The Forbidden Prince

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  “What about personal trust?” Sofia’s lips had a sheen of peachy gloss on them which added to the innocent appearance and made my mouth dry.

  Personal trust. She had me there. I didn’t trust anyone for any reason. Unfortunately, I had a feeling I could trust her and that was a signal that I was getting too close. I needed to back off. Maybe I could get her out of my system. Maybe I couldn’t.

  “I think personal trust is something completely different and vastly more valuable.” I glanced up as the waiter set salad plates in front of us. Trust was the only thing I had to give and I didn’t give it to just anyone.

  “Trust isn’t hard for me to give. Forgiveness is.” She speared a chunk of romaine lettuce with her fork, raising eyes that promised she would never forgive anything but revenge.

  Revenge I respected. Revenge I understood. I offered her a slow smile of understanding. Before taking my own bite, I nodded. “Agreed.” Because trust wasn’t what we were agreeing to. We were agreeing to respecting boundaries and personal trust and business trust were two different things.

  Would that we could keep our relationship strictly business, then trust would have no room to bring about revenge.

  Chapter 10

  Sofia

  I hated that Angelo captivated me so easily. Dinner passed in what seemed like seconds. He gave me a ride home when I told him Blue still wasn’t back to drive me. All of that was staged. Of course, Blue was back. I didn’t have a shipment out. I didn’t have anything but a fabricated company with a reputation no one had actually confirmed but enough people talked about to make it true. I was even getting loan offers and extended credit for a company that didn’t exist.

  Angelo liked to drive himself. He claimed it gave him more freedom. I’m not sure about all that, but when he held the door for me at my place, the silence of the night and our decidedly chaperone-less situation had never been more apparent.

  My keys were in my purse and at the door, I ducked my head. Wishing I had a magic locator whistle or something, anything, to keep me from standing there digging for my keys, I sighed.

  Bracing his arms around me again, similar to that morning at the gym – which seemed years ago, Angelo waited for me to look up. I did, but reluctantly. Whatever we committed to that night would alter everything and I wasn’t sure what the safest path to take would be.

  His nearness had me sagging against the metal door, the warmth from the day still coming off the metal in warm waves. My bare shoulders pressed against the steel as I tried to catch my breath. Slowly, I lowered my purse to my side as I stared into Angelo’s eyes.

  The time for a reckoning had arrived. I couldn’t tease him away anymore. There and now, I had to be all in.

  Holding his gaze, I dropped my purse and then lifted both hands to wrap around the base of his neck, my nails softly scratching the skin as I curled them under his collar. My eyelids lowered as I gently but firmly tugged his head closer to mine.

  When our lips made contact, I swear my nerves caught fire. I could feel our connection down to my toes and to the tips of my hair. He deepened the kiss and the only thing holding me upright were my hands on his neck. He pulled back and I gasped, softly panting as I tried to catch my breath.

  Things were out of control and I didn’t care. I didn’t care if this was a good choice or not. I didn’t care what it would do to my career, if I fell for a Rossi. As far as I was concerned, I was already halfway there.

  No matter that nothing good could come from us being together. What happened when he found out who and what I was? Those kinds of secrets never stayed hidden forever.

  Angelo didn’t push me for more as we both took a minute to breathe. I wanted to be closer to him and shuck all the stress of pretending to the side.

  I didn’t release my hold on him as I stretched up and kissed his neck, softly whispering, “Do you want to come inside?” Maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe it would get me further with the Rossis than before.

  Honestly, I didn’t care if it was the wrong decision or not. I wanted what I wanted and the rest of it be hanged.

  Angelo reached up and pushed me back, unlocking my fingers from his neck as he stared at me. He gently shook his head and pressed a thumb against my lower lip, inciting more heat to swirl around me. “No.”

  “What? What do you mean no?” I blinked in surprise. Had he really just turned me down? Rejection sliced through me, hot like a blade cutting through a cannoli. Neither Sofias I pretended to be were used to rejection and the simple no was enough to make the agent and crime boss merge into one righteously angry woman.

  All the games and all the teasing. Was he kidding me? He had to be. I studied his face with narrowed eyes.

  He softly shook his head, skimming the side of my face with a thumb as he moved some of the hair back from my cheek where a chunk had fallen. Frustrated humor curved his lips in a slight smile. “I mean no. You’re better than that.” He threw my words back at me, and yet, it didn’t feel like he was being disrespectful.

  Instead, there was a reverence to his tone that made me blink. He leaned down and softly pressed his lips to my forehead before turning and climbing in his car. He didn’t drive off though and I realized he waited for me to get inside.

  Angelo Rossi wasn’t only a charming crime boss, he was also a distinctly addicting gentleman.

  I dug through my purse, ignoring the flashing text messages on my cell as I pulled out the keys and let myself inside the warehouse.

  Shutting the door, I leaned against it and exhaled on a whoosh. “You’re playing with fire.” I couldn’t help muttering to myself. The last thing I needed was a reminder on just how bad I was with getting burned.

