Giovanni Russo is a scary man. He’s very composed, dressed to the nines in an expensive suit and shoes, not a hair out of place. He’s a good-looking older man, and I can see the resemblance in Lucy—Joey not so much.
Cage Nichols has his own level of scary. He is controlled, intelligent, and classy. He always looks so well put together. If I weren’t in love with Ethan and Cage swung my way, I’d totally bang him—if he’d let me, that is.
Sera Manzini-Nichols is dressed professionally today in a lavender pantsuit, white silky shirt, and heels. Her hair is up in some sleek twist. This isn’t the Sera I’m used to seeing. This is a completely different level.
We meet in the conference room just off the studio at the back of the house. It’s set up with water and coffee, and a fruit, crackers, and cheese platter.
Giovanni sits at the head of the table and Sera and Cage each sit next to him. Then Ethan and I—me next to Sera, Ethan next to Cage.
“I’m curious what this meeting is about,” Giovanni begins.
“Mr. Russo—”
He waves a hand. “Call me Gio.”
I swallow. I’m sweating a bit. Hell. “All right. Gio. After what happened to both myself and Ethan, I’ve done a lot of thinking. I’m going to step back from fighting.”
Sera doesn’t gasp aloud, but her body tightens.
“I’m hoping you might have an opening for a guy like me in Russo Security. A position where I can be around Ethan and the family to help protect them.” I laid my cards out on the table. Let’s see if I’ve got a winning hand.
Giovanni pauses and looks to Cage.
Cage meets my gaze. “I had a feeling this is how it would go. There are a lot of things that go with being a member of Russo Security. You know it’s part of Russo Famiglia, correct?”
“I do.”
“It goes without saying this conversation is confidential,” Sera adds.
“Of course,” I reply, and she nods.
“Thank you, Fee,” Cage says. “Russo Famiglia has many different levels. The level you’re suggesting is pretty deep in the ranks, and it’s not just protection.”
I nod.
“I’m just going to lay it all out for you. No sugar coating it.”
“Please do.”
“Security also includes dealing with those who wish to harm us. Meaning, if we give the order, it’s either torture or elimination or both,” Cage says.
“I can handle that.”
“But what if it’s someone you know?” Sera asks. “Say it’s a fellow fighter, a friend, would you be able to torture them for information, then shoot them in the head when you’re done?”
I blow out a breath. “If they hurt someone I love or part of the family, then yeah, I could do it. I don’t like being betrayed on any level.”
She nods. “Could you kill a stranger just because you were ordered to? No explanation? Just a name, a face, and a bullet?”
“Honestly, that’d be a whole lot easier than someone I gave a shit about,” I admit.
“You say that, but what if the person is married with children?” Sera questions.
“An order is an order and it’s being delivered for a reason. Whatever this person did or didn’t do, it has nothing to do with the family left behind.”
“Why?” Cage asks.
“Because they didn’t give a shit when they did whatever they did to piss off the family, betray the family, or hurt the family,” I tell them frankly.
