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GIA

Leo Evangelista put his arm around my shoulders, and my heart fluttered when he kissed me on the temple. “Don’t worry about this. You’re going to be great.”

I couldn’t help but blush. I hid it by pressing my handkerchief to my watery eyes. I shouldn’t be thinking about Leo right now, not when my father’s body was barely cold in his grave.

Thinking about him made me start crying again, and I didn’t have to pretend to sob into my handkerchief. Papa was dead. Now what was I going to do?

Thank God Leo was here. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me, but when I looked up into his deep blue eyes, Papa went completely out of my mind.

I shouldn’t be forgetting about Papa to get breathless over someone who was basically my uncle. Getting close to Leo was turning into something much, much more serious in the last few days… Maybe because Papa wasn’t here anymore.

I always had a schoolgirl crush on Leo. I never gave it much thought until my father died. Now, what used to be a crush skyrocketed off the charts.

Him hugging me and kissing my forehead and being right there by my side all the time only made it more obvious—to me, at least. Maybe he didn’t feel it at all. That would be just like Leo.

I tried to look down at the floor and ended up leaning against him. His body felt so strong and rock-solid under his suit. “Thanks. I’m not worried… more just nervous.”

“Well, don’t be.” He kissed me on the side of the head again, and my heart skipped a beat. “You got this.”

I had to pull my head together, and as soon as I thought about Papa, I started crying again. Leo let me go, went to the front window, and looked out at the driveway in front of my family estate.

A line of five sleek black limos purred into place at the bottom of the steps. “They’re here. It’s time to go.”

I migrated closer to the door and cringed when a tall, muscular man in a black suit stepped out of nowhere. He strode over to the first limo, opened the door, and left it open.

I buried my face in my handkerchief. “Doeshehave to come with us?”

“Yes, Princess. He has to come with us. You know the Necci family is causing trouble in town. They’ve already hit fifteen of our assets all over Manhattan, and they just hit our Tribeca warehouse last night. There are rumors swirling all over town that they’re planning to make a big statement against our family—and that means you.” He hugged me again and gave me another heart palpitation. “I wouldn’t be doing my job as your guardian if I didn’t assign you a bodyguard.”

“I know, but does it have to behim?” I shot the guy a look and grimaced. “I can’t stand that asshole.”

“You don’t have to like him. He’s here to guard you—nothing more.”

“Maybe you can order him not to talk to me, then. He pukes venom every time he opens his mouth.”

Leo only smiled at me. “He might not be the smoothest guy on the block. He grew up rough on the streets, but he’s the best we have. No, I’m sorry, Princess, but I can’t assign anyone else. Everyone else is already assigned elsewhere trying to anticipate and defend our assets against the Necci threat. Nicky Greco is the best, and I trust him. I trust him with your life, so that should tell you how good he is.”

Leo didn’t give me a chance to argue back. He pulled open the giant front door to the Leone family estate in uptown Manhattan, and we both walked outside.

A high granite wall surrounded the leafy grounds and blocked out the city beyond, but it didn’t block the sound of traffic only a few dozen yards away. That sound gave the only clue that we weren’t in some country landscape far from the New York crowds.

Nicky snapped to alert as soon as we walked outside. He pulled the limo door farther open while Leo and I slid into the seat.

I did my best not to look at Nicky. The more I wiped that guy out of my awareness, the better. Too bad I couldn’t wipe him out completely.

I sat next to Leo, and Nicky sat opposite me. He was almost as big as Leo, but they couldn’t be more different if they’d been born on different planets.

Leo might be pushing fifty, but he was still one of the strongest men I’d ever met. He could take any of the Leone family enforcers—not that he ever tried. His quiet confidence and unbreakable authority carried the day, and everyone obeyed him without question. Some people thought Leo would fade away into the woodwork after my father died, but Leo only got more powerful by the day.

Nicky’s sharp, black eyes bored into my soul from across the seat. The white scars of a thousand fights crisscrossed his knuckles, and several crooked gashes marred his face. That cruel, merciless, chiseled visage matched his personality.

I should have been happy that someone so capable, loyal, and ruthless was in charge of my security, but I could never be happy with Nicky around. He made my life a nightmare, especially now that he was my bodyguard. I had no choice but to spend practically every waking minute around him, and Leo wouldn’t let me out in public without Nicky.

Nicky’s eyes darted sideways when Leo started talking again. Then Nicky went back to glaring at me.

“We need to transfer our Tribeca operations to a new warehouse, but none of them are secure enough,” Leo was saying. “We still need to deal with the insurance companies to get back the funds we lost when the Neccis hit the bowling alley we were using to launder our funds.”

“Do you have any idea where the Neccis will strike next?” I asked.


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