  Reality crushed in on me. I was neither of the women that were integral to Angelo. I wasn’t Sofia the crime boss nor was I Sofia the agent. If I was the crime boss, I wouldn’t have any problem chasing him down and finding revenge for the rejection. If I was the agent, I wouldn’t be as attached as I was.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and kicked off my heels. Bending down, I hooked my fingers in the backs and carried the shoes up the stairs to my room.

  A pressure in the air suggested a storm was coming. I hadn’t even noticed clouds in the sky with my infatuation over Angelo. I had a problem and I needed to get it in hand. Before climbing into bed, I grabbed my phone from my purse.

  My father had texted me enough times there might as well have been a book in my text inbox. Only two text messages were necessary, though, hidden in a bunch of familial-style texts in case my phone was taken or seen by someone else.

  I got the job!

  Our supposed shipment must have been approved by the port authorities. That’s all we needed to finish the final deal with the Rossis. A lump formed in my throat. It wouldn’t be long and I’d have to set Angelo up to be arrested.

  Main meal has been served. I gotta go.

  Which must mean that the main objective my team had been working toward for the last year was in play and we were almost there.

  Sofia the crime boss would be outraged and betrayed. She’d never let a business partner go down for the things she’d set up.

  Sofia the agent would be delighted and anxious to get on with finishing the collar. She wouldn’t be able to wait to move onto the next job and her ambition would hum through her body, making it unable to sleep.

  Why then, couldn’t I figure out who I was as I lie there, staring up at the tall ceiling? I couldn’t be either of those women in that moment.

  All I wanted to do was cry.

  Chapter 11

  Angelo

  My determination to marry Sofia strengthened my resolve not to touch her until then. No wife of mine was going to be treated like the leftovers of a good party. She needed the respect due her and she would get it from the beginning.

  Even with the decision to abstain, I didn’t sleep well after leaving Sofia at her place. The woman wore power like a perfume, making her heady and dangerous to be around.
I couldn’t see the control to take it away and I couldn’t touch it to get out from under it. Her power was just there, in every move she made and every syllable she spoke.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was addicted to Sofia Thompson. That wasn’t possible, though, was it?

  “Angelo, I want this made clearer before we begin. Destin, grab Leonardo. If I have both of them in here, I won’t have to repeat myself.” The Rossi’s expression was grim as he steepled his fingers on top of his desk, staring down at the large white calendar beneath his hands.

  Leonardo. As nice as Leonardo was to his wife, my sister, I couldn’t help the annoyance that he’d be included in my meeting with my father. It wasn’t until extremely recent that we started doing business with the Capones. We’d always been rivals and the fact that I had to deal with the underboss – the same position I held – of a feud family only left me frustrated.

  I leaned back in the high wing-backed chair, thrumming my fingers on my bent knee. I’d crossed my ankle over my other knee as I waited for us to start. My father’s office had never been special. He’d relished in its plainness as he did deadly and dangerous business inside its walls.

  A desk, large enough to match the girth of my father, held the position of distinction in the room lined with wall shelves and rugs. Only a few chairs sat across from the desk as if he refused to let too many people stare him down.

  I didn’t speak as we waited for my brother-in-law to arrive. My father’s original plan had probably been to meet with me and then with Leonardo. The desire to pull us in together worried me. What had happened that we needed to be told at the same time?

  Couldn’t I be told separately? When had Leonardo become important enough that family business should be shared with him?

  “While we’re waiting, Angelo, how are things with the Thompson deal?” My father lifted his dark gaze toward me. He dropped his fingers to the top of the desk and waited for my report.

  What did I tell him? That I was falling for Sofia? I couldn’t tell him that or even suggest it. He’d expressly told me not to go near her, not to mess with the emotional side of that relationship. Well, wouldn’t he be surprised when I married her? Because that was the only path left where I got what I wanted and I didn’t have to worry about losing her.

  Keeping Sofia was fast becoming the only that mattered to me.

  The door opened and Leonardo walked in, while Destin stayed in the hall. Destin, my cousin, was also my guard, my right-hand soldier, and the underboss-in-training for when I stepped in to take my father’s position as dom.

  Leondardo’s traditional Italian coloring and sleek charm didn’t impress me. He’d wrapped my sister around his finger and she had done the same to him, but I couldn’t understand what they saw in each other. Not that it mattered what I thought. The union was made and blessed by The Rossi and The Capone. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing else to say about it.

  My brother-in-law nodded my direction as he claimed the seat beside me. He mimicked the way I sat, folding his hands in his lap and looking toward my father. “Giovanni, Angelo. I’m sorry I’m late.” He inclined his head my direction but didn’t look at me. I didn’t blame him. We weren’t there to see each other. We were there to hear what the dom wanted to tell us.

  “I called you both in here to issue a warning.” My father’s expression turned grimmer, which I hadn’t thought possible. “We had a report earlier this morning, about two or so. The Bianchis lost a capo family because of the actions of a wife.”

  Dropping my foot from its relaxed position, I straightened, leaning forward as I studied my father. “What are you talking about? Did the family die?” You heard about these things where the wife of a prominent family business member lost it and she killed everyone under the roof, usually with poison. Poison though would have taken effect long before bedtime. What kind of a murder would happen at two in the morning unless it was a gun?

