“As immigrants to this country, they were willing to do whatever needed to put food on the table. My great-grandfather was a man of few words, but he loved his family. Nothing was off limits. He would lie, cheat, steal, or kill to protect those he loved. Part of his legacy was to pass on those qualities to his children, including my father. Who then passed them down to me and my brothers.”
“Oh…” Just that one word passed her lips, but it conveyed so much more.
“My father wanted us to go the straight and narrow, and we built our lives around those careers. Me in the military, then the restaurant business. My other brother, Marco, also runs one of our family restaurants and he’s also the family lawyer. Our youngest brother, Leo, is the only one close to the other family business, and he works in Providence, Rhode Island with a close family friend.”
Hyacinth wanted to jump up and down. She knew there was something more to him. It explains the call she overheard. All the pieces were falling together. A smile fought to show on her face, but she had a feeling he wasn’t done.
“Seeing what happened in your apartment set me on edge. I don’t know what occurred at your place or who came after you, but I need you to know that nothing will happen to you on my watch. I’ve already contacted some of my guys and they’ll be in town shortly. You don’t go anywhere without one of them by your side. Don’t worry, you’ll meet them soon enough, so you’ll know who they are.”
Oh, this was too good. Her pseudo-boyfriend and the owner of the business where she worked was basically telling her he was part of the mafia. Laughter bubbled up, and Hyacinth couldn’t help but curse her stupid luck.
What would he say when she told him her father was connected to some of the most dangerous criminals in Las Vegas? Hell, considering what happened to her place, she would have no choice but to contact her parents.
Fuck.
This just got a bit more complicated.
Chapter 16
Once they arrived back at Rhys’s place, Hyacinth sat on the couch while he took her bags and walked to his bedroom. Her mind was still overcome with thoughts about what happened back at her apartment. She replayed every interaction with anyone she’d come into contact with during the past couple of months. When nothing came to mind, she went back through the last couple of years.
Sure, she’d had the minor argument or disagreement with people, but nothing that would rise to this level. Not even her ex-boyfriend…
“Hey babe,” Rhys said as he walked into the front area. “Let’s try to figure out who could be angry enough to break into your home. Any idea who would be this upset with you? Can you think of someone you pissed off recently?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about that. No one that I can think of, but maybe it’s not someone who’s been blatant with their hatred of me.”
He sat down next to her and placed one arm over the back of the couch. “Do you have enemies? Maybe you took a promotion from someone?”
“No. I don’t think that’s it.” She sighed, leaning her head back. “Actually, I was only thinking about my personal life. I hadn’t even thought about work. Fuck. This is going to be harder than I thought.” Glancing over at him, she smiled before lifting her head for a quick kiss. “I need a drink. Want anything?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.” As he watched her lift from the couch and walk over to the bar, Rhys couldn’t help the thoughts running through his head. Maybe this situation had nothing to do with Hyacinth at all. He’d been spending a lot of time with her. His family had a lot of enemies. If given an opportunity, would they take the chance and make their presence known? Threatening women meant nothing to them. Killing women was supposed to be off-limits, especially if they were involved with someone so close to the family. If the break-in at her place was because of her connection to him, then heads would roll.
“I need to make some phone calls,” Hyacinth announced as she sat down next to him.
At her words, his interest was piqued. “Who do you need to call?” There shouldn’t be anyone she needed to reach out to, other than him. Then again, when did he become her protector? They were fucking. Seeing each other? Dating? Looking at her, he shook his head. Yeah, it was so much more than just seeing each other or dating. This woman was going to be the death of him, or she would make him more than he ever expected.
“My father.” Hyacinth knew she wasn’t quite ready to tell him everything, but it was time to let down some of her walls. “My dad will want to know what’s happened here. Actually, he needs to know.” She took a deep breath. “My family wanted me to build a life that was different from theirs. They grew up in the streets. My father was connected, but he wasn’t some big time criminal. Mostly low-level stuff, but he did enough to earn enough money to take care of me and my mom. Enough to make sure I could move here to go to college. We weren’t rich, but we were comfortable enough to not want for anything. He and my mom wanted me to leave the life behind. But…”
Rhys interjected. “Just because we may want to leave the life, it doesn’t always want to let us go.”
She took another sip of her drink. “Yes, exactly. My parents have always been involved in my life, even as they tried to let me be independent.”
“How’d that work out?”
She laughed. “Not so hot. Anyway. He has enemies. They could have found me here. This could be an attempt to get back at my father for some slight. Even if it’s a small chance, I still need to tell him. He can put the word out to find out if this was a move against him.”
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer. He placed his chin on her head and inhaled her scent. She always smelled so damn good. “Do you think this is really about your dad?”
Hyacinth shook her head. Snuggling closer to him, she turned her head to rest against his chest. “I just don’t know, but I need to find out. There’s nothing else I can think of to explain it. This was not a random break-in. With how my room was trashed, this seems very personal.”
He silently agreed, but didn’t say anything. His guys would do their own investigation to see what they could shake loose. No one attacked what was his, and make no mistake, Hyacinth belonged to him. No longer interested in talking about this anymore, he shifted his body as he turned her to face him. “Our time this morning got interrupted.”
She tilted her head as she stared into his moss green eyes. “Rhys, I need to call my father.”
“Later.” He pulled her shirt over her head, baring her bra covered breasts to his gaze. “I want more of what we had last night and this morning.”
She smiled at him as she climbed over his lap, straddling his jean-clad legs. “What do you want to do about it?”