Page 7

Being a part of the Italian mafia, it was a bad habit to want to know what ethnicity a person was, as they mostly dealt with people of the same bloodline as themselves, since the beginning of time. He wasn’t quite sure what bloodline Nadia had. While they shared many of the same features on paper, she didn’t look Italian. Her tanned skin had more of a bronzed look than his; her strong, black brows weren’t as thick but shaped thinner; and her nose, while long, was perfect. He didn’t know what word he was looking for to describe her features until it popped in his head … Sculpted.

Another thing Italian men couldn’t help but notice were clothes. Her suit that consisted of a pencil skirt and a one-button black jacket might have suited her, but it didn’t take him feeling the material in his hands to know it was probably picked off a department store rack.

He began to wonder how she would look in a tailor-made suit with expensive Italian fabrics, like he wore …

Quickly folding up her jacket, he placed it between them on the seat as he slid over abruptly and put his face forward.

* * *

Nadia didn’t know what had happened. She was simply counting down from ten in her head, trying not to pass out, when she felt the cold chill of Dante’s eyes on her. The moment she turned to look at him, his almost kind demeanor from when he had helped her get out of her jacket had quickly dissipated to a cold shoulder that matched his eyes.

She wasn’t sure if it was the coldness from him or taking her jacket off that had instantly cooled her enough to focus on the situation at hand. With the fear of passing out finally subsiding, she went for her phone but couldn’t find her purse. It must’ve dropped outside the car when Dante had thrown her in.

Shit. She couldn’t even check how Haley had managed the meeting with Desmond Beck. I bet she wants to kill me right about now …

The help Haley was banking on clearly wasn’t going to happen.

Nadia wasn’t sure if Haley was going to even believe her excuse.

Taking a side glance over at Dante, she thought, He might be hotter than Al Pacino, but he’s clearly as dangerous as Tony Montana, as she was thrown into full-fledged Scarface. There was no longer any doubt in her mind because, SPOILER ALERT … the rumors about Dante Caruso are true.

Thank God Haley hadn’t chosen Dante’s folder. She managed to find some relief in the situation. Then, looking heavenward, she made a silent wish.

I sure hope Haley had a better meeting than me …

Three

Well, You Do Today, Ms. Brooks

“I say you should continue on with the vacation, sir,” Amo told him, still behind the wheel and heading to their destination. “Getting on that yacht is the safest thing you could do right now. One-Shot won’t be able to touch you in the middle of the ocean, and you seem to be his only target at the moment.”

His soldier might have a point, but Dante hated running away. He felt like a coward and was about to tell him to head back to the casino hotel when he got a glimpse of his son’s profile.

Leo hadn’t shown much care about anything lately, but when he mentioned going on vacation on the yacht, he had seen a glimmer of interest cross his face. He knew his son desperately needed to get away from the city for a bit and couldn’t take that away. Not when he felt his last child slipping from his grasp, like the rest of his children already had.

Dante moved his eyes from his son to the rearview mirror and firmly nodded.

* * *

“You can let me out anytime,” Nadia reminded them that she was still here. “Here’s fine,” she added, trying not to sound worried when she didn’t get a response.

“I’m sorry you were dragged into this,”—Dante was the one to break the news to her—“but I can’t do that in good conscience, Ms. Brooks.”

Whipping her head toward him, she stared at him in confusion while the slight twang of fear returned to her spine. “Excuse me?”

“I’m afraid One-Shot might not take you as just an acquaintance now,” he told her, reminding her that he had cared enough to get her out of Dodge. “You’ll be safer accompanying us this weekend.”

A short laugh escaped her, thinking he must seriously be fucking joking, but then she suddenly stopped. “No.”

Hell no.

Absolutely not.

Nope!

Her little run-in with the mafia had lasted long enough, as far as she was concerned.

Cold eyes pierced into her soul. “I wasn’t asking, Ms. Brooks.”

Nadia didn’t know what kind of women Dante usually hung around, but she assumed they were about as submissive as his men were to him. That was not her.