Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Daria
I try not to fidget as I sit at the large table. I had one of the salons on the main floor send me up an outfit so I looked more respectful than wearing my slacks to dinner. Uncle Aldo can be very traditional at times, dinner being one.
I’m wearing a mid-calf black leather skirt and a long-sleeved black button-down shirt. I kept my black tank on underneath to cover Patrick’s marks.
My cousin Delina sits across from me in a black tea-length dress, while her three older brothers all sit around their father at one end of the table.
He lost my aunt years ago, and her seat remains empty.
Lyric is on one side of me, with Alek on the other side of her and my mother seated across. Hayes is standing behind me.
He caused some stress when he insisted on being with me. My uncle tried to argue this was a private family matter, but Hayes said I needed representation for my new family. Everyone looked at me, and I shook my head, explaining that we were not married.
I heard my brother tell Patrick he had to marry me before he knocked me up.
I tried not to cringe from the thought I could already be pregnant.
I’m going to have to figure out a way to talk Patrick into waiting.
I don’t want to cause open warfare between my families and the man I’m falling for. I can admit I do care for him a lot.
“Daria, are you going to take some courses on campus for the spring semester?” Delina asks, trying to make small talk.
She and I are really close, but things feel off tonight. I’m sure it’s because of the tension from my relationship.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m already filling up with clients and won’t have time.”
“Daria, do you plan to tell us where your relationship with Paddy is going?” My uncle asks.
I feel a shift behind me and realize it’s Hayes.
Delina sits back with a sigh, like she’s expecting an argument to start.
She’s the only female in the house and tries to keep all these men in line.
They keep her on a tight leash. She attends UNLV and tried to talk her father into letting her live on campus, but her brothers put a kibosh on that, and her father caved to their demands.
“Zio, my relationship with Patrick is mine. I believe we’re trying to make things work out. We’re still new.”
“What about the fact he has a girlfriend? One who’s saying he’s only dating you to get into our organization?”
“I don’t believe this woman at all. I trust what Patrick tells me. And I’m sure Hayes back here would tell you the same.”
I turn to see Hayes standing there. He very slightly shifts, letting me know he’s not sure what to say, but I’m hoping he’ll confirm what I said.
“I can tell you that Ms. Daria is correct. Paddy’s current interest is her.”
“So, you won’t say if he’s had other women recently,” my cousin Riccardo adds in.
“I didn’t say that. Despite the rumors that always fly around, Paddy hasn’t been with anyone in a while. Daria is the first woman he’s shown this much interest in.” Hayes confirms, and a small part of me that had some doubt finally settles.
I look down the long table to my uncle, who’s sitting there with his hands steepled in front of him, elbows on the table. I wait for him to drop an ultimatum, which I’ll ignore. But I’m hoping he doesn’t.
He leans back and looks at my mother, then at my brother.
“I learned a long time ago that the heart is going to do whatever the heart wants. That no matter where lines are drawn, people are going to fall for who they want. Look here at you. Your brother even. With the peace we brokered, it’s time we don’t have issues with where the hearts lead you.
” He pauses for a moment. “But if he hurts you, or I find out he’s using you, it will be war. ”
“Zio, I know in my heart Patrick isn’t using me.”
“I understand you feel that way, but again, sometimes the heart does what it wants, and sometimes the heart is wrong. The only way to a true alliance is through marriage, and I won’t agree to that yet.”
“Yes, sir.”
The rest of the dinner goes off without a hitch, and before I know it, I’m kissing my mamma goodbye and Hayes is helping me into the back of the SUV he followed us here in. I wait a few minutes before the silence becomes too much for me.
“Thank you for backing me in there. I know your loyalty is to Patrick, yet you supported me. You don’t have to tell me if you lied to him.”
Hayes looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Do you doubt what Paddy told you?”
I think about it for a moment. “No, I don’t. I haven’t since we talked about it. I just mean, you didn’t have to, and I’m honestly sorry I threw you under the bus that way.”
“You had to appease Barone. I understand why you did it. Will you have to meet with Morosov also to confirm?”
“No, my brother already took care of that. Andrei called and had a discussion with Alek while we were at work.”
“Want to tell me what happened with that whale earlier?”
Hayes has been my shadow since he showed up at the casino this afternoon.
