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~ Daniela's POV ~

"I think I'm going to throw up."

"Don't do that, my shoes are expensive." When Carson muttered the words to me as we walked away from Ayden and Atticus who were still glaring daggers into our backs, I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips.

At least it was laughter and not vomit because that would have made me look particularly weak in front of them.

"Hold on." When he suddenly grabbed my hand to stop me from walking, Grey also stopped a few feet away from us too. "What are you-"

Before I could get my sentence out Carson brought his lips to mine, pressing a soft kiss to them before he pulled away.

"Just to make sure they know you're mine." He gave me a smile while I just stood there in shock and Grey just chuckled next to us. Without another word we walked back to the banqueting hall, heading back over to the tables where everyone was sitting.

"Finally, where the hell have you all been? Ignacio has been giving me the eyes for the last twenty minutes."

"We had something to do." For once I was grateful when Grey spoke up for us as we took our seats again. I was aware of Aviana talking about something or another while I just sat there, trying to feel something.

I was searching for that anxiety that I was almost sure would catch up with me once my adrenaline rush cut off, I was waiting for that panic attack that, five minutes ago, I knew was coming.

But I couldn't find it.

"You okay?" When Carson leaned in closer to me, I turned to look at him giving him a smile which was somehow so genuine.

It was real.

"I'm okay." All he did was nod his head before he took my hand again under the table. Unlike I expected, I wasn't trembling or shaking, I didn't want to burst into tears at the way he held my hand to comfort me.

Instead I just leaned back into my chair tracing circles on the back of his hand as the servers brought out the dessert. Somehow I still had an appetite to demolish the chocolate fondant cake that they put in front of me, much to Carson's amusement.

I don't know why fancy food is always so small though, I finished it in a few bites.

"Slow down Trouble, it's not going anywhere."

"Be quiet." When he heard my response he just nodded his head turning his attention to his own cake, staring at it with a frown. "I don't think I should eat this."

"Why?"

"Fox gave me hell this morning for missing so many training sessions with him while Grey and I were away. Plus last night I ate all those sfogliatella."

"I told you that you were going to get fat but you didn't listen to me." When I shrugged my shoulders I heard Grey chuckle on the other side of Carson while my boyfriend just glared at me. "I'm not getting fat. I just think the sugar isn't going to help me when I have to train tomorrow morning with him."

"Look, if you don't want it then I guess I'll do you a favour and help you out, but you owe me." When I narrowed my eyes at him, swapping my now empty plate with his full one, he finally cracked a small smile, only for a second.

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you. I know eating a second one is going to be really hard for you."

Although he was being very sarcastic, I only gave him a smile as I took a bite of his cake.

"How the hell is she so tiny?" When Grey muttered the words watching as I finished Carson's dessert in less than a minute, Carson responded just loud enough for me to hear. "I wonder the same thing everyday when I see how much she eats."

"I can hear you." When I finally spoke, taking the last bite of my second dessert the two of them laughed next to me causing me to roll my eyes. "You're so mean to her, don't you know that girls just love chocolate?"

Nodding my head in agreement with Aviana, I gave her a smile which suddenly dropped when I heard her next words.

"She can't help that she eats like a starving elephant."

The moment she said that flashing me a teasing smile both Carson and Grey laughed again while I just sat there pouting. "Stop it, I don't eat that much."

"We're just joking beautiful." Through his laughter he squeezed my hand while I just let out a sigh leaning back into my chair running my hand over my food baby.

At least I had my food baby.

"Ladies and gentleman if you'd like to quieten down we can get to the final part of the evening, the auction."

As soon as the host on stage spoke into the microphone the room began to quieten down, the only sound that could be heard was the clinking of the forks hitting the expensive china around the room. Once again Atticus took the stage as the host spoke, explaining how the auction would work.

"Courtesy of our generous sponsor for the evening Mr Atticus McKnight, the merchandise he donated will be up for bidding for any of you to win for the rest of this evening."

