“Yes,” he answered.
“No,” Sky blurted, looking shocked.Thenstared at him.“Wait.What?”
He chuckled.“Among other things.I haven’tlied to you once, sweetheart.I’ve been patient, telling myself itdoesn’t matter how miserable I was alone as long as you were happy.That’s not the case anymore.That fucker Rodney didn’t know he letgo of a priceless treasure.”
“Rodney?What did that good-for-nothing bumdo?”Gino asked Sky with narrowed eyes.
Sky glared at Ryker now.“You didn’t need totell everyone about my personal problems.”
“That’s what family is for, isn’t it?”hesaid, slipping away.He smiled at the sound of Sky’s frustratedvoice, explaining to Gino why she’d called him.
Ryker nodded to Stefano and Roberto guardingthe staircase that would lead to Giovanni’s office on the secondfloor.Both men were in their early forties but looked a lotyounger.Giovanni was never without either of them when he headedout.
“Finally made your move?”Stefano asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,”Ryker answered mildly.
Roberto snorted.“When you first brought herhere you immediately announced that anyone who so much lays afinger on her, loses their hand.Doesn’t take a goddam genius tofigure out she’s yours.”
Ryker had to admit he might have beenoverprotective of Sky in the past.Hell, even now he instantlyentered a murderous rage whenever some other man would try to lay aclaim on what rightfully belonged to him.Giovanni and Gino mightbe exceptions because they saw her as family, but anyone else whoso much as flirted with his woman had it coming.
Ryker made his way to Giovanni’s office.Despite knowing Giovanni always kept his door open to anyone in theFamilia, he knocked.Giovanni looked up from his laptop.
“What happened?Did the deal with the Petrovfamily go south?”Giovanni asked him as he settled on the chair infront of the desk.
Ryker shook his head and pulled out a filefrom his inner jacket pocket.“Like I said, that deal’s been sealedyesterday.I came here to drop the signed papers off.”
Giovanni raised one eyebrow.“That’s all?We’re not going to talk about why my adoptive daughter is back inthe city?”
Ryker blew out a breath.Of course Giovanniwould know.“Did you see us getting out of my car from yourwindow?”
Giovanni chuckled.“You know me better thanthat, boy.”
He growled.Giovanni knew he hated it whenhe called him “boy”.“You’ve been keeping tabs on her, I know, butnot to this extent.”
Giovanni’s expression turned serious.“Yougave her space, distanced yourself from her all these years.Thatrule doesn’t apply to me.”
Giovanni once told him that Sky reminded himof the daughter he’d lost in a violent shoot-out.But over theyears, despite his attempts to try to give Sky a normal life faraway from the mafia, her relationship with Giovanni only deepened.Ryker wouldn’t deny her that.Ryker knew the importance of adoptivefamily.He trusted every single member of the Familia, and they hadhis back even if not a single drop of Severin blood ran in hisveins.
“So, tell me,” Giovanni pressed on.“Howlong is she staying, or is it a temporary move?”
Ryker didn't miss Giovanni’s hopeful tone.It was rare for Giovanni, a man who was usually stoic andunreadable during public appearances and business deals, to showany emotion.
“She’ll be here, with me.Permanently.”Ryker placed an emphasis on the last word.Back then, both of themagreed it would be better if Sky experienced a life far from theFamilia.That changed when he realized she’d been miserable, cutoff from him and the rest of them.
“I see.Have you come to ask for myblessings then?”
He scowled.“She’s mine.Sky’s my woman, andshe’ll be my wife whether you agree or not.”
A gasp came from the doorway, and he turnedhis head to see Sky’s wide-eyed look.
“S-should I come back another time?”sheasked Giovanni, blushing furiously.She shot him a glare as he rosefrom his seat.
“Nope, go ahead.We’re done.I’ll be waitingdownstairs, sweetheart.”
“Don’t make plans without telling me,” shesaid in a low voice as he passed her by.
He grabbed her shoulder pushed her againstthe wall, pinning her hands above her head.She didn’t fight him atall as he took what was rightfully his.Ryker kissed her the wayhe’d soon fuck her, deep and unapologetic, not caring that Giovanniwatched.
