LEVI

I halted on the threshold and glared across the grand dining room. Geneva stood on the other side of the table with Ryder Navaro. They talked and smiled, and as soon as I turned up, she laughed and blushed at him.


This was the worst idea yet. This man beat one of my best soldiers within an inch of his life right here on our own property. Then the son of a bitch had the balls to break into her bedroom and manhandle her under our own roof.

This was not someone either Geneva or I should consider as a potential suitor for her. Ryder should already be dead. We should have hunted him down and castrated him the instant we found Nico on the grass outside the wall.

Now he was raising one finger and tracing it down Geneva's cheek to comb her hair out of her eyes. He was bending in close and whispering in her ear like he thought he already had her in the bag. The fucking cocksucker!


I would have stormed over there and broken the piece of shit in half if Nico hadn't been standing guard. He wouldn't let Ryder do anything to Geneva. I only let Ryder stay in this house because Nico was keeping watch on them every living second.

Someone came up behind me, and Charles made a disgusted noise in my ear. 'That scum-sucking eel! He should be skinned and left on the sidewalk for the birds to pick."


'I feel the same way," I muttered, 'but it's her choice. You have to admit he's a decent match for her."

'You mean because his family is your sworn enemy?" Charles snorted. 'He's a perfect match for the graveyard."

'If he fucks up once, that's exactly where he'll be going. Nico will be the first to tear his head off."

Charles chuckled in my ear. 'Where the hell did you find that guy? He's a fucking machine."

'He's a gem. I wish I could clone him and deploy an army of Nicos all over town."

One of the butlers came up to us. 'Excuse me, Consigliere. Dinner is ready. When would you like us to serve it?"

'Now, please. Come on," I said to Charles. 'Maybe we can distract her from Ryder."

I headed into the room. Geneva and Ryder both turned to meet me and Charles, but they annoyed me even more by smiling at us. Neither of them acted like we interrupted anything they should feel guilty about.

I sat down in my chair at the head of the table. One of the butlers tried to pull out Geneva's chair, but Ryder cut him off and tried to do it.

Charles shouldered the piece of shit out of the way and glared at Ryder while he pulled her chair out instead.

Geneva only smiled and sat down. She beamed at everyone in obvious delight. She must be eating up the attention of having all of us competing for her affections.

Charles shot Ryder an even more venomous glare and took the seat next to Geneva. Nico planted himself right behind her chair, and when Ryder took the only other seat opposite her, he wound up looking straight at Nico. That should teach him a lesson.

The servants moved in and started serving dinner, but I could have cut the tension with a knife.

'Your father doesn't seriously expect me to believe he had nothing to do with the Tribeca warehouse, does he?" I demanded.

Ryder started to speak, but Geneva interrupted. 'Ryder isn't here to discuss business. He's here to get to know me." She turned to him. 'I hear you graduated from Duke with a masters in international relations. Is that true?"

'That's right." He beamed back at her, and his eyes sparkled like a kid on Christmas morning. 'I went to China last year and then took a tour of Europe. I'm scheduled to go to Australia and New Zealand next year."

'That's so interesting!" she exclaimed. 'What do you do when you're overseas?"

'Mostly coordinate with my father's business contacts. It really pays to have someone in the family who knows the laws and local customs in those countries. Then we don't have to bring in ringers from outside the family. Each country is unique, and we have to tailor our business to each culture. It's fascinating. You should try it."

'I'd love to travel, but I don't get much chance. Business here keeps me so busy."

'I'm sure it does." He burst into a huge smile and then noticed me and Charles glaring at him.

How dare he try to smooth-talk her right in front of me—and why did she keep encouraging him? She couldn't be serious about giving him a decent shot to win her hand. That was ridiculous.

'Which countries have you been to?" he asked.

She blushed. 'Mostly just Europe—Italy, of course. I went back two years ago with my father to meet his relatives over there. It was kind of mandatory."

'You should visit China. I'm learning Japanese now so I can go there next. My father wants to make contact with some Yakuza bosses there so we can…"

'The Yakuza are outlawed," Charles interrupted. 'For someone with a masters in international relations, you aren't very well versed in mafia law."

Ryder only smiled at him. 'It's only outlawed to establish business relations with them—same with the Chinese Triads. My father says building network connections with them and learning their methods only makes good business sense. He says that's why the Italians are falling behind while the Russians, Japanese, and Chinese keep getting stronger—because we don't learn from other cultures."