Merchandise?

As I sat there with a frown, the host gestured to someone at the side of the stage and soon a few men brought four women onto the stage. All of the women were dressed in fancy dresses with their hair and make up immaculately done. None of them even looked scared, they looked...happy? Each one had a proud smile on their face as they stood there eyeing up the men in the audience.

"We will start with number one, whoever bids the highest will take her for the evening once payment to Mr McKnight has been made."

They're selling the women?

"Carson..." When he heard my uneasy tone as I sat up straight in my chair, he suddenly tightened his grip on my hand leaning in closer to me. "Don't."

"But they're-"

"Daniela if you make a scene you'll get yourself killed, shut the hell up." Even as he whispered the words to me his voice came out hard as he kept his eyes firmly focused on the stage.

And just like that, the auction started as people began to bid for the first woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties, actually all of them looked pretty young.

Dragging my eyes away from the stage and Atticus's sick smile, I turned to look at Carson, Grey and Aviana who were all watching with emotionless expressions on their faces.

"You're all sick." When I muttered the words Carson's grip only tightened on my hand while Grey's eyes shifted to mine for a second. "Daniela, shut up."

When I was told for the second time to shut up this time by Grey, I just turned my attention to my plate in front of me, trying to block out what was happening around me.

"Can we leave?" When I turned to look at Carson he subtly shook his head before he leaned in to whisper to me. "If we leave, they'll see it as a sign of disrespect towards him and his business."

"But-"

"I know it's screwed up Dani, but most of the people in this room don't care what's happening right now. We just have to stay until the end and then we'll go."

This time when he spoke his voice was much softer and all I could do was nod my head before I let out a breath. "Dani they're volunteers, they asked for this to happen."

"How do you know?"

"He's not stupid enough to sell women to a leader of another organisation just for one night. Trafficking is a business he does very quietly and every sale is permanent."

I guess that's why the three of them just sat there watching it happen. I didn't understand why at first since I never would have thought Carson would be the type to let something as sick as this go, but I guess now that I know it's all voluntary, it kind of makes sense.

It's still screwed up though.

Once they'd finally got through all four women racking up a total of 76 million dollars in earnings for Atticus, Carson finally stood up indicating that we were leaving.

I could feel eyes on us since everyone else was still sitting down as Carson took my hand helping me up before he handed me my clutch. It didn't take long for us to walk through all the tables back towards the back of the hall when someone called Carson's name from the bar across the room.

"Stay here with Avi, we'll be back in a second." Nodding my head I stepped closer to Aviana as Grey and Carson walked over to the bar to happily greet whoever had just called them.

"It won't be a second, they've known that guy for years." When she muttered the words next to me I let out a sigh turning to face her when I saw them ordering drinks at the bar.

"Dani I know that was so messed up but we're not sick, we didn't agree with it. We just couldn't do anything about it."

"I know that, but I just don't get why we had to sit through it."

"Because some guy in the past wrote up these rules and now we all have to abide by them. Trust me, I'm sure we weren't the only ones who disagreed with it."

"You definitely weren't." When someone with a thick Spanish accent entered our conversation we both turned to see the same guy who Aviana had been staring at all night.

Ignacio Domínguez.

"You speak English?"

And yes, that was the first thing she said to him as she stared at him in shock while he just smiled back at her. "Sí señorita."

"But I thought..."

"You thought I couldn't? I know. It was funny wasn't it?" This time when he spoke he flashed her a grin while she just stood there with her mouth open in shock before a blush began to form on her cheeks.

I really did feel for her. I can't imagine going a whole night with a guy thinking he couldn't understand you only then to find out he just chose not to speak to you.

"Why are you here?" When she finally recovered from her shock, she took a step back from him to put some distance between them. "You caught my eye earlier, I haven't been able to stop admiring you. You're so beautiful Aviana."

