Pulling up to Aidan’s home, I’m shocked, yet again. It looks like a modern Italian villa. The outside of the home even has pillars and rock all the way around. It doesn’t look like anything I would ever picture Aidan purchasing, which means his wife picked it out—whoever she is.

No words are spoken as we exit the vehicle and walk up the rock staircase that leads toward the glass and wrought-iron front door. Tipping my head back, I’m met with an entrance that is top to bottom glass, surrounded by wrought iron and a chandelier, that’s just the front entrance before I even walk inside of the home.

Aidan glides past me, not even pulling a key out to unlock the front door, which can only mean that he has a staff. I follow behind him until he keeps moving throughout the home. I choose to stay in the receiving room, instead of going with him upstairs to where his daughter’s room presumably is.

The sofa is white, and the floors are marble. No man would ever choose this on his own, and as I glance around at the ostentatious décor, I know for a downright fact that Aidan would never decorate his house this way. He’s almost obsessed with things not being fancy, no shimmer and shine, and yet this entire home, I can tell, was decorated by a woman who was trying to show off.

My stomach turns as I think about his requirements for me. No makeup, no flashy lingerie or shoes. His wife is flashy, she’s over the top, and he wants the exact opposite in his bed now. She was probably blonde haired and blue eyed as well, maybe rail thin, and always perfect looking.

I stay seated on the edge of the sofa, afraid to touch it and leave stains. Not that I have anything on me or my hands, but it’s just that perfectly white.

“She’s in her bed with the nanny now,” Aidan announces as he walks into the room. I jump, not having expected him to appear so soon. “Giovanna?” he asks.

Lifting my head, I look at him. He looks so serious, and his face is etched with worry. No longer is he concerned with my father, his call, or Blackburn. Now, he’s just a worried father.

“Why don’t you go take care of her? I can wait right here for whoever is to pick me up.”

His brows tug together, and he frowns before he speaks. “Isla is with her nanny, Giovanna. She’s fine,” he mutters.

I shake my head. “She was wrapped around you like that was the only place she wanted to be.”

I know, because it’s where I want to be as well. Isla can have that, she can have Aidan, however, I cannot, so he should be with her and not his whore.

“The others will be home from school soon,” he murmurs.

My mouth drops open. “Others?” I ask.

He smirks. “I have four children, Giovanna. Isla is my youngest.”

Four. Four children. My head spins from his words. No wonder he always came to my bed so late, no wonder he wasn’t consistent. No wonder he wanted to fuck a prostitute. With four children, I assume time is limited, and dalliances are not something he has the time or inclination for. It all makes so much sense to me now. Also, he wouldn’t want to bring some strange woman to his home, parade her in front of his children, just to have her never come back.

“And Mrs. O’Neil?” I ask quietly, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He snorts. “Don’t know. Living far away from here with cabana boys, I assume,” he shrugs.

I nod, understanding the situation completely now. Stupidly, I let my heart feel for him. I knew I shouldn’t have, and I did it anyway. There was no way to guard myself from Aidan O’Neil, I’m not sure any woman truly could. Now, I’m sitting in his perfect living room, decorated by a woman who is long gone, waiting for someone to pick me up so that I can perform my duties for Blackburn.

“Go to Isla, Aidan,” I whisper.

His gaze leaves mine and he looks upstairs before he comes back to me. “Timofei is going to have you set up in a safe house until he meets with Blackburn himself.”

I lift my chin, unable to speak aloud. I knew it was what would happen, and still, I’m sad. I had moments, glimpses of hope that somehow my life would be changed by this man, but they were all illusions of grandeur—nothing more.

Aidan nods then turns from me without saying another word. I watch as he walks up the staircase toward his beautiful sick daughter, then I turn back around, and I wait for whoever it is that will pick me up. I feel like the cargo that I am, which is all that I will ever be.

This whole thing is nothing if not a reminder of who I am. I needed it before I was sucked too deeply into my false self-illusions. It was good for me—that’s what I tell myself anyway.

Pussy.

Giant fucking pussy.

That’s what I am as I watch Dominik, one of Timofei’s men, guide Giovanna out of my home and into his car. I’m standing at Isla’s window while she sleeps, like a fucking cunt, and watching the woman who has wormed her way beneath my skin walk away from me.

My phone rings and I quickly answer it. Not wishing to wake Isla up, with quick strides, I leave her room. I gently close the door behind me when I do, so I don’t wake her up with my conversation.

“Dominik has picked up Giovanna, and my meeting with Blackburn is set for tomorrow at six before tribute at the Oleandr,” Timofei states. The Oleandr is a Russian restaurant he owns, and much like the bar for me, it is where he conducts most of his business.

“I’ll be there,” I state.

Timofei chuckles. “Why would you care to be there, Aidan?” he asks, sounding cocky and fucking smug.

“Is Giovanna not still mine? I believe it is still me who says what she does with her body?”

Timofei hums. “She is, but in the end, I am in charge of her. If I have to make a decision, it will always trump yours,” he coolly announces. “See you tomorrow.”

The call ends, but I’m unable to move. The rage building inside of me simmers, but it simmers at the surface, and I know it wouldn’t take much for it to explode from my body. I wait until it’s controlled, nothing but a low boil, which it will probably stay until tomorrow. Hopefully, I don’t try and kill Blackburn where he sits, but I hold no fucking promises.