'That is so interesting!" Geneva gushed. 'What do they do that's different from us—I mean, besides everything?"

Ryder laughed. That sound grated on my nerves. 'I can promise you we won't be doing anything the way the Russians, Japanese, and Chinese do things," I snapped. 'We have our own way of doing things. We should be moving farther away from them, not closer to them."

'You think that because you're here in New York," Ryder countered. 'If you travel to other parts of the world, you realize the whole criminal underworld revolves around the Russian bratvas, the Yakuza, and the Triads. Places like Australia don't even have an Italian presence anymore—not any worth mentioning. It's all Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. They're the only players left. We'll die out if we don't adapt to modern conditions."

'I think maybe you don't know nearly as much as you think you do," I growled.

'Let's not talk about business at the dinner table." Geneva held out her hand to Ryder. 'Tell me more about what you do when you're overseas—when you aren't working on your father's business."

He beamed back at her, and her cheeks colored. I spotted Charles fuming on her other side, especially when she almost touched Ryder right in front of both of us.

'I like everything!" Ryder blathered. 'I study the local music, the food, I go sailing, I go to the theater—whatever is going on locally. It's all fascinating."

'I'd love to do that! Have you ever gone to South America?"

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. 'No, but I'd love to. That's next on my list, but I don't think my father is very interested in it. He pays for me to travel on business, so he thinks anything else is a waste of time."

She burst out laughing, and her cheeks flushed even more. Her hair spilled over her cheeks, and she looked more beautiful and captivating than ever.

Ryder couldn't take his eyes off her. Could they really have this much chemistry for each other on his first night here?

I glanced over at Charles. If looks could kill, both Ryder and Geneva would have been dead already, but neither of them noticed.

'I've always been fascinated by South America," she told him, 'but my father said the same thing as yours when I asked if I could go there to travel around. I have some really great books on Venezuela and Peru. They're over in the library. I could show them to you if you're interested."

'That would be great," Ryder replied.

'Let's go!" She waved him toward her and started to push her chair back.

'Hold it, Princess," I told her. 'We're in the middle of dinner here. You can't leave now."

'We can eat dinner anytime. Come on, Ryder. One of the books has full-color prints of the Andes and Patagonia. You'll love it."

Ryder glanced over at me, but Geneva was already pushing back her chair, standing up, and walking away. Ryder hesitated a second and then hurried after her.

Nico shot me the most brutal scowl I'd ever seen and then stalked off to follow them.

'What the fuck just happened?" Charles snarled under his breath.

I wilted into my chair. 'She's actually going to give him a chance. I thought this afternoon that she was just being diplomatic or maybe that she wanted to use Ryder to figure out what Marco was up to. Now I see she's really going to go through with this. She's going to give him a shot at marrying her."

'What the hell am I doing here, then?" he demanded. 'It's stupid for both of us to be here at the same time."

'Don't give up so easily. You two have history together. He's a stranger."

'She doesn't act like he's a stranger." He pitched his fork down hard on his plate. 'I don't feel like eating. I think I'm gonna be sick."

'Don't give up. As long as you're here, we still have a chance to stop her from marrying him. If you leave, you leave her alone with him. You don't want to do that. You need to give her an alternative."

'You can't honestly want her to marryhim!" Charles countered. 'You don't actually think he's serious about marrying her. He's a scumbag! This is some kind of underhanded trick cooked up by his family. He's playing her for his father. You have to see that."

I lowered my voice, hoping he would do the same thing. Geneva and Ryder could come back anytime. 'I feel the same way you do, but the best way we can keep an eye on him is to keep him here. He'll show his true colors soon. Trust me. When he does, we all need to be ready to pick up the pieces, and that means offering her a good man to marry in his place."

He smacked his lips and tossed his napkin down next to his plate. 'Fine, but if he steps out of line once, I'll fucking kill him. I don't give a shit who he is."

'I know, but you can see the way she acts around him. If she really wants to marry him, you and I won't be able to stop her."

'She won't marry him. I won't let her."

'Listen, man," I told him. 'If she really wants to marry him, we shouldn't want to stop her. I care about her, and I want her to be happy. If he turns out to be the best man for her, I'll do everything in my power to make it happen."

'He isn't the best man for her," he countered. 'No way can he be sincere about her—no way."

I straightened up and pushed my plate away. I didn't feel like eating, either. 'I feel the same way, but you know the old saying. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If he's planning something with his father, keeping him here will be the easiest way to find out what it is and stop them before they do too much damage."