Page 100 of Day Shift

Luca’s voice hardened. “It’s your risk to take. I can put a security detail on you, but you’ll be putting yourself in danger.”

Nik shot back, “Don’t worry, she’ll leave town. I’ll see to it.”

Angel bristled. “Don’t you dare speak for me. I’m a grown-ass woman, and I will make this decision for myself.”

Nik glared at her. “Ana, sit down.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Buddy, you’d better back the fuck up. Angel will make up her own damn mind. You’re not her keeper.”

Nik stood up, knocking his chair over. “It’s not your place to speak.”

Baring my teeth, I shoved my chair out of the way, drawing back a fist. Angel grabbed my bicep, digging her fingers in. Braxton placed a hand on Nik’s shoulder.

Nik sneered. “You’re just a nurse from Tacoma. You’re in way over your head.”

I stepped closer and stared him down. “I’m not afraid to take on any challenge. If I hadn’t just spent hours repairing your gunshot wound, I’d beat your ass right now.” With that, I reached across the table, grabbed Nik by the throat, and growled, “I don’t give a fuck if you’re mafia or Jesus Christ himself. You’d best not disrespect me or mine.”

Nik slapped away my hand, giving me a menacing glare. “She’s not yours to protect.”

Angel shouted, “Both of you, enough! Stop this idiocy.”

Luca chuckled. “Anastasia, maybe you’ll rise to be a mafia boss one day. There’s something about you that inspires unquestioned loyalty. It’s a rare trait, but necessary if you’re going to live long in this family. But you need to learn how to put them on a short leash. Just so you know, your tattooed mountain man is lucky to be alive after the stunt he pulled yesterday. He jumped in front of me when I first arrived at the church for the wedding. He had some balls, demanding to speak to me, and he didn’t even back down when my guys pulled guns on him. He’s lucky he didn’t take a swim in the harbor.”

Angel’s eyes widened. “What?”

Luca chuckled again. “Yeah, just before you arrived, he got in my face about you marrying Frankie and how Viktor was out to take over our operations. He told me to let him take you away and disappear, as if that was a possibility. I told him I was taking care of the matter and to back the fuck off. He wasn’t happy about it, but he had no choice. I’ll admit, I respected the fact that he had the mettle to stand and face me. Like I said, that’s a type of loyalty you can’t buy.”

Angel whipped her head around to me, her eyes filled with disbelief. “Thank you, Uncle Luca, for calling me. I’ll consider your words and determine my path forward. I want to discuss this with you further another day. Thank you for having my back. You’re the closest man to a father I’ve ever had. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to manage these boys.”

Luca’s laugh boomed through the speaker. “She’s the only one with any common sense,” he said just before the call disconnected.

Chapter forty-three

Angel paced the length of the kitchen, chewing on her thumbnail. Every time one of us tried to speak, she cut us off with a raised hand and a scowl. Nik sat back down, and I joined him and the others at the table.

Finally Angel stopped. “I’m going home. Alone. I don’t want to hear any of your opinions. I don’t care if you, your security firm, and a hundred of Luca’s men follow me around and stand outside my house. I need to be alone. And I mean totally alone.”

She glanced back and forth from Nik to me, shaking her head in frustration. “I love every single person in this room, but I’m not going to be told what to do like a child anymore. I’ve lived twenty-seven years as an obedient daughter of the mafia. I was never given a chance to live life on my own terms, and that stops today.”

With a few quick strides, she stepped up to the table and leaned in toward her brother. “Nik, you’ve always treated me like the twelve-year-old lost and afraid little girl that was dumped at that boarding school so many years ago. Well, I have news for you. I’m an intelligent, hardworking, capable woman. And it’s high time I start acting like it. I can’t do that if you’re always there to take care of everything for me.”

Crossing her arms, she moved her attention to Lucian, who was leaning against the counter. “Lucian, don’t you think for a minute that what happened between us was just a fun roll in the hay. I know you care about me and that it was your idea to let me buy into the club. From day one, you made it clear to the other guys that I was your responsibility, yours to protect. Your past, my situation, and the timing of things may not have allowed us to think of possibilities beyond a physical relationship, but you’ve always had my back and made sure I had what I needed, made sure I was safe. But I’m not that naïve little wallflower you interviewed and hired. I’m your business partner who needs to pull her own weight or get the hell out.”

Relaxing her arms, Angel pulled a chair out from the table and sat down beside me, taking a minute to gather her thoughts. Then she turned in her chair to face me, rested an elbow on the edge of the table, and leaned in. We all waited silently for her to speak again.

“And as far as you go, Conan,” she said, “you treat me like I’m some kind of perfect. You always think that I know what’s best for me. Like I have all the answers. You treat me as if I’m worth something more than I am.”

She leaned forward, gripping my thighs with her hands, getting up close to my face. “You’ve been better to me than I deserved. You put me on a fucking pedestal, for Christ’s sake. No one can live up to some goddamn ideal—especially not me. I wish I could be that girl for you, but I don’t even know who I am.”

Her eyes blinked rapidly, a hundred different emotions playing out in them. Heaving a deep sigh, she stood up, walked away from the table, and turned back to us while we all sat in stunned silence. “And as for the rest of you, you get my point. I need to figure out who the fuck I am before I can be the person any of you deserve.”

Wrapping her arms around herself, she demanded, “I need to go home.”

The kitchen was quiet. No one said anything, but we all nodded.

After a moment, I glared at Nik and told him, “I’ll drive Angel home. Make arrangements with the guys from your security firm to watch over her.” I hated the thought of letting Angel out of my sight, but she had to choose to want me in her life or at least feel like it was her choice. “Nik, you’ll need to stay put for a few days to heal. This house has everything Braxton and I need to care for your wound, so I’ll be back.”

I turned to the group. “This is a good opportunity for us all to get to know one another.” I glanced at Angel. “She’s smart and knows what she needs. Right now, she doesn’t need us telling her what to do. Looks like the men in her life will have to get on the same page and let our little mafia princess ascend to queen.”

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