“Not them. Roberto.”
“The man who helped you escape your father's house?” Nikolay asked. “What the hell is he doing with the Bianchi bastard?”
I looked down at the bed. “Roberto said he’s my uncle.”
Three sets of disbelieving eyes came to me. “Roberto is your uncle?” Damien asked.
I nodded. “Said he was sent to work for Angelo to protect me.”
It felt strange to refer to the man I had thought of as “Father” by his name.
“So who is your father?” Mikhail asked, though by the tone of his voice, I guessed he already knew the answer.
“Francisco said he is.”
Nikolay cursed loudly, and Damien directed my attention to him. “Do you believe him?”
I shrugged. “They said they wanted to take me back to California with them—to be taken care of as the daughter of a don.”
“Over my fucking dead body,” Nikolay said harshly.
Mikhail seemed calmer than him. “Do you want that?” he asked me.
“And leave you guys?” I asked. How could he even ask me that? Even if Francisco was telling the truth, the man was a virtual stranger to me. I didn’t know him. I didn’t care for him. I didn’t love him.
“Never,” I said, my hand clutching to the front of Mikhail’s shirt. “I love you all.”
Damien’s eyes were soft when he said, “We love you, too. And we would never let you go.”
I nodded, my lips trembling.
Damien turned to Nikolay and Mikhail. “Their taking her at this time isn’t random. If what they’re saying is true, they always knew she was Bianchi’s daughter. So why take her now?”
“Because they were waiting. She’s been under our protection since the moment she left Agnello’s house.”
I eyed Nikolay when he said that. I was under their protection now, but I doubted that was the case when they first took me.
He winked at me, tapping my nose with his pointer finger.
I scrunched it and narrowed my eyes at him.
Mikhail brought my attention back to the conversation. “It’s because of me. We brought her to Ricci’s house. He saw her, and he’s probably been tailing us since Vegas, just waiting for the best opportunity to strike.”
Damien shook his head, his eyes taking me in. “We’re going to ramp up your security, pet.” I opened my mouth, and he shook his head. “It’s not negotiable.”
I let out a sigh. I knew that. But an increase in security didn’t sound like safety to me. It felt more and more like a prison I thought I had escaped.
Mikhail cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry, kotyonok. But it’s the way it’s going to be.”
“I know,” I said softly.