Some might say I had no morals, but I did have a moral code. Anyone in my position should be required to. It was the Prince family’s code and to date, no one had dared try to go against the house rules.
I had no intention of being the first because I enjoyed breathing too much.
However, that didn’t mean a red-blooded Italian boy couldn’t dream.
Once upon a time, I’d believed I’d marry the girl. After all, she was the only one who sparked every part of me. Thank God, those days had passed.
Laughing, I slammed the car door and jogged toward the door to Alexander’s house. With two kids in the house, normally he insisted on handling business of almost any kind outside of his home. Whatever the issue was must have come up unexpectedly.
Never a good thing.
The housekeeper opened the door, something Catherine, Alexander’s wife had relented to only recently. She preferred being the only woman of the house. A tough lady, as soon as I walked in, she placed her finger across her lips as she walked by with baby number two in her arms. From what I understood, Carrington had yet to sleep through the night.
I knew nothing about babies and never wanted to.
With a chuckle, I headed to the newly renovated office at the back of the house. Before I reached the door, I heard Emmeline’s voice. She wasn’t a happy girl.
Curtailing the grin, I walked inside.
While I was quiet entering the room, all eyes swung toward me when I walked in.
Including Emmeline’s.
I wasn’t certain how to describe her expression other than she was still irritated from the interruption of the night before. But there was more to the look, her eyes holding a mystery.
Or perhaps a secret.
Maybe something as simple as the fact that while I’d held her in my arms, I’d felt something stir within us both. There’d always been electricity between us, sparks augmented from our banter, and sometimes anger. But there’d been a slight difference.
Now she didn’t blink, but was using the excuse of me walking into the room to take a break. That was short lived, but long enough for the other men in the room to take a deep breath.
I’d heard a few others call her a ballbuster. After making the mistake of doing so in front of me, two had learned the hard way insulting the lady would result in serious pain.
One to the tune of having his jaw wired shut for several weeks.
After taking a deep breath, Emmeline launched into the powerhouse Don again. She wasn’t yelling. She reserved doing so for when she was livid, so much so all weapons should be removed from her proximity. She was simply stating in no uncertain terms she was fed up with being the object of such an oppressive state.
While Alexander was taking the brunt, remaining in his office chair, holding court and waiting for the official start of the meeting, Sinclair, Montgomery, and Jaxon were leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room, Jaxon staring out one of the massive picture windows at the pool.
He nodded to me, his eyebrows arching as I moved closer to where he was standing.
The other three Capos were keeping their distance, poised near the door. Not for protection but in case they needed to make a clean getaway.
The entire situation was comical.
“I’m not going to be followed around twenty-four/seven any longer. I also don’t need anyone to spend the night outside my residence any longer.”
I narrowed my eyes, glancing at Jaxon for clarification. When had that practice started? Was there some external threat I hadn’t been told about? My entire body bristled from the thought.
“Furthermore, I am going to enjoy my time out on the town with my friends. Very much alone. I don’t need… thugs…” she hissed, pointing directly at me without turning her head.
Like the little witch she was and I said that with total admiration. I’d never believed spells could work, either used for good or evil. Hell, until I’d moved to New Orleans, I’d never believed in ghosts.
But there was definitely one living in my house in the Garden District.
“…following me when I go out. The last thing I want is to have my private life presented like fodder to my brothers. So. That isn’t going to happen any longer. Got it?”
Alexander could be a man of few words. He even had his fingers steepled, debating what he would say to her. I could see the hint of amusement in his eyes, but he was careful not to show it to her.
