His Princess; The Devils Daughter - Book 2

Chapter 18

Adriano

Ride back to Adriano’s estate was a quiet one.  Everyone in the SUV could sense the tension but no one dared say anything after seeing the look on Roach’s face.  Once the vehicle pulled through the gates, Krista let out a groan.  

“Dad, you haven’t even been here for twenty four hours and you’re already grouchy!  How can you be like that in paradise?” Krista whined.

“I had a long flight.  That’s all.” he responded as they exited the vehicle.

“Good,” she said as she grabbed Carlos by the hand and pulled him towards the house. 

Roach clenched his fists as he watched Krista head off to the house with Carlos.  He felt betrayed by Adriano and Carlos. This was not what they discussed. His girls were supposed to be protected here, not being taken advantage of.  Once Krista was out of sight, he turned to find Mayah who was leaning against the front of the vehicle talking to Adriano. He couldn’t see Mayah’s face but by her body language, he could tell she was upset.  

“Mayah, what’s wrong?” he asked as he approached them.

“Nothing dad... just a long day,” she responded.  She leaned in and gave him a hug before heading towards the house.  

“Why is my daughter upset Adriano?”  Roach asked quietly as Adriano as they followed Mayah. 

“Because she can tell you are upset.”  He pulled Roach aside waiting a few minutes to be sure they were alone before continuing.  “Everyone in that car could tell you were pissed off Roach! I didn’t fly you out here so you could upset them!” hissed Adriano.

“You know damn well why I’m mad!” 

“I do, and I think you owe me enough to hear me out.  You gave us rules to follow for their protection and we followed them.  You asked us to take care of them. We did! You owe me that much!” 

“Fine!  But I don’t want the girls there for this.”  Roach knew that if he was going to have this conversation with Adriano, Krista and Mayah couldn’t be present.  He followed Adriano through the large house.  

“We can talk in my office.”  Adriano’s tone was dry and without emotion.  Once the two made it to his office, he paused as Adriano exhaled.  He gripped the door handle before speaking. “After I answer your questions, please make sure to talk with the girls.  Their opinion is valid...no matter how you feel or what your thinking.” He opened the door to allow Roach to pass by him.  

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence.  “So, Mayah…” Roach began. “She looks happy.”

Adriano pulled out a bottle of liquor and two glasses.  “She is happy. They both are.” He poured two drinks, handing Roach one of the glasses.  “Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. You asked me to keep my distance and I did.  But the moment I started to realize that was becoming impossible, I sent you the notice that I wanted you to come.  Not only to see them but so that I could ask your permission.” He took a gulp as he leaned back. “The truth is I am willing to ask for your blessing but that doesn't mean I will wait for it.  I respect you as a businessman and a father. You knew when you let them leave with me how I felt about her and you still let them come. You had to know that eventually this conversation was going to happen.”

Roach swirled the liquid around in his glass before responding.  “I knew it was going to come up but you should’ve waited to ask me!  Not take advantage of her!” He sighed. “After what happened to Krista...I can’t lose another daughter.  I can’t have them getting hurt again.”

“My brother and I have no intentions of hurting your daughters.  And I am not taking advantage of anyone. As much as you don’t want to hear this, the most your daughter and I have done is kiss.  I know what she’s been through and I will never make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. You have to know that by now.” His voice almost sounded like he was pleading with him to understand.

“Adriano, if she’s with you...she will become a target.  Both of them! Your family is in the mafia. They will always be in danger.”  

“Roach, they are already targets!  They became targets the moment Marco laid his eyes on them!  Look, I can’t speak about Carlos and his intentions with Krista.  I know they are fond of each other but I can and will speak about my intentions with Mayah.”  He leaned forward in his seat to stare into Roach’s eyes. “You are right. Being in the mafia does complicate things a bit but so does being in a motorcycle gang but that doesn’t change how I feel about Mayah.  I love her.” He paused for a few seconds before continuing, never breaking eye contact. “I know I should’ve waited to ask you but she’s happy, and she deserves to be.”

