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RAFAEL
“Make sure you keep me up to date, son,” my dad said through the speaker on my cell. His tone told me everything I needed to know, and even though we were only on a call, I could imagine the expression on his face as if I was on a video call—serious and foreboding.
“I will,” I replied, not leaving a second between our words. I was loyal to my family—my father, my older brother, my mother—but I was also loyal to my cousin Lorenzo who was the boss of the Beretta Mafia.
But…my father always came first.
To the outside world he was this scary man who literally cut people to pieces for revenge, but to me, he would always be the man who guided me, who protected us all when we didn’t even know we needed protecting. He was the boss within our house, but now he was struggling with knowing his place within the organization.
I had respect and loyalty for Lorenzo, but my father would always come first. Which was why I told him everything that was happening, all the ins and outs and decisions being made, especially since he’d been doing less and less for the Beretta Mafia. They were pushing him out, but deep down, I had a feeling he didn’t want to be as involved anymore. At least, not physically. He always wanted to be kept in the loop though, and I was the only person who facilitated that.
A door closing caught my attention and I turned to look over at where the sound had come from. My shoulders tensed as I widened my stance in front of Romeo’s front door. I’d been guarding his house for two weeks now, but it wasn’t the building that was important to him, it was the woman inside—Bailey. I tried not to think about all the shit she’d been through, it was hard not to. I’d been watching over her at my big brother’s house ever since he’d freed her from hell nearly two weeks ago. It was a job that Romeo hadn’t even needed to ask me to do. Family first. Always.
“I gotta go, Dad,” I said down the cell, ending the call before he could reply to me as I braced myself for the woman who was walking across her driveway and then Romeo’s, beelining it right for me. “No,” I told her, not having the energy for it today. I had too much on my mind, too many things to try and sort through, and a job to concentrate on. The last thing I needed was her in my way.
“I want to see the girl who’s in there,” she demanded, halting three feet away from me and planting her hands on her hips.
“No can do.” I crossed my arms over my chest, widening my stance to block the door even more. “She’s busy.”
She shook her head, not accepting what I was saying. “I want to see her. I want to make sure she’s not hurt.”
My blood boiled at her words. Who the fuck did she think we were? “She’s not,” I growled out, hating what she was insinuating. “She’s fine.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t care. I want to see her face,” she whipped out, crossing her own arms over her chest, mirroring me, only her move pushed her tits up high.
Fuck. Me.
They were almost spilling out of the white tank she was wearing, and I was sure she had no idea. She was oblivious to how she looked, her plump lips, her smooth pale skin, her wide eyes.
My nostrils flared, my gaze dipping from her cleavage to her face. I tried to keep my attention there, even though everything in me wanted to glance back down again. I stopped myself though as I focused on her light-brown eyes. “I already told you. She’s fine. He hasn’t hurt her.”
She laughed, the sound reaching deep inside my chest.Fuck.“You think I’m gonna believe you?” She dropped her arms at her sides, taking another step forward, her head only coming to my chest even with the thick-soled Vans she was wearing. “I haven’t seen her for five days. I want to see her in the flesh right now.” She pointed at the ground to emphasize her point.
I gritted my teeth together, trying to keep a lid on the anger that was bubbling up inside me. Not a single neighbor had bothered us since I’d been guarding the house. They may not have known for sure who Romeo was, but deep down they knew. There was no mistaking the look that came with the men of the Mafia, or the vibe that surrounded us.
So the fact that this woman had the fuckin’ balls to come up to me and demand to see Bailey was rubbing me the wrong damn way, and I liked it.Fuckin’ hell, I liked it. “Listen here, lady.” I stepped forward, my words cutting off as I inhaled her sweet jasmine scent. It wrapped around me, soothing me, but dammit, I couldn’t let it. I had to keep my guard up at all times. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but this ain’t none of your business.” I took a step toward her. “Now back the fuck up.”
A creak from behind me had my back snapping upright and my head whipping around. And none other than Bailey—the girl my brother had bought and rescued—appeared. “Hi,” she squeaked out. “I…I’m okay.”
“You sure?” the woman standing mere feet away from me asked.
“I’m sure,” Bailey said, her voice sounding more sure than it had since the moment I’d met her. I clenched my fists at my side as I watched them go back and forth. “Do you want to come in?”
“Romeo won’t like that,” I warned, staring the woman down with narrowed eyes. I didn’t like the way she’d come over here, but more importantly, I didn’t like the way she’d made me feel off-kilter, even if it was only for a few seconds. It was enough for me to notice.
“Romeo isn’t here,” Bailey reminded me. She was right, he’d been gone for over twelve hours now, but it was for a good reason. He was getting the intel he needed to take down the scum who had hurt her and Navy, the underboss’s girlfriend.
I had no idea how I was supposed to voice that, how I was supposed to tell her that while I was here keeping her safe, he was out there making sure she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life. He was trying to ensure her freedom.
Opening my mouth, I was still trying to come up with a reason when the woman said, “It’s okay, the kids are waiting in the car anyway. I gotta get them inside and into bed.”
“Kids?” Bailey asked, perking up and taking a step outside of the door. “You have kids?”
“Bailey,” I warned her yet again, but this time my tone made no room for argument and neither did my arm as I whipped it out so she wouldn’t be able to get past. “Don’t.”
She blinked up at me, her eyes glazing over, and for a second I was sure she was going to cry, and then I’d have been in deep shit with Romeo. Fuck’s sake. “I know, Rafael,” she told me. “I’m not going anywhere, promise.”
