1
LEONA
“How do I look?” I spun so my floor-length gown twirled around my feet. In the mirror, the black fabric made my bright red hair pop, and the plunging neckline was a flawless blend of sexy and sophisticated.
The ideal dress for my twenty-first birthday.
The perfect dress to get Max’s attention once and for all. After tonight, he’d finally realize I’d make the perfect wife.
I glanced at my bodyguard, who stood watching me with arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe to my room. Caspian rolled those deep blue eyes and turned around, but I caught that flicker of interest, the slight raise of an eyebrow. He liked it. My chest warmed.Hell yeah, this dress would work.
“Well, Cas?” A smile pulled up the edges of my lips. It wouldn’t kill him to pay me a compliment.
“You’re going to be late, princess, and then everyone will blame me.” He adjusted his tie without turning around. His form-fitting designer suit showed off his muscled figure and just the barest hint of the twin guns he kept tucked away inside. He was the deadliest man at my father’s command, and everything about him oozed it. But through our fifteen years together—almost eight of which he had been my bodyguard—I knew himto be a cinnamon roll at heart, even if he could kill a man with his little finger. “You know you look gorgeous, so why even ask?”
Because I love to see you ruffled. I smirked while pulling out my tube of red lipstick and quickly brushed it over my lips to refresh the color. There. Fucking gorgeous.
“I’m ready.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder, admiring the dress and my mess of curly red locks before slipping on the black platform heels that gave me an extra four inches. Even with the heels, I was still significantly shorter than Cas. “Are you excited?”
“To babysit you all night? Please.” He grunted at the tie, so I took over and looped the knot quickly before brushing my hands down the broad expanse of his chest, smoothing out the fabric of his suit. If I were a betting woman, I would have said his breath hitched a little, but I decided not to tease him.
“It’s no different than any other night,” I said. My bodyguard took his job very seriously.Tooseriously most of the time. I sighed. I supposed that is what my father paid him for. “You look very handsome, by the way. See? It’s not that hard to compliment someone when they look nice.”
“Exactly. Why would tonight be any more exciting than any other night babysitting your ass?” He followed me out of the room and down the hallway. The Vero estate was huge, with my rooms taking up the third floor. “And thank you.”
I snaked my hand into the crook of his elbow as we reached the top of the stairs. His large hand came to rest on top of mine, and he squeezed it tightly. My grumpy bodyguard. “Because it’s my birthday. You could at least try to have fun.”
“You’ll have more than enough fun for the both of us. I have a job to do.”
“That I will, Cas. That I will.” I patted his arm as we walked down the stairs to Dad’s floor. Cas was a fantastic bodyguard, but he never let himselflive. Ever since he came into our lives,he’d been focused on his skills. “Maybe if you’re lucky tonight, you’ll find a girl who doesn’t mind your grumpiness. She could help loosen you up a bit.”
His eyes snapped to mine and narrowed, a strange emotion flitting across his face for all of point-two seconds before disappearing. “Don’t start with me, Leona.”
“You’re no fun. Come on, let’s find Dad so we can get downstairs. Maybesomeoneat this party will actually want to let loose.” A little smile threatened to plaster itself all over my face, but I held it back. Maybe Max would. Heusedto dance with me back when we were kids. Back before our mothers died.
Pushing back the hard memory, I chose to embrace the present. We’d grown up since then, and I fully intended to enjoy myself tonight.
“He’s in the study.” Cas gestured, disentangling my arm from his and refusing to meet my eyes. My father’s private rooms, personal study, and the library took up the second floor. “I’ll wait for you here.”
“You can go ahead downstairs, Cas.” I walked down the hallway, adding an extra sway to my hips. A glance over my shoulder caught him staring at my ass. He quickly looked away, and I grinned. “We’ll meet you down there. I have to talk to Dad about something.”
As soon as I got close to the study, he finally headed downstairs.
He had nothing to worry about. No one was going to attack me in the middle of my house during mybirthday. I was as safe as I could be. Our entire army was here, as were the forces of the other four of the Five Families. Nobody was getting in to hurt us tonight. We could all relax.
“Dad?” I called. The double doors were slightly ajar, and hurried voices came from inside. Business calls, usually on speaker or video conference. He was always working, but thatwas the life when you were one of the Dons of the Five Families of New York. Work was inevitable, at least for him.
For me? The life of a mafia wife awaited me—that of a socialite heiress only expected to secure alliances, host public charity events, and further the family line. I’d long since stopped resisting the role. As a teenager, I used to beg to be included in my father’s work, mainly because Max and Cas got to be. But my father had made it exceedingly clear that I would never be invited into the criminal side of the Family. After years of arguing, I finally gave up. I embraced the princess role, even if it left me feeling useless and alone.
I’d still tried, though, to be relevant and valuable. I’d chosen a Business major with a focus on Finance, just in case Dad ever changed his mind. So far, it wasn’t looking good.
I’d been in love with Max since I was twelve, but that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to marry him. It was also the best way for me to be included in my family’s legacy. To carry on as my mother would have wanted. To make our family mean something for generations to come.
“The Shadows won’t take a promise of payment without guarantee,” one of the voices in my father’s study said.
“What other guarantee needs to be said besides I am the head of the Vero Family?” My father replied, voice strained. “Get them on board,now. Or there will be hell to pay. He will not remain passive forever. We have to get rid of him before it gets worse.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Luciano,” another voice cut through the conversation. I couldn’t place their heavy accent, but it might have been Eastern European. “You’re playing a dangerous game. If you’re not careful, it’ll affect us all.”
