Page 33 of Mob Princess

10

Israel

“Son?”Dad asked.

I sat down at the kitchen table, trying to get myself under control. That woman wrecked me. “I’m here. Everything all right?”

“You sound out of breath. What’s going on?”

“Just a self-defense lesson.”

He paused. “For who? You don’t need it.”

“For Bonnie. She does.”

“That woman needs a lot of things. But she doesn’t need a way to defend herself.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ve got a long afternoon ahead of me. What do you need?”

“Did I catch you at a bad time, oh son of mine?”

I bit back my sarcastic response, because if I disrespected my father too much, he’d rip this role away from me in a heartbeat and give it to my brother. Which would surely spell disaster for our entire family.

“You know it’s always a bad time for personal calls. That’s just how it is,” I said.

He chuckled. “Well, get yourself a glass of wine and listen up. Because I’ve got a proposition for you.”

“Oh?” Israel wasn’t sure if he should be worried or excited.

“Get that glass of wine.”

“I’m fine with my water, Dad. What’s going on?”

He paused. “You ready?”

I sighed, pretty sure he wasn’t going to like what was coming next. He might need something stronger than wine. “Yes. I’m ready.”

“I’ve set you up on a lunch date.”

I’d been right to wary. “A what?”

“A lunch date. And you’ll never guess with who.”

I didn’t want to know because the only woman I could think of at that moment was the one who’d managed to get my blood pumping. “Who?”

“A woman who can offer our family better connections, a safer future, and a place for your brother, so he isn’t constantly breathing down your neck.”

“Ah.”

“What?”

“So, this isn’t a business lunch date.”

“Of course, it is. It’s always business.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to set up a married man on a date, Dad.”

He scoffed. “You aren’t married. You and I both know that. The contract was null and void when we figured out—”

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