Page 190 of Bleed with Me

The hard punch shut him up instantly. Zyon slammed the back of his gun against his cheek, and I turned away. A guttural groan and sounds of spitting came to me, but I refused to look at the scene even when it was breaking my heart.

“Speak,” Zyon growled. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I want… out,” Dad said, and I whipped my head toward him. A dark bruise formed on his cheekbone, swelling quickly. But I focused on his eyes. They were set on me. “A plane, a new identity… a new life.”

“What?” I breathed, blinking rapidly.

“Nina…” he paused, gulping audibly. “Nina can take over… the family. They will accept her.”

I looked at Dorian with my mouth hanging open. I didn’t know what to say.

“You want your daughter to lead the mob family at war?” Zyon rumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re fucking unbelievable.”

“I’m not that incompetent,” I interjected, fisting my palms so they stopped shaking. This was my chance to finally get what I was raised for. “I know what to do.”

“Theoretically,” Zyon retorted. “Practically, you have no idea how to get money flowing. You don’t have connections. He’ll leave you completely blind.”

Without thinking, I recited all ten companies that brought money to our family, plus three others that laundered it. I told him that I knew where the cash was stashed, the safe combinations, and the security protocol. I also had a notebook with numbers for my grandpa’s hitmen, including Dino and his crew.

“I’m not just a pretty face,” I stated confidently, knowing I’d impressed them, because Dorian stared at me as if he’d seen me for the first time, and Dad smiled proudly as if he deserved the credit. Only Zyon didn’t look convinced.

“Will your people respect you?” he asked, observing my face.

“With us backing her up?” Dorian rumbled, curling his arm around my waist possessively. “Who would dare not to? But.” He looked at me, his expression hardening. “I fucking hate it.”

“Why?” I raised a brow. “Because I’ll be the woman running a mafia family?”

“This again?” He shook his head, unimpressed. “It has nothing to do with you being a woman. It’s me,” he pointed his index finger at his chest, “a man who is shit scared that something bad happens to his wife.” He exhaled in resignation. “But if someone can pull it off, it’s you, ma vilaine.”

A wide grin stretched my lips, and I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. Scared or not, he trusted me enough to walk this path. I couldn’t ask for more.

“Cute,” Zyon interrupted our little moment. “Now back to business. We need the family to accept her.”

“They will,” Dad exhaled, glancing at me softly. “No one ever wanted me to lead. Giovanni did everything to present her as the true heir.”

“Why didn’t you let her then?” Zyon turned to him. “You claimed never to want the position, and if she is prepared… why stop her rise?”

Dad’s eyes met mine for a long, heavy moment. I saw the fight within him, the love he buried so deep I almost forgot about it.

“I wanted to protect you,” he whispered, blood from his broken nose dripping down his face. “What Giovanni did…” He trailed off, and Dorian groaned exasperatedly.

“Tell us already!” he yelled. “I’ll give you a new life and five million dollars right away! Just fucking talk!”

I turned to him, took his hand, and squeezed it gratefully.

“Where’s your patience, Doctor?” I teased, laughing at his annoyed expression before returning my attention to my father. “Talk, please. We need to know.”

“Do I have your word?” Dad looked Dorian dead in the eye. “You’ll protect her?”

“With my life,” Dorian replied without hesitation. I nuzzled against his side, his manly scent and the proximity of his body instantly calming me down.

“Giovanni borrowed money from a powerful group of people,” Dad started, fear contorting his face. “They call themselves The Circle. They’re not a family or a cartel.” His voice dropped to a whisper as if he worried someone might hear him talking about them. “They’re a network. Politicians, judges, businessmen, bankers—people you see on television and shake hands with at charity dinners. Respectable on the outside. Rotten underneath.”

My stomach clenched.

“They protect each other. They buy information, bury investigations, make witnesses disappear. And money isn’t even their most valuable currency.” His jaw clenched. “Children are.”

My heart stopped momentarily, and Dorian’s arm clung to me tighter.