“I’m not capable of defending myself,” I pointed out after a moment.
He frowned, his eyes trailing over my body. “That’s true. You are an easy target. As I said, we don’t want people in the mansion. Remo and I will have to figure it out. It’ll be for the best if one of my brothers or Fabiano is always around when I’m not here. They can accompany you wherever you go.”
“So they are my babysitters?”
“As you pointed out, you can’t protect yourself, and while people in Vegas fear us, there are outside forces that might risk an attack and could target you,” he said and motioned me to follow him around the house toward another pool area. This space was definitely created for recreational purposes and not working out. It was a meandering pool landscape with small waterfalls and fountains. A ginormous inflatable sofa floated gently on the water. “You better not touch it. That’s Savio’s, and he uses it for female company.”
I grimaced. “Thanks for the warning.” Nino nodded.
“Have you told your brothers yet that they are supposed to play babysitter?” As hard as I tried, I couldn’t imagine Remo guarding me. I would probably manage to set him off with something I’d say and he’d end up killing me.
“They will protect you because you are a Falcone.”
Kiara Falcone. It was still difficult to believe that I was really someone’s wife. The wife of Nino Falcone of all people. My eyes traced his cold, perfectly sculpted face, wondering again why he hadn’t claimed me on our wedding night, why he was being nice. Though, nice wasn’t the right term for Nino’s behavior. I wasn’t sure what to call it. It seemed as if he wasn’t sure what to do with me. Marriage must not have ever been part of his life plan.
I couldn’t believe that my panic had warmed his heart. After all, he wasn’t capable of emotions, but I wasn’t brave enough to question his motives lest he begin to question them as well.
“But it’s crucial that you become capable of defending yourself. I don’t understand why the Famiglia keeps their women unable to defend themselves. It’s an unnecessary risk.”
I frowned. “You want me to learn how to fight?”
Nino shook his head, his mouth twitching as if I’d said something amusing. “I don’t think that makes much sense at the moment, given your fear of physical contact. Maybe later. But you will have to learn how to shoot a gun. That’s the first step and will give you a sense of security.”
“You will allow me to run around with a gun?” I asked, shocked.
His brows drew together. “Of course.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I thought he’d be wary about having me armed, but maybe he was so sure of his own fighting abilities that he didn’t worry about it.
“I think it’s best to make something clear from the start,” Nino began, and I stiffened, worried what he was about to say. “If something my brothers and I do bothers you or if you want something, you have to say it outright. No subtle hints or secretive expressions. Neither my brothers nor I are good at female subtlety, and we lack the patience to figure it out. So speak your mind if you want to make it easy on all of us.”
“I can do that,” I said, but it would be a new experience for me. My family had raised me to be careful with words and not speak my mind. Voicing my opinions to men like my husband and his brothers seemed like an even bigger challenge. He was right. If I wanted to stand a chance surviving with the Falcone men, I’d have to get over my fears. But there were so many of them, some of them so deeply burnt into my very being, I wasn’t sure I had any chance of fighting them.
CHAPTER 10
NINO
Kiara kept throwing poorly veiled glances my way as we walked into our gaming room. Remo was already there doing some recreational kicks against the punching bag. He paused when we stepped in, his gaze narrowing on Kiara briefly before starting to kick again. “I’m starving. Let’s order pizza.”
Upon seeing Remo, Kiara had stiffened beside me and her breathing turned erratic. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was only in his fight shorts or because he was beating the shit out of an inanimate object, but her fear of him was obvious. I snatched the delivery menu to one of our favorite pizza places from the bar. It was stuck to something that had spilled. I turned to her. “You will have to get used to Remo’s presence.”
She jumped, tearing her eyes away from my brother. “I don’t know if I can. I heard what he does, what he likes doing,” she whispered.