Page 22 of Unwilling Vow (Mafia Marriages 4)

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Jace

“You are way out of her league,” Matteo says as he corners me. The minute I get into the office, he’s on me.

I shove my phone into my pocket. I’ve been texting Olivia, but I need to stop. She’s a distraction that I can’t have. No one can know that I’m in the process of hiring a surrogate. Eventually, the news will come out, but I want it to be on my terms when I’m ready for the media to press me with dozens of questions.

I kept Matteo under control at the house when he dropped off the apartment keys. But it’s not like I can keep secrets from him.

“Who?” I try to play him off like I don’t know who or what he’s talking about.

I brush past him for my office, but he’s on my heel, following me and shutting the door behind him.

“Don’t fuck around, Jace. The girl, the surrogate. You could do so much better if you just settled down with a wife.”

I scoff at his suggestion. “That’s not happening. Olivia is just going to be the surrogate. Nothing else.” I know to keep my dick in check. Although sometimes the damn thing has a mind of its own.

“Right.” Matteo snorts.

He doesn’t believe me. And why should he? I’ve slept with half the women in the city. Well, probably not half, but sometimes it feels that way when I constantly run into them.

“Listen, she’s down on her luck right now. She’s willing to help me out, and I’m willing to extend a hand and give her a place to stay.”

“You could have just hired her as your assistant.”

“Now there’s an idea,” I say and stare at him. “Hire her and fire you.”

Matteo rolls his eyes. “Nice joke there, Boss.”

He’s not the least bit worried about his job or me kicking his ass to the curb. And for a good reason, he’s got job security as second to the don unless he crosses me.

Anyone who crosses me ends up dead.

But he would never betray me, unlike my sister Maia.

“Sit,” I command.

“I’m not one of your soldiers, Jace. You can’t order me around,” Maia says. She folds her arms defensively across her chest as she stands opposite my desk.

“I can if you’re living under my roof,” I say, reminding her who is in charge. “It’s time for you to settle down, and Ryder is one of the finest men that I work with and a capo. He will take care of you.”

Maia rolls her eyes at me. “I don’t need taking care of. I’m not some girl who you can just marry off for two goats and an ox.”

“This is what our father would have wanted,” I say. I inherited his position, his property, and his men. I also have the serious task of looking after Maia, ensuring she’s protected, which isn’t easy considering her love of running away from home.

A man like Ryder would tame and protect her. It’s what she needs to survive in this cold, cruel world.

“What about what I want?” Maia steps around my desk.

I placate her. “What do you want?”

“My freedom. Father might have left you everything, but I’m his heir, too. I should have a piece of the money.”

“There is no money,” I scoff at her suggestion. “Father was broke, and I supported his endeavors. Barone Industries kept him afloat. It’s why he changed his will to leave me everything.”

“I don’t believe you!”

I remain calm and collected. There’s no sense in arguing with her. “What do you need the money for?” I ask.

I’m not a selfish man. I take care of my family. Since my father’s death, I’ve turned the mafia family around, bringing in more money to launder, and have given all my men a pay raise.

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