The Forbidden Prince

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  Longing hadn’t faded with absence and instead, I’d grown more interested and more attached. I couldn’t deny the distraction with the man instead of a focus on the job. Angelo was one and the same and that made the entire situation harder to overcome.

  A knock on the warehouse door filled the expansive space with the sound. I straightened in my seat, leaning over the desk with a pencil in my hand and a planner in place like I was working. At the last second, I shoved the phone’s earpiece against my ear and spoke with a biting business tone. “Being late is unacceptable, Tony. If you don’t deliver on time, I’ll tack on a ten percent fee and my irritation at doing business with you. I agree, I wouldn’t want my irritation either.” I glanced up as Angelo strode into the room, oozing confidence and charm.

  “On time, Tony.” I hung up the phone before Angelo could get close enough to hear the busy signal beeping out of the handset. I nodded Blue’s direction to let him know I was fine and that he could step downstairs to watch the security cameras, then looked toward Angelo. I stood, reaching out a hand to shake his which he accepted, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

  Dang man. I reclaimed my seat, smothering my frustration at his easy good looks and the way his gaze scanned as much of me as he could see and then some, leaving me a mess. The man had some gall, tripping me up like he was.

  Tilting my head to the side, I motioned toward one of the empty chairs in front of the desk and smiled politely. “Please, have a seat.” I waited for him to sit before continuing. “The final contract will be filled this weekend. I do have some contingencies that I need to make you aware of before we move forward.”

  Angelo held up a hand, his gaze on me with an intensity I couldn’t deny. “Are we really just doing business?” Why was his voice husky and sending shivers of anticipation through me?

  I cleared my throat, reaching up to push the dark mass of my curls behind my shoulder. I tightened my stomach to stop the butterflies taking flight. It didn’t work. “That’s what this is supposed to be, Mr. Rossi. Business. I lost sight of that because you’re… distracting. I accept that. But I need to focus on my company and the deals. If you’re not up for that, then maybe we need a different point man from the Rossi company.”

  Maybe that would be the way to get Angelo out of danger. I couldn’t help but be more aware than ever that I wasn’t going to have time to secure his safety. No matter what information I tried to gather on the Bianchis, everything seemed to come back to the Rossis and Angelo. I hated that I was supposed to think of him as a bad guy when all I wanted was for him to be the guy.

  Buzz. Buzz. My cell phone screen lit up beside the planner I pretended to work on. My father had sent a text, the words clear on the screen when I swiped it open.

  Call me. Now. Don’t wait.

  He knew I was in a meeting with Angelo. Only an emergency would demand an urgent call. I smiled politely at Angelo and rolled my eyes. “Will you excuse me one moment? My father hasn’t been feeling well lately. This is the nurse calling.”

  Angelo inclined his head, his stormy gaze followed me as I stood, gripping my cell. Long strides carried me across the floor and down the steps. I didn’t bother going outside. Nothing was safe. I had to get into Blue’s security room where we swept for bugs and other tracers every two hours. No one would hear me there.

  I pushed open the door and went inside, lifting the phone to my ear as I called my father and nodding at Blue where he sat in front of twelve monitors. In the third screen from the left and on the top, Angelo sat, bouncing his foot on his knee.

  The phone rang once and my father answered. “Agent Thompson, you ordered a call? I’m in a meeting.” He knew that, though. My rebuke wouldn’t mean anything and he wouldn’t care that I was genuinely frustrated.

  “Things have changed. We have to have a leader there to make the arrest. Since you’ve got Angelo as your point, make sure he will be there to supervise the transfer.” His demand took me by surprise.

  I turned away from Blue and the monitors, facing the wall as I blinked rapidly. “I don’t understand. Why would we need that?”

  “The US attorney demanded it. We need an underboss or a dom. Since you’re not going to get The Rossi or The Capone on this deal, you need to get the next best thing. Attorney Grappo is demanding that we do our best to get the decision makers. The soldiers just get out based on the fact that they follow orders and have no idea what they’re even doing.” My father paused, the silence pregnant as he expected me to say something or do something.

