My loyalties lie with the Priesthood, a group of mafia heads created by Luca, who’s my best friend and the head of the Italian mafia, and today the Sicilians paid for constantly invading Liam and Nikolas’ territories.
It’s nothing more than business.
But I sure as fuck didn’t expect her.Little Rose.
I had to sedate her once we boarded the private jet to keep her from fighting.
As I carry her limp body into my house, I know I’m going to get a ton of shit from my family for taking her. It was either that or one of us killing her, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.
Why?
She’s nothing to you.
The answer comes instantly like a slap upside the head.
It’s because she was so fucking scared. Her fear stirred something in my chest I’ve never felt before. Something I don’t want to think about.
My house is situated on a property the whole family shares, so they’re bound to find out Rosalie’s here. The estate holds three mansions – my parents’ place, Uncle Alexei’s, and mine. There are also a couple of guesthouses that are mainly used by our guards.
My father and Uncle Alexei are inseparable and ran the bratva together before I took over. The bratva is mine by birthright as my grandfather, on my mother’s side, ruled before he died.
Over the past two years, I’ve worked my ass off to make a name for myself. Sure, I was feared because of the legacy my family created, but now grown men piss themselves because everyone knows there’s nowhere you can fucking hide to get away from my wrath should you incur it. Having a conscience is for the weak, so if someone gets on my wrong side, I’ll hunt them down, and I won’t hesitate to torture, maim, and kill anyone who dares to oppose me.
Rosalie’s cheek rubs against my shoulder, her eyes drowsily fluttering open and closed as she struggles to fight the sedative.
Again something too tender for the likes of me stirs in my heart.
“Shh…” I murmur. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
The girl was one hell of a surprise. An exquisite one at that. When I saw her lying on the bed, her perfect ass on full display, her toned legs crossed at the ankles, my first thought was that she looked like a wet dream come to life. I hardened in a split second.
Then she looked at me, and I swear the ground shook beneath my feet with the force of a thousand earthquakes.
Rosalie Manno is nothing short of an ethereal vision.
She makes me feel fucking overprotective but also brings out a dark side I never knew I had. It’s different from the one that doesn’t think twice about ending a life.
It’s savage and predatory.
I want to protect the girl, but at the same time, the beast in me wants to feel her tremble and use her tears to satisfy the hunger growing in my chest since I first laid eyes on her.
Entering the guest room, I carefully lay Rosalie down on the king-size bed. Her dark brown hair is long and wild, her olive-toned skin looking a little too pale.
I allow my eyes to drift over all of her, the tank top that doesn’t do much to hide the swells of her firm breasts, the stretch of silky skin around her abdomen, the tight shorts showing off the taunting gap between her thighs.
Jesus.
I hear footsteps, and as I glance over my shoulder, it’s to see Luca coming to stand in the doorway. He glances at Rosalie, and it has me reaching for the covers and throwing them over her to hide her body from my best friend’s view.
“Your whore?” he asks, his tone clearly stating he doesn’t know what to make of my actions.
During the flight back, I stayed with Rosalie in the bedroom in case she woke up, so we haven’t had a chance to talk about the fact that I kidnapped the girl.
“I only said I’d make her my whore to torture Antonio Manno.”
“So you’ll let her go?”
I glance at Rosalie’s sleeping face before heading out of the room. I shut the door and lock it, pocketing the key. Walking down the hallway, I feel Luca behind me, but I only answer him once we’re in the living room and I’m pouring drinks.