  The Rossi shook his head. “No, it’s worse than that.” What was worse than murder? He continued. “She had been keeping a record of their dealings and she turned everything into the feds. They raided the house this morning and arrested the entire family – her adult children, her husband, some cousins living in the basement, and a couple soldiers guarding the place. She was the only one who hadn’t been taken away since she’d left some time while they slept.” He took a deep breath and let it out on a whoosh. “I don’t think I need to tell you boys what this means.”

  But he did. I was in shock. What was worse than murder? Betrayal of that magnitude. That woman had turned in every person in her life. Had she no loyalty? Had she no pride?

  Our silence told The Rossi he needed to continue since we were both stunned.

  “You can’t trust anyone, especially these women with their eyes and their curves. They seem harmless, but I don’t think you understand just how risky things can get around them.” He pierced Leonardo with his gaze. “Do you trust Mia, Leonardo?”

  “Father.” I cocked my head to the side. Mia was his daughter. He shouldn’t question her integrity or her loyalty to the family to an outsider.

  My father turned his gaze on me. “You think she can’t change her loyalties? You’re not thinking like an underboss, Angelo. A woman isn’t like a man. She thinks with her heart. She shifted her loyalty from Rossi to Capone when she fell in love with Leonardo. It took nothing more than love. If Leonardo ever betrays her, she will have no where left to place her loyalty. She will turn on him and then that will mean the downfall of the Capones and the Rossis by association.”

  His words sank in slowly. I glanced at Leonardo. “See why you should have taken my advice and stayed away from her?” But I’d spoken out of protection, not because I was trying to protect Leonardo. I couldn’t care less about the man or his family.

  “Who should stay away from women? From what I’ve heard around the wharf, you have your mind on one thing these days and it isn’t the Thompson deal.” Leonardo challenged me with a raised eyebrow.

  I flicked my gaze to my father and then back to Leonardo. “I don’t know who your source is, but I’ve been completely focused on the Thompson arrangement as I was instructed by my father.” Leonardo could try to redirect the conversation back to me, but I hadn’t done anything. I was as loyal and obedient as possible.

  No one could question my loyalty. My obedience… well, that wasn’t required to survive in Little Italy.

  My father’s eyes turned toward me, his face taking on a ruddy hue. “Angelo, what are you doing? Have you been messing around with Sofia after I warned you away from her?”

  I held up a hand and straightened in my seat. There was no way I was going to be reprimanded in front of my brother-in-law. I wasn’t a toddler. “I haven’t touched her. The deal is moving forward. Whoever his informant is, they’re an idiot.”

  Leonardo’s expression tightened and he looked away from me.

  “Back to the topic at hand, men. I’m not trying to denigrate Mia’s name, the saints forbid. I’m trying to alert you to the possibility that we have to watch our backs and how we treat our women.” The Rossi looked at me, his eyes narrowed. “It’s no secret you’re a Lothario and you’ve worked your way through most of the women in Little Italy and Seattle. The point I’m trying to make is that you never know when a slighted woman is going to have the type of information that will destroy you and us. Be careful. That’s all I’m saying.”

  I understood where he was coming from. I hadn’t slighted anyone in a long time. The night before I’d rejected Sofia’s advances, but only because I wanted a lifetime of seduction with her, not just a one-night stand. Surely, she wouldn’t hold me in a negative light after that. I had to believe that she wouldn’t.

  But I also had to hear what my father was saying. I couldn’t trust anyone. Least of all a woman who was ruled by her emotions and not by the logic in front of her.

  As far as Leonardo was concerned, he had nothing to worry about. Mia was the epito
me of loyal.

  I’d keep my guard up around Sofia. She might be the head of a huge corporation and business front, but she had no reason to be loyal to me or my family. If I wasn’t careful, I could give her enough rope to hang my family with.

  It wasn’t hard to find things to report on me. I was Angelo Rossi, for crying out loud, a dom in training didn’t have clean hands.

  Everyone knew that, even a woman who was supposed to be at the top of the crime world. What if Sofia wasn’t to be trusted? Now that my suspicions were stirred, I had to figure out a way to exonerate her.

  Nothing else would do.

  Chapter 12

  Sofia

  I could feel everything my team had been working towards coming to a head. Just when I’d gotten the emotional connection with Angelo, it was time to walk away from him and let the rest of my team clean up the wreckage.

  How could I do that to Angelo? How could the real me let anything happen to him? He’d taken my heart and twisted it into something unrecognizable. I was becoming that woman who turned from the expectations of her father and the world to make someone else happy.

  Me.

  Angelo could make me happy, except the moment he found out about who I really was, my chances at happy-ever-after would disappear and I would not only have a broken heart but a fallen career.

  Neither of those endings benefited anyone.

  Running my hands down the front of my business pants, I nervously swung myself side to side in the high-backed leather office chair. Angelo was supposed to be there for a meeting any moment. It would be the first time in the last couple days that we had seen each other since that night he’d left my insides in a stormy mess.