Chapter 13 #2
The way her eyes lit up was an easy realization she could see right through me. “You did. My God. Then you should know how sweet she is. She’s my friend. That’s all you need to know. She doesn’t need you in her life, Jax. What did you do, accost her as soon as you walked in?”
My sister was spitting fire, more so than she usually did. “What? Are you kidding me? She accosted me with a statue. Look at the gash on my forehead.” I pulled the cloth away, finally tossing it into the sink.
While the pain was still biting, I’d been through much worse, including gunshot and knife wounds. I poured a hefty amount of bourbon, downing two solid swallows while my sister continued her anger-filled glare.
“Do you want to tell me how you know her?” I challenged.
“Do you want to tell me why it’s obviously such a big deal to you?
I just told you. I invited her into my home.
That’s all that should matter. This is my house and the last time I checked, I can have any friends I choose.
I’m no longer under the thumb of my brothers or my parents.
This is my life.” She smashed her finger onto the surface of the island to make her point.
I moved closer, shocked when my sister bristled. She hadn’t done that my entire life. “While it’s painfully apparent you don’t care about your family as I thought you once did, do you at least recognize what kind of family you grew up in?”
“What does that mean?”
“What does it mean? It means that we aren’t a typical family in any way, shape, or form.”
With her eyes still flashing, she gathered a wry smile. “You mean because we’re bad people who do even worse things?”
“We’re not bad people, Emme. We’re just…” Hearing my own sister use the word was enough to shock the hell out of me. I hadn’t been prepared to be faced with such an egregious claim.
Although… We certainly would never be considered upstanding citizens, not with our history of actions and heritage.
“We’re what? Killers? Extortionists? Blackmailers? Thieves? Drug runners?”
I opened my mouth to retort, but whether past or current, we were all those things.
Maybe I hadn’t heard the terminology put so succinctly.
“This isn’t about our past or whether we are decent people or not.
It’s about the fact the Italians have suddenly decided their alliance with us doesn’t suit their needs any longer.
So, they tried to infiltrate our club with drugs.
First, this girl you say you’re friends with suddenly moved to New Orleans, the star of the benefit you asked me to attend last night.
You bet she was sweet. So much so that I… ” Well, shit. This was awkward as hell.
“That you what? Just had to be the guy who got his dick wet. And she has a name. Anna.”
She had me so frustrated the pain behind my eyes was worse than the injury.
“That girl… Anna appeared at the warehouse this morning pretending she had the wrong address. Then we ran into each other a block away from Indulgence. After that, she was her inside your house. What am I supposed to think?” At least I could see a light turning on behind her eyes.
“The Italians?” She blinked several times. She knew all about the alliance. While we kept certain day-to-day tasks from her, such as how I’d handled the betrayal this morning, she knew our business arrangements.
“Yes, the Russos. Sergio to be exact. Out of the blue. Now, maybe you can understand my confusion as to your friend suddenly appearing out of nowhere. I should give the bastards an A for effort. That was this morning. Forgive me for not believing Anna’s story.
I will discover the truth one way or another.
I have a call out to Irina. She will answer my questions since you won’t. ”
“You are unbelievable. Always by force. Maybe if you tried being nice to people, you’d get cooperation. Including from your own sister.”
“She’s Italian in case you haven’t figured that out. What are the odds that I would accidentally run into her on the same day as discovering Russo’s possible infiltration attempt? Huh? Why in God’s name would you allow her to stay here?”
She acted as if she wasn’t going to bother answering me, folding her arms and standing still.
When she finally did, the tone of her voice indicated she’d moved past anger to seething.
“She was offered an opportunity of a lifetime. She’s a ballerina.
To answer your horrible question, because she needed a place to stay since she made a quick decision to come to our lovely city for a few months if not the rest of her life.
We went to college together, so you know our father had her and everyone else I spent time around checked out, going generations into the past. The rest is none of your business.
Everyone out there isn’t trying to destroy our family.
Your paranoia is getting the better of you. ”
When she walked away, I was floored. Absolutely floored. “Did you not hear what I said to you?”
“And did you not hear what I said to you? This is my house. Mine.”
What was she doing? She’d grabbed her iPad, her fingers flying across the screen. My sister was hotter than I’d seen her in a long time, cursing while surfing.
A bad combination.
“I know it’s your house, Emme, but you need to be careful. You know the drill. I worry. So do your other brothers. We have reason to.”
