10. Dead and Buried
CHAPTER 10
DEAD AND BURIED
R affaele
“Please.”
“Don’t beg, principessa , it’s not a good look on you.” Lies . There’s nothing I would enjoy more than this woman on her knees. I pour a cup of coffee and casually lean against the counter.
Isabella pushes out her bottom lip, that pout so damned tempting as she glares up at me. Her arms are knotted across her chest, only accentuating her breasts, which are already spilling over her low-cut top. Why did I take this job again? Oh, right, I’m a fucking glutton for punishment.
“It’s a small gathering with a close group of friends and family at my cousin’s house. What could possibly go wrong?”
I take a measured sip from my mug then lower it on the counter, in an attempt to maintain my composure. I’ve never had a client who riled me up like this woman. “It’s a going away party, you said it yourself. And from what I know of Serena Valentino, there will be nothing small about it.”
“I am not your prisoner,” she hisses. “And I will go to my best friend’s party with or without your permission.”
I bark out a laugh and erase the distance between us, trapping her against the marble island. “Don’t push me, principessa , I am not your babysitter or your doting daddy. You will obey me or suffer the consequences.”
Now she’s the one laughing, tossing her head back so those long, raven locks dance along her bare shoulders. “You work for me, coglione .” She jabs a perfectly manicured fingernail into my chest. “I was only being polite and doing my best to stick to your stupid rules.”
I snatch her finger and jerk her closer, and a gasp parts those pouty lips. “Let’s get something straight. I do not work for you, I work for your father. He may want you to believe otherwise, but he’s the one that signs my check. So if you think you can boss me around you better talk to daddy dearest and tell him to add some more zeros to my pay.”
“We’ll see about that,” she grits out. She tries to spin away, but I have her body trapped against the island and her finger squeezed in my fist. “Let go of me.” Her eyes flash, that sea blue growing darker. And cazzo , now I’m getting hard.
So I take a step back, releasing her. The last thing I need is my client feeling my cock rubbing up against her stomach. “So you’ve given up on the trip to Rome already?” Anything to change the topic.
“Not at all. I’m only looking for a better solution than having you tag along with me.”
“Good luck,” I mutter.
“Oh, I don’t need luck, Raf. I always get what I want.” She shoots me one of her wicked smiles, the one intended to placate me and storms off toward her bedroom.
Tony’s head appears through the sliding glass doors of the balcony, dark eyes pivoting to mine. “Hey, Raf, the boss wants to see you.” The brawny Italian has been Luca’s right-hand man for decades, which means he oversees all the security staff. He’s a decent guy, but too old-school for my preferences.
Isabella’s gaze swivels toward me for an instant before she buries her nose back in the book she’s been consumed in for the past hour. Either that or she’s ignoring me because of our earlier fight.
I march toward her and mutter a quick, “Behave,” before I join Tony at the sliding doors. “You got her while I’m gone?”
Tony’s dark brows rise, meeting his receding hairline. “You want me to watch her in the penthouse?”
“See what I have to put up with, Tony?” she mumbles under her breath.
“Isabella is not in the penthouse . She’s out on the balcony, completely exposed. There are at least ten points in a fifty-yard radius that would be the perfect spot for a sniper. She’s completely vulnerable out here. Do you want to explain to signor Valentino how his daughter got shot under your watch?”
“Uh, no…”
“Then park your ass out here until I get back.”
Tony stares at me wide-eyed, but my expression is calm, resolute. I don’t back down. Ever. I don’t care that this guy has decades on me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to keep my principal alive.
“Fine,” he finally grits out.
The hint of a smile plays across Isabella’s lips. It’s faint but I catch it because that’s what my years of training have taught me. To catch every detail, no matter how insignificant.
“Don’t miss me too much, signorina ,” I call out over my shoulder and catch a flash of her middle finger in the air as I slide the doors closed.
Tony’s chuckle permeates the thick glass, and I can only imagine the sparkling review the little princess must be giving me. That’s her problem, not mine. My only purpose is to keep her safe. If she hates me for it, it’ll only make my job easier in some respects.
When I reach Valentino’s office, the door is ajar, and he’s sprawled across his leather chair, brows furrowed as he stares at the computer screen. A vase filled with fresh cala lilies sits on the corner of his massive desk, the delicate white flowers an odd contrast to the powerful man behind them.
“Knock, knock.”
His eyes lift to mine, and he motions me in, then points at the chair across his elaborate mahogany desk. It reminds me of the one my own papà had all those years ago in Italy. Squeezing my eyes closed as I settle into the soft leather, I dismiss the unwanted memories of the past. They are exactly why I refuse to return to my motherland. Too much darkness, too many damned ghosts.
“Raffaele, I wanted to commend you on the work you’ve done so far. It’s impressive.”
“ Grazie, signore .” I dip my head.
He heaves out a breath and strangles a pen in his fist. “As you know, my daughter has gotten it in her head to go to Rome for the summer.”
“Mmm.” Please, don’t ask me to accompany her .
“Have you changed your position on the topic?”
I shift in my seat, sliding to the edge. “Honestly, no. While I am very happy under your employ, I’ve only just returned to Manhattan, and I’d hoped to remain here. I consider guarding Isabella a privilege and not one that I take lightly. I am not certain that I will be able to do that to my best ability in Rome.”
“Why do you say that?”
Darkness seeps into the corners of my vision, and a familiar face coalesces, then that voice.
“Get the fuck out of my city, Raffaele. You are no longer welcome here.”
“But Papà…”
“And you’re no son of mine. You are a disgrace to the Ferrara name.”
I blink quickly, shaking the dark memories from the forefront of my mind. “There’s too much history for me there, signore . And I’d prefer to keep it dead and buried.”
He blows out another breath and props his elbows on the desk, piercing me with fathomless midnight irises. Before taking this job, I’d heard all kinds of stories about the infamous Luca Valentino. But now, in this moment, all I see is a frightened father. “And there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
I release a breath, the one I’ve been holding since I marched in. I already had a pretty good idea what I was walking in on. “I don’t think so?—”
“I’ll double your pay. Cazzo , I’ll triple it if that’s what it takes.”
“ Signore —”
“Cut the bullshit, Raffaele. You know as well as I that I could force you into this. I don’t want to do that because I truly believe that in order for you to be effective, you must want the position. Up until the Rome trip came up, I believed you did. I need the man that I met on Park Avenue two weeks ago, the one that was willing to jump into traffic to save my daughter. Are you still that man?”
I clear my throat, buying myself a few more seconds to think. Do I think the mafia king would make good on his promise to force me into this job? Probably. Would it involve threatening to murder everyone I know and love? Likely. It’s a good thing I don’t have many of those anymore. I knew very well what I was getting into before I signed on the dotted line.
“It’s three months, Raffaele, and you’ll be back in Manhattan. I promise to make it worth your while if you go willingly.”
“Can I have a day to consider?”
He nods. “But no more. My daughter informs me the deadline is quickly approaching, and I hate to disappoint her.” A bittersweet smile hitches up the hard line of his lips. “I thought I’d gone soft when I met her mother, but having a daughter, it changes you in ways you’d never imagine.”
“I bet.” I slowly rise, eager to finish this meeting.
“No wife or children in the cards for you, Raffaele?”
“No, capo . It wouldn’t be fair in my line of work. If I can’t devote a hundred percent of myself to the client, I’m not operating at full capacity. I could never do that with a family.”
He rises, extending to his full height which nearly matches my own. He pins me in that penetrating stare. “And that’s exactly why I want you in Rome with Isabella.”