Page 27 of His Prize

“You don’t ask for much.”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

“So, I take it you’re going to ask me to do something now?”

His eyes held mine. “You’re going to marry your ex and get that woman out of your home so we can get the monetary support the Espositos have behind them.”

I blinked. “You’re kidding.”

“Son, I know you two have history—”

“Yeah. Where she lied to me for a year and a half before I proposed to her and she disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Yes, I know. But, she’s still the same woman you fell in love with. She’s just got a new name now.”

“No, she’s got a new everything. She’s nothing like the woman I fell in love with. She’s nothing like the woman I dated. I still haven’t figured out why the hell she strung me along like she did without ever telling me who she was and until I have that answer? I’m not doing anything else with her.”

“I thought she already gave you that answer.”

I snickered. “She told me she wanted to have a ‘normal dating experience’ with someone. I think it’s more nefarious than that, though.”

“You read too much into things, son. She was a lost girl back then who just wanted to make decisions for her own life. Like you want to do right now. Only this time, the right answer is staring you in the face for the second time.”

I sighed. “Dad, look—”

“I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I’m tired of watching you dance around and waste your life away.”

“Why can’t Gio marry the damn woman? The two of them would get along splendidly!”

“You keep the volume of your voice down when you’re speaking with me, boy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And you better be wise as to who you’re speaking with, old man. Because you don’t own the seat of this family anymore.”

He grinned. “Are you threatening your father?”

“If that means he understands his place, yes.”

His eye twitched. “I may not be the head of this family anymore, but I’m still your father. And I’m telling you, your mother and I are arranging this marriage whether you want it to happen or not.”

I pointed at him. “The only thing you want from this is a chance to invest in their blood-filled diamond business. The only thing in this for you is more money than what you already have. You don’t give a shit about me, or about her, or about whatever this alliance might do to us. All you care about is getting Bonnie away from me and filling my bed with some cheap knock-off of some girl I fell in love with years ago.”

Dad came around to stand next to me. “You listen to me and you listen good, boy. You want power and freedom? You want this city to fall at your feet like you wanted when I first handed you this position? Then, heed my words: you can’t have either of those until you do what’s right for the future of this family. And teaming up with another powerful family is exactly what you need to make sure you obtain that for yourself. For the future generations of this family. For your children, Israel.”

No. If I want power and freedom, I just have to get rid of you.

As I stood there, staring down my father, I wondered if I was willing to kill my father for the sake of my future. Because from where I stood, the only person still meddling in my bullshit was him. I hadn’t heard from Gio since we’d cornered him. Bonnie’s family had been silent since the car accident a few days back. And the only person still harassing me over petty bullshit like this was the man eyeing me from his perched peak.

Can I really kill my father?

I tried to rack my brain for alternatives. Other solutions to this issue besides gunning down my father. But, I couldn't come up with any. It all came back to whether or not I had the stomach to separate family from business. I felt torn between two worlds: a world with my family and a world with Bonnie.

On the one hand, that woman had brought a great deal of frustration and heartache into my life. But, on the other hand, I couldn't imagine not waking up to her in the mornings. Not having coffee with her before I went to work. Not arguing with her before inevitably taking her body as my own.

Oh, the things she and I could become.

But, if I stayed with Bonnie, my father still had the right to rip this position away from me. He could remove me from the family throne and hand it over to Gio before putting a hit out on my head in a heartbeat. And Lord knew, my brother was much easier to manipulate than myself. Surely, my father knew that.

Yes, he does. That’s why he’s strong-arming you like this.

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