“Rowan’s bodyguard. He’s on duty outside Serena’s house now.”
I’m not surprised, and I don’t disagree. I’m not naïve. I know if word got out that Ben had a son all kinds of degenerate scum would target me and Rowan. I won’t jeopardize his safety, so if Ben wants to put protections in place, I won’t argue. “Okay. What else?”
“I’m sending a guy over later to install a new alarm system with exterior cameras and lights. It took me ten seconds to disable your alarm last night.” He drills me with a disapproving look, like it’s my fault the salesman sold me a dud system.
“It’s the standard system most families in the area have in their homes. How stupid of me to not realize it wasn’t mafia proof.” He looks surprised that I know. “You might have removed every trace of your mob connections from the internet, but I know you’re part of the mafia. Why do you think I want to keep you from Rowan?”
He slams his fist down on the table. “For the last fucking time, Sierra, I am not a danger to my son!”
I jump up, knocking my chair over. “What you do for a living is a threat to my son! The people you associate with are a threat to my son! Your enemies are a threat to my son!” My tirade is interrupted by the vibration of my cell on the counter. With my chest heaving, I pick it up, swiping my finger across the screen. It’s Dion, but I can’t speak to him now, so I dismiss the call, tapping out a quick text telling him I’ll call him later.
“I will keep Rowan safe,” Ben says in a clipped tone, glowering at my cell like it’s done him a personal injustice. “I will keep you safe. We cannot change the fact he is my son. Whether I’m in his life or not, he is at risk, so get the fuck over yourself, Sierra, and sit the hell back down. I am trying to compromise, and you are making this harder than it needs to be.”
A red layer spreads over my retinas, and I’m so enraged I feel like throwing something. “Go fuck yourself, Ben.” I jab my finger in his direction. “You don’t get to dictate to me in my own home, and you sure as fuck don’t get to disrespect me. Your whores might be happy to be treated like shit, but I’m not.”
“Goddamn it.” He scrubs his hands down his face. “Why is everything so difficult with you?!” he shouts.
I like seeing him rattled. I like knowing I get to him in the way he gets to me. I’ll take his anger over cold disdain any day, once he gets the point—I’m not like all his other women, and I’m no pushover. Straightening up my chair, I sit back down, calmly placing my hands in my lap. “I won’t apologize for pushing you when it comes to the welfare of my son. Rowan is my priority. Not you and your hurt male pride.”
His nostrils flare and his fingers twitch, like they long to curl around my neck again. Hell will freeze over before he puts his hands on me without invitation again. He bristles with anger as he glares at me, and I hit him with the same smug arrogance he showed me a few minutes ago.
I watch as he physically restrains himself from losing his shit, watching the anger retreat on his face, replaced with an emotionless look I’m getting used to seeing. His shoulders relax, and his voice is level when he speaks.
“My men will be living in one of the houses across the street. Frank and Alessandro will guard you during the day and whenever you step out of your house. Ian will watch over the house at night from their living room. My security expert will install panic buttons in each room here which will link to my men’s house, and they will have access to the camera feeds as well. If you need them, you press one of those buttons, and they will be here in less than a minute.”
“I don’t understand.” I glance out the window at the houses across the road. “None of my neighbors are selling.”
“Everyone is open to selling for the right price. Leo is working on it. By nightfall, one of your neighbors will be gone, and I will own their house.”
My jaw slackens, and my mouth hangs open. He bleeds confidence and arrogance, enough to make it happen. Looking at this version of Ben, it’s so hard to reconcile him with the Ben of my youth. He is as far removed from that Ben as you can get. I wonder if there is any of the kindhearted bad boy with a chip on his shoulder left in him.
“Anything else?” I ask.
“No one can know I’m his father. Not yet. Not your family. Not the school. Not Rowan’steacher.” He practically hisses the word. Dion is a sore spot. Good to know.
“I won’t tell myboyfriend, but I’m not telling Rowan either. He’s only five, and we can’t ask him to keep such a big secret. Besides, I think he should get used to you as a friend first.” He nods, and I release the breath I was holding. I was prepared for that to be our biggest argument, so I’m pleased he isn’t fighting me on it.
Ben clasps his hands together on top of the table. “Has he ever asked about his dad? Where does he think he is?”
I chew on the inside of my mouth, squirming a little on my seat. “A month after he started preschool was the first time he asked me about his daddy,” I explain. “I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth either.”
“Spit it out, Sierra.” He drills me with an intense stare I feel all the way to the tips of my toes.
“I told him his daddy was someone I used to know but we had lost contact and I didn’t know how to find you. I told him I was sure if his daddy knew about him that he would want to be in his life and that maybe at some time in the future, when he was older, he might get a chance to meet him.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” he asks, looking pained. “If I hadn’t discovered the truth, would you have ever told me?”
I brace myself for this admission because there’s no doubt this will infuriate Ben. “No. I didn’t believe it was in Rowan’s best interests, but I was planning on telling him when he was eighteen so he could make his own decision then.”
His entire body is shaking with visible rage, and I’m betting he’s back to wanting to throttle me again. He starts unrolling the sleeves of his shirt. “Two final things.” His cold tone matches the icy look on his face as he dips his hand into the inside of his jacket. “I’m replacing your car with an armored SUV.” He pulls a handgun out of his jacket pocket, setting it down on the table. My pulse spikes, and adrenaline instantly floods my body. “And I’m giving you this.”
“I don’t want it. I don’t want a gun in the house with Rowan.”
“You’re taking it.” He gnashes his teeth, and his expression brokers no argument. Standing, he snatches the gun up and walks around the table to me. “Find someplace safe to put it where Rowan can’t find it but it’s still within easy reach should you need it. Make sure you carry it in your purse or on your person anytime you step foot out of the bungalow.” Taking my hand, he places the gun in my palm, curling my fingers around it.
It’s lighter than it looks, but it still feels like a cold, dead weight in my hand. “I don’t know anything about guns, and I have no desire to learn. Why are you assigning us bodyguards if I’m going to need to protect myself?” I put it down on the table, not wanting to touch it anymore.
“I have powerful enemies, Sierra, and it’s smart to know how to defend yourself.”