I spend the rest of my evening with my family. Isla feels better after her nap and even joins us for dinner. I don’t remember the last time I just sat with the children, so that’s what I do, even if I’m completely preoccupied with what will happen tomorrow.

I hope that Giovanna is okay, that she’s well cared for. I don’t know why I’m so worried about her, I never concerned myself with her well-being when she was in her condo alone.

Once the children head to bed, I do the same. Unfortunately, sleep doesn’t find me easily, tossing and turning, I give up on sleep and decide to go exercise in my home gym. I spend hours running, then lifting weights, then running again. I’m physically exhausted by the time the sun comes up, but my mind is still running a million miles a minute.

I want her for myself, I want Giovanna here with me, with my family. I saw the way she looked at me when I picked Isla up at the school. The way her eyes heated at the sight of me holding my daughter. She wants that, she wants a man and a family.

I could practically taste her desires as they filled the room. I could give it all to her, a readymade family, plus more babies of her own if she wanted them. For her, I would do that—whatever she asked. If I could have her for myself. If she could be what I need her to be if things were different.

Fuck, I wouldn’t care either. Fill this house with babies, laughter, and good times of the like it’s never had before if that’s what she wanted. But she’s not mine to possess. Not unless I buy her myself, not unless I take her, and own her, completely.

Once the kids leave for school the next morning, I go into the bar for the day. Shaughan is behind the counter when I arrive, and he gives me a chin lift as I walk by. I do the same distractedly and think about the possibility of it all. I think about buying Giovanna for my own.

Mannix is sitting in the chair across from my desk when I walk into my office. I’m surprised to see him here, but I don’t say anything, still deep in thought about Giovanna. I sit across from him and let out an exhale.

“You haven’t accepted the fact that this mystery woman is who you want yet, have you?” he asks.

I frown at my brother and grunt. “I’ve told you, it isn’t that simple,” I mutter.

“Talk to me, Aidan. Since Fallon has been gone, I thought you would be happier, not even more miserable. You need to get your shit together, and you need a steady woman in your life to balance you,” he explains.

“Is this your version of tough love? Who says I need a woman?” I ask.

A figure looms in my doorway and I turn to face Shaughan standing there. “You need a steady woman, Aidan. We all do. We’re fucked up in the head, brother. A woman calms us, makes us less angry,” he pauses. “Well, the right woman does,” he smirks.

Shaughan leans his shoulder against the jamb and watches me. “There’s a woman,” I state. They both let out a huff of air. “She’s the daughter of Antonio Rossi,” I explain. Both of their eyebrows shoot toward the sky, almost disappearing in their hairlines. “She’s a prostitute, traded by Rossi and the Russians. Timofei knew who she was, saved her for me after Fallon left. I don’t know, maybe he was playing matchmaker, maybe he just knew I would enjoy her. Fuck, I don’t know,” I sigh.

“That’s a lot of fucking information,” Mannix states.

I shake my head. “I didn’t know she was Rossi’s kid. Not until yesterday. Rossi wants her to do a job, a job involving the mayor, a personal favor. I heard the whole thing; I basically told him she was mine and to fuck himself. I didn’t know it was for the mayor, not until Timofei told me. He hires the fucking police commissioner.”

“The mayor wants your woman?” Mannix asks.

I nod. “Timofei asked me if I wanted to keep her as my own. I told him she wasn’t mine to keep,” I admit.

“Fuck,” Shaughan hisses. “You don’t deserve her then.” My head snaps up to my brother, but he only shrugs. “You want her, you claim her, easy. She’s fair game, and if letting the mayor fuck her, gets us a favor with the police commissioner, then Timofei’s only doing what’s best for both our organizations.”

I can’t even argue with him. My little brother is one hundred percent correct. “But you lied. She is yours,” Mannix guesses.

“I lied,” I admit. “I lied to myself and everybody else. Now, I’ll need to buy her to keep her. How do I bring a prostitute home to my kids?” I mutter.

Shaughan laughs. “Brother, we’re all fuckin’ prostitutes. We all are. We whore ourselves out for affection, money, gifts, food, whatever the fuck it is, we all do it. So, she got paid to spread her legs. My woman does it for Friday night date night. Nola does it for her Sunday afternoon bath rituals. We all fucking do it, Aidan. Nobody will think twice about you having this woman on your arm.”

“Nola does it for more than just Sunday afternoon baths.” Mannix chuckles with a wink.

I shake my head, a smile tipping my lips. My brothers, they always, always have my back and they always make me feel fucking good about a shit situation.

“What do we know about our missing security guard?” I ask, changing the subject.

Shaughan shakes his head, walking into the room and closing my office door behind him. “We can’t find him. But we found his wife, his girlfriend, and a whore he sees on the regular,” Shaughan announces.

“Shit,” I hiss, thinking about those three women.

He chuckles. “Shit is right. We’re bringing them all in for questioning,” he states.

“Together?” I ask, lifting a brow.

Mannix lets out a bark of laughter. “What other way to get the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on this fucker?” he asks.

I shake my head with a smile, my dilemma about Giovanna all but forgotten for the moment. It will enter my mind again soon, but at least I was able to forget it all for a minute and laugh with my brothers. Tonight will be another story though. Tonight, I have a big decision to make, if I’m allowed to even make it. I won’t know until I speak with Timofei, and until I hear what this Blackburn has to say.