I held on to him even tighter as we rode back to the mansion, not because I was scared of the bike, but because I wanted to be as close to him as possible.
The moment we pulled up in front of the mansion, the door opened and Dad stepped out, looking royally pissed.
I dismounted the bike. “You better leave, I’ll handle him.”
Maddox shook his head and got off as well. “I’m not a coward. I’ll bring you to the door like any good gentleman would.”
“Since when are you a gentleman?” I asked.
Dad waited for us with crossed arms. I really wished Maddox would have listened to me.
Maddox nodded. “I hope we didn’t break Marcella’s curfew,” he said.
Of course he couldn’t refrain from provoking Dad, which was the equivalent of poking an angry bear.
I quickly pressed up to Dad and wrapped my arms around his right arm—his gun and knife hand, even if he could fight with both hands—to stop him from attacking Maddox.
“This was stupid,” he snarled. “There’s a reason why I keep several bodyguards around Marcella. You should know best how easy it is to kidnap a person.”
Maddox smiled tightly. “I was by her side the entire time. I would have protected her, and attackers would have had a hard time following us on my Harley.”
“They could have rammed you with their car. We don’t know how many of your biker friends are still out there thirsting for revenge and you endanger my daughter!”
“It was my choice. I wanted to be alone with Maddox, Dad. I don’t want to live in fear of a possible attack all my life. I want to live.”
“If you’re dead, that definitely won’t happen,” Dad growled.
I dug my nails into his arm. “I’m an adult, so if you want to blame someone, blame me.”
“I’ll always protect Marcella with my life, you can count on that,” Maddox said fiercely.
“Why don’t you talk another time? It’s already late and you’re mad because of the party anyway,” I said.
Dad gave a terse nod but kept glaring daggers at Maddox. I gave Maddox a smile. “Good night,” I said but didn’t kiss him. Maddox gave me a smile and nodded at my father before he walked back to his bike. I watched him drive away then I followed Dad back inside.
Mom came down the stairs, already in her nightgown and without makeup. “Marci! We worried about you.”
“Mom, I’m fine. Maddox and I can handle it. I bet it’s less dangerous for me to ride through the city unrecognized on Maddox’s bike than in a black limousine that everyone recognizes as Famiglia owned. And you went to Chicago on your own when you were only a few years older than me and nothing happened.”
“I was captured by the enemy and could have been killed.”
“But nothing happened,” I insisted.
Dad shook his head. “This event comes to bite me in the ass twice.”
“Eventually I’ll be alone with Maddox all the time. You often go out with mom alone, without any bodyguards, and she’s as much a target as I am.”
“She’s with me then and I’d kill anyone who’d dare to attack us.”
“Maddox would do the same.”
I could see that Dad doubted it. “Maddox loves me,” I said firmly. “He’d die for me.”
“I don’t doubt that he thinks he loves you but I doubt his abilities to fight off an attack by himself. He’s used to fight in a group. He doesn’t have the same training like me or our men do. If the Bratva attacked you and not just a group of hillbilly bikers, he wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe I should get a gun then as well. If I’ll become part of the business, that would be best, right?”
I’d never really felt the desire to handle weapons myself, but it seemed only logical for me to know how to use them if the need ever arose.
“This is not what I wanted for you,” Dad said.
I knew he didn’t just mean me becoming part of the business or handling guns. “But it’s what I want, Dad.”
Luca called me in for a meeting the next day. I was sure this was about what had happened last night, so I was surprised when Growl and three other enforcers of lower rank, whose names I had trouble remembering, were also in Luca’s office in the Sphere.
Luca nodded when I came in, his face emotionless. Only his eyes showed that he was still pissed at me. Fifteen minutes later my suspicion was confirmed when Luca announced that he’d send me on a mission with the three enforcers to search for a group of Earl supporters who were sighted in the area. Information about their whereabouts were vague and we were supposed to trail them and eliminate them. We’d probably be gone for at least a week. The hiding places that were still options for them were at least fifty miles up north of New York.