Yeah, I could. Bad boys were hot.

  “Okay, I remember him to some degree. Didn’t he go to prison for shooting some other guy?”

  “Yeah, a DA and guess where he did his crime?”

  “Not New York?” I was already growing bored with the conversation. The truth was that there were enough mafia guys in the United States to fill up the state of New York. So the fuck what? If the Italians thoughts they could play games while trying to get a piece of our pie, they were dead wrong.

  “Chicago. He used to travel a lot, like all over the world. Anyway, he was convicted, which was a shocking situation. I’m surprised you don’t remember it.”

  “I remember dear old Dad talking about an enemy lost, meaning the DA but at that point in my life, I didn’t give a shit about my father or his business. I’ll repeat myself once. Don’t make me do it again. What the fuck does this have to do with anything?” DAs would always try to make a name for themselves. I hadn’t bothered learning the name of the current piranha courting the mayor’s ear. They were a dime a dozen.

  “Well, the man has skin in the game, or so I think. I need to double check the information since nothing is in black and white.”

  I glared at him, my patience now gone.

  “I think there’s a possibility he’s Bella Rothschild’s father.”

  Very little in the world truly shocked me, having seen the worst my rivals could offer, but this was enough to cause me to pause.

  And for my blood pressure to rise.

  “What did you say?’’

  “Yeah, you heard me. It certainly wasn’t made public, nor do I think Carmine wants it made public. As a matter of fact, Bella’s mother hired some private dick years ago to scour for any pictures of the two of them. She was in Chicago where they met, which must have been the trip he made to kill the DA. Now, this DA was the son of some bigwig politician from New York, so I think it was a retaliation kill. Nevertheless, after Armand did the dirty deed, he took a trip to the Cayman Islands and guess where Carmine Rothschild booked a flight to.”

  “Really? She needed a little R & R. And let me guess. Nine months later she gave birth to a bouncing baby girl.”

  “You got it.” My Capo was obviously pleased with himself. However, sometimes breadcrumbs were distributed to scatter the birds in all directions. If that was what Frederico was doing, then I’d carve out his tongue.

  “I need real proof,” I told him. I wondered if Bella had any idea. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say no, she did not.

  “I have everything that I found on the internet, which isn’t much. And I’m shoving the pieces together but it’s far too much of a coincidence. I did find one picture that confirms they met.” He pulled a photograph from the file, handing it to me. “I know it’s not a smoking gun, but it adds credence to my theory.”

  How many fucking theories were there in the world?

  I glanced at the photograph, chuckling under my breath.

  The woman looked remarkably like Bella only her hair was much lighter. The man was dressed in a suit, his smile more a leer. It was obvious by how close they were dancing that they were very close. “Where is he now?”

  “Released from prison less than a month ago.”

  Maybe Kane was right. In my world, if you believed in coincidences, you were dead.

  “Hunt him down. I want to know exactly where he is at all times. Do you understand?”

  “I figured you’d say that. I already some feelers out but he disappeared into the woodwork.”

  “Find him. Don’t fuck with me on this. It’s entirely possible the man kept tabs on his daughter, which could mean he was at her performance.”

  Kane opened his eyes wide. “That’s a longshot, boss.”

  “Maybe so, but I want him tracked down. If he’s dared step foot in Chicago, you will bring him to my hunting grounds. Is that clear?”

  “Will do. I don’t need to tell you that he has a lot of enemies. But he also had a lot of friends. The Italians like to stick together, blood or no blood.”

  “Perhaps but the hunger for wealth and power allows them to eat their own with a dash of hot sauce. Keep that in mind. I’m going to set up that meeting with Frederico. Perhaps we’ll get to enjoy some fireworks in the upcoming days.”

  “You are one evil man.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  As he walked toward the door, I fumed more than I had in years. Why did I have the feeling that my lovely Bella had no clue who she was or the level of danger she was likely in? If she really was the man’s biological daughter, then she had a target on her back. If my Capo could discover the information about who she was, anyone could.

  “Before you leave, I need you to do something else for me.”

  “Sure, boss. What do you need?”

  I grabbed the file regarding her mother, tossing it to him. “I’m going to send you the name of a facility later. I want you to make arrangements to have Carmine Rothschild transferred there. I’m paying all the expenses.”

  He opened his eyes wide. “Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

  It was time to get ready for the board meeting because I had something to do afterward. Her forty-eight hours were almost up and it couldn’t be too soon.

  She needed my protection the way I needed her light to my darkness.

  “Soon, perfect dancer. Soon.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Bella

  I checked the clock on the wall for the umpteenth time. Practice had been early this morning, maybe too much for Sleeping Beauty since he’d had a date the night before. Still, I was nervous why he hadn’t shown up at all.

  Or why he hadn’t returned my texts.

  “What’s wrong?’ Grace asked as soon as practice was over.

  “It’s not like Jonas not to show.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Then why didn’t he call?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Sighing, I noticed a couple of the admin staff were crowded around Marcia and she looked very distraught.

  “I wonder what that’s all about?”

