5
Rafael
Two days later
I stepped out of the car, glancing toward Lino and Georgio where they hid from the cold in the front of the SUV. Three men stepped off the private jet I'd sent back to Spain for the purpose of transporting oneveryspecific family to Chicago. The three brothers made their way down the steps, bowing their heads respectfully as they approached me. I stretched out a hand to greet the eldest first, one of my most trusted men whom I'd left behind to help Alejandro, my second-in-command, manage my day-to-day operations in my absence. With his calm demeanor, Joaquin was easy to overlook: a shadow as he moved through the Ibiza streets at night, quietly ridding my territory of any who dared to deal without my permission.
There was nothing that happened on my island without my knowledge.
The middle brother, Gabriel, worked in technology mostly, helping to develop the top-notch surveillance that gave me eyes even where my men couldn't go. Both would help to monitor Isa, but both would need to remain out of sight and out of mind.
The youngest brother was the one who I desperately needed in Chicago. At just sixteen years of age, Hugo had already proven himself a valuable part of my business. Infiltrating the youth of Ibiza without raising suspicions, he kept his eyes peeled for boys he thought would be appropriate to join my ranks.
Not because we sought to take advantage of the vulnerable, but because we gave them a place to belong when they lacked one in their lives. Some might argue they were better off on their own rather than in the clutches of a Spanish crime syndicate, but I took care of men loyal to me.
Gabriel shook my hand with a cheerful smile, the tech-inclined man far too friendly for my liking. If he'd been only a little younger, he might have been a more appropriate friend for my Isa, more easily blended into the culture of an American high school.
Hugo reached out a hand, a serious frown on his face as he studied me. I knew the boy who sought to rise in my ranks as his brothers had wasn't interested in babysitting a teenage girl that he couldn't touch.
Turning my attention back to Gabriel, I finally spoke. "I want video surveillance in the common areas of the home, nothing in the bedrooms or bathrooms," I clarified. Not only did I not want to cross the line into perversion with her, but I wanted nothing to do with the sister, who Santiago had confirmed was a troublemaker. "Audio surveillance in her bedroom, nothing in the bathrooms."
"You've got it, Boss," Gabriel agreed.
"Trackers in her parents' cars and her friend's vehicle. Audio surveillance there as well, to be safe. Hack the security system at the Center where she spends her time and in the school. Anywhere you find she spends a fair amount of time, I want access." He nodded his head in agreement. I turned to Joaquin, staring him down. "When I say no one touches a hair on her head, I mean no one. If you value yours remaining on your shoulders, she will not be harmed in the slightest."
"You've got it. She'll be perfectly safe with all of us watching her," Joaquin agreed.
"What am I doing going to High School?" Hugo asked, earning a sharp reprimand from Joaquin when he smacked him in the back of the head.
"Respect, boy. You know better,"
"Sorry, El Diablo," Hugo murmured, nodding his head.
I smirked, shaking my head as the nickname poured from his mouth without thought. While it was undoubtedly what they called me on the streets, it wasn't often someone dared to say it to my face. Joaquin pinched his brow between his thumb and pointer finger, heaving out a sigh like his brother was an insufferable twat that just wouldn't learn. "You are here to befriend Isa," I said simply.
"Befriend her? Why?" he asked. Even Gabriel shook his head as his brother dared to let his curiosity get the better of him. But I found I couldn't fault him exactly. The only times I ever put surveillance on a person was when I suspected they’d betrayed me. What could a teenage American girl do to betray a man like me?
"Have you ever seen something and known it was yours the moment you laid eyes on it?" I asked him, leaning toward him to stare intently at his dark eyes. His nostrils flared, betraying his nervousness. He shook his head, and I suspected it was true. With his brothers being very trusted members of my family, Hugo would have wanted for nothing. "Isa is mine," I said. "When she's old enough, that will become official. Your job is to befriend her and monitor her in a way that your brothers can't do. I want you to be her confidante. I want to know everythoughtthat runs through her pretty little head. I want to know what boys she has a crush on, so I cancrushthem."
"What do I do if she wants to go on a date?" Hugo asked, staring at me with wide eyes. My reputation as a man who didn't care about the pussy that walked in and out of my life preceded me.
"Tú lo manejas,"I warned. "She will not go on a date, because you will make sure of it. Fail me in this, and I'll cut off your cock and make you eat it, Hugo." He swallowed down the lump in his throat, nodding his head in understanding finally. "She is to remain just as untouched as the day I laid eyes on her. You have the support of the Bellandis after I return to Ibiza. That combined with your brothers should be sufficient to dissuade some high school boys from touching what is mine, should it not?"
"Yes, Rafael," Hugo agreed.
"Good," I said, turning to get back in the SUV and escape the blasted cold weather. One of Matteo's men waited in a second SUV, prepared to give them a ride to the house they would call their own for the sixteen months they called Chicago home.
Life would be better once we were all back where we belonged on my island.
With Isa at my side.