The Forbidden Prince

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  Every other day, it seemed Seattle was treated to a deluge of rain. That day was no different. I ducked my head to see through the slant of my windshield up at the sky. A large, low hanging dark cloud seemed to have the lines of Sofia’s rear end. Was it wrong that I couldn’t get pictures of her out of my head?

  Instead of dinging, my phone rang. Swiping the screen, I leaned back in the chair. I wasn’t driving since I wasn’t sure what my orders were for the day. The situation with the deal had come down to that was the only thing my father wanted me working on. He’d helped me replace my pickups and even the soldier training.

  If I could seal the deal with the Thompson group, I might be in more of a position to take over as dom than I’d planned.

  I lifted the phone to my ear, cocking my head to the side. “Hey, Rossi.” Father didn’t like to be referred to as dad or anything else while we were handling business. He even had hours when he expected the line to be drawn between the two.

  “Angelo, I got a call from Sofia this morning. She said she will continue working with you. There is a shipment today. I expect you to meet her at Little Bella’s for lunch. You’ll pay. Make it clear you’re there as my representative. She seemed curious why I wasn’t coming. You need to explain that I’m training you.” Training. The Rossi only did what was beneficial to him.

  I understood that. I nodded, glancing out the side window and catching sight of a man lowering a camera and then ducking in his seat. Narrowing my eyes, I lowered my voice. “Got it. I’ll order manicotti.” Any mention of manicotti during a conversation was code to inform the other that we were being watched or followed.

  My father’s voice hardened. “Order it without the sauce.” He hung up. His last line left little doubt to what he expected me to do. Lose the tail or take care of them.

  The immediate drop into unpredictability concerned me. We didn’t know who the man was with the camera, but judging by the nondescript car, they were most likely government. The Rossi knew better than to order a hit on someone we didn’t have a full dossier on. Impetuous calls like that were the reason I was labeled as out of control. Everyone assumed it was me calling shots without thinking.

  I don’t think anyone knew just how crazy my father’s orders could get.