  “Maybe Gregor is getting fired,” I teased. Gregor had stormed out of the practice session after receiving yet another phone call.

  She laughed until we both noticed Marcia had placed one hand on the wall, the other over her heart. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

  “Hold on. Is that a police officer?” I asked absently, already walking toward the hallway. I was holding my breath by the time I got to the door.

  “I just don’t understand,” Marcia said. “He wouldn’t do that. He had his entire life ahead of him. You don’t understand. It wasn’t suicide. I will not buy it.”

  “Mrs. Casper,” I said, hating the sound of my voice. It was so tiny, full of fear.

  Marcia gasped when she saw me, pushing her way through the other two administrators. “Go back to class, Bella. There’s nothing you can do here.”

  The policeman eyed me like I was some criminal. I remained defiant. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”

  “Bella. Please.” She was exasperated.

  Well, so was I. “Does this have to do with why Jonas didn’t show up this morning?” When no one said anything, I flew off the handle. “I’m his goddamn best friend. Is Jonas alright?”

  Marcia gripped my arms and I shoved her away. “Please. You don’t want to be here.”

  “Ma’am. She might have some information that could prove useful.” The police officer had no emotion whatsoever. While I understood they were trained not to care because of burnout, it infuriated me.

  “What happened to Jonas?” I’d raised my voice more than I’d intended, which drew the rest of the dancers toward the hallway. “Tell me!” Okay, I was being highly irrational, but my instinct was screaming that he was dead.

  Dead.

  Marcia couldn’t answer the question, turning around and sobbing instead but the policeman finally cleared his throat.

  “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Jonas Carrington is dead.”

  Creed

  There were days I hated board meetings. Today was one of them, likely because my mind was still reeling from what Kane had told me.

  “So we are on track with the sale next week to the Pentagon?” Ralph Booker asked. He was one of my father’s old buddies, both men attending Harvard together. They’d roomed together, fucked women together, and passed the bar exam on the same day. They’d even opened a small but almost immediately profitable law firm together.

  Bosom buddies for life.

  I’d heard, although I couldn’t buy it as gospel, that my father had broken free of the tight hold our bastard of a grandfather had on him, leaving the fold to do good in the world. Just like Styx and Easton were attempting to do.

  For a couple of years, evidently the demons had been pushed back into their cages. But as happened to all good psychopaths, the monsters refused to live in the darkness but for so long.

  While they’d remained friends, my father holding interest in the firm until his death, they’d mostly separated their business activities. Meaning Ralph was drawn to the darker side because of his love of money and power.

  Just like so many who’d lost their way.

  Now he served as a reputable board member, one of two. His reputation and contacts had proven useful in getting our little weapons firm in front of other powerful people inside the US military.

  Travis Kingsley, an Englishman with ties to Italy and Ireland as well, had proven his worth early on by enticing Europe and Canada into our folds. The rest of the world had fallen like dominoes through the years.

  I didn’t particularly like the pompous man, his arrogance and insistence on getting his nose into every area of legitimate business becoming an irritant early on. However, the three of us had agreed not to kill him.

  Or Ralph for that matter.

  They were paid well, owned thousands of shares of stock, and we’d made them extremely wealthy men. For that, they owed us their complete loyalty.

  Or else.

  “It’s in order. I double checked this morning. The final pieces are coming into place,” Easton answered. “We will make a profit of forty-two percent, up almost two full percentage points from what we hoped for.”

  Travis was beaming. “You are good at what you do. The quarterly financials are incredible so I can only imagine what next quarter’s will be. Hell, imagine the end of the year. I might have a new client for us in the coming weeks.”

  “Who are they?” Styx asked. New clients had to be vetted out carefully. Especially now.

  “Forze armate Italiane,” Travis answered as if I knew what the fuck he was talking about. “The Italian military. I had a call late last week. I’m heading to their command center in a few days to talk with them. After that, I’ll know more.”

  Italians.

  I had yet to tell my brothers what Kane had found. While they usually acted disinterested, God help me if I didn’t keep them in the loop. Why did I have the distinct feeling another breadcrumb had been dropped? Yeah, the Italian militia was a market we’d discussed for almost a year, but the timing was… odd.

  “Keep us informed, Travis, but be careful. I had a feeling we’re being tested. You know how we don’t like surprises,” I told him and Styx laughed. There was a distinct reason the three of us owned the majority shares of stocks and full control of the company. We couldn’t trust anyone, even though we’d said that about each other up until about a year ago.

  “Absolutely,” Travis said in answer. “I heard about the issue at the warehouse. One of your employees creating issues?”

  He turned his full attention on me, and I sighed, holding up three fingers. “The issue has been handled.”

  Easton lifted his eyebrows. I’d sent my brothers an email on the fake Arabian and that he was being followed. I’d fill in the blanks later.

  “Good because we don’t need the goddamn Pentagon pulling out at the last minute,” Ralph huffed. “You know how fucking squirrely the generals are.”

  Yes, I did.

  Loud voices sounded just outside the conference room, one of them sounding like my assistant.

