Page 38 of His Prize
A knock came at Israel’s window, and my blood boiled with anger at the sight of who dared to interrupt us. He slowly looked over at me with frustration behind his eyes, and I knew we wouldn't be able to find a way out of this encounter.
“Might as well roll down the window for him,” I said.
Israel sighed. “I’ll bet you five hundred he’s here on Dad’s behalf.”
I pointed at him. “I’ll take you up on that bet.”
Then, Israel rolled down the window for his brother.
“What’s shakin’, bacon?” Gio asked.
Israel sighed. “What do you want, man?”
I shook my head. “Can’t you just leave us alone?”
Gio chuckled. “Well, before you shoo me away, you might want to see this.”
He tossed something into Israel’s lap, and it didn't take me long to figure out what it was.
“You’re kidding,” I said.
Israel picked up the keycards. “These are the—”
Gio nodded. “Yep, yep. They are. Those are the access cards to the penthouse of the hotel. Booked out for the next month, unfortunately.”
Israel started trembling. “What do you want?”
I pointed at him. “I won’t let you mess with us like this. There are plenty of other hotels we can go to that have penthouse suites for us to use.”
Gio grinned. “Are you sure about that?”
One by one, Israel’s brother started unloading his pockets. And with every keycard he dropped into Israel’s lap, my face grew pale. Keycard after keycard, from every hotel in the city. No doubt, booking out the penthouse suites this town had to offer.
“What do you want, Gio?” Israel asked curtly.
I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll just book a standard room. I’m sure we won’t be there long, anyway.”
Gio’s eyebrows rose. “Without any sort of security? Seems like too great of a risk for me.”
Israel growled. “You better watch your threats, brother.”
Gio held up his hands. “Not a threat, just an observation. You two are sinking ships right now, and you know a regular room isn’t going to protect you from what Dad has coming.”
I hissed at him. “And how would you know anything about that?”
Gio shook his head. “I didn’t come here to argue with you. What I came to do was offer a peace offering.”
Israel leaned back. “Oh, this should be good.”
Gio pointed to the keycards. “Pick whichever penthouse you want to stay in. I’ve booked all of them in the city. The second Dad told me of his plan to lock you guys out of that house, I had a feeling it would come to this.”
I clicked my tongue. “Spit it out, Giovanni.”
He sighed. “Very well. I want to cover whatever stay you guys need in one of these places. Think of it as my way of trying to make amends for what I’ve done.”
Israel blinked. “You’re joking.”
Gio shook his head. “I’m really not. The first month is on me, no strings attached.”