Of course she ignored his compliment.

"I noticed, it was creepy the way you were staring at me."

"Creepy?" When he rose an eyebrow at her in amusement I could tell she was becoming unusually frazzled by this whole thing. She wasn't used to being the one who was lost for words, but this guy just seemed as cool as a cucumber as he watched her squirm.

"You have a date with you and you spent the entire evening watching me, yes it was creepy."

"So you knew? That meant you were watching me too, no?" His amusement only increased while she just glared at him now totally at a loss for words. Thankfully for her, he decided to give her a moment to recover as his attention turned towards me.

"Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Ignacio, Ignacio Domínguez." As he spoke he reached his hand out to shake mine, giving me a kind smile. Honestly it was hard to imagine he was the one kissing his date just to make Aviana jealous a couple of hours ago.

"I'm Dani."

"You're Carson Agnello's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" I wasn't aware that Carson was going around telling everyone about me. I'd only actually seen him speak to three people so far.

"News travels fast. You've been the talk of the evening."

"I have?" When he nodded his head he gave me an apprehensive frown before he finally elaborated. "They're saying  you were with Ayden McKnight and now with Agnello. It's just gossip."

So the people here did know who I was?

All I could do was nod my head suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the whole thing which I think he realised. "I don't know what happened Dani, I'm not judging and I don't gossip. It's what I heard, I'm only telling you because you have the right to know."

Giving him a small smile I nodded my head as I mumbled a 'thank you' before he turned his attention back to Aviana who seemed much less flustered than before.

"I would like to take you out for dinner tomorrow night."

"Well I'm busy tomorrow so." When she shrugged her shoulders trying to act unbothered by his words I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Whatever plans you have you will cancel."

That was kind of hot actually. Why doesn't Carson talk to me like that?

"But I-"

"Give me your phone." When he pretty much ordered her to hand her phone over, she took a second before she finally took it out of her purse and handed it to him.

"Your passcode mi amor?" (My love)

When he questioned her, he glanced up from her phone and in her direction, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not telling you." When she glared at him she snatched the phone back causing him to chuckle as she unlocked it, handing it back to him. It took him a moment to put his number in, texting himself so that he also had her number.

"Your address? I will pick you up." When he said those words she instantly glared at him again.

"No way. I never said I-" Before she could finish her sentence I took her phone from his hand texting him the address to Carson's mansion in Long Island. He once told me that it was where people come to conduct business meetings with him and it was well guarded anyway, so the location wasn't a huge secret.

It was actually open knowledge since random mafia men and criminals just turned up whenever they wanted - like the Hollande family.

"Thank you." He flashed me a smile before he turned to look Aviana who was now glaring at me. "I'll see you at 7pm mi amor."

Reaching out he handed her back her phone before he took her hand, bringing it to his lips so that he could kiss the back of her hand.

It's official. I ship.

Once he finally walked away she turned to face me giving me a cold glare. "You had no right to do that. I didn't want to go on a date with him, I don't go on dates. Anyway, this is supposed to be casual only."

Despite the fact she really did seem mad, for some reason I thought she'd just calm down when I continued to smile at her. "Aviana I was only trying to help you. It's clear that you like him, so why not just give it a go."

"Because he made me look like an idiot! Do you know how embarrassing that was?" When she whisper yelled the words at me, I took a step closer to her giving her a smile. "It was cute. Anyone can tell he likes you, he was only teasing you."

Even though her anger seemed to be reducing she still had a frown on her face.

"I don't go on dates Dani, I don't know how to do it. What do I even say? We've already done the deed and now I have to sit with him through dinner after what just happened."

"It's okay. Look, you have until 7pm tomorrow, right? I'll help you. We'll go through all the things you should say and should definitely avoid, I'll do my best to calm you down too and you can even practice on me if you want? It'll be okay."

When I gave her a smile reaching out to take her hand she let out a nervous breath before nodding her head.

