Page 1 of The Mafia Princess

Chapter One

Aryanna stopped outside of her father’s office and took a breath to steady herself. She hated being summoned there because it was never good news.

She ignored the looks she got from the guards stationed up and down the hallways. Her father had a hundred men just to protect him. He was paranoid that someone would assassinate him. Too bad they hadn’t been effective when her mother got shot in the backyard of their home six years before.

She pressed on her stomach where the anxiety made it cramp before she lifted her chin and nodded to the guard to open the door. The scent of rotting leather, stale scotch, and cigars filled the room. She was used to it, so it no longer bothered her. As a child, she had to fight not to choke on the smell of the cigars her father was addicted to, and he always had one lit on his desk beside him. Today was no different.

Aryanna stood in front of her father’s huge desk and waited for his attention.

Antonio, her father, finally put his gold pen down and looked up at her.

“I have an assignment for you,” he said.

She waited, ignoring the anxiety that built in her because she felt she wouldn’t like what he had to say.

“James Maclean and I have decided you’re going to travel with his son, Remington, to the United States.”

Her brows pinched together. Why would her father have anything to do with the Scottish Mafia? “I don’t understand.”

“James and I made an arrangement. You will travel as his valet.”

“I still don’t understand. Don’t they have people for that? And isn’t a man supposed to help him?” she asked.

“Yes, of course, they have people, but I owe James. He wanted to have a woman with his son, not as a companion but more like a slave. You’ll do whatever he needs.”

“A slave? You want me to be a slave?”

“It’s only for a year,” Antonio said.

She felt sick to her stomach. “Why me?”

“You’re the best one I could think of because you don’t do anything, and I thought it might teach you to be humble. You’ll leave with Remington tomorrow morning and fly to the United States. He will stay with his cousins for awhile. He’s looking to start a business there.”

“I’m sure they have maids or valets there?”

“He wants one to stay with him until he gets settled.”

“How long will that be?”

“If it goes according to plan, he’ll stay there for good. But you’ll only have to be there for a year, maybe less.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “A year?”

“Yes. I’ll need you back here because I have several men in mind for you to marry.”

God, it just got worse. She gritted her teeth. “So, let me get this straight. I am to be enslaved for the son of the Mafia for a year and then come back and be sold off as cattle.”

“Watch your tone of voice,” Antonio growled.

She fisted her hands at her side. “I don’t know how to be a slave.”

“You’ll have to learn quickly. You’ll wear a maid’s drab clothing and your hair braided with a handkerchief over your head. Lucile will show you how to wear it and the basics of how to do what he needs.”

“So, I’ll be in disguise?” she asked.

“Yes. You’ll have to pretend you’re a maid. I don’t want him to see the way you normally look.”

“He won’t know who I am?”

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