“Can you get Matteo, Stefano, and Luca.”
“Will do.”
Five minutes later, the men line up in front of us in the kitchen.
“Sofia, let me introduce you to my men.” I gesture to each one as I say their name. “Matteo, Stefano, and Luca.”
She smiles and goes to shake each man’s hand. I bristle as she makes contact with each one but remind myself that she is not mine. She will be with another man one day and I will have nothing to say about it. I clench my fists.
She steps back to me and I relax.
“Sofia here is in need of personal protection. I was going to choose one of you, but Sofia wants to choose for herself.”
She is beaming up at me as I glance down at her. I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
“Ask them questions. Get a feel for them.”
She looks up surprised. She didn’t think about how she would choose them.
“Okay. Um. Bachelor number 1.” I chuckle as she points at Matteo. “If I were being kidnapped on the street by four men, what would you do to protect me?”
I watch as the man in front of me smirks at her. He looks to me to see if it is okay that he answers. I nod. Matteo is in his early 20’s. He is a made man, but only just recently so. He still feels the need to prove himself.
“I would take each one of them out, then put you in my car and bring you here.”
“What if I was hurt?”
“Then the doctor would be waiting when we got here.”
She nods her head once.
“Stefano?”
“Same, Ma’am.”
Stefano is older than I am. He has been with the family for a long time. You can tell by the stiff way he responds that he is more old school. That can be good, but it can also be dangerous for her. I cross him off my list immediately.
“Luca?”
Luca is my age. He is calm and steady, but I haven’t been around him much. He is a part of Gio’s old crew, so when Gio asked me to give him a shot, I did. I might not know the kid well, but I trust Gio with my life. But he is not a made man yet.
“I have to say the same. There isn’t any other way to handle that situation.”
She narrows her eyes as she looks up at me.
“Okay. Fine. Matteo. Would you be comfortable taking a drug test?”
I chuckle as do everyone else in the room.
“Hey, it is a legit question.”
All three nod their head.
“My men do not do drugs, Tesoro.”
“How am I supposed to know that. I don’t know anything about your men.”
She’s wrong. She knows more than any other outsider. I have a hard time saying no when she asks a question.
