“Wow, you’ve been busy, Dad.” Gio sounds impressed, but I’m just pissy.
“You want me to go shopping with Penelope? Can’t I just go on my own?” I beg, and he frowns before sighing.
“No, princess, I need to keep Penelope busy for now. Count this as your first assignment. If she takes a call, listen in and see if you can pick up anything suspicious.”
I sigh but nod, feeling a little excited that he wants me to spy on Penelope. “Okay, but do I get to pick the clothes?”
Again, he sighs. “Penelope will steer you in the right direction. She knows what is acceptable in our world, so please listen to her.”
I sigh and catch Uncle Mickey laughing quietly at me, so I flip him off. He chuckles out loud then winks.
“Gio, show Tori around. Tori, the house is furnished, so the movers will only be packing up your personal things.” I think about the strap-on and the rest of the sex toys Stacy left behind.
“No!” I shout, leaping to my feet. Dad startles and his eyes widen in surprise. Quieter, I continue, “I mean I don’t really want strange men pawing through my underwear and things. I’ll grab some boxes and pack it all up tonight. Then it will be ready for them to move when they grab the rest of our things.”
I watch Dad think it over, and he must not like the idea of his men in my underwear drawer either. “Yes, good thinking. I’ll have boxes delivered to the house. You can do it as soon as Gio gives you the tour.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief and move to the closed door. Gio follows behind, and once we’re well clear of the office and their hearing, he grabs my arm and jerks me to a stop.
“What was that about?” he asks, and I shove him away.
“Stop it. Don’t I get to have some privacy as well?”
He shakes his head. “What are you hiding?” he all but growls, but I can see the concern in his eyes.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. The sex toys Stacey bought are all still in my room.”
He pales a little at the reminder and shoves a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’m going to kill that bitch,” he spits, and I push his chest.
“Get in line.”
“Fine, but I want to be there to see it,” he demands, and I shrug.
“Sure, why not, we’ll make a party of it.”
“Just wait until you learn torture techniques. We could always use her as your test dummy,” he says over his shoulder as he walks away.
Torture techniques? “Did you say torture?” I hurry after him, not paying attention to my surroundings.
“Yup, you also get to do defensive driving, and they tie you up a lot and smack you around as well so you can learn to withstand anything our enemy might do to you and how to get out of the situation. You’ve got so much fun to look forward to.” Gio’s tone is sarcastic, and a pit of worry develops in my stomach.
Fuck, am I going to be able to cope with all of that? Or will I fall apart at the first sign of pain?
Gio looks back at me and notices I’m biting my lip. “Don’t worry, you learned to take a punch through our training. Why do you think Dad sent us to so many self-defense classes? You are already conditioned to handle a lot of pain and get back up and keep fighting.”
I stop dead in my tracks. Holy shit. That’s why he had our instructors beat on us regularly. I used to cry when it first happened, but by the time I was done with all my classes, I was laughing in their faces and telling them they hit like pussies. That would just make them angrier and hit harder.
“I haven’t trained for a couple of months,” I tell Gio as we start moving again. This time we head up a grand staircase and onto a landing. The landing splits into two wings.
He points to the right. “Dad, Penelope, Mickey, and Carla have that wing. Sage is in this one, and so am I. I’m assuming you want to be near us?”
I quickly nod, and he turns left.
“Don’t worry, there’s a gym with a boxing ring. We will get Castiel and Lorn to start training you again. It wouldn’t hurt to work on your endurance through swimming or the treadmill either. You never know when you’re going to have to run away.”
I wait for his laugh, but instead he looks dead serious. Okay then, I guess I need to get used to working out again.
“Once you leave the house, Tori, you’re always going to have to be on alert. When it becomes known that you are being inducted into the family, peoplewillbe gunning for you. They will see you as an easy target because you’re femaleandbecause you’re the daughter of the boss. Don’t be an easy target. Let them underestimate you and then wipe the floor with them. Do you understand? Equip yourself with everything you need to be taken seriously. If that means Penelope has to teach you how to dress, then you need to pay attention.” It’s like a switch has been flipped. Gio goes from concerned brother to the underboss he’s being groomed to be in a blink. His demeanor is no-nonsense, and his confidence is bordering on suffocating. I have never seen this side of him before, but I can see why Dad trusts him to be his right-hand man.
