Prologue A
She hated these things. Even though she was nineteen years old and most of her friends would have loved to be part of the excitement of attending such an event, it was full of her father’s friends, and to them she was simply a little girl. She needed to avoid him at all costs.
Giada Amalfi Puglisi was on her father’s s**t list for getting tangled up in a situation and he found out. While in his limo business he was happy to groom her to take over, for real family business, like the rest of the Amato Family, he was stuck in the old ways. The women in the family were treated like princesses. Heaven forbids, any girl offered an opinion on how the business could be run. She had thousands of new ideas, but they’d never be heard if the old guard had their way.
She was lucky of course. Her daddy didn’t treat her the way many of the Don’s other family members and associates treated their daughters. She wasn’t constantly surrounded by bodyguard or being pushed off in arranged marriages. Most importantly, her father taught her how to use a gun and defend herself. Her mother, despite being a hairdresser and wanting nothing to do with the violence of the life, also taught her some very valuable tricks on distracting a man when caught in a bad situation. Since a very young age her dad even took with her on multiple trips where he performed more of the ruthless side of the business. It made her hard where it counted. Overall, she knew she brilliant, tough, and innovative.
Yet, her father’s boss refused to let girls into the rankings.
Since graduating high school at the top of her class, for the last year and a half, she performed freelance work found for her by one of her old classmates in the darkest parts of the web. She and a very tight knit group of friends were doing experiments with poison.
This week it caught up to her when her father found out and called it into the Don. She’d been called in front of the boss and while she admittedly nearly shat her pants, she’d held her chin up while she’d been told off.
The Don was clear. There was no way he was letting girls, especially his goddaughter, work as a soldier. He then ordered her father Gil to bar her from accompanying him on any further of his assignments. He was explicit. If she wanted to be part of the organization, she could continue to work at his club, Skin as a server. It was the only offer on the table.
Fuck that. She was going for a different angle. If the old Don wouldn’t let her join, maybe the new guard would.
She adjusted her mask making way through the crowd, easily picking out the face of Cipriano “Cap” Amato. Towering over most of the men in the room attending the masquerade party his mother threw in honor of his father’s birthday. The father and son duo, Don, and Cap, were always at loggerheads. She was going to be the thing they fought over, and she was certain Cap would win. He was the future. She wanted part of it.
Cap was a gorgeous man. He was s*x on legs. She and her best friend Silver agreed if the opportunity ever presented itself, they wouldn’t say no, hell they’d even share him.
They weren’t his type though. He liked the fancy shore girls with their short skirts. She was more tomboy than s*x kitten. Tonight though, she needed to fake it to get closer to him to have the conversation. Her mother was a Jersey salon owner. She knew how to play dress up. Gone were the jeans and black t-shirts she normally wore and despite her hair truly being incredibly short, Silver added extensions to her hair. It was now long, thick silky tresses hanging down her back and she admitted, she liked the look. She was tempted to grow her hair out after tonight.
Everything hinged on getting him to agree to let her join the soldier’s ranks. If she could convince him of her skills, then she could work for the family. She needed to tread carefully. She approached Cipriano but half-turned away when his friend grew closer to him.
“This party is boring as s**t. Your mother has the bartenders serving only champagne until ten.”
“I know,” Cap passed a flask to Tulio. “I need a distraction.”
“Hey Tulio,” a saccharine sweet voice interrupted.
“Thank f*****g god,” the man nearly lifted the woman off her feet. “Bye Cap. My girl needs tending to.”
His girl? Giada scoffed. As if.
“You find something funny?” Cap’s voice cut into her thoughts.
She wondered if he knew who she was. She was nervous despite the mask covering the upper portion of her face, “Other than the girl actually believing Tulio thinks she is his girl, no. She’ll be his girl right up until he pulls out.”
Cap lifted an eyebrow at the blunt comment, “You’re right.”
“Where’s your mask?” she questioned him.
“I’m the tallest man in the room. I don’t think a mask is really going to hide who I am.”
“True,” she agreed.
“That’s quite the dress you have on.”
“I know,” she answered cockily. “You should see what it’s covering.”
“Are you flirting with me?”
“No. I’m just a girl. Not allowed to anything.”
“What do you want to do?”
“All the things the boys can do.”
“Like what?”
“I have ideas. I wanted you to listen to them.”
He stepped closer to her blocking her view of the ballroom. “Can you f**k?”
“I wanted to talk.” Her cheeks flushed at his blunt comment grateful for the mask hiding half her face.
“Sure, you want to talk. Nobody here wants to talk. The men in this room want to kill each other and f**k each other’s wives. You belong to anyone here?”
“No.” She shook her head swallowing wondering where this conversation was going.
“You don’t want to talk. I’ll ask again, can you f**k or are you one of the multitudes of pillow princesses in this shithole.”
“I’m not a virgin, and I know what I’m doing, if it’s what you’re asking.”
“I’m asking if you f**k,” he stared into her eyes peering through the mask. “Your ass is out of this world. I want it out of the dress and in my hands while I plow you.” He pressed her against the bar. “I saw you entering the room. You stood at the door looking around. You were looking for me,” he called her out bluntly. “You’re here to find me. You came looking for me. I know you approached me for a reason. I’m presuming you want my c**k, buried deep either to piss off a boyfriend or husband or simply out of curiosity. Lucky for you, this is the most boring party I’ve ever been forced to attend, and I need the distraction.” He didn’t look away, “do you want to f**k? Yes, or no?”
“Yes.”