"Thank you Dani...I'm sorry for being a bitch. This has never happened to me before."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Just make sure you thank me at your wedding for pushing you to go out with him. Oh, and I want to be the God Mother of your children."

When I flashed her a teasing smile her glare was back almost instantly, but before she could say whatever was on her mind Carson and Grey came back over to us.

"What's the matter?" Taking not of her glare, Grey was the one who had the balls to ask her that. "This bitch is making me go on date with Ignacio."

"Don't call her a bitch." Even though it was clear that she didn't mean it in a bad way, Carson still jumped to my defence as he placed a hand on my bare back. "Of course you would take her side. Anyway, I want to go home I have drinking to do so let's go."

I couldn't help but laugh at her words as she walked away from us heading out the banqueting hall. As we followed behind her Carson was busy talking, or shouting, at someone on the phone when Grey grabbed my hand to stop me.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Glancing back at Carson he just nodded towards the doors outside which was his way of telling me to meet him there when we were done.

He really didn't look very happy with whatever he was talking about over the phone.

"Yes?" When I turned back to face Grey I noticed he seemed a lot more nervous than usual, which I obviously didn't help when I used a cold tone to speak to him. "I wanted to apologise to you."

"You already did that day Grey, there's no need to-" Before I could get my words out he quickly cut me off. "Not just about that, about everything. I've treated you like crap and you didn't deserve that."

"You're only saying this out of pity after what you heard earlier."

I mean it was true, right? This guy spent the last few weeks avoiding me all together after I looked after his daughter for him. Now that he knows the truth he's sorry.

Why couldn't he just be sorry before he found out about my past? Why did it take the truth of my life for him to finally apologise?

"That's not true Dani, I-"

"You called me Carson's bitch the first day you met me, and Ayden's sloppy seconds. Not to mention all the rest of the things you've said and the looks you've given me when you see me. I don't care if you're sorry and I don't care what your reasons for being sorry are. I don't want to hear it, just leave me alone."

When I shook my head taking a step away he spoke again causing me to stop. "Dani wait, just-"

"Only my friends call me Dani, you can call me Daniela. And I think it goes without saying, you keep what you heard to yourself. I never wanted to you to know."

When he clenched his jaw pretty much glaring at me for completely rejecting his apology, I just walked away heading out of the doors to go and find Carson.

Maybe I was being a bitch, I mean it was kind of a bitchy thing to do, but I was just angry all of a sudden. He hated me for weeks and now that he knows that I'm just Ayden's poor little victim and that I never would have gone back to him, now he wants to apologise?

Well he can go screw himself.

"What happened?" When Carson saw the angry expression on my face he put his phone in his pocket as he came towards me. "Nothing, let's just go."

"I just called my driver, we're going back to my penthouse for the night. I have to go see someone at a club when we get back but I'll only be an hour or so."

Without a word I nodded my head as Grey walked past us heading over to the car where Aviana was waiting for him so that they could go back to Long Island. Of course the fact he ignored Carson completely didn't go unnoticed by my boyfriend.

Once he was gone and it was just the two of us, I very much aware of Carson's bad mood, but he didn't say anything for the time being. It didn't take long for Carson's own personal driver to park up in front of us in a fancy black car. It wasn't as big as the limousine we came in, but it was still a luxury car with tinted windows and a divider between the driver and the passengers in the back.

Once we got in the car, Carson took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie as the driver spoke through the intercom from the front. "Boss there's some road closures in the city which have caused delays of up to an hour."

Of course this only seemed to annoy him more after his phone call and then this whole thing with Grey.

"Fine." As he muttered the word he poured himself a glass of scotch before he turned to face me. "What happened with Grey?"

"Nothing hap-"

"I'm not repeating myself again, just answer the damn question." This time when he spoke, I just felt my anger from earlier flare all over again.

"Don't speak to me like that Carson." Instead of responding to me he just averted his gaze to his drink, clenching his jaw while he waited for me to speak. "He apologised to me and I told him to leave me alone."

