Page 31 of Fortress of the Brave

I haven’t been with a woman for months. I haven’t been interested, not since I saw her. I can’t even blame my workload this time. It’s all because of this woman that I barely know.

A woman who is always around but I know absolutely nothing about.

She’s been staying with Rayne in Boston, helping her at the gallery.

She’s fucking captivating. I don’t know if it’s the vivid green eyes, a contrast to her silky dark hair and fair skin, or the fact I want to keep her safe. I can’t actually pinpoint one particular thing because it’s everything.

And it’s fucking infuriating.

It would be easy to go and pick up a woman and relieve all the tension, to hold a woman for the night and enjoy her company while we both get off. Regardless, I know I don’t want to do that.

The only warm body I want next to mine is hers. And I can’t do a fucking thing about it.

She isn’t mine.

Yet, that didn’t stop me from asking Angelo what he thought of Mia working at Bijou, our club downtown. Since Rayne is opening her own gallery soon, Angelo bought it for her as a surprise at the same time he proposed, it leaves Mia in limbo until everything’s set up.

Maybe it’s the protective urge in me, but I would much prefer Mia to be somewhere we can at least keep an eye on her, and Bijou was perfect. She loved the idea.

So now I get to hang out at the club way more than I should to make sure she fits in okay, even if she is supposed to be doing the books and not socializing with the bartenders. I don’t know if Mia was shy before the incident, but she’s very quiet. Some of the other workers are outgoing and seem to have taken her under their wing.

My need to keep her safe bewilders me. I want to take her pain away. A part of me wishes I could be the one to do it, yet I know that’s not a good idea. I think she sees me as more of a boss or, worse, a friend.

The last thing I wanna do is be in the fucking friend zone.

I’d rather be a boss she hates than fucking friends.

“You alright, brother?” Angelo asks me out of the blue. It snaps me out of my reverie. Trudging through the cold night, stepping over the dead bodies of our enemies, and here I am thinking about anything but.

Angelo’s always been very perceptive.

“I’m fine,” I tell him. “It’s been a long night.”

He pats me on the back. “Proud of you,” he says. “And Fynn, for stepping up.”

Fynn will be pissed being trapped in the panic room with the women all night. Someone had to be inside to look out for them, and he drew the short straw again. Plus, Rocco’s ex-Captain, Jason Riggs, showed up to lend a hand.

“It is what it is with this family,” I reply, as we approach the back of the property. “There’s never a dull moment.”

“Still can’t believe it came to this,” Marco says on the other side of me. “Fucking bloodbath.”

The truth is, none of us can. This is by far the worst attack we’ve ever had, a turf war on our own territory. The Triads were trying to move in, take out the Medici women, and bring down our empire. Only they fucked with the wrong family.

Rocco jogs up, covered in blood.

“Rough night?” I say.

He gives me a look. “Could say that.”

Heading inside, we can finally check that everyone is unscathed and accounted for.

The first person I see is Fynn. I one arm hug him as he looks relieved to see us.

“About fucking time,” he grumbles as ma, Valentina, Bianca, Rayne, Sloane, Katiya, and finally Mia appear.

“Trust me when I say you don’t wanna go outside.”

Ma comes running out, crying, and kissing my face, ranting in Italian as she gives Marco the same treatment while he’s trying to kiss Katiya.

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