She’s Off Limits (Dangerous Devotion #18)

Chapter 1

Saranna

“Shit,” I cried out, stalking out of the room. “This cannot be happening.”

“Saranna, wait.”

I crossed my arms as I stopped in the middle of the hallway. I might be spitting mad right now, but I wasn’t a dumbass. If the head of the mafia family told me to wait, I’m waiting. Even if I wanted to kick his ass right now. I just wasn’t dumb enough to do it.

“What?” I hissed, making him raise a brow at me.

“Given the circumstances, I will let the attitude slide, but don’t think you can talk to me that way and it will be okay in the future.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to fight the oncoming headache that I felt coming on. Not that it was all this man’s fault, but a good chunk of it was.

“I’m sorry, boss,” I muttered, opening my eyes to look at him.

“Look, Saranna, this is not what I want. But I can tell you that I don’t really like getting a death threat on not only my cousin, but also my best negotiator. You think I was happy to see that blood stained shit sitting on my desk?”

“No, no Marcell, I know you weren’t.”

“I’m doing everything I can to protect you, but I can’t always do it. And I have my protection team out doing other things and I can’t pull them off to watch you. If you weren’t so good at your job, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Funny,” I muttered, rolling my neck.

He was right though.

I was good at my job, and that’s why I was getting death threats. When Marcell wanted something, he would send me, whatever the deal was, and it always happened that I would get what I wanted. Marcell very rarely had to use force to close a deal.

It’s how I worked for our mafia family.

I wasn’t in the line of danger until recently, when a deal I had signed didn’t go as planned with the other side. They lost more in the bargain and were highly pissed off. And since I was the name on the contract, it was me they wanted.

At least, that’s what we assumed, but honestly, it could be anything at this point.

And of course, Marcell wouldn’t take kindly to that.

“I have never had a bodyguard; you know that right? Like, even growing up with my dad as enforcer, or my brother as protection, I’ve never had anyone to watch my back but family.”

“I know, Saranna,” he said, pulling me into his arms for a tight hug.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, just resting against him.

“The stakes have never been higher. I won’t lie and say I don’t want to lose you for your job skills, but that’s not the main reason.

You’ve always been my favorite cousin, and I honestly don’t know what I would do if I ever saw blood from you.

“Don’t you remember when we were younger and you cut yourself? You did it to yourself and I was ranting and raving. I wanted someone’s head on a stick.”

“I do recall. I also remember when you wanted to beat someone up because they hurt me in high school. Do you remember that?”

“You bet your ass I do. Last time I checked, he still has a slight limp.”

I rolled my eyes at my over-protective cousin. He might be the head of this family, but he certainly had soft spots for some of us.

“Do I at least get to know who is going to be watching out for me here? Who it is I get to bug the crap out of?”

“I don’t know if I want to tell you. You might freak out and try to kill him.”

“Marcell! That’s your job, not mine. I just get people to sign their life away.”

He turned us back around to head to his office, where he had me sit down. He sat on the corner of his black desk, his hands in his lap before he reached for something.

“Read this.”

I took the paper, read the threat over and over and had to force myself not to shake.

Being hated in this game was always going to happen. Being told, however, how they were going to murder you and then dispose of the body was another thing altogether.

“This is graphic.”

“It is, Saranna, and it’s serious. Because of that kind of detail, they mean they’re watching you; they know what you do when you get home, they know when you go out, and who you go out with. They know more about your ins and outs than they should.

“Which is why I could only ever trust one man for this job. He would protect you with his life. He owes so much to me that I know I can count on him for anything.”

I started to shake my head, already knowing where he was going with this.

“Anyone but him,” I begged. If having someone constantly around was my fate right now, I sure as hell didn’t want it to be with a man who I pinned for and who had rejected me in the past.

“Saranna, you don’t know who I’m going to say,” Marcell scolded but I knew. And he knew I knew. “He really is the best. Just don’t piss him off, please.”

With that, the one I swore I wanted nothing to do with, stepped into the room, looking as gorgeous as ever in his black suit, black shirt, and polished shoes. I choked back the snarl as I stared at him, his lips lifted slightly in a smirk.

“Hello, Saranna,” he said and I fought the shivers that wanted to race over me. I tried like hell to get this man to notice me and when I finally had the guts to ask him out, he said he couldn’t date his bosses’ family.

It wasn’t a cruel let down, it was the truth, but I had seen him flirt with other people in the family, so why would he tell me that? Roman Volkov was a pain in my ass, and it seemed my body’s reaction to him hasn’t changed or dimmed down any.

“Ah, Roman, still doing my cousin’s dirty work I see. Aren’t you tired of working for the Italian’s?”

“Saranna,” Marcell hissed, but Roman waved him off, clearly showcasing how such good friends they were.

“Still have a nasty bite, I see. No wonder someone wants you dead.”

I lifted my head slightly. “Thanks to you, they won’t get a chance.”

“So long as you listen to me, little one, we’ll be good.”

And therein lies the danger, because I was just plain horrible at listening to this man.