  What did he want? He was telling me in no uncertain terms to make sure Angelo was there. He didn’t know I was attached to the man. He couldn’t know that. I barely knew it.

  I nodded, but my throat was tight. “Yes, sir.”

  “We’re almost there, kiddo. Let’s nail this family to the wall.” He hung up, leaving his words to resonate across the phone line between us.

  Closing my eyes, I hung my head, letting my hand holding the phone drop to my side. I took a deep breath to calm the anxiety churning in my gut.

  “Oh, look at this.” Blue called me over to him.

  Spinning, I took in the third monitor from the left and stared, the anxiety in my chest hardening into a rock as I watched Angelo dig through the drawers of my desk.

  Turning Angelo in wouldn’t be hard at all. Getting him to be where I needed him to be would take trust and judging by the way he was acting, there was little trust between us. How would I ever get him to be where I needed him to be?

  I’d have to make some switches and manipulate the situation. He’d never believe me, if I warned him, and my father would hear everything anyway. My office was bugged and it wasn’t just by the families. For maximum information, everything was bugged. I hadn’t been able to look at Blue for a bit after the incident with Angelo where he’d refused to come inside.

  He’d rejected me and my entire team knew it. I wasn’t sure what was worse; the fact that he’d walked away or them knowing he’d said no to me.

  “It looks like he doesn’t trust you. What are you going to do?” Blue turned worried eyes my way.

  I cleared my throat. “Whatever it takes.” I gripped my cell in my fingers. Angelo might have a piece of my heart and cause turmoil for my body, but I wasn’t controlled by my emotions. Logic and rationale ruled my decisions, they always had.

  Coming up with a way to save Angelo and appease the US attorney and my father had just taken on a whole new level of seriousness – I had a deadline to make things happen.

  One way or the other, I could lose everything. Was I ready to face that kind of decision?

  Ready or not, here I come.

  Chapter 13

  Angelo

  I’d fallen to an all new low. Digging through Sofia’s desk without a reason didn’t make sense. Maybe I was looking for proof that her loyalty was impenetrable. Maybe I wanted evidence that she was out to screw me over. No matter what made me do it, I couldn’t help opening each drawer and searching for a clue of some kind, any kind.

  The drawers might as well have been empty for all the good they did me. Pens in the top middle one. Each stack of drawers down the sides of the chair opening held pads of blank paper and empty file folders.

  I stood, certain she’d come back any second and even more certain I didn’t want to get caught where I was. The top of her desk was benign with its glass top and well-organized placement of things. She’d left her planner open beside the phone with a pencil and a pen resting beside it.

  Maybe there was something in the planner. What did I expect she’d write down? She had as much to lose as I did, if not more. Her company was international. If her reputation came into question, she’d lose a lot more than sleep or even one deal. She’d lose a lot of international clout and power.

  Flipping the planner shut, I opened the cover and turned the pages, one at a time. What was I looking for that would exonerate or implicate her? Did she have a code I didn’t know? It wasn’t like she would wr
ite down her betrayal and make it easy for anyone to see.

  My name caught my eye on the page. It was for two days ago when we had scheduled our dinner. She’d written my name in blue ink and instead of an O at the end, she’d placed a heart. A heart. In one instant, my suspicions faded.

  Sofia wasn’t a woman who was out to nail me or give me away or even ruin things. She was a woman heading a corporation I’d been ordered to work with. The heart revealed even more than that.

  She was a woman with needs and feelings. Seeing my name written in her planner like she might be a woman ruled by emotion, I wasn’t sure if I should be concerned or delighted. The concern would stem from the possibility that if she were slighted, she’d turn on me. The delight would be that a woman like that would be exactly what I needed to marry. She’d never be dull and we could potentially take our marriage to heights I didn’t expect in any Italian union.

