Instead, he came over to my bed, sat beside me, and placed his hand on my cheek … warm and as soft as a woman’s hand. “How do you feel this morning?” he asked.
I shrugged and lied. “Great.”
He pulled his hand away. “That’s good.” He opened his mouth to speak when another knock sounded my door. We both looked towards the door. “Come in,” I called.
Gemma popped her head in, her smile lighting up the room, then dying somewhat when she spotted my father. “I’ve brought breakfast, but I can come back later if now is not a good time.”
“No, no, bring it in,” my father said cordially.
She came into the room then and stood back to allow the maid behind her holding a big tray of food to approach my bed.
I wasn’t usually served breakfast in my room. Not that I would have wanted it. I preferred to have my breakfast in the kitchen, but since my foiled kidnapping last night, it was apparent Gemma had decided to pamper me for the next few days.
Once the legs of the tray were securely locked in place and the tray placed in front of me, Gemma and the maid hurriedly took their leave.
I could tell Gemma had wanted to spend some time with me, but my father’s presence made that impossible. I didn’t blame her. Even I felt intimidated and on edge when I was around him.
My gaze moved across the tray; from the small basket of croissant and muffins, to the stack of mini pancakes, to the bowl of fruit, and to the large plate of scrambled eggs, toast, cheese, fried sausages and bacon. “This is way too much,” I mumbled.
“I’ll help out,” my father offered cheerfully.
I smiled back, but I felt super awkward inside. Dad never came to my room to have breakfast with me. Hell, he hardly ever ate breakfast with any of us.
He picked up a grape and popped it into his mouth. “I have a flight to Florence this morning,” he said. “I’ll only return in three days, so I wanted to talk with you before I left.”
I nodded. “The uh … men from yesterday … do you have any idea what the attack was about? Was it something personal … to you, I mean?”
“It’s always personal, Sienna.” He picked up one of the croissants and began to lather it with apricot jam. “It’s the nature of my world. Trying to keep count of the enemies I have would be like trying to trap water in my hands. What was jarring yesterday, was you getting harassed. I’ve tried my best for so many years to keep you away from it all and yesterday, those bastards crossed the line, daring to come after you. I have no choice now but to indulge in an awesome act of carnage to show them all that such behavior will never be tolerated.”
I dropped my gaze down to the fantastic spread of food. “I’m sorry, Papa.”
He set his croissant down on the tray without taking a bite. “Look at me.”
I lifted my gaze to his.
He stared into my eyes, his own were like wet black stones. Impenetrable, unknowable. “Don’t ever be so reckless again.”
I shook my head slowly.
“Promise me you won’t.”
“I promise, I won’t,” I replied sincerely, looking into those hypnotic wet black stones.
“Good.” He sighed with relief. “I’m sorry you cannot do the things you want to do, but as I have explained before, our family is not typical, little one. At every turn, there are people waiting to take us out of the game, and that is why we constantly have to be vigilant and careful. I’m getting old, and to those that covet my throne that is a weakness.” He frowned. “I also don’t have a son, which is an even bigger weakness. There are upstarts, killer sharks, constantly attacking the edges of my turf. And we will continue to be their target, unless you get married to another powerhouse. Then our strength will be multiplied ten-fold and these predators will think twice about attacking us. But right now, we’re as naked as mad men on the streets."
My heart ached at his words. I wanted to ask him why he needed to be at the top of the predator chain. Why he couldn’t just retire and let them take over. Didn’t we already have enough? But yesterday’s incident had severely humbled me.
I couldn’t say a single word.
“Everything I do is to make sure that my family is okay. That you all are protected and lack for nothing. I know that you might not think much of Fabio right now, but give him a chance. He can protect you. Get to know him a bit more. You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”
I didn’t dare lift my head up because my eyes had filled with tears. I tried to hold them back with everything I had, but they rolled down my cheeks.