“And why aren’t you going?” That grabs his attention. His eyes come to meet mine and I want to lose control. I want to pull my gun and kill him on the spot but I can’t.
“Someone has to run this family, Lorenzo!” Nodding my head, I keep my anger and frustration at bay.
“Fine. I’ll go,” I tell him. Turning on my heel, I leave his office and step into the hallway where Switch and Hugo are waiting. “We’re going to California. We’ll need accommodations for four.”
“Four?” Switch asks.
“Yes, I’d like it if you would come along on this one. The man we’re dealing with is slippery. He knows his in’s and out’s.”
“That still leaves one extra,” Hugo adds.
“I’m taking Tessa as well. I can’t trust her alone.”
“And Valentino?” Switch asks.
“He will busy. I’m having some tests ran on him. There’s something about him,” I say cutting myself off as we climb into the SUV.
“The fact he looks like he belongs in your family somewhere?” Switch asks with a chuckle.
“That’s exactly it.”
“You have cousins, yeah?” I nod my head.
“I do. They are distant but all accounted for. One wouldn’t have been dumped on the streets the way he was. I want to figure out who the hell he is.”
“And you trust him to follow the rules while we’re gone?” Hugo asks. I chuckle.
“Not at all. Preacher will be there as well as our other men. I’ll make sure he stays shackled if that’s what needs to be done.”
The ride back to the house is silent. I have a million things running through my mind right now. The fact that I’m taking Tessa sits front and center. I shouldn’t take her out of that house but I don’t trust her. I know what she’s capable of and I refuse to have her escape while I’m away.
As soon as we pull up to the house, I see why my decision was for the best. Marco, one of my men has a fighting Tessa in his arms. I step out of the car and shake my head with a smirk on my face.
“You got your hands full with that one,” Switch mutters.
“Indeed.” I walk toward them and when she spots me, she stops fighting. I adjust my suit jacket as I look her in the eyes.
“Feeling frisky today?” She rolls her eyes and I want to spank her ass for it. This woman drives me insane.
“Just felt like going for a walk,” she adds sweetly.
“Yes, running toward the gate,” Marco chimes in.
“I’ll deal with her. Have Linda pack a bag for me and Tessa please.”
“Tessa doesn’t have any clothes in case you forgot,” she reminds me. I keep her in her panties and shirt so that she didn’t have the inclination to try and run. I suppose that was lack of judgment on my part considering she tried today.
“You have clothes, I made sure of it. I just didn’t want to deal with things like this,” I say pointing toward her. She huffs out a breath as Marco sets her on her feet. He turns and walks back inside followed by Switch and Hugo.
“Take a walk with me, Tessa,” I tell her before walking back down the steps. She follows much like I figured she would.
“I prided myself on the safety of this place. My father doesn’t know my sister is alive.”
“What?”
“Someone and I assume it was him ordered her dead. Long story, short, she is supposed to be dead as of six months ago.”
“Why? Why would he want her dead? That’s his family!” She squeals.
“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet. To be perfectly honest with you, I plan to kill my father.” She snorts a little laugh that causes me to stop walking. I look down at her as she looks back at me. “That’s amusing?”
“Not really. From what I’ve heard about him he probably deserves it.”
“And you don’t even know the half of it. Look, Tessa. I’m trying here. The man we’re looking for has been causing trouble for us. Not only do I think he’s partially responsible for trying to kill my sister but he also bombed our ports in California. He is a smart man to a point but I also know that if he is planning attacks such as these, he isn’t far from them.”
“Meaning what?” She asks looking up at me. Damn, if only things were different I could picture myself with someone like her. I never thought I could but Tessa is the right amount of smarts, beauty and stupidity. She reacts before she thinks but that’s a quality I’m slowly beginning to like about her. She shows her true self when she does things like that.
“Meaning we’re going to California.”
“We?” She asks raising her eyebrows.
“Yes, we. If I can trust you won’t try to run. Tessa, I understand the want to kill him. I understand the need to seek revenge but I also know that he would chew you up and spit you out in pieces if he got his hands on you again. You’ve become a threat to him. One that I’m sure he’s heard about.”
“How would he have heard about me?”
“Do you think I don’t know about the other places you’ve gotten yourself into?” She shifts from foot to foot, wrapping her arms around herself. I’ve done my research as much as she has.
“So what?”
“So, the deal is you go with me but you stay close to me. I don’t want you running around on your vigilante mission. If you go off alone, there is nothing I can do to protect you.” Admitting that I want to protect her would be more than I could swallow at the moment. I’ve only just met her but the thought of keeping her has crossed my mind more times than I care to admit.
“You’re going to protect me but also let me in on this?” I reach up, running my hand through my hair.
“Yes. If that’s what you want.”
“I want to. I want to see him bleed, Enzo. I want to cut his throat with my own hands.” Her words cause me to chuckle. I knew she was crazy and could handle herself, I watched her strangle one of my men with her bare hands. It was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Reaching for her, I grab her around the back of the neck pulling her closer to me. Leaning down into her space, her breath dances over my lips.
“I expect you to listen to me and follow my rules, Tessa.”
“I’ve never been good with rules.”
“I know this all too well but again, you want the protection, you will follow them.”
“What if I don’t want the protection?”
“Don’t forget, I will still have Valentino.” Those words cause her to flinch and I like it. She’s seeing the whole picture now.
“Fine. I’ll follow your rules but I can’t promise anything if I see him,” she adds.
“I can understand that and I wouldn’t ask you to not attack if he’s seen near us. I only ask that you don’t kill him straightaway.”
“Why?” She looks confused, her little nose wrinkling up. My heart hits my rib cage a little harder. Fuck, what is she doing to me?
“I have so many questions I want answers to. They were more about my family but since you’ve stepped into the picture, I want to know more. Something deeper and darker is going on and I want to know what it is. So, do you agree to not kill immediately?”