CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Victoria
I looked at the text from my father again: Dinner at my house. 6p.m. Bring your bodyguards. I hadn't seen my father since returning to the manor. While I had settled into the place again, I still wasn't happy that he had ordered me here to begin with. Nor that he'd forced me to live under the same roof as the man who ruined my gala. If Joey and Craig were to be believed, they had nothing to do with the fire, and I wasn't sure which camp I was in these days.
With a frustrated sigh, I tossed my phone on my bed and headed toward the closet. I'd spent the day at the center with Craig, and now it was nearing time to face the music. I let my mind wander through what I'd learned about the guys as I tore through my clothes, looking for my shirt that said, 'Sorry I'm late. I didn't want to come.' So far, none of them had actually done anything to support Az being behind the fire or my attempted kidnapping.
Az was always abrasive and rude, but he'd never attempted to harm me. He'd protected me. Between me and Tiff, each of them had been protective. Craig and Joey were kind to me, offering a soft space in this fucked up situation. Even Rich's rules, while infuriating at times, made sense from a protective standpoint. Not that I had any intention of following them.
And then you had last night. I'd watched Leighton beat a man to death with his bare hands to keep him from taking me from them. None of the evidence added up to them having caused the fire or attempted to take me, and I was finding it harder and harder to mesh with the idea.
As much as I didn't want to admit it, that first night might have been a case of mistaken identity when I'd pointed the finger at Az. Not that it changed much now. He'd done plenty since then to earn my antagonism. I wasn't sure if I was ready to examine the events of that night close enough to sort out the emotions in my head, but the thought was nagging in my brain that I would need to sooner or later. Because if they hadn't done it, that meant some other boogey-person was out to get me, and they were still a shadowy figure in the dark.
I pulled on a pair of jeans, still annoyed that I'd have to be dining with my father. He'd had even less information when he sent me into this shit show and was more than willing to do it. My phone went off again, and I rolled my eyes as I reached for it. My frustration grew as I saw 'private number' across the small display on the outside. Flipping open to the full screen, I saw:
I look forward to the family dinners we'll have together.
I stared at it for a long time. It didn't feel like one of the guys. They'd seemed just as irritated as I was about this surprise visit. But, it also wasn't above a few of them to mess with me for fun. I snapped the phone shut and tossed it back on my bed before my urge to respond with a 'who the fuck is this' got the better of me. At best, one of the guys would know they were getting to me. At worst… nope, I wasn't even going to entertain the thought. It was definitely just one of the guys being a dick.
A knock at my door drew me from my reverie. It was likely my warden coming to tell me it was time to go. I pocketed my phone, slid on a pair of shoes, and reached for the door when a second round of knocks sounded. It was definitely Rich. Az would have already yelled at me. Joey and Craig were more patient, and Leighton would have just let himself in. I opened the door with a saccharine grin.
"Patience, Daddy. I was coming." I said, batting my eyelashes at him several times for sarcastic effect. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he raised an eyebrow before grabbing me by my chin.
"Princess…" He crooned, his voice pitching low, heat flashing in his eyes. My body responded immediately. "These games of yours are going to get you in trouble."
My breath caught in my throat as he released me and stepped back, and I pressed my thighs together discreetly.
"We're leaving, and there's a few things you need to understand before we get there." He stepped to the side and motioned for me to go first, pulling my bedroom door shut behind me. "We're taking my car and L is following on his bike. If you have any questions, I'll answer them on the drive. But the long and short of it is this: to everyone else, Az runs things. He'll be doing most of the talking for us, and when you want to refer to us as a group, make sure his name is the first. It reinforces that perspective."
I raised an eyebrow. It was evident that the guys deferred to Rich for direction most of the time. How did they expect anyone to buy that? Especially since Az was such a hothead.
"And I have to hide the fact you're the obvious leader from my father because…"
"We don't trust him, so he gets to know what everyone else knows. We're going with our gut on this." Rich responded simply, opening the door for me to the garage. I strolled past him with a shrug.
"I don't see what that has to do with me," I responded casually. He grabbed my wrist and spun me around to look at him. The touch was electric, reminding me of the heat in his eyes moments ago.
"Be honest with yourself, Princess. Is your first instinct to trust him right now?" His voice was pitched low and husky again. It didn't match the question, and I wasn't sure my brain registered it properly, but it left my body screaming for me to respond.
Shaking my head to clear the feeling, I scowled. "My relationship with my father is none of your business. But fine. I'll keep your silly little secret for now."