  Regardless, I had a few hours to lose him before meeting Sofia for lunch. I was more than little excited wondering just what she would let me say and do that day. The woman was an enigma and I couldn’t help but look ward with anticipation in figuring out the puzzle.

  ~~~

  Standing from my seat in Little Bella’s at the arresting sight of Sofia gliding across the restaurant, I inclined my head, careful to keep my gaze trained above her neck. With the ruby red dress outlining the shape of her body as a siren, I found the task of being gentlemanly more difficult than I’d imagined.

  Sofia side-smiled and shook her head. She stepped back from the table and cocked an eyebrow. “Mr. Rossi, a woman wears a dress like this hoping the man she’s meeting looks. I’m giving you permission to look your fill.” The delicate tones of her voice covered the power she carried like velvet over stone.

  I didn’t hesitate as I scanned her from head to toe, appreciative of every line and shadow. After I’d taken a full minute to quench my thirst, I rounded the table and took her hand in mine, kissing the back as if she were royalty. Staring into her eyes, I had the distinct impression I was getting in over my head. “Ms. Thompson, you are stunning.” I grinned. “But I think you know that.”

  Holding out her chair, I waited until she slid into the cushioned seat before scooting it in. Returning to my own seat, I motioned for the waiter. Leaning across the table, I pointed toward the menu. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to order for us both.”

  Sofia narrowed her eyes. “How do you know what I’ll like or what I’m in the mood for?” She licked her bottom lip and my stomach clenched.

  “It doesn’t matter what you think you’re in the mood for. Life is made better by eating Little Bella’s gnocchi. The sauce is magical.” There was no difficulty holding the intimacy in my tone. I wanted to ignore Blue standing to the side by the wall, keeping an eye on the occupants of the restaurant. Part of me wondered if she was ever alone, but at the same time, if she was as big as my father said, she probably had backup for her backup security members.

  “Alright, Mr. Rossi. I’ll let you pick my meal, but only if you call me Sofia.” The flirtation was going to be my undoing. There was too much to appeal to me and I might have to sample her on the side and somehow not let my father find out.

  Maybe she and I could keep things casual. There had to be a chance she wouldn’t be interested in anything more concrete than breakfast after our time together.

  “I’ll call you Sofia, if you’ll call me Angelo.” The stakes were high, but the physical attraction wasn’t to be denied. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I was going to make sure she didn’t want to do business with anyone but me.

  The waiter arrived and I ordered for the both of us while Sofia ran her finger along the side of her water glass. A flash of something I couldn’t define but that I most definitely recognized crossed her expression and then was gone.

  I leaned to the side, studying the features of a woman I wanted to know, but that I was acutely aware I knew nothing about. “I don’t know you, Sofia. I find that disconcerting.”

  She slowly raised her eyes to pierce me with confidence. “What do you want to know, Angelo? I’ll let you ask me three questions and I’ll give you completely unfettered answers. All bets are off any other time.” There was a playfulness to her tone, but I had a feeling this would be my only shot at getting anything out of her – if she played by her rules.

  I considered her, tossing around the possibilities. What could I ask her that would get me the most information without offending her? Was there a question that would tell me everything I needed to know or would I just be playing with fire to ask her the ones I really wanted to know?

  The silence stretched on until the salads came out with their croutons and parmesan cheese. I lifted my chin, still studying her, the air charged between us as we couldn’t look away from each other. “Okay, I have my questions.”

  She picked up her fork, her small smile hinting at a teasing. “Well, they must be good.” Spearing a grape tomato, she carefully placed it in her mouth and chewed, waiting for my first one.

  “What is your favorite memory of your childhood?” If I could disarm her with a personal memory, I might be able to jar something out of her for the last two.

  “Oh, good move. Starting with something personal. I like that.” She lifted her napkin and dabbed at her lips which were stained the same red as her dress. I wanted to reach across and trace her lips with my thumb, but I gripped my fork instead.

  She replaced her napkin and looked down at the table while she thought. After a moment, she met my gaze again. “I was maybe five or six and my father came home from work. He worked so much, we rarely saw him. I couldn’t sleep, so I went down into the kitchen because a light was on. My father stood by the table with a bowl of ice cream in his hands. He glanced up at me and didn’t say anything. Just pulled out another bowl and scooped some ice cream in. He handed me the new bowl and we went out on the back porch and sat in silence, eating our ice cream and staring at the full moon.”

  The simple beauty in the memory made me long for an easier time. Out of all the memories she could have chosen, she picked one with her father. Interesting.

  “Thank you. My next question revolves around work.” I reached for a slice of garlic bread with its chunks of minced garlic and thick handmade butter. Her gaze flickered like she didn’t want to talk about work. Interesting for a woman with so much wrapped in her work.

  I pressed on. “What is your goal around partnering with the Rossis? I mean, why us, why not the Capones or the Bianchis?”

  She stretched her long legs out, her shiny heels catching my eye from the side of the t
able. “Another good question. Well, Angelo,” The curl of my name on her lips was arresting. “I looked at the Bianchis, to be honest. There’s a lot there that the Rossis and the Capones won’t do that the Bianchis will. You weren’t my first choice. However, the newest alignment between the two families through your sister definitely improved your chances. Plus, the underboss of the Bianchis is… well, a misogynist is the nicest phrase I can say. Do you think I made a poor choice?”

  Her frankness startled me and pushed me a little closer to pursuing her, my father be hanged.

  I didn’t answer her question, choosing instead to study her before asking the third question I could feel in my gut was going to be the catalyst in the relationship. If she answered yes, everything would change. If she answered no, I’d let my father know I couldn’t continue working with her.

  Taking a drink of my water, I set the condensation spotted glass back on the tablecloth. “Which is more important, Sofia, loyalty or truth?” How she answered that would determine where we went. I stopped breathing for the space of a heart beat.

  Without hesitation, Sofia replied. “Loyalty.”

  And with that, she sealed our fate. A woman who openly admitted that loyalty was more important than truth was being honest that she would lie and she expected others to do the same.

  “My turn, Angelo, but I only want one question.” She studied me, the green of her eyes hypnotic and stark with the paleness of her skin and the dark contrast of her eyes frame in thick black lashes. I didn’t answer as I waited for her question. She didn’t smile as she leaned forward, lowering her voice so Blue and anyone else couldn’t hear. “Do you feel this between us?”

  Her boldness made me drop my fork on the table beside the plate. I wasn’t sure who she was, but she wasn’t a docile Italian woman like the ones my father wanted me to wed.

  I swallowed the bite of bread in my mouth and chuckled while staring at her. “You mean the fact that my body is very aware of every move you make? Yeah, I can most definitely feel it.” I could be honest, too.

