Page 38 of Born into Mayhem

My assurance is vague at best, but it seems to appease him, especially when Mia laughs and says, “There might be some really hot young Italians, though, right?”

Vitaly laughs. “You’re going to give your dad a heart attack.” He looks at his brother and grins. “She’ll be fine. She just needs to have a little fun.”

If Mia feels the intensity of my stare, she hides it well. Still refusingto look at me she says, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll behave. Sasha won’t let me get too out of line.”

“And neither will we,” I add, hiding my smile when I see her body tense at the sound of my voice.

“Fine,” Lev says, “but I swear, little witch, if you don’t listen to your brother, I’ll make sure your ass is on the first flight home.”

“I’ll do everything he says,” she promises, barely able to contain her excitement at being allowed to do something dangerous. Her smile is contagious, and I have to turn away before I accidentally return it.

“Perfect,” Dominic says. “I’ll let you know when I’ve set everything up, and thank you for letting us borrow Mia.”

Lev points a finger at the don of the Alessi Mafia and says, “It’s not permanent. This is temporary, and I better get her back in the exact same condition she’s in right now.”

I run my eyes over Mia, knowing he won’t be getting his daughter back in the same condition. Every part of her is going to belong to me before she returns to America. She’s losing her innocence in Italy, and I’m going to be the lucky bastard who gets to take it.

“Of course you will,” Dominic tells him, and then when everyone starts to leave, he tells me in Italian, “I hope you know what the fuck you’re doing.”

“Either way, this is going to be one hell of a trip,” Sandro says.

Ignoring him, I ask, “What happened in Italy?”

When Sandro and I are the only two left in his office, he says, “Two of our men were doing business near the city and were shot at. One died, the other was injured badly, but he’s expected to live. No one is claiming credit, but I know it’s Leonardo. He’s the only one stupid enough to do something like this.

“While you’re in Italy, I want you to meet with Giuseppe Santoro. Tell him our suspicions but don’t force anything. He’s the most level-headed don there, and he knows how to keep his mouth shut. When the time comes, he’ll remember what you told him and he’ll speak up in our defense.”

“Sounds good,” Sandro says, and I nod my agreement. Then mybrother adds, “So what should I do about Romeo over here?” He hooks his thumb in my direction in case there was any confusion about who he’s talking about. “Because he’s got it bad, and she’s being stubborn, and I can feel this becoming a really tense sexual situation. Pretty awkward for the rest of us.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask, but he just grins and flips me off.

“He’s right,” Dominic says. “Can you get control of this, Dario? I don’t want you thinking with your cock. We’ll have one chance to get Leonardo, and I can’t have you fucking it up because you’re daydreaming about Mia.”

“First, that’s insulting. I know how to do my goddamn job, and in case you’ve forgotten, I’m pretty fucking good at it,” I tell him.

“You always have been,” he agrees.

I hold his stare. “I’ve never failed this family before, and I’m not about to start now.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, because I had this made.” He opens his desk drawer, takes something out, and tosses it at me.

I catch the American passport as he says, “You might want to keep that to yourself until you board the plane.”

Opening it, the first thing I notice is Mia’s beautiful face staring back at me, and the second is her name.

Mia Alessiis written beneath her picture, but it takes me several seconds to process what I’m seeing.

“Jesus Christ, this is going to be one hell of a trip,” Sandro says while I stare at the passport in my hand, feeling like an idiot who’s lost his ability to speak.

“She needs to pose as your wife, Dario,” Dominic says, unable to hide the grin he’s giving me. “I had no idea anything was going on between you two when I made the decision.”

“Aww, it’s like fate,” my brother says. “Isn’t that cute?”

“Does he have to come on this trip?” I ask Dominic.

“He does,” our cousin says.

Sandro stands up to leave, but before he walks off, hesays, “Don’t you dare show her that passport when I’m not around to see her reaction. I bet you fifty bucks she punches you when she sees it.”