Chapter Two
Brent
This was all they didn’t need right now.
Babysitting a spoiled mafia princess with a forced marriage target on her back was not how Brent Knolls thought his day would go, considering they were in the middle of a major hostile takeover, a data breach at one of their smaller subsidiaries, and one of their highest-profile executives caught swinging his dick around at a local bar with the words I’m a dick scribbled on it with a purple marker. They still couldn’t explain that one, and the man was being silent about the whole thing as well.
Yet, here they were, Brent and his two business partners and lifelong friends, River Adams and Cash Ingram, looking at the man asking them to do that exactly. Babysit his daughter.
“You three are the only men I trust with my daughter. I need her safe until this is over, and she’ll only be safe with you,” Oscar Rossini said, giving them each an imploring glance as he sat opposite them in his study in his palatial home. He looked perfectly groomed, but under his worry-laden eyes, dark circles spread onto his cheeks.
“We understand,” Brent said as sympathetically as he could. And he did. They’d grown up in the dark shadows of the mafia, for fuck's sake. Their great-great-grandfathers, as a trio, started the most dangerous and revered underground global corporation of all time. It had been their grandfathers who wanted out of the world of organized crime in favor of more law-abiding business ventures and began the process of cleaning their business practices.
By the time Brent, River, and Cash took over, The KAI Empire was 80% legitimate and 20% not. Now, with them at the helm, they were 99% legitimate and 1% not.
That 1% remained because it was in their blood, who they were at their core. But that minuscule percentage also ensured that no one forgot who they were and what they were capable of when provoked. They were dormant like a volcano but could erupt by choice. They preferred it that way.
“We have men and women in our organization we trust with our own lives. She’ll be perfectly safe with any one of them.” Brent continued. Mincing words was not for him.
Four years older than Cash and three years older than River, Brent had always followed the all-work-and-no-play model. So yes, they didn’t have the time to bodyguard the man’s daughter themselves, but they could outsource that protection, and the result would be the same. Oscar Rossini’s daughter would remain unharmed until he sorted himself out.
“No, please, she needs to be directly under your protection. She’s my daughter;y whole world. And now she’s a sitting target for that swine, Wyoming Wolf—that’s what he calls himself,” Oscar said, his tone disgusted. “I have it on good authority that Wolf is planning to steal her before the meeting we have in a week. He claims she belongs to him already. Even just being here in her home puts her at risk. I can’t protect her. No one can, except you. Please, if she’s not in your shadow, I’m going to lose her.”
Fuck.
Even though they were no longer part of that world, they closely monitored ongoing events. A few years back, Oscar Rossini allied with The Order, a powerful group consisting of the most prestigious mafia families, almost as old as time. To ensure generational growth of The Order, marriages had to occur only between the families within The Order, and for as long as The Order has been in existence, no marriages were opposed. Ever. Until now.
Wyoming Wolf, otherwise known as Steve Baker, sponsored for some reason by a reputable Russian outfit, an Irish one as well, managed to procure a seat at the table of The Order, and now he wanted to marry Oscar’s daughter.
“I don’t need to tell you the man is an abomination. Please, I’m calling in a favor. I would never have done this otherwise.”
Ah, favor. The favor.
They couldn’t say no now, not without dishonoring their fathers.
Brent glanced alternatively at the two men sitting on either side of him. They couldn’t say no. Not now.
He already envisioned a loud, spoiled little princess in their home, with a whiny voice and prone to throwing tantrums if she didn’t get her way, disturbing their fucking peace of mind.
The only way this was going to work was if they brought her into their home. They’d have to work from home for the next seven days, but after that, they would hand her back. The favor would be returned and ticked off from the books.
After receiving River’s and Cash’s silent approval, Brent nodded.
“All right,” Brent said.
“Oh, thank you so much,” Oscar said, rising from his seat, a little color back in his face. “I will never be able to thank you enough. I’ll go and get my daughter.”
Just as he started toward the door, a soft knock sounded on the wood.
“Ah, Orchid,” Oscar called. “Come in.”
Brent, River, and Cash rose from their seats. What he expected was the quintessential mafia princess. He was sure River and Cash were too. What they saw instead was…
Something else.
For a moment, when he locked his gaze with hers, the blood in his veins heated, and his muscles pulled taut, and fuck if he could explain it all.
Overly demure, the dress Rossini’s daughter wore left only her slender forearms, a bit of her calves, and a glimpse of her clavicle bare. Save for a pair of pearl earrings and a thin gold watch, she wore no other jewelry, and her face was devoid of makeup, leaving her eyelashes silky. Her long, dark, gleaming, chocolate-colored hair cascaded over her shoulders, and every time she moved, the fragrance of her perfume tinged the air anew.
With a bow—a fucking bow—in her hair, twenty-two-year-old Orchid Rossini looked like an angel. The epitome of innocence. He didn’t know whether or not to trust her.
“Papa,” she said softly, placing her bags on the floor and kissing her father on both his cheeks. She then turned their attention to them.
“Mr. Knolls,” she whispered shyly, reaching out her dainty hand to him and then kissing him on both his cheeks as well. Her scent was so subtle Brent found himself holding his breath, so her perfume could linger a little longer in his senses.
They were friends and business partners long enough to be able to communicate with each other without saying a word.
She surprised the fucking hell out of all three of them. She did a weird thing to their senses, but they’d shut it down immediately. Seven days couldn’t come quickly enough as far as they were concerned.
“Mr. Adams,” she said, moving on and addressing River now, offering him a kiss on both his cheeks as well.
“Mr. Ingram.” She maintained her soft-spoken demeanor, keeping her eyes downcast. She seemed a little nervous. Shy.
“I don’t know how to thank you for doing this for us, for me and my dad. I understand how this must be a huge inconvenience for you, but I promise you won’t even know I’m there. I’m just so grateful that I’ll be safe from that awful man,” she sniffed, shook her head, looked up at them, and forced a smile on her lush pink lips.
“Thank you. Again. From the bottom of my heart. If there’s anything I can do for you in return… you have my eternal gratitude.”
“We’re happy to help,” River said, hands in his pockets, his voice calm and welcoming.
“You’ll be safe with us,” Cash added.
She nodded as she tried to suck up her tears.
“Gentlemen,” Oscar said. “I’ll be in touch as soon as all this is resolved. Like my daughter, you have my eternal loyalty.” He shook their hands, then turned to his daughter.
He drew her in for a hug, then whispered something in her ear, clearly not for them to hear. Except they did. They were constantly on high alert—perks of being raised on the dangerous side of the world.
“Please be good, Orchid.”