Page 2 of Three Billionaire Bodyguards and a Sneaky Mafia Princess

Since she failed to talk her father out of the arrangement on her first try just that morning when he’d pounced this on her, shedecided it was best to just go with it. He already had his plate full with all this mafia business, and she hated the thought of him worrying about her safety the way he was.

Her father was all she had now, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, and that meant not adding to his stress by being difficult about her situation that was only going to last for the next seven days.

She wished he would just opt out of this underground business once and for all, but Oscar Rossini, as the last living Rossini male—since he did not expect or want any of his girls to take over from him—felt an obligation to his family to uphold their name until he couldn’t anymore.

So, Orchid had caved fairly quickly when he explained everything to her, accepted her lot, and promised to obey his wishes. It wasn’t going to be so bad, anyway. Seven days. Then she’d be back home, and it would be business as usual.

Her father had no doubt he could overturn her marriage proposal at the next meeting of The Order—the mafia group he’d signed his allegiance to. That meeting was taking place in a week from now. He seemed confident of securing a vote that would pull Orchid completely off the marriage roster.

The rule of The Order was only meant to apply to firstborns, and since Orchid’s older sister, Liliana, was already married with three kids, her father had thought Orchid, being the youngest, would be safe as well… except now Orchid wasn’t anymore.

As she stood at the closed door of her father’s study, she took a deep breath, schooled her features, and then raised her hand to knock on the door.

Chapter Two

Brent

This was all theydidn’tneed right now.

Babysitting a spoiled mafia princess with a forced marriage target on her back was not how Brent Knolls thought his day would go, considering they were in the middle of a major hostile takeover, a data breach at one of their smaller subsidiaries, and one of their highest-profile executives caught swinging his dick around at a local bar with the wordsI’m a dickscribbled on it with a purple marker. They still couldn’t explain that one, and the man was being silent about the whole thing as well.

Yet, here they were, Brent and his two business partners and lifelong friends, River Adams and Cash Ingram, looking at the man asking them to do that exactly. Babysit his daughter.

“You three are the only men I trust with my daughter. I need her safe until this is over, and she’ll only be safe with you,” Oscar Rossini said, giving them each an imploring glance as he sat opposite them in his study in his palatial home. He looked perfectly groomed, but under his worry-laden eyes, dark circles spread onto his cheeks.

“We understand,” Brent said as sympathetically as he could. And he did. They’d grown up in the dark shadows of the mafia, for fuck's sake. Their great-great-grandfathers, as a trio, started the most dangerous and revered underground global corporation of all time. It had been their grandfathers who wanted out of the world of organized crime in favor of more law-abiding business ventures and began the process of cleaning their business practices.

By the time Brent, River, and Cash took over, The KAI Empire was 80% legitimate and 20% not. Now, with them at the helm, they were 99% legitimate and 1% not.

That 1% remained because it was in their blood, who they were at their core. But that minuscule percentage also ensured that no one forgot who they were and what they were capable of when provoked. They were dormant like a volcano but could erupt by choice. They preferred it that way.

“We have men and women in our organization we trust with our own lives. She’ll be perfectly safe with any one of them.” Brent continued. Mincing words was not for him.

Four years older than Cash and three years older than River, Brent had always followed the all-work-and-no-play model. So yes, they didn’t have the time to bodyguard the man’s daughter themselves, but they could outsource that protection, and the result would be the same. Oscar Rossini’s daughter would remain unharmed until he sorted himself out.

“No, please, she needs to be directly under your protection. She’s my daughter;y whole world. And now she’s a sitting target for that swine, Wyoming Wolf—that’s what he calls himself,” Oscar said, his tone disgusted. “I have it on good authority that Wolf is planning to steal her before the meeting we have in a week. Heclaims she belongs to him already. Even just being here in her home puts her at risk. I can’t protect her. No one can, except you. Please, if she’s not in your shadow, I’m going to lose her.”

Fuck.

Even though they were no longer part of that world, they closely monitored ongoing events. A few years back, Oscar Rossini allied with The Order, a powerful group consisting of the most prestigious mafia families, almost as old as time. To ensure generational growth of The Order, marriages had to occur only between the families within The Order, and for as long as The Order has been in existence, no marriages were opposed. Ever. Until now.

Wyoming Wolf, otherwise known as Steve Baker, sponsored for some reason by a reputable Russian outfit, an Irish one as well, managed to procure a seat at the table of The Order, and now he wanted to marry Oscar’s daughter.

“I don’t need to tell you the man is an abomination. Please, I’m calling in a favor. I would never have done this otherwise.”

Ah, favor. The favor.

They couldn’t say no now, not without dishonoring their fathers.

Brent glanced alternatively at the two men sitting on either side of him. They couldn’t say no. Not now.

He already envisioned a loud, spoiled little princess in their home, with a whiny voice and prone to throwing tantrums if she didn’t get her way, disturbing their fucking peace of mind.

The only way this was going to work was if they brought her into their home. They’d have to work from home for the next sevendays, but after that, they would hand her back. The favor would be returned and ticked off from the books.

After receiving River’s and Cash’s silent approval, Brent nodded.

“All right,” Brent said.

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