Page 24 of Mafia Queen

I just nodded. Vadik was a “bigger thing.”

“Hey,” Lorik chimed in. “What about we go have a few drinks at Vertigo tonight?”

“No can do.” I placed my drink down on the table next to me. “I’m not leaving Doe tonight.”

“Let her come too, then.”

“I’m going to pretend that the only reason you said that was because you didn’t think that one through before you opened your big fucking mouth.”

Lorik leaned back in his seat. “I’m serious. You can’t keep her hidden for always.”

“Not always. Just until I’ve buried Vadik six feet underground.”

“Listen, all jokes aside. I think it would be good for her to get out, to do something normal with us. Poor girl walks around these halls knowing she has a giant bullseye on her forehead.”

I cocked a brow. “It’s because of that giant bullseye on her forehead that your idea sucks.”

“I agree with Lorik.” All three of us looked up at Karina standing by the door. “She needs a little normal, Antonio.”

“And you need to keep your nose out my fucking business.” I shot up from my seat, and so did Lorik.

“Hey, man, chill. There’s no need for you to talk to your sister like that. We’re allowed to give our opinion.”

“Not when it comes to Doe.” My glare was fucking concrete.

Dante got up. “I agree with them, brother.”

“What?”

“If you want Doe to live a normal life, normal has to start now. Not when Vadik is dead and buried. That could take years.” Not if I could help it. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to do this. It’s risky. But we have Lucio, and he’s the best at what he does. Plus, we have Vertigo in our pockets. We can have that place scouted and secure within the fucking hour.”

“No.” One word that signaled that we had reached the end of this discussion. But in typical Karina fashion, she ignored that fucking signal by slamming the door closed and stomped right up to me.

“She needs this. She needs to be treated less like a fucking porcelain doll who can break, and more like a woman who has fucking steel in her spine.” Her eyes narrowed, and she moved even closer to me. “You keeping her away from the world is more about you being afraid than her being in danger.”

I snorted. “And what the fuck do you think I’m afraid of?”

“Losing her.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lorik wanting to come closer, but Dante stopped him. Lorik hadn’t been part of this family long enough to know how my sister and I battled. Karina never backed down, and neither did I. It was fire against fire. But this time Karina’s words hit home.

“Whether it’s my fear or the danger she’s in, the fact of the matter is it’s too fucking risky to have her all out in the open.”

“Is that why you took her out to the beach at night? Thinking the dark can hide her from our enemies?”

I licked my lips, frustration and anger threatening to get the better of me.

“You see, Antonio. There is a part of you that knows we’re right. That knows she needs as much normal as we can give her right now. Otherwise, you never would have taken her to the beach.”

This time Dante stepped up next to her. “We’ll all be there. Lorik, you, me. Lucio and his team. We’ll fucking double security at Vertigo if that’s what it takes.”

“Please, Antonio,” Karina pleaded. “I know you know how strong Doe really is. She can do this. She’s ready.”

But I wasn’t. I wasn’t fucking ready yet. Ironic. I’d spent all this fucking time being who Doe needed me to be. A gentleman. An attentive lover. A love-sick puppy. A ruthless king. I’d been all these things to her in order to make her stronger, and here my family was, telling me Doe was ready, that she was strong enough to face the world—and now I wasn’t the one ready to put her out there.

I narrowed my eyes, retaliation stinging the tip of my tongue. Why? Because I didn’t want to admit they were all right, and I was wrong. I was the leader of this family, and there were a hundred different ways for me to tell all of them to fuck off. But part of being a leader was being able to admit when you were wrong.

I dragged my fingers through my hair, biting my bottom lip. “Fine.”

---