"See that you do." He drawled, gesturing towards the black classic car a few feet away.
Joey was waiting for me by the open passenger side door and helped me slide inside. I ran my hands over the dash, admiring the interior.
"Well, hello, Baby," I whispered, recognizing the make and model from one of my and Tiff's favorite shows.
"Hello to you too, baby." Joey chuckled, sliding into the backseat.
"I was talking to the car. She looks just like Dean's Baby."
Leighton cackled from the other side of the car, leaning down into the open driver's side window. "Hunting's the family business." He winked before stepping away and hopping on his bike.
"Same rules apply here, Princess." Craig added, sliding into the backseat beside Joey. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts her cake-hole."
"And no chick-flick moments." Rich said, a rumble of amusement in his voice.
I turned toward him, my mouth hanging open in shock.
"Idjits." Az muttered, climbing in the back on the driver's side.
I whirled to face him. "You're not good enough to be Bobby, Az-hole."
Rich sighed, turning the key in the ignition. "Don't start, children. We have bigger issues tonight than whatever is going on between the two of you."
I faced forward again, crossing my arms with a huff. "Yes, Daddy." I muttered.
Rich groaned so soft I barely heard it and pulled out of the garage. Dad rock played on the radio, but otherwise, we rode silently to my father's house. Leighton followed close behind on his motorcycle, my eyes drifting to the side mirror occasionally to look for him. By the time we pulled into the driveway of my dad's, the tension in the car had become palpable. The guys were noticeably on edge.
We climbed from the car as Leighton parked his bike beside it and headed toward the entrance. Looking back, I caught sight of Joey. He had a gun in his hand, aimed toward the ground as he released the magazine before holstering it back under his jacket. I'm sure my eyes looked like they were about to pop out of my head as I watched.
"At my father's house? Really?" I said, aghast.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm not going to cause any trouble, I promise. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." He said, approaching me and gently chucking me under the chin before placing his hand on my lower back and leading me toward the house.
"Like a condom!" Leighton said as he walked past us, laughing.
Rich shot Leighton a look before pressing the doorbell. I snorted, brushing past him and letting us in. Theo and my father had just entered the foyer from the drawing room to the left.
"Honeybee, it's so good to have you back home." My father smiled broadly, stepping forward to embrace me.
"Father." I replied curtly, pulling away and moving to hug Theo. "Uncle Theo, I didn't know you'd be here."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Jellybean. When Hugo told me he'd asked you to have dinner, I may have invited myself to attend." He winked. The sound of one guy clearing their throat drew his attention to them standing behind me, and he stiffened. "Boys."
"Good evening, gentlemen," Az said, separating himself from the group. A charming smile lit up his face as he approached my father and Uncle Theo. He held out his hand to them in greeting. Both older men looked at him with distrust but returned the gesture. "We haven't been introduced properly, I'm Az Casadei."
"Theodore Abrams." Uncle Theo replied cooly as he withdrew his hand from Az's grip. Az's easy, confident smile wasn't meshing with the constant angry asshole I'd come to know, and it was sending my brain for a loop.
Ava, my father's maid, entered the foyer from the dining room. "Dinner is ready if you would like for it to be served now, sir."
"That would be perfect, Ava." My father smiled. "Why don't we take our seats in the dining room and I can get to the reason I asked you all to come tonight."
"Of course. Lead the way, gentlemen." Az said, motioning for them to go ahead as he stepped next to me and placed his hand on my lower back. "We'll follow you."
I turned to look at him, my eyes wide and brows knitting together in confusion.
"Go with it, Princess. We can go back to hating each other as soon as we leave." He muttered to me under his breath. I nodded, noting that besides him, the rest of our group had remained silent and simply fell into step behind him as we made our way to the dining room.
He led me near the head of the table, but instead of pulling out the chair by my father, he pulled out the next one and motioned for me to sit. Once I was situated, he sat to my right, directly opposite my father, and Rich sat to my left. The rest chose places seemingly randomly, but closer inspection showed their true intentions. They had all picked spots to ensure they had eyes on each door that led into the room.
Servants filed into the room carrying trays of food and placing them on the table while others filled our glasses with red wine. My father ignored them as if they didn't exist, choosing instead to begin speaking.
"I've heard something quite interesting from one of my clients and I thought I would give you all the opportunity to set the record straight."
"Thank you," I murmured quietly to the young woman filling my glass, before giving my father my attention.
