Page 5

“Max.” I closed my laptop. I was supposed to be reading over the contracts to buy a parcel of land over in Dearborn that was ripe for development. So far, I hadn’t taken in a single word. “What’s happening?”

“Your girl is up and about.” He dropped onto the chair in front of my desk.

I glanced at the limited-edition Hublot watch on my wrist. It was barely eight o’clock. Annie was obviously an early riser. I liked that. I was always up with the lark myself.

“She’s not my girl,” I denied.

“But you want her to be.”

Max shot me a knowing look, and I shrugged.

“Come on, Ciaran, I saw how much you liked her.”

I aimed for nonchalance when I replied, “She’s a pretty girl.”

“It’s more than that. You were into her.”

“Maybe, but there’s no point pursing her. She’s headed back to Scotland, and I need to get serious about finding a wife.”

“Hmm.” Max rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I hear Daria Costa’s engagement fell through.”

It had, because her fiancé found out she was spreading her legs for a dozen different men. Her promiscuity didn’t bother me too much. I wasn’t exactly a virgin myself and, if we married, I’d soon bring her into line.

There were definite advantages to a union with Daria. Marrying into the Chicago mob would have helped my organization expand its interests in Illinois. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a bullet I was willing to take for the team. Daria was a spoiled brat. She whined constantly about everything and nothing. After ten minutes in her company, I’d probably have throttled her.

“She’s too spoiled.”

“You’re probably right,” Max conceded. “What about Ella Rossi?”

I screwed my nose up. “She’s a kid.”

“She just turned eighteen.”

I shook my head. That was still nine years younger than me. While the age difference wasn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, I couldn’t consider Ella. She was naïve to the point I worried if she even knew the intimate things that went on between a man and a woman.

“Isabella Graziano?” Max tried.

Though the sister of the most powerful man in Cleveland ticked most of my boxes, I couldn’t consider her. To become head of his family, her brother Francesco murdered his own father and two of his brothers. I would never enter negotiations with a man so lacking in honor. Apart from the fact he made me sick, he couldn’t be trusted.

“Her brother’s a snake.”

Max nodded in agreement.

“A Russian, then? Kataryna Belkin is the right age. She’s unattached and not bad to look at. I hear she’s clever and ambitious, so she’ll keep you on your toes. Plus, her family has connections in Chicago, New York and Vegas, not to mention Moscow.”

Making an alliance with the Belkin Bratva wasn’t the worst idea. They had a global reach. Together, we would be a formidable force. I had to admit, the Russian heiress was already at the top of my list of potential brides. We would make a great couple, but now I couldn’t think of anyone but Annie. Perhaps once she’d left the country and was beyond my reach, I’d be able to let go of my desire for her.

Fuck! Who was I trying to kid? Scotland wasn’t beyond my reach. Hell, if Annie moved to the middle of the Antarctic, I would still be able to get to her. I’d just have to push her from my mind.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to speak to Sergei Belkin about an alliance,” I told Max. “Set up a meeting.”

“You sure?”

Despite the nagging doubt twisting my gut, I nodded. Never one to waste time, Max took his cellphone from his pocket.

“Huh!” he exclaimed as he looked at the screen.

“What?”