Page 34 of Scarred Heir

“You sound like Lissia.” He smirked. “I hope you don’t prove to be as stubborn as my good friend.”

“You’re friends with Marchello’s wife?”

“She’s my best friend, but she is a lot. I was hoping you would be an easier assignment.”

“If you’re responsible for Lissia, why aren’t you with her?”

“I’m needed here.” He shrugged. “I’m looking forwardto getting to know you, but I’d rather not do it outside in January.”

“I’m not cold.” That wasn’t true, but I was tired of everyone judging me for not wearing a coat. If I had a coat, I would wear it.

“I’m freezing.” He arched a brow at me. “I’ve been sitting on the porch waiting for you for over an hour.”

“Why?”

“Like I said, I had a feeling you might stop by.”

“You mean Milo told you not to let me see Chance.” My chest tightened when I thought about being kept away from my brother. We had never been apart. It was my job to take care of him.

“I’m going to give you a little advice about Milo, and maybe you’ll even thank me for it someday.”

His insight on Milo piqued my interest. If I had to be here for a few weeks, it probably wouldn’t hurt to learn something that might make my sentence easier.

“Milo expects loyalty.”

“Is that code for obedience?”

“My advice is that you shouldn’t go against him. He’s an extremely good judge of character. A big part of his job within this family is knowing who to trust. If he decides you’re worthy of being in his very small circle—and he must think that about you or you wouldn’t be here—he will expect you to do what he asks.”

“Not being able to see Chance is unreasonable.”

“Milo has his reasons even if you don’t understand them.”

We stopped walking when we approached the kitchen doors. I slipped my arm out from his and turned to face him. His features were soft for a man of his size, but something told me he was a valuable asset to this family.

“I was there on New Year’s Eve,” he said. “I’ve never seen Milo let anyone walk away, especially not after what your brother tried to pull.”

“Chance made a mistake.”

“I believe that, but I’m not running the Accetti territory.” He stepped around me and opened the kitchen door. “Milo has a lot on his shoulders right now.”

“Are you a guard or his keeper?”

“Nico, Marchello, and Milo have plenty of guards who can make sure they make it home alive, but I like to think my job is a little more complicated than that.”

“What’s more important than keeping them alive?”

“You’d be surprised.” He smiled. “Milo saw something that night that changed his mind when he should have killed your brother. It would be a shame if he was wrong.”

What if I’m the one who was wrong by coming to him? What if I put myself on a course headed for a catastrophic collision? Could I survive that?

NINE

Milo

“Three fucking Lamborghinis?”I shouted at Lucas. “How did we lose three cars?”

“I’m investigating,” Lucas said. “They were en route to the dealership.”