Page 100 of Devil's Property
Scowling, I thought about how Navarro and I had tiptoeing around each other since arriving in Spain. “Since when did you get so smart?”
“Since you were trying to become the next great Picasso. You need to work with Navarro to figure out what’s going on. Daddyneeds your help, big sis. That’s why he made certain you’d learn who and what he was. He knew you were the only person capable of protecting me and preserving our family. Do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
My sister wasn’t just wise, she’d given me a good idea, putting the last pieces on a plan I’d initiated in Mexico. One that Navarro hadn’t liked very much. Well, guess what? He didn’t get to choose.
“Mafia princess, huh?”
“Exactly. I can see those wheels turning just like they did when we were kids.”
I grinned. She was right. “If I’m a mafia princess then I should have a kingdom. Right?”
Brooke narrowed her eyes. “Yes, although it might be in storage in mothballs. However, you do have a built-in Prince Charming. If you’d just open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you.”
We laughed again and I glanced at the painting. Maybe my baby sister was right.
Navarro electrified me, igniting the kind of desire I’d never felt before. He also infuriated me to the point of ripping out my hair.
Talk about annoyance. He was the master of driving me batty.
His determination that I follow the rules made me want to scream.
But it was the butterflies I felt every time he walked into a room that affected me the most.
I’d be fooling myself if I didn’t think I was falling hapless and hard for the stunning man.
There was only one thing to do.
Ask the man to marry me.
CHAPTER 26
Navarro
Coming home to my house in Barcelona usually meant nothing more than limited downtime. I’d selected the house from a picture, visiting the location for ten minutes before deciding to purchase it. While it was private, a picturesque contemporary nestled on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, I’d barely spent enough time to formulate a decorating plan.
As if I’d cared.
Four walls and a roof were all that was important, at least according to my father. As I stood staring out the window at the turbulent ocean waters, I was struck by how entirely different it felt now that two women were in my house.
While Fallon remained a challenge, defiant at every turn and during every conversation, Brooke was a calming force. Much like Maya had been over the years. Their interactions were another reminder that family was important if not vital for anyone in a leadership position.
Criminal or not.
I turned away from the window, staring down at the photograph I had in my hand.
The beautiful thing about pictures was that they not only told a story, but they also never lied. Of course it was possible to doctor photographs as had been done for years, now more easily accomplished with the AI coming online for mainstream users.
However, when you had an old photograph in your hand, one that had been stored in a box for two decades, the logistics allowed you some certainty and comfort that what you were seeing was real.
Maybe I’d become homesick, longing for the good feelings only memories could provide. For whatever reason I’d tugged out one of a few boxes of personal items I’d collected from my parents’ estate, and I’d spent hours reminiscing over events filled with both joy and sadness.
A flash of lightning drew my attention to the oversized window. The storm had come on all of a sudden, a beautiful afternoon giving way to a downpour. At least the storm itself matched my mood.
Dark and unforgiving.
The reason I’d decided to go down memory lane was simple. Because of Fallon. Because of her love for her family, her sister all she’d been able to think about for three days. While I’d mostly gone on as business as usual, checking on shipments, including a new crop of diamonds that had arrived from Australia, she’d planted herself at her sister’s bedside.
Without asking me for anything.
