Page 54 of Under His Protection

“That woman,” I began. “Vanessa?”

He sighed, a heavy sound of annoyance. “I don’t have anything with her, Nina.”

“I’m not sure she knows that.”

“She does,” he insisted. “I’ve rejected her nonstop.”

“Then maybe she can’t accept it.” I rubbed my hands up and down his chest. “She stopped by your house the other day.”

He frowned, glaring down at me. “What?”

I nodded. “She was a real bitch, knocking on the door and telling me that she was due to have a lunch date with you.”

He shook his head, furious, but I put my fingertip to his lips to quiet him. “I knew she was lying. You’d just left. She was pissed when I told her that I was your girlfriend, and she didn’t believe me.”

“Fuck her. Fucking Vanessa. Don’t pay attention to a single thing she says.”

“I didn’t.” I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

He grunted. “I only care if she was bothering you.”

I shrugged. “Not really, but you can’t blame me for being curious.”

He took my hand and led me to a chair in the corner. Back here, away from the bulk of the guests mingling, drinking, and contributing to the silent auctions, we had the relative quiet to really talk. After he sat, he guided me to relax on his lap—which was quickly becoming my favorite spot to be.

“Who is she?” I asked as I smoothed my hand along his firm jaw.

“She’s the daughter of one of my former friends,” he explained.

“Former? Because he’s no longer your friend and is an enemy?” I guessed. Ignorance was still bliss within this Mafia world. I didn’t want to know every detail about who was who, and I imagined loyalties and grievances changed often. These Mafia men were killers, prone to responding with violence.

“Stefan Giovanni was my friend way back when. Same with your father. Henry, Stefan, and I ran in the same circles.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What? My dad?”

He nodded, stroking his hand up my thigh in a sensual, possessive caress. It almost distracted me, but I was all ears. Dante wasn’t just a body to lust after. He was a smart man, a figure from my past, too.

“Yes. Henry drifted apart from me because of his dedication to being in the service. Stefan put distance between us with some of his business choices. Over the years, I didn’t agree with a lot that he did with the Giovanni Family, but until now, it’s never been a case of declaring him as my enemy. Not publicly declaring him as an enemy.”

“What changed that now?” I huffed a weak laugh. “You’re upset with him because his daughter is preying on you?”

“She is, though,” he said. “She’s made it no secret that she wants me. To fuck me. To marry me.”

I opened my eyes wide. “Wow.” As a waiter walked near, I signaled for him to come closer and let me grab another flute of champagne from his silver tray. After I sipped it, loving the decadence of an expensive alcoholic drink that was a rare luxury for me, I welcomed the warm buzz of the alcohol.

“Needless to say, I do not want to mix with the Giovanni Family. Currently or in the future.”

“How come?” I asked, trying to think back and do the math on how many drinks I’d had. I followed what Dante told me, but I was definitely well on my way to getting tipsy.

“He allied with another crime organization, the Domino Family. They were unscrupulous, abusive with their power, and determined to monopolize all distribution routes.”

I don’t wanna know. I don’t wanna know. They weren’t talking about normal, legal products being transported, but I wasn’t going to ask what they would argue about.

“Stefan invested a significant amount of money and men into backing the Domino Family, but ultimately, Leo Domino was defeated by the Devil’s Brothers.”

I blinked, staring at him, stunned. “The same motorcycle club that Ricky lost me in a bet to?”

He nodded, grave and serious about these details.

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