Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“Good girl,” I murmured as I moved around to stand beside her and slowly ran the comb through her hair. She jerked upright and twisted around, peering up at me with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing?”
My brow rose. “I would have thought that was rather obvious. You must be more tired than I realized.”
Vivienne’s nose crinkled adorably. “I know what you’re doing. I meant, why are you doing it?”
Her genuine astonishment ignited my protective instincts, and I suddenly wanted to have a chat with the mother who had clearly never done something as maternal as brushing her daughter’s hair.
But I kept my tone calm and even when I answered. “Because I want to. Now, eat while I take care of this, then you can go to bed.”
She looked as though she might argue for a second, but when I threaded my fingers through her hair, she let out a happy little sigh and turned around.
When her tangles were gone, she’d eaten enough to satisfy me, so I lifted her into my arms and carried her over to the bed. I pulled back the bedding and set her on the mattress. By the time I’d covered her up, she was already asleep, her breathing deep and steady.
“Get some sleep, angioletta,” I murmured, brushing her hair away from her forehead before placing a kiss there.
I crossed to the door and turned out the lights before stepping into the hallway, then I shut it and used the key to turn the lock.
Dario was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, his expression grim. I had a feeling I knew what was causing his foul attitude, and I wasn’t much in the mood to deal with it.
“Later, fratellino,” I muttered.
“You don’t want an update on Jimmy?” he asked, barely disguising the sarcasm in his voice.
My feet halted, and I turned my head to level him with an icy stare that had him backing up a step. “Watch it, Dario,” I warned. Brother or not, he was still a lieutenant talking to the underboss.
He silently followed me when I resumed walking, taking us both to my office. Domenico was sprawled on a chair in the corner, reading a book, and didn’t even bother to look up when we entered. But even though he appeared to be engrossed in his novel, people would be utterly shocked to realize that he knew exactly what was happening all around him in great detail.
His brain had an interesting quirk, making him an unparalleled bodyguard and enforcer. He was at his highest level of functioning while multitasking. It was as if he couldn’t go slow enough to handle one thing at a time. So even though I had no doubt that he was ingesting every word he read, I also knew he could tell you exactly what Dario and I were wearing, how our hair was styled, what kind of gun my brother had shoved in his jeans, how many steps it took me to get from the door to my desk, and probably even how many breaths I’d taken since I walked into the room.
“You here to back up my brother?” I asked stonily as I sat in the black leather chair behind my gleaming Peruvian walnut desk.
Domenico lowered his book and shook his head, his expression deadpan. “Here to watch the fireworks.”
“Fuck you,” Dario snapped.
“Not my type, pretty boy. Better luck next time.”
“Enough!” I snarled. Dario and Domenico were both thirty, only a year younger than me, yet they squabbled like children sometimes. It was enough to give me a fucking migraine.
“Spit out whatever it is that you came to say, Dario. It’s been a long-ass day, and I have shit to do before I head to bed.”
“Alone?”
My expression hardened. “Since this doesn’t concern the Family, I fail to see how that is any of your business.”
“You don’t think it concerns the Family? Do you know who she is, Rafa?” my brother barked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
I had received an email from Marco earlier but decided to wait until after Vivienne was taken care of to dive into it. There was no way in hell that our brother would have sent the information to anyone but me—or Nic—so I was curious what Dario knew. “Fucking enlighten me then.”
“Vivienne Blackwell is engaged to Chet Chanler.”
Was engaged, I corrected silently.
“Who?”
“Rafa, you’ve stolen the fiancée of the next governor of Tennessee!”
I scoffed. “First, that man was never going to win. Nic and I have already bought the next governor of Tennessee. Why do you think I was at that dinner tonight, Dario? Several donors were on the fence, and I was persuading them to back our choice.”
“But Chanler still has a stage and a loud fucking bullhorn,” Dario argued. “He’ll bring attention to the Family that we don’t need.”