As a matter of fact, I sent him to get my outfit from the boutique while I took care of March.
He came in today, even though he wasn’t scheduled for another week.
I knew March wouldn’t like the fact Hayes was with me, so I sent him on that chore.
Then March cornered me again. This time he grabbed my arm tight to keep me from getting away.
I saw that he marked me and just hope the bruises fade.
But it’s what he said to me that still haunts me and bothers me more.
March told me he was going to get me eventually, and I should just let him have me now.
I told him I wouldn’t, and he said I’d have no choice.
That it was already in the works. When I asked him what he meant, he just shook his head.
Hayes knocking on the door to the suite at that moment to check on me is what stopped March from forcing a kiss on me.
I can still smell his foul breath, and it sends a shiver racing up my spine.
“Your response tells me it wasn’t good.”
“He’s been interested in me for months now, and no matter what I say or do to tell him I’m not interested, he keeps pushing the issue.
” I make an excuse for March and downplay what really happened, not wanting it to get back to Patrick.
“Can we keep this between us?” I have to ask, even though I doubt that will be the case.
Again, he looks at me in the rearview mirror.
“I can’t promise you that. I’m your friend, but your protection is my ultimate goal.
If Paddy finds out, I can’t guarantee how he’ll react to this man.
I’ll be honest. I’ve never seen Paddy act this way before with another woman.
Granted, he hasn’t dated much, but with you, it’s been so different.
He has a quick temper, he’s overprotective, and I’ve never been assigned to guard anyone else. ”
“Aren’t you also his personal assistant? Doesn’t he need you?” Alek told me this after Hayes showed up today.
“I am, but I’m extremely efficient and can do both. As for guarding you, he knows other than Jordon, I’m the most dangerous person in his organization.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Seriously?”
“Don’t laugh. I am. I may not be as big as JJ, but I can take him down and incapacitate him in under sixty seconds.
I met JJ years ago when he and Paddy were fighting in the ring.
I beat them both. After Paddy took over the organization, he hired me.
I’ve been trained in many of the deadliest hand-to-hand combat styles. ”
“Wow. Okay. I’m sorry for assuming otherwise.”
“It happens all the time.”
“Could you teach me? I’ve taken self-defense courses for years, but I couldn’t stop my client from blocking me in and trapping me,” I confess.
His eyes flare wide. “I’m never leaving you alone with that man again. I don’t care what you tell me. He’s a predator, and I’m going to show him what it means to be prey.” He takes a deep breath, then nods. “I can teach you.”
“What do I do if I’m trapped like that?”
“Were you in a tight spot?”
“He asked me to get him a bottle of champagne. I stepped behind the bar, then he pressed me into the counter when I turned around.”
“Hit him with the bottle of alcohol next time. You’ve warned him to leave you alone, correct?” he asks, and I nod. “Then hit him next time. If he restrains your arms, use his body against himself. He’s not respecting your boundaries, so show him what happens.”
“I don’t know if I could do that. What if he sues the casino?”
“I doubt you’d lose your job. And if you’ve told him no already, you have the right to protect yourself.”
“I could have stomped on his toe or brought up my knee, but I was afraid.”
“Don’t be. You’re stronger than him, and he’s disrespecting you.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, that’s why I’m here.”
We pull up to the back of the club, and he parks near the back door. When he gets out, he opens my door and steps back. I get out, and he waves me toward the entrance, where he enters a code and then a full palm scan before the door unlocks. It’s the same door I escaped from this morning.
“That wasn’t there when I left this morning.”
“It was. We just hadn’t activated it yet. You escaping made him change that. The other side has to be unlocked by a special bar and code. If there’s an emergency, the system will allow a bypass. But to enter, you have to do all this. I’m sure you’ll have your own code to the system soon enough.”
“Sure.” I chuckle, and we make our way up the back staircase.
A woman steps around the corner. When she sees me, everything in her demeanor changes. I watch as a sly look crosses her face. She licks her lips and uses her thumb and first finger to wipe at her mouth.
“Don’t worry. I’ve serviced him already. You’re not needed anymore.” She smiles a sinister grin.
Hayes starts to say something behind me, but I hold up my hand.
“Hello, I’m Daria.” I extend my hand.