Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
****
Masked men and guards covered the grounds. Damon slammed the door shut as his father did. Some of the Family were already there. He didn’t know how the call had come through, but Randy had already given him the warning as well as the alert.
This was a planned attack by their own people. His father had seemed surprised when he told him.
There was no sign of Randy. Entering the house, he saw guards. Some of them smoking, others stood watching. The men who worked for Isabella looked damn proud. There was no sign of the woman of the house.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He certainly heard her voice.
Entering the study, he came to a stop when he caught sight of her. She wore a white crop top, and a pair of pants, pajamas. They were covered in blood. Her long black hair fell down around her in waves. She looked ready to kill.
A bruise covered her eye, leading down to her mouth. One of the attackers had gotten in a punch, which pissed him off. He also noticed the bruise around her neck from a chokehold. Her voice also showed signs of the stress it had been under.
There were five of the surrounding capos in residence. This was unusual and Damon wasn’t happy about any of this, as all of these men were close to the Boss as well.
Isabella glanced toward him and nodded.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Damon, you shouldn’t be in here,” one of the men said.
He didn’t care about protocol. They were staring at her in her pajamas. Besides, he knew for a fact this was a fucking attack and he wasn’t going to stand by and let her get hurt. He stepped closer.
“Actually, he has every right to be here,” Isabella said. “You see, today, Damon told me about his intentions and with my father’s blessing, I’ve decided to accept him.”
“What is this?” Damon Romano Sr. asked.
“I’ve accepted Damon’s hand in marriage. It was my father’s final wish. If you’d been present during the reading of his will, you would’ve seen that he wished for me to be with Damon.” She moved toward him and he noticed her limp, which again only served to really piss him off.
She was in pain, and these fuckers hadn’t even bothered to help her.
He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close, not even caring about the blood covering her body. He’d handle whatever she needed from him and he’d do it gladly.
“I’ve got you,” he said. He didn’t expect her to accept his proposal but getting killed certainly put priorities in order.
“There has to be some kind of meeting and acceptance of this. We are unaware of your father’s wishes.”
“I can help with that,” Randy said, entering the room. He was a little out of breath but he didn’t stop as he moved toward the desk. This was her father’s study. It hadn’t been that long since he’d last been here.
Randy pulled out an envelope, the same one Isabella’s father had shown him.
It was handed to his father, who opened it and read out Philip Drago’s last wishes. He’d read the letter himself and watched as Philip got the necessary signatures to guarantee his wishes would be kept.
“Isabella Drago will be my wife. I suggest you take that to the Boss and make sure he agrees, and we’ll see this wedding handled quickly.”
“Son, you cannot stay here. It’s not … decent.”
“She was attacked tonight by a group of men. I’m not going anywhere. Randy will be here. He’ll vouch for her honor, won’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re not a capo yet,” his father said.
“No, but before I’m married, I will be.” The necessary arrangements had already been put in place for him to take his father’s capo title, but now he’d also hold the rank here as Isabella’s husband. “I imagine all of the details will be handled swiftly.”
The men all looked at each other, clearly disappointed with tonight’s outcome. Not only had Isabella lived, they hadn’t got their hands on whatever her father held on them, and his title. With Isabella gone and not married, the title would have to go to someone. His father didn’t benefit from an additional title as he held his own Capo rank. Someone, somewhere, wanted this place, and he had to get to the bottom of it.
Isabella wouldn’t die and as he’d now made his intentions clear, it had also helped whoever was after her. His reputation with women would give them the perfect reason to attack.
Fuck!
One by one, the men left and the cleanup crew arrived.
Randy led the way into the kitchen and he watched as Isabella swiped her father’s whiskey on the way out of the room. Once inside the kitchen, Randy started to check for any listening devices or bugs that might be there. “We’re good.”