Page 67 of Beauty and the Daddy

"We found nothing," another council member says. "No connections, no family power. Just a nobody whose father sells cheap furniture."

My jaw aches from clenching. "She's going to be my wife. That's all you need to know."

"Could be a plant," Don Catalano suggests. "The Colombians are smart. Maybe they found a sweet-faced girl to catch your eye? Get inside information?"

I slam my hand on the table.

"She's. Not. A. Plant." Each word drops like a body. They think she's a goddamn plant when she's not. She never asked for this. Never even knew I existed.

I cut a deal with her dad, plain and simple. But I'll never tell them that. Whatever little respect they give her now, that'll goright out the window when once they realize I bought her in a deal gone bad.

The old men exchange glances. I know that look. They think I've gone soft. Stupid. Dick-blind, as they used to say about my father.

"You seem very sure," Declan says, the doubt in his voice setting my teeth on edge. "But then again, you always were a sucker for a pretty face."

That does it. Something in me snaps like a steel cable under too much weight.

My fist closes around Declan's silk tie before conscious thought kicks in. I haul him across the mahogany table, contracts and pens scattering like startled birds. His perfectly styled composure cracks.

"Choose your next words very carefully," I whisper, close enough to see fear flicker behind his eyes.

"Luca, release him!" Don Fiorello's cane pounds the floor.

"You've been stalking my fiancée." Each word drips acid. "Explain. Now."

His smirk falters with my fist so close to his throat. "Just looking out for you, big brother."

"Bullshit." I tighten my grip. "You want something. What is it?"

"Luca, enough!" Don Fiorello pounds his cane on the floor.

I release Declan, shoving him back into his chair.

"My engagement stands," I tell the room at large. "Belle will be my wife. Anyone who has a problem with that can deal with me directly."

"You're making a mistake," Don Catalano says, his jowls quivering with disapproval. "This girl?—"

"This girl," I cut him off, "is under my protection. If I hear one more word against her, if anyone so much as looks at her wrong, I will consider it a personal attack."

The threat hangs in the air, heavy as a storm.

"Are you threatening the council, Luca?" Don Fiorello asks quietly.

I look each old man in the eye, one by one. "Not a threat. A promise. I'm sure you understand, gentleman, that family always comes first."

The silence that follows is absolute.

"Good," I say at last. "Now, we're done."

"We haven't finished the agenda," Declan says before he can help it.

"We finished mine," I say, and leave.

I walk out, leaving them to stew their grudges. Let them talk. Let them plot. I've got bigger concerns.

Like finding Belle.

Behind me, I hear the door close.