Page 97 of Forced Vows

"I told you. It's my job to protect you." He puts the kubotan down and picks up the taser. "My cousin has a guy who makes special cattle prods for him. He designed this and it will take down an assailant three times your size."

"Wow. Okay. Not asking why your cousin, who presumably lives in Manhattan like the rest of you De Lucas needs a cattle prod."

Miceli nods seriously. "Yeah, best not to ask." He prods the box. "There's one more thing inside."

Hoping the one more item is not a gun, even if that's the one weapon I'm trained to use, I dig through the tissue. Under the last layer, I find a phone.

It's pink.

I pick it up and turn it over. There's no manufacturer's logo. Instead there's a rose where the familiar apple usually is.

"It's shatterproof, waterproof and has satellite capability. The encryption is currently unbreakable."

"You sound like a salesman." The hand currently cupping my waist is distracting. "Why should I change my phone?"

"Because this one isn't monitored by your uncle."

"Just you."

He shrugs. "Part of keeping you safe."

"You don't need to read my messages to keep me safe."

"I won't. I would only use the full access function if you were in immediate danger."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Why not believe me?" It's a challenge.

And reminding him that he's Cosa Nostra is just going over the same ground again.

"I won't lie to you." The hand on my waist squeezes. "You won't always like the truth, or the answer I can't always tell you, but what I do tell you will be true."

He hasn't lied to me yet. Even when he told me his name was Ares, it wasn't a lie. It wasn't the whole truth, because although Mars and Ares are the Roman and Greek side of the same coin, Mars is still a different name.

But it wasn't a lie either.

"Changing phones is a pain." It's a weak argument and I know it.

"Everything is already loaded onto this one."

"I suppose Allessio stole my current phone to make that happen."

"Cloned it."

This man. "That's intrusive."

"If you say so."

I contemplate the phone.

"Put any finger on the screen to turn it on," Miceli urges me.

"That doesn't sound very secure."

"It's not touch activated. It only responds to your fingerprints. To access the phone, you need to hold it so the camera can capture your face. The phone uses a combination of facial recognition and a retinal eye scan to open."

"So, no sunglasses?"

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