“The men in our lives don’t accept a woman taking charge. Any person you marry will put you in your place. You think the men are not above beating you, breaking you?”
She glared at him. “I’m very much aware of what our men are capable of.” She’d seen firsthand what they all could do. The pain they caused.
“Then you know that if you marry the wrong man, your skills will be brought into control.”
“Do you really think I’ll be easily controlled?” She was insulted by the mere insinuation that she couldn’t take care of herself.
“If you can’t be controlled, then they’d kill you. A woman who is trouble is easily taken care of.”
She stared at him. “That would be a betrayal of the highest order.”
“Betrayal or not, are you that naïve to even think all the men in our lives play by the rules? Look at your father. He never remarried and he trained his daughter to take over from him. To a lot of men, he should have been stripped of his title.”
“What are you trying to tell me?” she asked. This conversation was too much. She wanted out of it.
“As my wife, I won’t allow any pain to come to you. I’ll expect you to be by my side and only in social settings in front of the Family will you even begin to look submissive, but you will be part of every single decision.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“I don’t want a tame slave who will do as she’s told, Isabella. I want a woman who can give as good as she gets. No one else will offer you this.”
****
Later that night, Damon poured himself a large brandy. He was more of a whiskey drinker but seeing as he was staying in his father’s house, which was closer to Isabella’s, he would do with the substandard liquor on offer.
He sniffed the amber liquid and scrunched up his nose as he swallowed it down in one gulp. Disgusting.
“You don’t have good taste, my son,” his father, Damon Romano Sr., said. All the men gave their sons their name. It was a family tradition, one he didn’t wish to share with his own son.
“You no longer have the stomach for good stuff,” he said, turning to his father. “Am I to assume the meeting went well today?”
His father was one of the men within the Family who believed firmly in tradition. A woman’s place was by his side, in his bed, spitting out babies. They were entertainment and not capable of thinking for themselves.
Damon didn’t hold the same views. Rather shocking considering he was close to his father, but he also got to see a great deal of the men and women who worked for them. He’d watched the families who were close, the love and respect some of the men had for their wives.
Adele, their cook, her husband had been their groundskeeper, and the man had been completely besotted with his wife. There had been no mistresses in their lives. His father had two of them, one of which lived in the house.
“Went well? You could say that. It has been decided the only course with the Drago woman is to marry her. Three other men have been chosen. They will all come forward with a deal for the Boss. Only he will decide who gets her hand in marriage, unless of course Philip’s final wishes are discovered.”
Damon stared at his father. “Am I to assume you considered me for this offer?”
“I did consider it, yes, but I wonder what your intentions are. Would you like to marry the Drago girl? She’s cold and well, you don’t exactly have the best reputation for keeping a woman alive.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t give her to me to begin with.”
“Ah, your little curse that follows you around. Look, son, if the Family wanted her dead, they’d see to it. You know that.” His father smiled at him. “I’ve got business to attend to. What was so important you missed today’s meeting?”
“The usual.”
“Ah, I see. You and your mysteries. Well, I know you can take care of yourself.” His father slapped him on the back. There was no pain. His father had punished him many times growing up. Every single hit, punch, or break had turned him into this man. The monster.
He watched as the old man looked a little shaken. Damon didn’t move. It took a great deal to hurt him. He was a force to be reckoned with.
Once he was alone, he felt his cell phone buzz. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw it was a call from Randy.
“What is it?”
“I wanted you to know she’s here, and she’s safe.”
“Good.”
“I don’t like this. I don’t like talking to you about her behind her back.”
Damon smiled. “She has your loyalty.”
“I agreed with her father to help her when she needs it. I feel you’re her best ally right now.”
“But you don’t like me?”
“You know I don’t.”
“Not a lot you can do about it. You know I’m your only hope at keeping her alive, and they’re going to do all they can to try to kill her or marry her off.”
Randy grumbled. “She hasn’t said anything about your meeting today. I don’t know if she’s going to agree with you.”
Damon sighed. “If she knew what was good for her, she’d do it.”
“Isabella is a strong woman. She’s been through a lot and she’s fought a lot of people to get where she is.”
“Did she have to fight you?” He hadn’t thought of Randy fighting her. Philip had been open and honest with him. All of his soldiers had fought her at some point. She was a lot stronger than she appeared, and he got that, appreciated it, and had no doubt there was a fighter inside her threatening to get out.
“Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”
“I need to know if you’re loyal to her,” he said.
“You know I am and to her father.”
“How far does that loyalty go?” Randy was a good-looking man, even if he was the bastard of a soldier.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not blind. I know how sexy she is. I imagine it’s quite hard to be around her all day and not think about doing a lot more than looking. Do you let your hands wander?”
“A capo you may be one day, Damon Romano, but don’t you ever imply that my intentions are any less than honorable. Isabella is a wonderful person and I see her as more of a daughter than anything else. I will take care of her.”
“Then you make sure that she’s protected. If she doesn’t follow their orders or makes waves for them, they will come for her.” He hung up his cell phone and took a seat.
All he wanted to do was get drunk and forget about everything that was his current problem. Running a hand down his face, he leaned back and recalled the memory of talking to Philip Drago.
“Why did you bring me here, old man? You’re not supposed to be showing any kind of weakness,” Damon said. He’d never been called to Philip Drago’s house for personal business before. This was all new for him. He respected this man, even if he did seem to be knocking on death’s door.
“Let’s cut the crap. You know why I want you here and it’s not for shits or giggles.”
“Your daughter.”
“You need a wife.”