  Much to my amusement, my answer didn’t faze her as she speared another bite of salad. She grinned and nodded in a short up and down motion. “Good. Then we both understand each other.”

  “That we do.” I wasn’t sure just what was happening, but I was going to have a heckuva time explaining to The Rossi why I was going to dinner with Sofia every night that week, and probably into the next. This woman wasn’t the type you grew bored of. If anything, she was dangerous in that she might just wrap me around her fingers and I wouldn’t know what hit me.

  Chapter 4

  Sofia

  I was in over my head and I knew it. The call that the shipment was in and in place came to both of us at the same time, signaling that the meal was over. Leaving Angelo with the promises in his eyes and the lazy appreciation he perused me with only left me wanting more.

  In the backseat of the car with Blue driving, I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands as I stared out the windows at the rain.

  What was I doing? I was getting in too deep and nothing had even started yet.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” Blue could have been reading my mind. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, worry squinting the corners into fine lines.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my elbow on the armrest of the door, rubbing my hand over my forehead. “No. I don’t.” Angelo had taken all of the rumors about him and compounded their effect. I’d been too busy thinking I could handle him when I had no plans on what to do when he handled me.

  Three questions. With three questions, he’d decimated me. I could honestly say I had leveled the playing field with my own question, but at the same time, I’d left myself even more vulnerable than I’d started.

  He knew I knew there was something between us. He knew I knew that he knew. I knew I was screwed.

  “Remember, you have a job to do. If we can get the Rossis? We can have our pick of anywhere we want to work.” He turned the car toward the wharf warehouse. I wasn’t in love with the place, but for all intents and purposes, it was my home and had been for almost a year.

  Blue had his own place on the bottom level while I had the entire suite upstairs. It wasn’t the Rossis so much as it was a huge family of organized crime on the west coast. That’s what was so appealing. Since the main five Italian families on the east coast were tied up in legal issues for years, no one could do anything else in that part of the country.

  Going after the crime families on the west coast was my father’s idea. All I ever wanted was his approval, so I went along with it.

  No one had warned me I’d be vulnerable to the likes of Angelo Rossi. The rumors about him could be myths, except they were all true. Everything about me screamed I was in danger. A delicious danger I wasn’t sure I wanted to be free from. I adjusted my legs and tried to think of anything but the way he’d looked at me.

  The lines were blurred between the Sofia I was being and the Sofia I was. Would I recognize the real me, if I ever got to see her again? What if I’d pretended her away? That Sofia would never have demanded that an attractive man like Angelo look her over. She never would have brazenly asked him if he felt the same pull she did.

  What was I doing?

  Blue parked the car in the garage and we parted ways. I climbed the stairs, turning up the heat as I reached the thermostat by the top of the steps. The warehouse was a great front but it sucked while trying to find comfort.

  I slipped my shoes off and shed my dress before turning on the bath. As water thundered into the jetted bowl, I pinned my curls on top of my head and then lowered myself into the rising warmth. A bath in the middle of the day would seem weird, except my day would continue after a short nap.

  With more information to report and some other meetings with other members of different families to conduct, my day would end well into the early morning of the next day.

  Leaning my head back, I couldn’t help wondering when I should arrange another meeting with Angelo. No matter what, I had to be prepared. I had a job to do and I couldn’t let his magnetism distract me. I couldn’t let his simmering tug on my insides have any more effect than I could control.

  Staring up at the ceiling, I struggled to quell the sinking sensation in my gut that I was most definitely in over my head and it was too late to back out now. Even if my father would let me and the entire task force could forgive me, my need to see Angelo again held me in place.

  Yes, things were about to get very dangerous indeed.

  Chapter 5

  Angelo

  The call from my father jerked me from a sound sleep. I blinked, blearily taking in the light from my cell screen, the still dark of night outside my bedroom window claiming it was still night.

  Growling, I pulled the phone up and swiped the screen, closing my eyes as I shoved it against my ear. “Someone better be dead.” The red digits from my alarm clock had screamed three-thirty-three before I’d shut my eyes.

  “Someone might as well be.” My father’s husky voice seemed quieter, softer. His tone alerted me this wasn’t just any call, but one I needed to be wary of.

  Popping my eyes open, I jerked to a sitting position on my bed. No one else was with me, even if I wanted Sofia there. Everything was clear for me to have a serious conversation with The Rossi. He’d called from his restricted line which was a burnout phone no one but me and Stephenie, my sister, had. “It’s clear.”

  “We have a mole. Anything you do for the next few weeks, you do with extreme prejudice. Don’t trust anyone, Angelo. Do you understand me. I mean no one.” My father was famous for his gut instinct. Stories circled about him skipping one of the biggest dom meetings in the history of the families because of a feeling it wasn’t going to be safe. Everyone had been arrested and dealt with legal issues for years. He’d saved himself by listening to his instincts.

  I had no doubt that what he said was truth. In fact, I’d had similar concerns, but who? I casually draped my
free arm around my drawn-up knees and stared into the dim interior of my room. “Do you have suspicions?”

  “As soon as I find out who the traitor is…” The promises would be carried out, spoken aloud or not. I got my ruthlessness from him. Where he was more calculated and planned, I relished acting without premeditation when it came to enacting revenge.

  “Should we be doing the deal with the Thompsons? This seems risky to chase after if we’re not completely sure about our people.” I hated to voice it, but trusting our family should be a guarantee. We shouldn’t have to worry about it. Yet, there we were, talking about someone sharing our secrets like they longed to get us all thrown in jail.

  There was no doubt a mole would be a family member. That’s all the Rossis were – family. We didn’t let in outsiders. It was an unspoken rule that might have been murmured a few times in the past. The only way you were allowed into the Rossi circle of trust was if you married in and had proven yourself. Until that point, we treated you like the interloper you were.

  “We need this deal, Angelo. This could turn into my legacy I would hand over to you. If we cultivate it carefully, it could become yours as well.” He paused, the silence heavy as I waited for him to continue. “No, we need to flesh this traitor out. Continue as planned. I’ll see if I can recruit the Capones into figuring out our little problem. Do whatever it takes to make this project happen. Do you hear me? The deal is the most important thing here.”

  “I hear you, sir.” I set my jaw as we hung up. I didn’t need to be told not to trust anyone. I already had very few people I actually trusted in my life. How much more suspicion would darken my heart and turn my soul to charcoal? I wasn’t stupid. Being constantly on guard against betrayal wasn’t good for my health.