It all worked out for the best in the long run. I just wish it wouldn’t have taken six damn years away from us.

“Your dad bring you in this morning?” Stephano asks in his Italian accent.

He’s quite a bit older and I’ve been working with him for three months now, but God, his accent gets me every time.

“Yes. You would think I was still a child. He’s the worst of the bunch.”

I take a sip of my coffee. Everyone here knows what happened to Manny and me. Everyone has been on high alert for over two years, waiting for Royal to strike. I’m hoping he’s dead somewhere, either by my father’s hand or from a drug overdose. Either way, I hope he’s rotting in the farthest corner of hell alongside all the rest of them.

My dad has practically devoted the past couple of years to sticking by my side, making sure I get to school and now work safely and returning me home if Cain’s not around to do so. They guard me more now than they did when I was in Canada. I feel like I’m in grade school all over again the way he fusses about me all the time. For a man who pulls a trigger for a damn living, he sure is a softy.

I pull my hat off of my head when I enter the office. The phones are buzzing. All the secretaries with their head pieces at their ears are chatting away.

“See you in a few minutes,” Stefano says as he goes one way and I go the other.

“Going over the Belmont case one more time before it starts?” I question.

We’ve been burning the midnight oil the past several weeks over this case. It’s my first big trial as an assistant defense attorney for one of Salvatore’s men who is being prosecuted for computer hacking. One little slip up and he was caught, although we are searching for the proof we need to somehow prove he was set up.

An inside job that should have been an easy one for him went sour the minute he hacked into a Mexican drug cartel’s personal computer system. Brian Belmont is one of the best black hat hackers around. He should never have been caught.

To say I’m nervous would be putting it mildly. This case will take months, another reason why everyone is on high alert. The least mention of drugs sends everyone on a frenzy looking for Royal, so I understand why Brian did it. This family is leaving no stone unturned. No option untouched in their search.

Which leads me now to the two men sitting in my office when I enter. Cain approaches and takes off my jacket for me.

“Hey, babe,” I greet him.

“How’s my sexy wife?” he asks, kissing me briefly on the lips.

“Irritated,” I grumble, sitting in my chair and pulling off my ugly boots. I toss them in the corner and slip my feet into my leopard print Valentinos. Cain slips his sexy self into a chair across from me. God, that ass of his still gets me wet.

“Work from home. I’ve told you this.”

“Ha! I would never get any work done.”

“Maybe a little.”

He smiles that big smile of his. I’m going to have a wet spot in my chair before I even start my day.

“Every morning and every night,” he licks his lips.

I roll my eyes.

“You two are nasty. Can you at least wait until I’m gone, for God’s sake?” Roan chips in.

“I don’t know, man. You have me sitting in my wife’s office at eight o’clock in the morning. She’s dressed in a tight skirt that shows off her ass…”

“Cain, stop it,” I laugh, interrupting him.

“Can’t be helped,” he shrugs.

“Anyway, I thought you had an early meeting this morning.”

I look between Cain and Roan. He no longer goes by Manny now that he’s the underboss and second in command behind Salvatore.

“You’re our meeting,” Roan says.

“I’m confused.”

I give my husband a snarly look, my glare asking, “Why didn’t you drive me in this morning?”

“What?” he holds his hands in the air. “I had a meeting before this one.”

“Sure you did.”

My attention goes back to my boss.

“Please tell me you’re not in any kind of trouble. You didn’t knock up some chick, did you?” I tease, although it wouldn’t surprise me.

He’s a damn slut. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the chicks he bangs don’t pay him for sex. He may be my cousin, but I’m here to tell you he is hot. He’s bulked up so much over the past two years, it isn’t even funny. Not to say my husband hasn’t done the same, because he has. These two live in the gym every chance they get.

“Hell, no. You know I wrap it before I tap it,” he winks.

“Yuck,” I scowl.

“Yuck is right. I hate those damn things. You need to settle your ass down and find you and your dick a nice, warm, and cozy home to live in,” says Cain.

“Would you stop? That shit will never happen. Not all of us are destined to be as lucky as you and find someone as wonderful as Calla, here.”

Roan flashes a shit eating grin my way.

“Are you trying to butter me up, Roan? Because if you are, you have about, oh, two minutes to tell me what it is you need. I have a meeting I need to get to.”

Just then, there is a knock at the door and I go to stand.

“Excuse me.”

“I’ll get it. Stay off your feet.”

Cain gets up and greets Stefano.

“I’ll be right there,” I tell him and then glare at these two.

“Actually, he’s part of the meeting.”

All three of the men stand across from me on the other side of my desk.

“What’s going on?”

Roan walks to my desk, placing his palms down on the edge and leaning into me.

“You’ve heard of Alina Solokov, right?”

“Ivan’s daughter? Yes. I’ve met her a few times. She’s extremely nice. Why do you ask?” I inquire, confused by the subject.

“Well, it seems that several years ago, she and my brother had quite an affair. When she left to go study abroad, it broke him. My resources tell me he has never gotten over her.”

I peer around Cain to gauge his reaction. He just lifts a brow.

“Okay. Well, what does this have to do with me?”

“You’re going to befriend her. Set her up with me.”

I jump out of my chair, feeling my blood pressure rising by the second.

“I most certainly am not! That’s like… oh, I don’t know. Playing with fire? I cannot believe you would even ask me to get in involved with something like this. And you?” I point at Cain.

“How could you go along with something like this? Same goes for you, Stephano.”

“Relax, Calla. You won’t be in any type of danger. Alina doesn’t even have a relationship with her father. They’ve been estranged since she was a child. She wants nothing to do with him. Do you honestly think I would agree to put my wife’s life in danger?”

I rub my temples, staring down at my coffee cup and wishing to God I had something stronger to pour in it.

“What exactly is it you want me to do?”

“She lives with my daughter on the upper east side,” Stephano chimes in. “I’ve invited both girls to have lunch with you and me tomorrow. It’s simple, really. We’re at lunch, and along comes your husband and cousin. You see, we have it all worked out.”

Stefano and his damn accent. I don’t like it anymore, or this idea. Not one bit.

“You said ‘befriend’ her. I wouldn’t exactly call her my bestie after one lunch.”

“You let me take care of the rest. You just be there tomorrow. Feel her out for me before we arrive,” Roan says.

“Fine. Just this once. I really hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing. If my brother is still hung up on her like rumors say, then my guess is, he knows she’s back in the country.”

“You’re putting her in danger, Roan,” I whisper.

“She’ll be in even more danger if my brother gets to her first!”

Acknowledgments

To Shane. My Hero.

I’m acknowledging you, the reader. The one who continues to support, to message and to define the very reason why I continue to write. Thank you for believing in me!