“Yeah, I know the drill, which is why I cannot stand the thought of being born a mafia princess.” She reared back, her eyes scanning the screen. With two long strides she was in front of me, shoving the iPad into my face. “Hit play and don’t you dare anger me any further. Do what I say.”
When I didn’t grab the computer right away, her face flushed red with rage. “Fine. What are you going to show me?”
“Look at the video and answer for yourself.”
Exhaling, I drilled her with my eyes before doing what she asked. She’d forced a video on me. At first, I had no idea what I was looking at. Snorting, I glanced at my sister who pointed her finger at me.
“Fine.” Leaning against the edge of the counter, I sipped my drink, initially bored. Then I gathered why it was so important to Emme. I was watching a ballet. There was a couple dancing. I knew nothing about ballet, other than they wore tutus.
At first, I just didn’t care.
The camera panned in on the dancers and there was no mistaking the female dancer. Anna. Another beautiful performance.
This I hadn’t expected in my wildest thoughts. She was incredible, floating across the stage on her toes with her chin held high. The emotional piece was a tearjerker and she parlayed every dance step into a creation of beauty, artistry I’d never paid any attention to.
Before the dance was over, Emme tried to take the iPad from my hand, but I waved her off. The applause was thunderous, much like the rapid beating of my heart.
I’d be damned if my cock wasn’t at full attention all over again.
She snatched the computer, remaining where she was.
“Now, do you understand? Last night wasn’t some ruse to get closer to you or anyone else in the family.
She’s a dancer given an opportunity. Maybe Irina thought you’d like to meet her.
I don’t know. What I do know is that Anna is here to stay for as long as she and I decide. ”
“Did you know she was coming to New Orleans?”
“No. So what?”
“Emme. Come on. The timing is far too coincidental. Maybe she’s here under false pretenses and found a way of using all her skills. Do I honestly need to remind you that at one point, you were to be married to Lorenzo Russo?”
“What in the hell does that have to do with this situation?”
There’d been bad tainted blood between the families for years. To say I didn’t trust Don Russo before he’d died or his son Carmine was an understatement, but I was required to follow Alexander’s decision on the alliance. “Because I protect my family.”
“My God. I don’t know what to say to you any longer except you’re just like Alexander.
And don’t think that’s a compliment. You’re both paranoid all the time.
I don’t want to live my life that way. I won’t live my life always looking over my shoulder.
You witnessed her dance and evidently, her…
performance was good enough for a man like you.
Anna is my guest and will be moving into my apartment. She can stay as long as she wants.”
“What about the bruise on her cheek? Someone did that to her.”
Emmeline shook her head several times. “You’re right and whatever happened is painful to her but very personal. As is her private life, something you wouldn’t understand.”
“Emme.”
“Don’t you Emme me. Do I need to repeat myself?”
Wow. I took a deep breath, uncertain what to say to her because I knew in the back of my mind nothing would be right. “No, you don’t.”
“Then why don’t you run along, Jax? Someone should look at that injury for you. Maybe you can suck up to one of our brothers and commiserate over how many people you want to kill just for fun.”
“You’re kicking me out?”
“Yep. I’ll hire a plumber. All by myself.”
I’d never been so stunned in my life, but she wasn’t budging. I turned around only to find Anna standing in the doorway, also with her arms crossed. If looks could kill, I was getting ripped apart by daggers from both sides of the kitchen.
My sister didn’t understand I’d go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe.
However, I’d obviously made an ass of myself. Even I could admit it.
From time to time anyway.
Anna was standing in a pair of jeans and a shirt, her bare feet drawing my attention.
They were bruised, almost misshapen. In the darkness of the night before, the passion that had provided a connection we’d both needed, I hadn’t noticed.
Now, I wanted to pay attention to every detail about her.
And not just because I couldn’t trust her.
“My name is Anna Scavo. I was lucky enough to be selected to attend and train with the American Ballet Theater in New York at sixteen. That was my dream for my entire life, a life of sacrifice and darkness. I was attacked after a performance by some unknown thugs. They scared me. That’s why I took the offer to come dance with the New Orleans Ballet.
Are there any other questions, Mr. Prince? ”
The pain and anger in the girl’s eyes reflected my behavior. She’d overheard enough to know I didn’t trust her.
However, she was lying about the unknown thugs.
Her frankness once again pulled at the darkness inside of me. “Not right now.”
As I came close to her, she turned her head away. Not backing down, but out of disgust.
The electric connection we’d shared before had been eradicated, even though I could still taste her on my lips.
And I wished I could taste more.