CHARLES

Iclasped Geneva's hand and bent down to kiss her. 'Don't stay out too long."


'I won't. I just need to get out of the house for a while."

I turned to Nico, who stood guard by the front door, but Levi was already talking to him. 'Are you sure you don't need more than that?"

'We already have cars flanking the limo, and we'll have plain-clothes guards shadowing us through the mall. If we take more, it will only attract attention." Nico's eyes shot over to me and Geneva.


His gaze communicated an unmistakable challenge. He didn't want me anywhere near Geneva, but I was getting used to that. Nico didn't trust anyone near Geneva—except maybe Levi. That was what made Nico the perfect bodyguard for her.

I trusted him, though. I wouldn't let her off the property with anyone else. No one would get within a mile of her with him around, and if they did, he would break them in half.


He only got more ferocious with every passing day. He glared at me every time I even talked to her, but I didn't mind. He was doing one hell of a job, and as soon as I married Geneva, he'd be working for me. He was one member of the Levine family whose loyalty I would never have to question.

Geneva pulled away and went over to Nico and Levi. She hugged Levi and kissed him on both cheeks. 'Don't worry. I'll be fine."

'I know, Princess." He let her go and pushed her toward the door. 'You go on. You need to get out for a while so you don't feel like a prisoner in your own home."

She pointed at him while she backed toward the limo parked outside. 'When I get back, we'll talk about the latest attack on the East River café."

He blew her a kiss, and Nico followed her outside. Levi and I gazed at her from the threshold while Nico held the limo door open for her to get in. She beamed at us and waved. Then he slammed the door, and she was gone.

Nico got in on the other side, and the limo pulled away. Levi and I watched until it got out of sight. I probably could have stood there watching until she came back, but Levi stopped me by shutting the door in my face.

He was halfway across the foyer when I woke from my reverie. I hustled to catch up with him. 'What did she mean about a café on the East River?"

'It's nothing." He rifled a few pieces of snail mail and then pulled out his phone. 'It's just something business-related."

'Maybe I should know about it. If I'm going to marry Geneva, you should probably bring me up to speed on your business now. That way, I can hit the ground running when it comes time for me to take over."

He glanced over at me and then went back to checking his phone while he crossed to his office. 'Let's not put the cart before the horse, son. I'll bring you up to speed when the time comes…ifit comes."

'What does that mean?" I followed him into his office. He was really starting to piss me off paying more attention to his phone than to me. 'Do you know something about Geneva's plans?"

'I don't know anything you don't." He rotated behind his desk. 'She just hasn't made her decision yet."

He put his phone down and started going through a bunch of papers on his desk. He pulled his laptop toward him, opened it, and woke it up.

I stiffened and braced myself to confront him. 'When will she make her decision? If she doesn't know by now whether she wants to marry me, maybe I should start wondering why. Do you know whether she's leaning away from marrying me?"

'I have no idea which way she's leaning or if she's leaning anywhere at all. She doesn't confide in me."

'That's bullshit, Levi," I snapped a lot louder than I meant to. I instantly regretted it, especially since his head shot up, and he locked his piercing eyes on me. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, but you have to admit she should know by now. Shouldn't she?"

He finally stopped messing with his stuff, straightened up, and gave me his undivided attention. 'I realize you love Geneva and she loves you, but you aren't her only suitor. I shouldn't have to explain this to you."

'You can't seriously intend to let her marry Ryder Navaro. That's absurd. She's just going through the motions with him. She has to keep up appearances for the sake of tradition."

Levi shrugged. 'That's her business. It sure looks to me like she's serious about considering him. I wouldn't have let him in the house if she wasn't."

'That's nonsense. This whole thing is nonsense. I've known her all her life, and our families have been allies even longer than that. If she doesn't know by now whether she wants to marry me, then something must be wrong."

He went back to rifling his papers. He muttered in an undertone like he was talking to himself. 'In any case, you and Ryder aren't her only suitors, either."

'What did you say?" I practically bellowed. 'Talk to me like a man and not like a little kid you can just dismiss with a wave of your hand."

'I said," he repeated with exaggerated slowness, 'that you and Ryder are not her only suitors. Try to deflate your head a little, and people might take you more seriously."

I gaped at him with my jaw on the floor. 'Who is it? Who are her other suitors?"

He took a deep breath, flared his nostrils, and pursed his lips. 'Fine. I'll tell you—not that it's any of your business. I proposed to Geneva if you must know."

I couldn't put my eyeballs back in their sockets. My brain short-circuited trying to grasp what he just said. 'You!"