  Maybe I was stupid, but I couldn’t help hoping that her feelings were enough to get us through the business and out the other side unscathed.

  “Can I help you?” Sofia’s soft voice reached me from the edge of the desk.

  I gripped the pen in the pages of the planner and held it up, jerking my gaze upward with a grin. “Can I use this? I was looking for pen and some paper to take notes. You said you had some contingencies.” My smile didn’t waver. She wasn’t hiding anything from me and I could count on her to uphold her end of the deal.

  She nodded and rounded the desk, reclaiming her seat and waiting for me to sit across from her.

  I sank into my chair, wondering at the downturn to her lips. She studied me for a moment and then pulled out a notepad and some pens, setting them on the desk and leaning over one as she spoke. “I need to press the point here, that you need to be at the transfer. You’re the only one I’ve worked with and my men know this. We’ve been photographed together and I have you on my security footage coming and going.”

  Of course, I was on everything. We had cameras all over our compounds, too. It wasn’t a surprise to hear, but I wasn’t sure what she was getting at by stating the obvious. I inclined my head, waiting for her to pass me the pad and a pen to borrow like I’d asked.

  She moved a pen across paper, never breaking stride as she spoke. “Once the transfer is complete, we can go our separate ways. You’ll be expected to be at Pier 37 at eleven o-clock in two nights. You’ll wear a white rose boutonniere and you’ll bring no more than five soldiers. Anymore won’t be tolerated.” She stopped writing and lifted her head. “Do you understand?”

  It wasn’t rocket science that she explained, yet somehow, I expected her to break out a test and give me a pop quiz. I nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

  She swallowed, sliding the paper pad with a pen on top of it across the desk. “There’s the paper you requested. I wrote the date and time and other things you need to know.”

  I pulled the pad into my hands and then into my lap, glancing over what she’d written. I froze, staring at the tightly scrawled script. Instead of just a place and a time, she’d written;

  Don’t be there. Send your men to Pier 73 at one AM in three days on the eighth. I think I’ve been bugged.

  Rather than turn me in or let me get nabbed, Sofia had warned me and even staged a different time and place for anyone spying on us to go. I raised my eyes to the woman who had proven her loyalty in more ways than one and nodded softly.

  She was a business woman first and foremost. Her business-like tone hadn’t been because she was mad at me or slighted. She seemed less emotional than that. Her professionalism stemmed from knowing we were being watched and listened to. I would need to pull back, match her persona with my own.

  Maybe after the transaction was complete Sofia and I could resume the relationship course we’d been set on. The deal wouldn’t be in danger and my father’s warnings wouldn’t hold up to stay away from her.

  How could The Rossi argue with someone like Sofia? She was everything I needed in a woman, in a partner. As soon as the deal was complete, I would propose a new kind of deal. There’d be no going back from there.

  Not for me.

  Chapter 14

  Sofia

  What kind of a fool was I? To endanger everything I’d planned on, everything my team had worked for… I was the dumbest of fools.

  I was the fool who made decisions based on love. My chest hurt as I watched Angelo absorb what I’d written and conclude the meeting. Saving him meant I’d destroy my father, unless I could complete the tasks set before me.

  If he would take my warnings and stay away, we might be able to get enough soldiers to make the deal good for the US Attorney. My father had said we needed an underboss, but I wasn’t delivering Angelo up. No. I couldn’t.

  Admitting that I wasn’t invulnerable to the charm of a man was my first mistake. I’d planned on every other scenario. Falling for Angelo hadn’t been an option and now, there I was, dealing with the fallout. Or rather, preparing to deal with the fallout.

  After my note, Angelo cooled on the way he treated me and the expectation on his face faded as his understanding sharpened. I could hope he would do as I said and stayed away from the site. I don’t know what I would do, if he showed up.

  And saw me.

  My father expected me there. The rest of the team expected me there. I had to go to make sure things went smoothly. I grabbed my keys and went to the door, waving at Blue in the security camera and mouthed, “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  I left my cell on the desk.

