By Virtue I Fall (Sins of the Fathers #3)(23)

“For the time of Anna’s studies in Paris, you’d have to uproot your entire life. You could only visit home when Anna comes back to Chicago for social events, which will happen frequently, but you’d still have to give up your life for her.”

What life? I wanted to ask. Since I’d become Anna’s bodyguard, I’d worked almost every day. And it wasn’t just a fucking nine-to-five job. More like seven to ten in the evening. I had to always be available when she wanted to go anywhere. I was at her beck and call. So the only thing that would make Paris an even harder experience was that I wouldn’t even be off at night and that I’d have to sleep with an eye open to make sure Anna didn’t sneak into my bed. “I don’t have a wife or girlfriend, and my sister isn’t living at home anymore. And I’m sure I’ll see my father whenever you and Valentina visit or when Anna and I come to the States.”

“You’d have to live a lie. It would probably be feasible to pretend you’re her brother in public to explain the two of you being together all the time.”

Brother? Of course, Dante wouldn’t want us to pretend to be a couple, which was probably for the best anyway. Crossing boundaries had let me here in the first place, so getting me in the mindset of seeing Anna as firmly off limits again was key.

“You can’t have any days off, not even a night,” Dante continued, unaware of my racing thoughts.

I nodded. “That’s true. It’ll be challenging.” I cleared my throat. “I’ll do it and I’m confident I can keep her safe, but after I’ve watched Anna in Paris, I’d like to resign as a bodyguard and return to working with Arturo. I miss that line of work.”

Dante’s brows drew together. I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad sign. Despite knowing the man for decades, I had trouble reading him. He finally inclined his head. “I give you my word that you’ll become Enforcer once you’re back.”

Fuck yes!

I couldn’t wait to tell Anna one day, but definitely not any time soon. “Better not tell Anna yet. I don’t want her to think I won’t work properly because I have my head elsewhere.” The little she-devil would only find a way to convince Dante to keep me as her bodyguard or blackmail me into staying. After Paris, I was fucking done. Things between Anna and me were spiraling out of control, and Paris was already a ridiculously high risk.

“I told Anna she could leave in February. We have to wait for her engagement and a few important social events to pass before she can leave.”

“Will the Clarks agree to her going to France?”

“They follow very different rules than we do, which brings me to my next point.”

I waited. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, and it probably had partly to do with me.

“Because of her bond to Clifford, Anna has more freedoms than most girls in our world. I’m sure Clifford has told her so. He doesn’t strike me as someone who cares what she does before marriage and possibly not even after.”

The disapproval in Dante’s voice surprised me. He and Valentina had decided to enter the bond with the Clarks but I supposed it was a bit like the deal with the devil. Necessary at times, but not pleasant. Dante didn’t like Maximo Clark, not even his own wife did.

“Fidelity isn’t guaranteed in their, nor in our world,” I said. I’d had too many affairs with married women who sought comfort in the arms of another man after being cheated on for years and suffering in silence. Maybe that was why I no longer believed in marriage or love. My parents had loved each other, and it had almost killed Dad when Mom had died. Love fucked you over either way.

“In our world, any man would know better than to betray Anna.”

“That’s true.” Most would shit their pants out of fear of Dante. “But Anna is tough. I’m sure she’ll wrap Clifford around her finger in no time.” The words really cost me. Anna was a major pain in the ass and drove me up the wall almost every day, but she was also a mafia princess, proud and clever, not to mention gorgeous. She deserved better than Clifford. She deserved a man who knew her worth, who really understood who she was and the weight she carried on her shoulders. Clifford was too wrapped up in his daddy and mommy issues, not to mention planning his future career to realize what kind of gem he was given without any work of his own.

“Why I’m bringing this up is because while I want Anna to enjoy Paris, even attend the occasional party with you at her side, I still need you to make sure she abides to our rules and is safe.”

“I assume you are talking about boys.”

“If Clifford and the Clarks decide to break the engagement for whatever reason, they’re not bound by our oaths and honor so I won’t rule it out completely, I need to make sure Anna won’t face an unfortunate scandal if she enters a marriage with one of our men. Our world remains old-fashioned in this regard and my and Valentina’s efforts to lead to a change haven’t been successful, at least in that point.”

“I’ll make sure Anna stays away from boys, don’t worry.” I’d thoroughly enjoy cockblocking any guy who wanted to put his paws on her. I tried not to dwell on why this gave me such a fucking thrill.

“I appreciate it,” Dante drawled and slowly strode closer to me. Now it was coming, the warning I’d been waiting for. “As a father, I try to ignore certain developments, but I’m not blind to the fact that Anna has become a beautiful young woman who’ll soon be of age, and you aren’t committed to anyone. Living in such close quarters might make Anna or you forget certain boundaries.”