Protecting The Princiepessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 12 ~

The following night, the warning still held rang in Izzy’s ears as she worked at the bar. Her eyes strayed to the staircase and up to the VIP area, but she never left her post. And when Chuck came up to tell her it was time for her break, she took the long way around to avoid the staircase and walk outside. For some odd reason, the place was stifling her tonight and she wasn’t sure if was because of those men or just in general. But she needed a breather and badly.

“Gorgeous out, isn’t it?” Izzy turned around and glanced at Mike who was leaning against the wall, smoking.

“I didn’t think you had to go outside to smoke,” she told him, turning her back on him. Maybe that wasn’t smart given that he was a mafia man, but she didn’t think he would hurt her, certainly not outside of Adriano’s building.

“I don’t. But I needed to get away from in there, so I thought I’d come out here. What about you?”

“Break time, and it was just too loud for me tonight.” She heard as he threw the butt on the ground and then ground it out before stepping up to her.

“How do you know Adriano?” She glanced at him from the side and smiled.

“Why do you want to know?” she countered, causing him to smirk.

“You’re brave to be strong against me. I’m only curious. Adriano doesn’t know his staff here, trust me.” Mentally, she snorted at that because he actually did. In fact, she’d even take it a step further and say that much probably didn’t escape his notice in general; especially if it was his business.

“So, what does that mean for me?”

“How does he know you? What are you to him?” Mike stepped closer and she tilted her head slightly back to look up at him. She wasn’t sure if Adriano said anything the night before, but she figured she better keep it as vague as possible.

“A friend of a friend,” was her simple response.

“Odd.” He tilted his head as he looked her over and her curiosity got the better of her.

“What’s so odd about that, Mike?”

“Adriano’s friends are usually tall, skinny, and stunning. I would go out on a limb and assume their friends would look much the same.” Izzy gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to smack him. Honestly, she was tired of her weight being brought up. She got it, she wasn’t a f*****g size two, she would never be. But she wasn’t ugly, and most people liked her curves. She never had a problem with the way she looked, but it sure seemed everyone else had one. “Don’t get me wrong, I like what I’m seeing. And I think it’s wrong of Adriano to place you in the back where you can’t be admired.”

“¿Crees que eres un conversador tan suave? (Do you think you’re such a smooth talker)?” she questioned him in Spanish and he frowned at the different language.

“That’s not Italian,” he said, smiling now.

“Nope, it’s Spanish.”

“How many languages do you speak?”

“Three, including English,” she said, shrugging as it wasn’t a big deal to her.

“Ignazia?” She glanced over her shoulder, sensing that Mike had done the same. She didn’t need to ask Adriano what the problem was, his look spoke volumes. “Please come inside.”

“Sure,” she muttered. She turned on her heel, not bothering to look at Mike, and followed Adriano in. He grabbed her arm and lead her to a back room that was for the employees only. “How long had you been watching me out there?”

“Since you set foot out there. You do understand that I’m watching you the whole time, right?” He crossed his arms and she had to look away from how well the suit was tailored to him.

“Yeah, I may have gathered that. Did you know Mike was outside too?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t. But I am going to tell you to stay clear of him.” She finally looked back at him, her brows wrinkled in confusion.

“Going to have to explain why that is, sir?”

“Because,” Adriano started, “Mike isn’t a good man.” It took a lot of control for her not to laugh at that. If she understand the world correctly, none of them were actually good men. “There are some of us who follow the rules of this lifestyle, the rules of the Mafia to the letter. There are others who try to bend them slightly to get away with this, who try to run in the gray area. That is Mike. He’s not the type of man you will ever bring home to Papà (dad) and Papà will be okay with it. And, Principessa (princess), in this world, you will need to bring him home.

“He’s a damn good Capo and brings extra on his dues. But as a man to take care of you, he’s not the one. And he flirts, and he will drop pretty words, but that’s all they are.”

“I’m not even looking for a man. Maybe just a f**k, but sure as hell, not a relationship.” Adriano didn’t even flinch at her words, and she really didn’t think he would have.

“Fine, but it’s still not Mike. I’m not your dad, Ignazia, but I am his man and I know him a lot better than you do. If you need someone…”

“Don’t you dare f*****g say you’ll find me someone. I don’t need you do that, and I sure don’t want you to!” He smirked and shook his head.

“No, I wouldn’t. I was going to say if you need someone, there are plenty of men that eye you around the club, pick anyone of those.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Are you going to tell me to stay clear of all Mafia men?” He lifted one shoulder and gave her a pointed look.

“If I thought my words had some profound impact on your life, I would tell you to stay clear. But since I’m sure you wouldn’t listen to me, then I will just mention the ones to avoid badly.” He opened the door, indicating the conversation was done and she walked out, a bit more confused than when she set foot inside. This mafia world made no sense to her. So, what if a guy was a total d**k, weren’t most? And these men, they killed, stole, did illegal things, so what did it matter if one was an asshole?

She knew that Adriano wouldn’t tell her more and she highly doubt that her dad would be forthcoming with information. Maybe she could ask her stepmother to shed some light, but that would require going to the house and that was the last thing she wanted. She let out another sigh and walked back behind the bar, smiling at Mindy who waved to say she was off.

-----

Izzy tossed one way and then the other as she ran the words from Adriano through her mind. She wanted to sleep, wanted to forget everything he said, but it wasn’t happening. Mentally, she cringed and finally threw her legs over the bed. Well, if she couldn’t sleep, there was no point in her trying to force it. She might as well get up and have something to drink and let the stars soothe her restless mind. She walked into the kitchen and yanked the fridge door open, grabbing a water. And as she turned around and took a drink, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“What are you doing up?” she asked, and Adriano tossed a glance over his shoulder at her. Her eyes trailed over him, surprised to see him with so little clothing as if he was in bed and rolled out himself.

“Keeping an eye out.” She walked up beside him and glanced outside but saw nothing.

“It’s black, how do you see anything?” He chuckled and then dropped the shade, before turning to look at her.

“I’m trying to see if the car is still there?”

“What car?” she asked, moving the curtain but he stopped her.

“The one that was following us and then turned before I could check to make sure. I thought I saw it parked down the way a little bit ago.” Izzy went to move the curtain again, but he stopped her. “What has you up?”

“Can I say the car?” she asked and though he chuckled, he shook his head.

“No, because you didn’t even know about it. What’s up?” She sighed and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms under her chest.

“What you said earlier actually.” He lifted a brow and she shrugged. “I can’t explain, but those words kept tumbling through my head. I guess I wonder why. What’s the big deal about Mike? You all are bad, so what’s so much worse about him?” Adriano moved to stand in front of her, his hands resting on her arms.

“The mafia world, this life, has rules, and living by them is the most important thing. One of the most important is the treatment of women. A real man treats a woman with respect and only assholes treat women as w****s. Even if she’s some mistress to some made man, she’s still respected. Of course, it would never be like a wife, but it’s still there. It’s one of the golden rules in this life.”

“And he doesn’t do that?”

“Mike, no? This is why he tends to go after a woman who isn’t a part of this life. But if he’s going after you, that’s just a plain no-go. Trust me, your dad would forbid it before you even got half the sentence off.” She nodded, understanding where he was coming from. She was about to say something when a flash of light came into the house before being shut off and she cringed as he cussed loudly.