'Yes, me. I wasn't going to, but when she told me she was serious about considering Ryder, I threw caution to the wind. I figured that if she was going to such lengths to consider someone who is her known enemy, she might want to consider me too."

I collapsed and had to prop my arms on the desk, but I couldn't stop gawking at him. 'But you're… you're…"

'I'm what? I'm old enough to be her father? Is that what you were going to say?"

'I only mean…"

He waved that away. 'I love Geneva. I've loved her since she was little, and now she's the most beautiful, intelligent, astute woman I've ever met. I would do anything for her, including marry her. Marrying me would be the best thing for the family. We wouldn't have to worry about bringing in an outsider to take over."

I gasped for air. I didn't seem able to get my head to kick back into gear. Levi Evangelista—proposed to Geneva!

The whole thing staggered my mind. Him! He was old enough to be her father, but he had also been the lynchpin holding the Levine family together for decades. He'd been a hell of a lot closer to Geneva than I ever had been.

What chance did I stand next to a guy like that? No wonder she was postponing her decision. If she married Levi, they would put the fear of God into the whole mob world. The Levines would become even more powerful for all the reasons he said.

The family wouldn't fall under any other don. All of Don Alonzo's power would remain consolidated with Geneva and Levi until they had an heir.

My guts twisted thinking about Geneva having an heir with any other man. Levi Evangelista! What woman on the planet wouldn't melt into a puddle at his feet? He was every woman's dream. Him being almost fifty only made him ten times, a thousand times more powerful, intimidating, and attractive.

He picked up his phone and put it back in his pocket. 'You can shut your mouth now, son. It isn't that big a deal. Just don't come banging down my door again asking when Geneva is going to make her decision. She'll make it when she's ready, and the rest of us just have to hold our breath and keep our fingers crossed."

I shut my mouth with a click and pulled myself upright, but I couldn't stop reeling from the bomb he just dropped on me. Was this the man I had to compete with? What chance did I stand? I might as well leave the estate right now and clear the way for him to marry Geneva.

I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that. As long as I held out any hope, I had to stay near her. She didn't go through with all those beautiful playtimes out in the grounds for nothing.

I took another look at Levi. Was she doing it with him too? Why shouldn't she? He must have charmed the panties off her when he finally proposed and told her how he felt.

The image of them kissing and more flashed in my mind. He might have touched her and done it with her right here in this office.

That picture should have made me jealous, but it only turned me on. Was that why she asked about me sharing her with another guy? Was she thinking about Levi?

Let him watch. Do you want me to fuck you right here in front of him? You want to show off for Levi? Do you want him to watch me fuck you right here against this tree? You want him to see how turned on you are, don't you?

Maybe she took those words literally… or maybe he did. Maybe he got turned on watching me fuck her… or maybe she got turned on by the thought of him watching me fuck her.

A knock on Levi's office door startled me out of my thoughts. The door eased open before either of us could say anything.

Ryder stuck his head around the door and peeked inside. 'I heard voices in here. Do you mind if I come in?"

Levi narrowed his eyes at him. 'What do you want?"

'I want to talk to you." Ryder tiptoed into the room, shut the door behind him, and advanced to stand next to me.

Ryder tried to smile at me, but I only glared at him. What the fuck did this asshole want now?

'What's up?" Levi snapped. 'I'm kinda busy here."

'Oh, right!" Ryder babbled. He rubbed his hands down his pants and fidgeted a few more times. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. I'd never seen him this nervous. 'I just wanted to talk to you about something if you have a minute. It's… it's kind of important. I would have told you before, but with Geneva around all the time, I wasn't sure when I could see you alone."

'I'm not alone." Levi waved to me. 'As you can see."

'Right." Ryder rubbed his hands together and glanced over his shoulder toward the door. 'Well, if you want to do it another time, we could…"

'Just say it," Levi snapped. 'What did you want to talk to me about? If you don't want to talk in front of Charles, just say so, and he can go somewhere else."

'No, no," Ryder jabbered. 'I don't mind. I mean, he should probably hear this too."

Levi scowled even worse. 'Is this something about Geneva? Please tell me you're withdrawing your proposal so the rest of us can go back to living without you slithering around."

I laughed out loud. That would be perfect if he did withdraw it.

Ryder spun around to stare at me and then squirmed again. 'Actually, I do."

Levi and I froze staring at him. 'Come again?" Levi asked.

'It's like this," Ryder blurted. 'My father… and my brothers… they have this plan. I didn't know about this before yesterday. I swear it. I really did want to marry Geneva. I still do, but under the circumstances…"

'What plan?" Levi cut in. 'What are your father and brothers planning?"

