Damon raised his brow. “And you think your little girl is woman enough for me.”
“I think you don’t even know how lucky you are that I’m considering you for my little girl. Don’t make the mistake a lot of men have made.”
The sudden shouting and fighting from the screen drew his attention. Philip had turned on the television. Rolling his eyes, he watched.
Isabella was on the screen and what he saw blew his mind. He’d never seen such a strong or determined woman. He licked his dry lips, taken aback by the scene. Her hair stuck to her forehead, and her face was red, but she stood tall, proud, almost begging for the men to fight her.
Pulling out of the memory, Damon released a sigh. Whatever happened, he really needed to win this woman once and for all. It wasn’t just about keeping his promise to her father, which he would do. No. This was now about his own sanity and without her, he was nothing. He needed her to survive, to love, to thrive, to flourish, and he alone could protect her.
Chapter Three
“Ouch!” Tears sprang to her eyes as she ran the brush through her long locks. Some of them didn’t want to be brushed.
“You okay?” Randy asked.
She dropped the hairbrush and shrugged. “Not really. My hair doesn’t seem to like me.” She pouted.
“How did your meeting go today?”
“As if you don’t know.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a fool. I know you’re helping him in some way.”
Randy sighed. “Your father did say you’d be aware of everything going on.”
“I told you. I know you and I know Damon wouldn’t be working alone.” She turned, crossed her legs beneath her, and gave Randy her full attention. “Come on then, what do you think?”
“What do I think about what?”
“Don’t be coy. It’s not very becoming. What about Damon?”
“What do you think about him?”
“Randy, you know I don’t want to get married. I don’t want to be at the mercy of any man, least of all someone with his reputation.”
“His reputation will keep you safe,” Randy said, placing a hand on her knee. He gave her a squeeze and she sighed.
“You’re not helping me.”
“You’re a strong woman, Bella, but even your father knew there was only so much training he could provide for you.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I hate feeling this way. I don’t want to get married. I thought the point of me doing all of this was to be able to make my own choices.”
“You don’t think you could ever have feelings for him?”
“No!” She groaned. “He’s … overbearing. He thinks he knows best.”
“Damon Romano does know best.”
“He doesn’t know everything,” she said.
Randy leaned forward. “He knows how the Family is going to treat you, honey. He knows it’s only a matter of time before something happens. You can’t keep living in a bubble and pretending you’re going to be okay.”
“I’m doing okay. I’m still alive, aren’t I?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be going on a date tonight?”
“How do you know about that?”
“I know everything. Go. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t like the thought of leaving you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t worry about me. It’s not like I’m going to do anything exciting or thrilling. We’re all good here, I promise.” She offered him a smile. Being alone in the house wasn’t exactly on her list of things to look forward to, but she had to do it sometime. Besides, there were guards outside the house, and she refused to hinder Randy’s love life because of some insecurities from her.
This had been her home for forever, and she wasn’t leaving it.
“If you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. Please, you don’t need to worry about me. It will all be good.” She kept the smile on her face even though she didn’t feel happy inside. This was all for him, not for her. She licked her lips, waited, and waited some more.
He sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go.” He got to his feet, moved to her, and kissed the top of her head. “You call me immediately if you think something is up.”
“Yep, that’s what I’m going to do. Stop stressing so much.” She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.
“You’re right. Be careful.”
She watched him go and after the door echoed its close, she kept on standing there. This was the first time she’d been alone in the house since her father’s passing.
Swinging her arms around, she felt a ball in the pit of her stomach. She was all alone. No one was around.
Biting her lip, she tried not to feel the loneliness threatening to swallow her whole.
She was fine. Everything was good.
Taking another deep breath, she spun around and headed for the kitchen. She went straight to the ice cream in the freezer, grabbed a spoon, and went to her bedroom.
Once inside her room, she kept the door open and crawled onto the bed. There were several magazines open, all with the latest celebrity gossip, and they held no appeal. A romance book was also open.
She didn’t know when she’d gotten into the habit of not making her bed. It was one element she used to be meticulous about. Now, she slid out of bed and left it like she had the night before. Unless the sheets needed washing, she didn’t really do anything.
Dipping the spoon into the creamy vanilla ice cream, she rested against the headboard.
Silence.
It was fine.
She couldn’t handle the peace and quiet. It was usually the noise she couldn’t stand.
After years of screams and cries filling her ears, this was perfect. Only, it wasn’t.
She continued to eat her ice cream when all of a sudden, her bedroom light went out. In the hallway, she saw the lights had gone out as well.
Her heart started to race.
There was no way the electricity just went out. Putting the ice cream down, she walked to her wardrobe, grabbed two guns, and made sure they were loaded and ready.
In all the years her father had been alive, there had never been an attack on the house.
She moved to the doors, looking out over the garden. There was usually a guard near the light, which was still illuminated, and she saw his lifeless body on the ground.
Her home was under attack.
“Fuck!” She’d left her cell phone downstairs.
Going to the house phone, she realized it was dead too.
Great, just fucking great. The one day Randy decided to have a life, and she let him, she was fucked.
This was what she’d been training for. She’d been with her father’s men on attack missions, and this wasn’t news to her. Only, these bastards were in her house.
Her bedroom was at the end of a long corridor. She slid out of the door, closed and locked it. There had always been a lock on the outside of her bedroom for as long as she could remember, even if her father had never used it.
Come on, you’ve got this.
The house was dark but she knew this place even in her sleep. She knew when something was out of place, just like the dark figure who had yet to spot her.