"It seems there has been some trouble in your club, Az. Trouble that happened while my daughter was there."
"If I may–" Joey started, but my father held up his hand and quickly cut him off.
"Dad!" I scolded.
"Hush, Victoria." He shot back with a scowl. "I hired these men to protect you, and if the rumors are true, they've done anything but. You will sit quietly and eat your meal while I discuss their shortcomings with them."
"Hugo, I don't think that's really necessary." Theo interjected. "Victoria is here, clearly alive and well. If she felt anything was amiss, I'm certain she would have called you immediately."
"Thank you, Theodore." Az bit out. "As you said, she is perfectly fine. So what is this actually about, Hugo?"
"Aside from being involved in a shootout in your club, I was informed just last night that someone who looked suspiciously similar to my daughter was in some low-class illegal fight club and while there, an attempt to take her was made. I don't know what sort of filth you five usually run with, but I think it's safe to say you're prioritizing your illicit activities over your duty to protect my daughter."
"If you know about the attempt, you know damned well I made sure it wasn't successful." Leighton seethed.
My eyes flicked toward him. He held his fork in a tight grip, posed as if he would launch himself across the table to attack my father with it at any moment. I shuddered at the thought of what sort of damage he could inflict with it, given I'd seen what he was capable of with his bare hands.
"We'd never let anything happen to la petit démone ."
"Enough, Leighton," Az spoke before glaring at my father. "We promised to keep Victoria safe, which we have done. As you can see for yourself, she's intact. No harm has come to her. We never promised to hold her prisoner at the manor. I doubt she would allow that even if we had. You know as well as I that she can be quite a willful little brat."
"Fuck you, Az-hole." I hissed.
Az settled back in his chair, grinning slightly at my outburst as if I had proven his point. An awkward silence settled over the table as Az waited for my father to respond. After several minutes, Theo cleared his throat and spoke.
"I think that settles the matter. Clearly these men are doing the job they were hired for, otherwise Victoria wouldn't be sitting here with us." Theo turned his attention to me. "Unless you have something you need to tell us, Jellybean?"
I opened my mouth to speak, intending to tell my father that the trouble didn't start until after he stuck me with the guys, but he started talking before I could get a word out.
"Yes. Well, regardless, I can't say that I approve of my daughter being dragged to obviously dangerous places. If we can all agree that she isn't to do so anymore, I can let it go. This time."
"That's ridiculous!" I shouted, standing so abruptly that my chair tipped over and clattered against the floor. "I am an adult. You seemed to recognize that enough to have me care for you while you recovered the last six months. You don't get to dictate where I can and can't go. I only agreed to your ridiculous protection detail because you threatened the funding you give to the center."
My father sighed wearily. "As I was saying, Mr. Casadei, no more taking my daughter to seedy clubs or fight rings in the future and we won't have anymore issues."
My mouth gaped open and closed, and my fists balled at my sides as my gaze bounced around the table before finally landing on Az. He seemed to be studying me momentarily, something akin to understanding mixed with pity painting his face. I knew the second he found whatever he was searching for in my face because he rose from his seat and smoothed down his slacks.
"Come on, we'll find somewhere less insulting to eat, Princess."
"How dare–" My father started.
"I think that will be quite enough, Mr. Bristol." Az interrupted. "Not only have you insulted me and my men, but you've insulted your own daughter. Insinuating that she is incapable of making her own smart decisions. From what I've seen, she is quite the opposite, albeit frustratingly so, and doesn't deserve being spoken about, or for, as if she doesn't have her own mind."
I barely noticed the other guys moving from their seats as Az strolled toward me, an apparent dismissal of my father. My mouth felt permanently unhinged from shock. The man had been nothing but a jerk to me from the moment I arrived at the manor, but he spoke with such conviction that I was hard-pressed to believe his words were just for show.
"Close your mouth, Princess." Az chuckled, pushing my jaw shut with one finger before gently slipping my arm into his and leading me toward the foyer.
I was vaguely aware of Theo and my father speaking. I was too busy reeling from Az's defense of me to catch anything they said as the rest of the guys flanked us.
"Is this the twilight zone? I swear this is the twilight zone." I mumbled to myself. "What the hell was that?"
Az chuckled softly, leading me outside and stopping beside the car to lean down toward my ear.
"Not the twilight zone, Princess. Just a lesson learned from my mother." He whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "You might be the most frustrating woman I've ever known, but I'll be damned if I'll stand there and let someone diminish you like that."