The Power of a Woman: A Mafia Erotic Romance by Gina Whitney, Leddy Harper Page A

out of breath and looking panicked.
    He rushed to my side and held my face in his hands, almost scrutinizing my features. “What happened, sweetheart? What’s wrong?”
    His genuine concern felt odd considering it’d been so long since he’d treated me like his child. I’d grown accustomed to being an adult, able to take care of myself. Don’t get me wrong, my father still took care of me, but in his own way—such as making sure I had someone to keep an eye on me most of the time, and providing me with a roof over my head. But I wasn’t naïve…I knew the only reason why he kept me in his house was to make sure he had someone to take care of things for him.
    I shook my head and tried to catch my breath. “Nothing, Daddy. I just had a nightmare. I’m okay now.”
    “I don’t know how much more I can handle here. First your brother, and now you. I can’t help you unless you talk to me. I can’t make you feel safe until you tell me what scares you.”
    “Daddy,” I said condescendingly, “I’m fine. I spent a week alone with no one to talk to. The nights were dark and quiet. That’s enough to frighten any woman.” I played the gender card again, knowing he’d eat it up. As long as he still viewed me as a fragile female, he wouldn’t question me too harshly.
    “Oh, sweetheart. I know you hate it there, but it’s the safest place for you. And you should never be scared of the nights there…we have a state of the art security system that would prevent anyone from getting to you. And the safe room is impenetrable. I wouldn’t send you there alone if it wasn’t the safest place in the world for you. I hate to say it, but it’s safer there than here with me.”
    I nodded in compliance.
    “If you’re up to it, I’d like to discuss Matty with you.”
    That piqued my interest and set worry into my gut. Stefan told me that Matty was safe and I believed him. I hated questioning his word, but I couldn’t help it in that moment. In that moment, all I could feel was concern over my brother. “What about him, Daddy?”
    “I had a meeting yesterday with Mick Giannotti’s son.”
    I had to think…yesterday…I was with Stefan. How could he have gone to see my dad? Where was I? Then I remembered how he had effectively tired me out and I slept soundly. When I awoke, he was still there, so I just assumed he’d never left. Guess he did, and talked with my father.
    “He’s made a deal with me. But I can’t speak of it to anyone. He took half the payment yesterday, and I’ll give him the other half next week. But as far as Giannotti is concerned, it’s paid in full,” he explained in a hush tone, even though we were the only two in the room.
    “I don’t understand. Why would he do that?”
    “It’s a loan. I’ve essentially borrowed the other half from him to borrow time for Matty. But I know I can get that money by next week. He’ll add on a vig of course, but I can handle that. When I asked him why, all he said was he had his own reasons. But that I couldn’t mention it to anyone. I’m telling you in case anything happens. In case he’s playing both sides. Something doesn’t feel completely right, but I had no other choice.”
    I hated to think of Stefan playing both sides, but I knew him. He wouldn’t lie to me. Especially after he made me trust him. I just needed to talk to him and ask him why he would take my father’s money when he’d told me that he paid the debt off himself.
    “But what I’m worried most about is Matteo. Jordana, he’s gotten bad into the gambling and I fear he won’t stop. I had no idea the depths he’s gone with this until I spoke to Stefan Giannotti yesterday. I’m worried that this wasn’t enough of a scare to keep him away from the tables.” His eyes darkened and his gaze dropped to the floor at his feet. Opening up about his emotions wasn’t something I was used to seeing, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
    It didn’t help that Matty looked like he was