  “No, you cannot go in there. That is a private meeting!” It was.

  Before I had a chance to find out what the hell was going on, the door was thrown open.

  “Get the hell away from me.”

  I recognized the second voice as well yet couldn’t have been more surprised at who it belonged to.

  The lovely Bella.

  “I’m so sorry, gentlemen. She just barged in, and I couldn’t stop her. Do you want me to call security?”

  My assistant was exasperated, wringing her hands.

  “Don’t worry about it, Nancy, and that won’t be necessary,” I told her. “I’ll handle Ms. Rothschild from here. Just close the door behind you.”

  Nancy wasn’t breathing by the time she nodded and closed the door behind her.

  As soon as it was closed, Bella flew in my direction, pointing her finger in my face. “You killed him.”

  The two non-family board members rose to their feet, obviously not used to a woman accusing me of something so heinous.

  “I hate to break it to you, lovely dancer, but I’ve killed a lot of men. Who are you talking about?”

  The look of horror in her eyes was brief, turning to fear then another round of anger. “You bastard. My best friend. My dance partner. You know exactly who I’m talking about since you followed us all fucking day long yesterday. Is that how you get your jollies? Spying on innocent women? You thought you could own me? Two bouquets of roses? Telling me I belonged to you? Hell, no. I can’t stand you. I assure you that I will make certain you are convicted of his murder.”

  Her defiance amused my two brothers, continuing to disturb the other two members. They obviously couldn’t see the humor in the situation.

  “Now, why would I kill your partner?”

  She was suddenly taken aback. “Because… Because we kissed.”

  I lifted a single eyebrow, laughing. Did she really believe I didn’t know about the young man? Really? She had no clue who I was at all.

  She didn’t take my response very well, moving to the conference room table and grabbing the pitcher of water. When she tossed it in my face, I heard at least one gasp.

  “You fucking. Horrible. Son. Of. A. Bitch. I will destroy you!” She was now yelling at the top of her lungs, which meant my other office employees could hear her. As much as I adored her spunk, I was furious she’d made a scene.

  However, before I could keep her from doing any additional damage, she flew toward the door, flinging it open with enough force it smashed into the wall. I watched in a mixture of anger and amusement as she stormed out.

  Did she truly believe she could get away from me?

  I wiped water from my face and sighed. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I have something to take care of.” I took long strides from the conference room, ignoring the terrified looks of my employees. By the time I made it to the reception area, she made it out the set of glass doors, rushing toward the bank of elevators.

  I grinned, given our first carnal meeting.

  But I followed her into the empty space, anticipating her attempt at punching me in the face. Before she had a chance, I wrapped my hand around her throat, shoving her against the back wall.

  She pushed both her fists into my chest, already gasping for air since I was squeezing her long neck with more force than I’d used the first go-round when she’d tried to fight me.

  Her eyes were open wide with terror and in truth, she believed that I’d killed her friend. I’d seen them walking out hand in hand from the ballet studio but had left shortly afterwards.

  “Now, while I can understand you’re mourning the death of your friend, you will learn very quickly that coming into my place of business is not acceptable under any circumstances. And calling me a murderer in front of my board members, brothers, and my employees will only bring punishment down on you. I doubt that’s what you want. Is it?”

  She was close to wheezing because she was starting to fight me in earnest, twisting and twirling her body, the fear crumbling her resolve. “Why. Why?”

  As a single tear slipped past her long eyelashes, I found myself watching it roll down her cheek. For all the times I’d had men whimpering and sobbing, begging for their lives and had never cared, the single salty bead that I could tell bothered her tremendously touched my heart.

  Without thinking about it, I rolled the tip of my finger through the tear, bringing it to my lips. As I sucked on the end, she stopped moving for a few seconds.

  When I was finished, I rubbed my thumb under one of her eyes then the other. As I lowered my head, she tried to turn hers before I had a chance to capture her mouth. As hard as she tried to keep control of the moment, preventing me from thrusting my tongue inside, she acquiesced almost immediately.

  Whereas I’d hungered for her before, the longing keeping my balls tight, today felt entirely different. I’d crossed a line already. Now, this felt like coming home. The electricity was similar to what we’d shared but her distrust was more significant.

  I dominated her tongue, enjoying the taste of her as well as the way she continued to struggle in my hold. When I finally pulled our lips apart, both our breathing labored, I remained where I was for a few seconds. She pressed one fist into my chest then the other, her actions reminding me of a cat.

  “I didn’t kill your friend, Bella. There was no reason for me to do that.” I released my tight hold, still keeping my fingers in position.

  “Why do you expect me to believe you? You saw him kiss me. He’s my boyfriend and you’re determined that I belong to you.”

  I chuckled and pulled back just as the elevator came to a halt. “My beautiful Bella. How much you underestimate me. Do you not believe that I’d learned all there was to discover about any man touching you in any capacity?”

  She narrowed her eyes, uncertain what I was saying. “Meaning?”

  “Please, my beautiful creature. Jonas preferred the company of men. Yes?”