“She hasn’t had a chance to live Adriano...a chance to be a kid.”  He knew deep down that he couldn’t ask for better men to be interested in his girls but the potential constant danger that they would be exposed to bothered him.  He knew that him having his gang wasn’t the safest for kids to be around but atleast family members were off limits.

“Which is why you agreed to let them leave the country with me.  So that they could travel and relax. They are always under constant guard...no matter how many times Krista tries to ditch her bodyguards.”

Roach chuckled.  “It’s obvious the girls are happy.  Even if I decided to give you guys my blessing, we still have f*****g Marco to deal with.”

Adriano downed the rest if the contents in his glass.  He knew his next confession to Roach would either bring them closer or destroy them completely.  He leaned forward to refill both glasses before speaking again. “Before I continue, does that mean you are okay with me wanting to date Mayah?”

“Yeah...she looks happy.  As long as she’s happy, I’m happy but if you break her heart…”  Roach knew he didn’t have to finish that sentence.

“That will never happen,” he said with a smile.  “So now that I have your okay to date her...my next request shouldn't be that bad.”  Adriano felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him. He smiled at the thought of being able to tell Mayah the news and to formally ask her to be his girlfriend.  

“Jesus Christ, boy.  What more can you ask me for?”  Roach grinned as he took another drink.

“Mayah’s hand in marriage.”   

Mayah

“Oh my god, Krista.  You should’ve seen him!  Dad almost blew a gasket,” Mayah said to her sister as they settled in the family room of the estate. She groaned inwardly as she recalled the look on Roach’s face.

“Relax, you are worrying for nothing.”  Krista plopped down in the seat next to Mayah on the couch.  “You should’ve seen how mad he was when he found out I lost my virginity.”

“Krista!  I’m serious!  He was really mad.”

“Stop worrying about it.  I’m serious. You held Adriano’s hand...so what?”  It bothered Krista to see Mayah so upset over something so small.

“Why does she look like she’s about to cry?” asked Kace as he entered the room with Mateo and Carlos close behind.

“She thinks that dad is mad at her,” Krista shot Kace a warning look.  She knew that Kace liked her sister and didnt want for there to be another fall out like last time when he finds out that they were unofficially dating.

“I don’t think Krista, I know.”

“Why would your dad be mad at you?” asked Kace.  “He missed you guys too much to be mad at you the first day he sees you.”

“Kace, don’t worry about it.  Mayah is overreacting.” Krista said as she looked to Mateo and Carlos for assistance.

“Yeah, maybe your just nervous about seeing him for so long.” Carlos added.

“How about we head to the kitchen.  I’m hungry.” Mateo walked over to Mayah and held out his hand to her.  “I heard you girls used to cook sometimes for your dad. How about you guys make him something?”

“Okay,” responded Mayah quietly.  She glanced at Krista as took Mateo’s hand and followed him into the kitchen.

“This is going to be fun.  What do you want to make Mayah?”  Krista asked as she and the others filed into the kitchen.

“I don’t know.  Anything? Everything?”  She leaned against the kitchen counter.  

“You can make him lemon pepper chicken.  He likes that, remember?” said Kace with a smile.

“No Kace, You like lemon pepper chicken.” Krista responded as she rolled her eyes.  

“How about lemon pepper chicken and a bunch of desserts?  Dad likes sweets.” Mayah knew that everyone was trying to lighten the mood.  

“Sounds like a plan.  Mateo and Carlos...you guys are going to the store.”  Krista pulled out a paper and pen from one of the kitchen counters.  “I’ll write down what we need.”

“No, last time you sent us to the store we literally had to go to three different stores,” protested Mateo.

“I promise everything will be at one store this time.”  She smiled as she wrote down the items on her list. “Kace, you should go with them.  Enjoy the sights.”

“Nah, I’m good.”  He didn’t care much for Mateo or Carlos.  Especially when they all but blamed him for Mayah’s kidnapping.  “Besides, we have a lot to catch up on.” he replied as she smiled at Mayah.