“Boom,” he said, not an ounce of feeling on his face. His eyes as dull as mine.
He’d been threatened with theboombefore. But nothing like this. No one like me.
“Yeah,” I nodded, getting even closer to him. He stood his ground. If he would have moved an inch, forward or backward, he would have been back in Italy before he could have even spelled “America.” Or worse. “Boom.No more.”
“I understand completely, sir.”
“Wise.”
I stood there, staring at him.
“Permission to speak?” he asked.
“Let’s hear it.”
“I know who you are,” he said in Italian. “What you have done. We have met before—through my parents. You know who my father is, who runs through my blood. I am not afraid to die. Therefore, I will not leave Mia. It is my job to protect her. This is a job to most, but it would be an honor to give my life for hers. And not out of obligation. There is a difference. You will find no one who will protect your daughter as I will—when it is my time to do so.”
I rolled my shoulders, stepping closer. “Me,” I said. “I will protect her like no other. I named her, ah? Mia.”Her name meantmine.
His eyes narrowed into daggers at my words.“She is young. I am a man. Love does not take these things into consideration. I do.”
Love.The word stabbed me like a sword straight through the heart.
I love your daughter. I’d trade my life to see her safe. I’d sacrifice my life for the honor of hers. I’m not here to ask your permission, but to get your blessing.
Those were the exact words I’d used when I went to Scarlett’s parents and declared my feelings for their daughter, because it came down to this.
She’s mine.
Had been all my life, and when she was old enough, I had even put a ring on her finger to let the world know.This one is mine.As clearly as my initials are tattooed to her heels, my ring marked her.
Men know exactly what they’re doing when they give jewelry. It’s not innocent. It’s possessive.Not yours, it states clearly and bluntly. And if not yours, that meansmine.
This fucker was using similar words with a similar look on his face.
I don’t ask for much, do I?Her voice echoed inside of my head.
Anything but this,I wanted to snap back.
My wife had me, though, and she knew it before she sent me out into the world, into this potentially explosive moment. If I made a vow to her not to destroy this man, she had me in fetters. Hands and feet.
Examining his entire statement in deeper detail gave me some peace of mind. He was a man. My baby was just a girl. He respected innocence.
Later, when she was older…I let the thought go so that he could walk away from me without making me shatter the promise to my wife. In all our years together, I’d never broken a promise to her.
I had never found a reason that would force me to, unless it involved harm to her or one of our children. The latter seemed to apply to this situation.
Guido broke our tense moment, but neither of us looked away first. Not even when Guido called his name.
“Saverio?” Mia called, and at his name from her mouth, his eyes snapped to hers.
This did nothing for my dangerous mood.
She came to a halt by the door, looking between us. Her brows furrowed, and her green eyes narrowed. So much like her mamma, it almost made me blink. Then I’d see my grandmother in her expression, a famous actress in Italy, whom I never got to meet. Sometimes I felt I had through my daughter, if only by looks alone.
“Papà?What’s going on?”
“Nothing, my heart,” I said in Italian. “I came to watch you dance.”
