Page 41 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

“So, we lure them out with the shipments?” Enzo questioned.

“I’ll be traveling with the shipments, and I intend to distribute it at the charity gala. All the clients will be there, and it’ll be disguised as auction materials. While that will guarantee a seamless transaction, it’s sure to draw out the rat. You can’t control a business without knowing the clients,” I replied, turning to Igor.

“I need you to secure the hosting of the gala. I want microphones and cameras stationed in every part of the building. I want to hear everything that’s being said and catch the slightest movement.”

With the plans laid out and everyone had a clear-cut duty for them, I excused myself from the gathering and made my way upstairs. I was barely contributing a lot with my mind constantly wandering. I was surprised to find Arielle curled up in bed with a book when I entered our room. I had selected a few activities she would love and instructed Canaan to make sure she had a fun day.

“You were supposed to go horse riding with Canaan today,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“I figured there’d be no way for me to get on a horse without his help, and I happen to appreciate his fingers complete and his palms without a hole in them,” she replied, not taking her eyes off her book.

I tried my best to explain to her the significance of what happened during dinner, including the fact that Ivan would’ve done the same if it was me messing with his woman, but she maintained it was barbaric.

I sat on the foot of the bed, watching as her eyes darted from one page to another, pretending to be reading. “Arielle.” I tried to get her attention and was met with a flat “mmh.”

“Arielle, look at me.” This time, she slammed her book shut and turned to me, her eyes still holding the same stormy look they had that night.

It was better than no reply.

“Things are very different in my world, and while I don’t expect you to agree with all of them, I expect you to trust me. I would never do anything to put you in danger, and if I have to end a life to keep you safe, that’s exactly what I’ll do, and I won’t be sorry about it.” She held my gaze for a while before releasing a deep breath and lowering her gaze.

“The knife barely missed my face, and before I could make sense of what was happening, there was blood. One mistake, and that could’ve been my face.”

“I’ll never make a mistake like that, sweetheart. I just need you to trust me,” I said, scooting up the bed and taking her hands in mine. This time, she didn’t pull away.

“I’m going to need some time to get used to all of this,” she muttered.

“You can take all the time you need, and for the record, I don’t expect you to get used to it.”

Silence hung over us for what seemed like hours, but I was sure it was only minutes. I waited for her to say something. This was the most we’ve spoken without anyone flaring up since the event.

“I don’t like to see the blood,” she finally said, resting her head on my shoulders, and I visibly relaxed.

While I might be a lot of things, a liar wasn’t one of them, and one thing I never did was make empty promises and build castles in the air. Bloodshed was inevitable in my family, and I wasn’t going to promise otherwise.

“I can’t promise they won’t be there, but I can try to limit the events you witness,” I replied, softly threading my fingers through her hair.

“While we’re on the topic, there’s somewhere I’ve been meaning to take you,” I said, and her head lifted from my shoulder in a flash.

“Where’s that?”

“Just somewhere that played a big role in my upbringing, and since you won’t go anywhere with anyone, I was thinking I could get you started on that.”

“Alright. I’ll just freshen up and be with you shortly,” she replied, swinging her feet off the bed.

“We don’t have to go today.”

“Nonsense,” she called out from the bathroom. “I’ve been in here for ages. I need some fresh air.”

A smile tugged at my lips following her little outburst. My girl was back.

*****

“You were brought up in a military boot camp hidden in the middle of nowhere?” Arielle asked, staring at the facility in horror.

“This is where the male children in the family are trained. We were brought here at the age of thirteen and taught everything we need to know about the family business and trained on how to use weapons.” I said, leading her to the main entrance. “We stayed here till we turned eighteen and are only allowed to return home after we’ve passed the tests. Training is more vigorous for first sons.”

I pricked my thumb and placed it on the little screen on the door. The sensor worked with both fingerprint and DNA from fresh blood to make sure access wasn’t gained from severed thumbs.

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