Page 12 of Sinister Engagement

They were arguing,my father and Gaven. I'd never heard my father argue with anyone before. He was a commander. He made orders and his men saw them through. There was no back and forth, no resistance. But Gaven was not like other men. He was my father's equal in every way—in strength, in mannerisms, and in control.

"She could have died," he gritted out, his voice lowering until it was almost impossible for me to hear.

Why I was standing out here like this, pressing myself up against the door like a child wanting to know what her parents were getting her for Christmas, I wouldn't have been able to explain. It didn't feel right to barge in, even knowing that I was the subject they were discussing. Plus, a small part of me wanted to know what Gaven really thought of me.Is he concerned because I’m his ticket into the Price family? Or is there something more?There certainly had felt like more between us as he'd held me in his arms on the drive back. But perhaps that, too, was just wishful thinking on my part.

"But she didn't," my father replied sharply. "For which, I cannot thank you enough. Angel is…” he trailed off, clenching his jaw tightly, “very precious to me. I don’t know how I would handle it if I lost her after already losing my wife. I am grateful that you were there to protect her." The emotion in his words was rare, and my heart constricted at the thought of my mother. But when my father looked at me, a glimmer of affection was obvious. I forced a tiny smile on my face because I knew then he truly loved me despite the disagreements we’d had in recent days.

"Your guards are not enough," Gaven continued. I winced at that comment, knowing that some of the men in question were in the room with them, likely taking the brunt of Gaven's anger as well as my father's. I'd only just come from the doctor's a few minutes before, so I was sure there was more I'd missed. "They weren't paying attention. She would've been gunned down in the street and left to bleed out on the fucking pavement had I not been there, Raph."

"I don't need you to remind me what could've happened," my father bit out in response. "I know very well the dangers of this life. Why do you think I selected you to marry one of my daughters? They both need a protector."

A protector,I thought,as if this is the middle ages and he’s a king bestowing me to some ruling warlord.I shook my head in disbelief. This was ridiculous. And yet, I didn't march in there and say so. No, instead, I remained right where I was, listening in on their conversation. It might have been the lump in my throat that warred with my agitation, knowing my father wanted to protect me instead of tie me here to the family business. Or perhaps it was because, deep down, I felt as though my father weren't completely in the wrong. I knew next to nothing of the mafia world. Only that crime was dangerous and it had gotten my mother murdered.

If I remained in the same world as my father, where would I end up? A mob wife? What if we had children? My hands lowered away from the floor and instead my fingers touch the outside of my abdomen, wondering...

"Then let me protect her," I heard Gaven say on the other side of the door. "Move up the date."

"What?" my father sputtered. "It's already happening quickly. We've got everything set up and scheduled for a month out."

"Move it up," Gaven said, his voice hard. “To the end of next week.”

"The end of next week?" my father repeated. "Are you insane? Do you even realize how expensive that will be? It'd be better if we simply held Angel here at the estate for the time being. She'll be safe under constant guard—"

"Not safe enough," Gaven interrupted. "I want her to be my wife, Raph.Now.Fuck the money. I'll pay it."

The words were filtering into my ears, but I felt and heard nothing.A week? He wants to get married within a week?

Suddenly, I felt very light-headed.

6

Gaven

Adarkness was stirring within me. Something I'd always known had been there, but until that moment—the moment when Angel's life had hung in the balance—I'd never realized just how deep it ran. It wasn’t surprising, though, for someone who made his fortune on death and destruction. No one had ever been stupid enough to try to take anything I cared about from me. In the split second when I thought my prize was about to be ripped away from me, a crashing wave of rage hit me.

Her wide eyes. The air innocence that radiated from her. Her very fucking existence was mine. And to think that someone had plotted to take it away from me...

Anger was not a worthy description of my emotions. Untamable. Dangerous. Disgustingly ready to commit the vilest of acts merely to ensure that what was mine remained alive and within my grasp. Those were closer to the truth, though even they struggled to convey the rage inside.

I inhaled and lifted my gaze to meet Raphael's as he sat across from me in that giant wing backed chair of his.He wants a protector for his daughter?I thought.No problem.

"Then let me protect her," I said. "Move up the date."

Raph's face went slack with shock. "What?" he sputtered, shaking his head as he glanced from me to the door and back again. I knew why. Because somewhere on the other side of that door, my future was being taken care of. She was being treated by the Price family's private doctor, but soon, no one would have the right to touch or even look at her without my permission. Raph shook his head again. "It's already happening quickly," he continued, his tone placating. "We've got everything set up and scheduled for a month out."

"Move it up," I ordered. “To the end of next week.”

"The end of next week?" he repeated "Are you insane? Do you even realize how expensive that will be? It'd be better if we simply held Angel here at the estate for the time being. She'll be safe under constant guard—"

"Not safe enough," I snapped, cutting him off. "I want her to be my wife, Raph.Now.Fuck the money. I'll pay it." It wasn't like I didn't have the fucking money.

The unease of the other men in the room filtered toward me. As mercenaries and mafia men themselves, they likely felt the shift in power. Raphael wouldn't have survived this long in such a bloody criminal world without strength and money, but there was a reason he'd chosen me for this proposal, and I was determined to exceed those expectations no matter the price.

I was just as powerful. No, I didn't have the background of a respected and feared mafia family to back me without conditions, but I had the next best thing—the connections to one. More than that, I had connections to multiple people of similar backgrounds. A laundry list a mile long of favors they owed from things I’d done to earn them over the years. And when I would come calling, theywouldact. The power of one family was great, but the power over many was even better.

"You're sure about this?" Raphael asked, eyeing me with a quiet scrutiny.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

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