Page 36 of Forced Vows

Oh, crap. The flirty tone in Zoey's voice coupled with her nearness to my cousin sends alarm bells clanging in my brain.

Recognizing the stressor minefield for what it is, Ollie jumps between the two women. "Step back."

Zoey stops, but her hand is still out and her gaze is locked on Fiona.

Allessio curses in Italian.

My sentiments exactly.

Instead of retreating like I expect, Fiona smiles shyly and moves to shake Zoey's hand. "Nice to meet you, but we already have a security team?"

My cousin, who avoids strangers as much as possible, and can have a panic attack triggered by bumping into one, is shaking this mafia soldier's hand. With no sign of letting go.

I glare at Zoey. "If you read a file on us, and you must have in order to have seen Fi's picture, you know she's only seventeen."

Finally letting go of Zoey's hand, Fiona puts her fists on her hips and frowns at me. "I'll be eighteen soon."

Which is one of the reasons I agreed so quickly to Uncle Brogan's blackmail. I'll be twenty-one in three weeks, but Fiona turns eighteen over the summer.

He would have had her married off before she'd had her first kiss, just like Kara.

Fiona would be utterly miserable married to any man, but especially one as cold and deadly as Miceli.

"I'll be twenty in the fall," Zoey says.

I roll my eyes. "Good for you. I hope that means you really are just security and not made already."

"Róise! Don't be rude," Fiona censures me.

Life in the mob: where asking someone if they've killed before is both normal and rude. And also, sometimes necessary.

Why is Fiona still standing here in the hall? Why is her jacket hood still down, revealing her face?

Don't get me wrong, every time she overcomes her anxiety, it's a win. But does my cousin need to find a Cosa Nostra soldier the reason for doing so?

"I'm not made. Allessio is your new bodyguard, but he's training me. So two-for-one, right?" Zoey grins at Fiona.

Nipping this in the bud right now.

"As fun as this is, if we don't leave right now, I might as well skip my first class. And I am not doing that." I point at Allessio. "You're driving. Ollie, you're in the backseat with me and the teenager flirting with my cousin can ride shotgun."

Three bodyguards is total overkill. The only reason I had that many in Portland was because I was out of town. This? Is ridiculous.

I'd laugh if I wasn't so irritated.

"I don't take orders from you," Zoey says loftily.

"You do if you want to ride in the same car." Yes, I'm twenty.

No, I'm not ready to get married and start popping out mob babies.

That does not mean I am a pushover. I was raised in this life. I've been protecting myself and my cousins since my dad died and before that, I'd witnessed too much to ever be a regular kid.

Allessio barks something in Italian and Zoey snaps to attention, all emotion wiped from her face.

"Follow us, Miss Shaughnessy, but do not exit the house until we give the all-clear sign."

"Which is?" Does he just assume we all use the same one?

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