A Dangerous Woman

Chapter 14

Blaise Taylor

I stood glaring at my father after he shoved us both into a nearby, empty room.

He spat venom at me in a whispered tone, "I'm trying to fix the mistake you made!"

I recovered from my shock immediately, returning my father's harsh whispered tone as I reply, "My mistake did not require you to invite that psychopath and his very powerful, leader of the Italian mafia, Father into our house!"

He raked his hand through his hair, a sign of his stress and frustration.

"You stupid b***h, not killing Aidan wasn't your only mistake. He figured out you were English; he knew you had links to the English Mafia! He sent spies to unravel the secrets of our mafia and we stand exposed to him and the world. He knows who you are, even though we spent years hiding your identity. The English mafia is never supposed to reveal their heirs to the world to protect them. I know that it didn't protect Jordan, but it was working with you. No one outside of our Mafia knew I had a daughter or an heir, until now."

I had nothing to say, he had rendered me speechless and all I could think about was how much of an i***t I was.

Snatching me out of my thoughts, a hand caught my cheek, the slapping sound echoing in the room. My father and I both knew that I could have easily blocked it but we also both knew I deserved it.

In a harsher whispered tone, he uttered, "They are here to help me stop a war from starting, this hurts me as much as it hurts you, if not more, but I'm going to suck it up to save the lives of my men, our men. If you still have any will or sense to become the next leader, you will do the same!"

I only nodded my head in response, which my father took as a sign to leave the room. I followed close behind him with my head hung in shame.

Together we walked back into the office, where three pairs of eyes began studying us. Aidan's eyes were the first to fall upon the handprint I knew was forming on my cheek, but he showed no sympathy. Not that I expected him to, nor did I want him to but his stupid smug face enraged something inside of me. I fought the animalistic urge to smash his head against the desk that lay pristine in front of me.

My father made the trek to sit at his desk, while I stood behind him, looking out at the room.

Antonio Romano, the Capo of the Italian Mafia and Aidan's dad, was the first to break the tense silence that had fallen upon us, "Let's get started!"