  My father expected an underboss to be at the deal. Things had to come down and they had to happen now. I climbed into my car and drove the thirty minutes to the part of Little Italy that was run by the Bianchis. There was no doubt they’d seen me working with Angelo Rossi, their biggest enemy. The problem was more along the lines of how did I prove the shifting in allegiance?

  Pulling over into an alleyway just outside the territorial lines, I reached up to the visor and pulled the small transmitter from its spot and tossed it out the window. I took a deep breath, clenched my fists and started to pummel the left side of my face and collarbone.

  After what seemed to be sufficient bruising and swelling along the jawline and around the orbital socket, I took a steadying breath and created defensive wounds on my hands and forearms by scratching and clawing at the skin. The last thing I would need to do was tear the pants and shirt as well as scrape my knee before stumbling into Bianchi territory.

  That’s it. If that’s all I had to do, then why did I feel like I’d swallowed a rock?

  Knee bloodied and my lip beginning to swell from the beating, I made my way across the street and into the Italian pastry shop known as the main headquarters of the Bianchis within the agency.

  Foot traffic was light and I didn’t run into anyone until I was fully inside the shop. I lifted my head and tapped on the glass counter. I didn’t care what I looked like or who saw me – the more the merrier.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” A young woman gasped when she saw me, standing toward the rear door that led into the back.

  I nodded, catching movement behind her. “I want to see your boss, Mason Bianchi.” Stepping around the side, I didn’t have to fake my limp. In my need to be convincing, I’d gone a little overboard as I’d fallen to the ground. I might have heard something crack as I’d landed. Shaking it off, I moved toward the backdoor and inclined my head as I waited for the woman to step to the side.

  She ducked her head, avoiding my direct gaze. Fine. Whatever, just move. Had I bit my tongue? A shot of a coppery taste burst through my mouth and I couldn’t help wondering just how much I’d hurt myself.

  “What is it, Marla?” The tall Italian man with a commanding presence I’d started doing business with a month or two ago stepped into view, taking in my damaged appearance with a slightly raised eyebrow and otherwise unaffected expression. He wiped his hands on a towel and handed the cloth to the saleslady. “Ah, Ms. Thompson. What can I do for you?
Do you need some ice?”

  He decorously pushed the door to the back open further and I had no doubt that if I couldn’t convince him of the shift in position with the Capones and Rossis, I wouldn’t see another sunset outside that room. I’d left every possible way to call for help back in the car and on the sidewalk or in my office.

  Everything hinged on me convincing Mason that I was a slighted woman – the worst kind of woman to be in an Italian community. A slighted woman was excused of many things because seeking revenge was accepted and a woman sought it with a diligence that deserved respect.

  I limped past him, keeping my chin up as I took in the tables and chairs set up in the back. A closet-sized space held pastry preparation material and other inventory related items. The rest of the fifteen-hundred square foot area was set up like a mens’ club, fully stocked with over-muscled, dim-witted Italian nephews and cousins of Mason’s. I’d been in there once before. I had promised myself never to go back.

  Bruno, Mason’s nephew – at least according to the family dossier I had at the office – stood from his chair and pushed it out, careful to keep his gaze averted from my injuries. Good. Mason hadn’t divulged the end to our partnership. Then all I had to do was convince Mason to forgive me and take over the transfer.

  That’s all I had to do.

  Except it would be the hardest thing I could do. Mason had a thing for me and he hated Angelo with a passion, that passion would be turned back to me and it wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.

  Mason slouched into his spot at the head of the table and crossed his arms, watching as I gingerly sat in the seat. After I’d settled, he leaned forward, resting his arms on the edge of the table. “Okay, start talking, Sofia.”

  Sofia… He’d left the courtesies at the door. That wasn’t a good sign. I took a deep breath and decided to just go with frankness. Manipulating him wouldn’t be the best move, but playing on his pride and his ego would get me far.