“Leave him out of this,” she begged, her eyes looking up to the ceiling. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know she loved the man.
A second smile, one of pure cockiness, found its way across my face again. “Sweetheart, I couldn’t if I tried. I’m the one who sent him to keep an eye on you.”
She snapped to her feet. “You—had him—”
I raised my hand. “Chad Mannan was supposed to keep an eye on you, not fuck you.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Don’t kill him.”
“I have no intentions of killing him,” I sighed, waving my hand. It was true. I recruited him shortly after his retirement from the Dodgers fourteen months ago. He and I both knew that he wasforcedto retire.
“And the sex rings?” she prompted.
My mood darkened at her question. “I may be a violent man, Ms. Tipponi, but I am not that kind of monster. The sex rings, and our involvement, will be taken care of. You have my word,” I promised, not breaking her gaze.
She blew out her breath and looked behind me. “She is beautiful. Forgive me for assuming something so disgusting,” she said softly, cringing.
I knew what she assumed. “Things are going to be different. All you have to do is pledge the West to me.”
“You would leave control of the West to me?” Surprise was laced throughout her soft voice.
I raised a brow. “Unless you think you aren’t suited for the job,” I leaned down again, “or if you want to get out of this. Now is the time. You can take your baseball player and start a new life.”
My words hung in the air as my thoughts drifted back to Davenport and Connors, and my chest ached.
Fucking hell.
I felt a hand on my shoulder blade. “You can trust him, Emily.”
My entire body stiffened, and the ache in my chest turned into full blown pain as Karina’s soft words flowed through me.
“How do you two know each other?” Emily questioned.
“We met in a different lifetime and found each other again,” my angel explained, her voice filled with happiness.
I didn’t understand it. Just this morning, she was fearful of me, and now, she was vouching for me.
Emily’s gaze softened in understanding, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes into the back of my fucking head.
Women.
My jaw tensed as Emily offered me her hand. “You have my loyalty. On one condition.”
I took her hand in mine, waiting.
Her soft features hardened, fire igniting in her eyes, and I got to see the mafia princess at her worst.
I liked it.
“Cut his fucking head off,” she hissed.
“Are you alright?”
She turned to me, her damp blonde hair hanging down her shoulders. We were still at Tipponi’s Mansion.
Emily and I still had business to discuss, and surprisingly she wanted to get to know Karina more. She invited us to stay on the third level of the mansion, the guest house.
Xander had remained downstairs with the men I just met a few minutes ago.
