Page 22 of The Veil

Still eyeing at her photos, I became intrigued by one in particular that was a close up of her lips. ”Yeah, why me?” I sighed, raising my eyes to his.

“I know who you are,” he leaned forward, moving closer to me on the couch. “I know what you do, and I know what you do when no one is looking,” he insinuated with a smirk. “You are the only one strong enough to keep her safe, Valentino.”

Growing impatient, I became irritable with him, but I let him speak. I slipped another cigarette out of its pack, lighting it. Taking long, slow drags, I glanced down at her face once again then gently closed the folder, sliding it away from my body to the middle of the table.

“I know you will not let anything happen to her,” he concluded.

Shaking my head, I roared with laughter, “You don't know me at all.”

“Yeah, but I have a lot of people after me,” he added. “They're evil people, and they will be after her next.” He sighed, raising his hand to his forehead, “I just want her to be kept safe for the time being.”

I nodded, rolling my eyes.

“I am not asking for anything more or anything less,” he shifted his weight on the couch then picked up a briefcase. “I will give you fifteen million dollars in cash to watch her.”

I smirked, “Twenty, and I want the remaining five by tonight,” I sneered as I grabbed the briefcase out of his hands, placing it next to my leg on the floor.

“Done,” he confirmed as he held out his hand to shake mine.

After we exchanged a handshake, he stood to his feet, peering down at me in a menacing manner. I ignored him, staring ahead while puffing on my cigarette. He cleared his throat, but I did not turn to face him.

“There is one more condition,” he murmured.

I smirked, slowly lifting my gaze to his, but did not speak. Instead, I waited for him to continue, but he glared down at me. I was not sure if he was using the silent treatment as a power tactic, but it was not working. I rolled my eyes, looking out the window.

“You are a very handsome man,” he observed. “She is not to know you are protecting her because she is naive and you’re so…you.”

Wrinkling my nose, I snapped my head up and I snorted, “You're kidding right?”

“She is very innocent,” he glowered, “and should never be caught up in your messed-up life.”

At least we agreed on something. I did not want anyone involved in my life on any level. I did not respond verbally but only nodded that I understood before he walked away.

Three weeks later, my men and I were practically stalking Isabelle. I wanted to watch her from a distance. Then, when people started to close in on her, her boss started with his nonsense. I knew it was time to move her into my home so I could watch her closely. The only thing was, that I could not just kidnap her. The masquerade ball came at a perfect time for me to make my move and execute my plan with the help of a few others.

During the time I was watching her, I started to take a liking to her, but I was definitely fighting it. Not only were we guarding her, we were watching her boss. The human trafficking ring called Stella, was run by some of her father's associates or rivals. We had not figured that out yet.

If you met Isabelle, you would never in a million years think she came from a family like that, but the reality is, little innocent Isabelle, was the daughter of one of the world's most dangerous men. He was wanted by many other gangs, the CIA, FBI, and God knows who else. At this point, I had pretty much agreed to put a target on my back.

I stood up in the bathtub, drying myself off then marched to my closet, getting ready for bed. As I was getting dressed, I realized that she had no idea what her father did. She was essentially broke while he was sitting on millions of dollars. She was just trying to earn an honest living.

It was hard to fight back the urge to like her. I had originally wanted no part of her life but all that time watching her, I grew to want her so much that I could tell you so many things if I were asked. I felt like I knew her inside and out by now.

Picking my phone up off a nearby table, I unlocked the screen, dialing my assistant.

Hello Mr. Greco, she promptly answered.

I will be out of the office for a few days and working from home. I had a personal matter come up, I informed her.

Not waiting for a reply, I hung up my phone then walked into my bedroom, collapsing onto my bed.

I woke up the next morning and reached over to my nightstand. There was a note resting under my phone. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I picked it up and read it:

So, his name starts with a V, I thought. I would have to remember to ask him about that later. I strode over to the couch discovering an airy, white sundress with matching sandals laid out across the arm for me. Of course, there was the veil next to it. He did not even think to give me a white one that matched?

Giggling at the thought, I waltzed into the bathroom to style my hair and apply makeup before putting on the dress and veil. I was unsure why I bothered applying my eye makeup, but I knew I would not feel complete unless I did. Navigating through the house, I stumbled a few times over various pieces of furniture before a staff member came to my rescue. She discovered me aimlessly wandering around downstairs and kindly asked me if she could assist me. I was pleased when she guided me to the back patio.

The man, V, was seated at a round bistro table, dressed in a navy blue suit, or, so I thought. I was able to see a little more outside as the sunlight brightened him a bit better. He peeked up to face me as he stirred, from what smelled like, a cup of coffee.

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