’d been trying to gauge my reaction or tossing the news in my face for a darker reason.
I found the possibility of their tryst hard to believe, but I didn’t know Maddox that well, the man so private that I’d developed fantasies about his past. Still, the ugliness of hearing the details had pained me to the point I’d hated her. Maybe I still did. That wasn’t healthy. Neither was returning home, but I had no excuses any longer to refuse the party my father and his wife had insisted on throwing me.
Not showing up wouldn’t be polite. Plus, he’d hunt me down, requiring one of his soldiers to drag me back home kicking andscreaming. And he would have likely chosen his most trusted soldier and best friend.
Maddox.
My personal bodyguard and the man who couldn’t give a shit about me or the way I felt about him. “There you go again. Shut it down, girlfriend.” Damn if my voice didn’t sound hollow.
I closed my eyes, groaning as I dropped my head into both hands, cringing when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. “Yes?”
When it opened, my father stepping just inside, I plastered on a smile. He could never know that I’d once made a promise to myself that I’d only lose my virginity to the stunning, rough and tumble man I adored. To date, I’d never allowed a single man to go past first base. Maybe the career I should choose was becoming a nun.
“You’re not dressed,” my father said, his dimples showing as he smiled broadly.
“You mean the fluffy pink robe won’t cut it?” I adored my father. He was brilliant, ruthless, yet loved his family fiercely. He was also the kind of man the majority of people were terrified of, especially after getting on his bad side. His reputation had preceded him even in New York, most people shying away from me as if I had the plague. I could resent him, but I’d grown up in a life of privilege, never wanting for anything.
Well, with a single exception.
His laughter boomed into my room, the mischievous look on his face showing his age. Not that he was old, something he wouldnever admit to anyway, but I did like to tease him. “There are some people I’m eager for you to meet.”
Uh-oh. I knew exactly what that meant. I was still a mafia princess, a valuable commodity. While he’d never treated me as if I was a possession, something to be sold off to the highest bidder, I’d always known that strong alliances made between two families were like winning the lottery. Power and influence, wealth, prosperity, and utter control. I’d heard those words more than once. While Arman Thibodeaux was already king of New Orleans, he wanted to be king of the world.
“You mean you have a few eligible suitors you’d like me to entertain, perhaps gaining a marriage proposal.”
He looked hurt for a few seconds, his eyes flashing a strange emotion that evoked a moment of fear deep inside. He was anxious, worried enough about something that he was masking his fear. “It’s important that you find the right man.”
“I’m not ready to get married.”
He took a deep breath, glancing out my window. “You know I’d do anything for you in my life. Don’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Sometimes there are difficult decisions to be made, especially in my business. I just want you to know that I love you.”
He was frightening me more than he’d ever done, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
“Daddy? Is something going on?”
