Protecting The Princiepessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 11 ~

“Are you ready?” Izzy glanced over her shoulder as Adriano walked up to the bar. She lifted the last tray of drinks and shrugged.

“Let me run this to the back and I will be.”

“I got it, Izzy.” Izzy smiled her thanks at the other bartender and then undid her apron.

“Well, if he has it, I’m good,” she told Adriano who nodded.

“I already clocked you out.” With that, he gently took her arm and led her out the backway. There were still quite a few people in the club, but it had died down a lot since when it first opened for the night.

“Do you always come and go from the backway?” she asked as he opened the door.

“Always. First of all, I don’t want people to have an easy target.” He waved at the trees and bushes that lined the walk away and she could see that it would be harder to get a clear shot off. “Second, I don’t like dealing with crowds of people. The rumor is going around that this club is a mafia club, and the owner is one. However, it’s never been confirmed or denied, which makes it all the worse. But when I leave out the front, women stop me, trying to get all over me, and then the men want to talk, it’s a circus I want nothing to do with.” He opened the car door for her, glancing around as she slipped in. She waited for him to walk around as she put her seat belt on.

“I’m also going to assume you never let your guard down?” she asked, and he glanced at her as he started the car.

“Never. It’s a good way to be a dead man. That’s the first thing the boss taught me when I was young.” She smirked as he pulled out of the parking lot. Izzy undid the ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair. “How was your first night?”

“I didn’t kill anyone, and Chuck is a jerk, but otherwise, not horrible.” Adriano laughed as he turned down the interstate to start the trip home.

“Chuck is an interesting man.”

“That’s putting it mildly, I say.”

“Don’t like your boss?” Adriano asked, casting a glance at her. She turned her head and lifted a brow.

“Are you the boss, or is he? The answer to either would be no.” He barked out another laugh and leaned back in his seat. “Does he know what you are?” Adriano tilted his head and then slowly shook it.

“Honestly, I don’t think he does. However, I do think he knows I’m something bad. He hasn’t tried to cross me, and I don’t think he would. This town is big, obviously, but my name and the names I associate with are pretty damn heavy. I’m the last person you want to cross because I can make any life a living hell.”

“So, though he’s an asshole to your staff, he’s never crossed you?” Adriano glanced at her with a raised brow.

“Chuck has never really been that way with anyone, just you.” Izzy crossed her arms and sighed.

“Yippie for me I guess.”

“I try very hard not to piss him off. He is my manager and I do trust him to do this job. He hasn’t screwed me over and so I don’t screw him over. I let him hire, and fire, those he wants or sees fit to. So, by me bringing you on without a word to him, yeah, I can see why he would take offense. It’s not something I’ve ever done.”

“So, you’re rocking the boat,” she started, tilting her head as she regarded him, “because you’re watching me.”

“When the boss tells me to do something, I do it, regardless of what the job is. I’ve killed men because he’s told me to, I’ve hijacked trucks because he’s told me to, and I’ve dealt quite a bit of drugs because he’s told me. So again, when they tell you to do something, you do it.

“When I went to talk to him about it, believe me, he hated the idea. He screamed at me, in fact. But logically, the only way I could watch you as I needed to and still maintain my job was to have you work for me. And you get to get out of the house and have your own funds. I’m going to go out on a limb and also say you’re fiercely independent.”

“Huh, whatever gave it away.” She turned her head and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

“Is he the only thing you have questions about?” With that question, Izzy quickly turned her head and looked at him.

“Are you referring to the men in the VIP section?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Thought it wasn’t my place to question things. Besides, I gathered they are Mafioso and therefore not meant for me to deal with, right?”

“Them knowing you work for me will probably take the scent off you being the Bosses daughter. That’s something that won’t last long, trust me. He’s going to want to go out with you, even if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, that thought doesn’t bring me pleasure,” Izzy mumbled.

“I know it doesn’t, Ignazia, but we all have roles to play, regardless of if we like it or not. It comes with the f*****g job, and we grin and bear it.” Izzy’s brows snapped together at that comment. He was talking more as if it was something personal rather than her life at the moment. But she knew better than to push and shrugged.

“Yeah, I know, I got that drift quite a bit ago. Back to the subject though, those men work for my dad and I’m to stay clear of them?” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought and then shrugged.

“Honestly, your dad didn’t say. Why, did the likes of Mike actually impress you?” Izzy visibly shivered and Adriano chuckled.

“God damn, no. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He wasn’t bad looking, but his actions were such a major turn-off.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised by that. Mike thinks he’s some super being with the ladies, but he’s not.” He paused and Izzy turned to look back at him. “I saw you coming up the stairs. In fact, I saw that Chuck was rather rude on your breaks, something I will make sure doesn’t happen again. I don’t care who you are, you are under my employ and that means you will be treated fairly.

“But, anyway, I saw you coming up and wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Mindy doesn’t know who those men are, no one does. Sure, suspect they are bad men, but that’s about it. I’m not sure how I didn’t have enough bottles to cover everyone or everything, but that is something I will look further into.”

“You saw me coming up?” He glanced at her as he took the exit to his street and nodded.

“I told you I can see everything from my room. I wasn’t in the VIP section, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out where you were going with the bottles. Very rarely am I there. The men there come and go as they please when the club is open and unless business is happening, I don’t need to stay.”

“Business happens a lot up there?”

“It happens enough. When that happens, even the bartender leaves.” She nodded in understanding; however, she wasn’t quite certain she did. He glanced at her again and the questions playing around in her head were evident on her face. “Ask, because I won’t mention this again.”

“What business happens there? This is your legit business. Why would you dare mix illegal stuff there?”

“One, the cops don’t hound me. Unless they have warrants, no one sees anything, so therefore nothing can be traced or mentioned. And believe me, us men, we don’t make it a habit of talking to cops, they are horrible men. And the business that goes on up there usually is about making plans or sometimes collecting money.

“Those men up there tonight were most of the Capos under your dad’s leadership. They get together so that we can talk about jobs, and I can take it to the boss, seeing what he’s okay with or not. Not all the capos have audiences with the boss unless it’s Tribute Day. They also come to me with what problems are arising or what needs to be taken care of.” She nodded and then swallowed hard. She had never had to deal with anything like this before, at least nothing that she knew of. And now this is what her whole world had become, trying to learn what little she could. “Ignazia?”

“Hmm?” she said, still looking down at the hands in her lap.

“Women in our world, don’t know all the inner workings of the men and the deals. Some men may talk to their wives and explain, but no one knows everything. What I am sharing is the bare minimum and even that may be too much.”

“I understand.” He pulled into the garage and shut off the car before turning to look at her.

“Do you?” She nodded. “Good. Because if anything ever happens in the future and those men come downstairs, or you happen to walk into something like that again, you cannot question whatever you see or what may come up. No matter who you are, principessa (princess) or not, asking questions is liable to bring you harm or even death.”