'They hijacked my plan to marry Geneva. They didn't tell me until they were about to drive away yesterday after meeting with you. My father told me he plans to steal all Geneva's inheritance, dump her in the gutter, and leave her destitute to get his revenge on Don Alonzo. I didn't know anything about this when I proposed. You have to believe me. That's the only reason my father agreed to let me go through with this proposal."

Levi and I gaped at him, and for the second time, all the circuitry in my brain seemed to shut down. He couldn't be saying this. No way.

'You have to believe me. I really did want to marry her. That's why I have to leave. I have to withdraw my proposal and go home. That's the only way to stop their plan. I couldn't live with myself if I went through with it and anything bad happened to her." He looked down at his hands. 'I didn't expect to feel this way about her… but I guess you two are the wrong people to be telling about that."

Levi collapsed into the chair behind his desk, swiveled sideways, and stared off into space. Ryder blinked at him and then turned to me.

'I'm serious," he told me. 'You'll make a much better husband for her. I don't know what I was thinking proposing to her. No, I mean, I know what I was thinking. I was thinking I could bridge the gap and maybe bring our families together. Besides, she's… well, she's magic, isn't she? I thought… I thought I could make it work, but I was wrong."

The silence that fell over the room throbbed in my ears. None of what he said matched what I knew about him and his family.

The Navaros were bloodthirsty, self-serving, and ruthless. Ryder was his father's oldest son. He was destined to become don in Marco's place. He couldn't be the one exception to the whole poisonous clan.

Ryder glanced over at Levi and then back at me. When neither of us responded, he shifted his weight a few more times and finally relaxed. He said his piece.

Levi sighed and dragged himself to his feet. He glared down at Ryder from what seemed like a great height. 'You're gonna have to forgive me, son, but I find it impossible to believe you. I'm not saying I don't think your father and your brothers aren't capable of everything you say, but you have to admit…"

'I'm telling the truth!" Ryder insisted. 'I didn't want to believe it. I wasn't sure how to deal with it. He took me completely by surprise when he told me. I thought…"

Levi raised a hand to silence him. 'You've said what you came here to say, son. Now you're going to listen to me."

Ryder gulped. 'Forgive me, Consigliere."

Levi flared his nostrils again. 'Your family is our oldest enemy. Your father and your brothers cooked up this plot. You'll have to forgive me if I don't think you're in on it somehow. Why else would you come here and spill your guts like this?"

My head started to clear. At least someone in this office was thinking straight. Thank God Levi was still on the job.

His words seemed to clear the air with Ryder too. Ryder only nodded. 'I thought of that."

'Of course, you thought of it," Levi countered. 'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't believe this was your plan all along. Give me one reason why I shouldn't think you coming here and telling us this isn't playing into your hands right now."

Ryder blinked at him, gulped again, and then stiffened. His expression changed to one of stone-cold determination. 'I can give you evidence that my brothers carried out the hit on the East River café last night."

I glanced over at Levi, who stared at Ryder like someone just hit him over the head with a sledgehammer. The East River café… that must be one of the Levine family's operations. The Navaros must have hit it just like all the others.

'I can give you evidence that our crew carried out all the other hits you blamed on my father at your meeting—the ones he blamed on someone else. I can also give you the details of the next few hits they're planning on you. They're all concentrated in the Times Square area where they think they can do the most damage. They think they can carve off enough of your territory that you won't be able to unseat them, even if it comes to all-out war."

Levi didn't answer. Holy fucking shit—Ryder was really serious! He was prepared to sell out his own family—his own father and brothers—for Geneva.

He was doing all this because he loved her. That much was obvious. He couldn't bring himself to go through with this plan to hurt her.

He would even walk away from the chance to marry her because it might go the wrong way for her. Christ, what a man! I could only dream of doing something like that for her. Not even marrying her came close.

Just to cap it all off, Ryder turned to me. 'I can give you details about hits they plan to carry out on Terranova territory too. They want to weaken you so you don't make such an attractive ally for the Levines."

Levi buckled and rested his hands on the desk the way I did a moment before. He panted hard, and he looked away toward the wall.

'Anyway, yeah," Ryder went on. 'I've decided to go home and withdraw my proposal, but don't tell Geneva the real reason, okay? I couldn't stand it if she thought the way you did and thought I was part of this. Just make something up. Tell her I wasn't serious. Tell her I just proposed to fuck with her head or something. That way she'll be more likely to marry you, Charles."

Levi forced himself up. 'Don't leave, son. You belong here. We can…"

'I have to. If I stay, Geneva might start caring about me. She might actually decide she wants to marry me, and I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't trust myself not to go through with it. I have to leave. You know I do, Consigliere. It's just a question of how much information I can give you before I leave."