Page 35 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

His body suddenly stiffened beneath my touch, and he said a hard “No.”

“Why?” I said, slipping out of his arms and getting into a seated position. “Why can’t I come with you?”

He flashed me an incredulous look, pulling himself into a seated position. “Because it’s dangerous, Arielle, and you know this. I won’t be taking you with me, and that’s the end of it.”

“I’m not saying I want to work with you. I’m just saying I’d love to see the place where you grew up. I barely know anything about you beyond New York. Even Maya knows more about you than I do,” I said, my voice softening at the end.

He drew in a heavy breath, holding out his arm to me, and I crawled back into him. He always felt so warm and comfortable. “I understand, sweetheart, but it’s hardly ideal. You can get hurt.”

“I don’t care. I just want to be with you,” I whined, placing my head on his shoulder. “I just want to be a part of your world.”

He went silent for a moment before finally speaking. “We’ll have to set up some ground rules, baby.”

“So, you’ll let me tag along?” I squealed in excitement.

“Easy, don’t get ahead of yourself.” He tried to sound stern, but I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He finally gave in to my puppy look, and his face was completely transformed by a wide smile.

“You’re lucky I can’t say no to you,” he sighed, placing another kiss on my forehead.

“You said something about rules,” I beamed at him, and he chuckled.

“No going out without supervision. You’ll only go to places I deem safe, and you’ll have your location on at all times.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes.” He let out another chuckle, and I rolled off the bed, heading to my room to pack my stuff.

I found myself uncommonly excited to be traveling with Mikhail. This house would’ve felt so empty without him.

CHAPTER 15

Mikhail

“It’s a manor?” Arielle gasped, staring at the view in front of us.

It was a high stone structure that seemed to stretch into the sky. Its walls were adorned by ivy spines wrapped around the length of it with equally tall, arched windows reflecting the soft gleam of the sun. I often likened the house to the castle of Camelot when I was younger. It was big, looming and it held its own secrets, lots of secrets.

“Yes, it is. Try not to get lost,” I replied, equally staring at the structure for entirely different reasons. I’ve not been here since my grandfather died, but his aura still clung heavily to the air. I half expected to hear him barking out orders from his wheelchair the moment I stepped through the huge oak doors.

“Bozhe moy!” Maya exclaimed, dropping her bag on the floor and rushing off to the orchard to the right. “They let my trees and vegetables die!”

I rolled my eyes at her antics. The woman loved her vegetables more than anything and would readily exchange a few humans for them. I returned my attention to Arielle, whose eyes were still bouncing from one part of the building to the other. “Ready?” I tilted my head to the entrance.

She blinked at me before registering my request. “Yes!” She wrapped her arm around my elbow. “There’s just so much to take in.”

“You’ll have all the time to get familiar with everything. You’ll be seeing a lot of it.” I smiled at her. I wish we had visited under different circumstances so I would’ve had the time to give her a proper tour. This trip was impromptu and strictly business.

The double oaks doors were pulled open as we approached, and we were welcomed by the staff flagging the imperial staircase. I could feel Arielle’s arm tighten around mine, and her steps slowly falter.

“This is Arielle, and you’ll be taking orders directly from her,” I announced, and her grip around me grew tighter.

“Hello,” she greeted softly, sending a shy wave their way. She was adorable when she was shy.

I dismissed the staff and headed for the stairs, feeling the judgmental eyes of all the Dons before me resting on my shoulders from their portraits. The absence of my father’s picture always hit me whenever I climbed the stairs. Grandfather had ordered it to be disposed of and replaced with mine the moment I turned eighteen, stating that my father had not earned his place in the family’s hall of fame.

“Won’t you introduce me to your ancestors?” Arielle asked, taking in the faces on each frame. “Hold on, is that—” She trailed off, staring at the year inscribed on the first portrait before whirling around to face me.

“How old is this building?”

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