"Why would you do that?" It wasn't hard to miss the anger biting into his tone when he said that. "Because he only did it out of pity after he found out the whole truth about Ayden."

"So? Dani he's my best friend and you're my girlfriend, why can't the two of you just get along? I've got more important things to think about than this."

I know he had a point, but how couldn't he see mine? Grey was only sorry because he knew the truth now. "I never said you even had to think about it, you're the one who asked. And just to remind you, I haven't ever done one thing wrong to him, he's the one who-"

"I know what he freaking did, I don't need you to repeat it." When he suddenly cut me off, I gave him a glare of my own feeling the anger coursing through me.

"Then what's your problem? If something happened while you were on the phone that's fine but then just talk to me about it, don't take your anger out on me."

It fell silent between us for a moment before he finally turned this head to look at me, his eyes blazing with anger as he gripped his glass tight in his hand.

"That's exactly what I need to do."

When those words left his mouth a I gave him a frown while he just knocked back the last bit of alcohol in his glass.

"What?"

As soon as he finished he ignored my confusion and the irritation in my tone as he put his glass down, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me onto his lap with ease.

"Carson-" Before I could say anything he crashed his lips to mine, pulling me in closer to his chest. It was a bit fiddly, but somehow he managed to lift my dress up around my waist.

It's safe to say that past me would extremely proud of current me for getting it on in the back of a limo. Granted we were both spurred on by the anger from our fight, but it was still good.

Staying quiet in the back of the car was hard, but he just kissed me to muffle the sounds which worked pretty well. Once we were done, I grabbed a bottle of water taking sip.

"Do you feel better now baby?" I whispered the words to him as I smiled handing him the water bottle. Nodding his head he pulled me in closer to him pressing a kiss to my cheek while I straightened my dress.

"I'm sorry for taking it out on you earlier." Even though I could tell he was being serious, I just flashed him a grin as I brought my legs up onto the seat resting my head on his shoulder.

"Oh I didn't mind babe, not one bit." Chuckling at my response he nodded his head as he poured himself another glass of alcohol.

"So tell me what happened between you and Grey."

"You want the whole story?" When he nodded his head I let out a sigh, telling him about the short conversation I had with Grey.

"I know why you think it was out of pity Dani, but he really does care. He's not as bad as you think."

"But he was so mean to me when I first met him and-"

"Is he still like that?" When he asked me the question I let out a huff shaking my head as I pouted my lips. "No."

"So give him a chance. I know what he said hurt you, but he is sorry. Just think about it Dani."

Eventually I just nodded my head agreeing to think about it even if I was stubborn as hell and really didn't want to forgive him.

"So what made you so angry?"

"Just a problem at one of my clubs, nothing important just freaking irritating, that's all." When I gave him a frown he just leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Everything is fine baby."

I really hated seeing him so stressed or angry, but I guess there really was nothing I could do apart from be there for him when he felt that way.

A while passed by silence as we barely moved through the traffic meaning this whole drive was going to take a lot longer than any of us anticipated.

"Can I ask you something?" When he heard my voice he looked away from the view out of the tinted window and towards me. "Sure beautiful."

"Why...why haven't you killed Ayden yet?"

I knew it was a touchy subject and I probably shouldn't have asked it at that very moment. But, he did say he would do it, he also said he'd kill Christopher and everyone who hurt me in that place but as far as I knew he still hadn't done that yet either.

"I'm waiting for the right time. I'm still so busy, new things are always coming up Dani. I want to be able to enjoy every single second that I make both of them suffer, not just Ayden. I promise I'll do it, even if that's last thing I do. I won't stop until it's done Daniela."

When he used my full name I knew he was being serious even though the look on his face told me I didn't have to doubt him one bit.

"You told him you were coming for him...what's your plan?"

"It's a long term plan, that was only step one." When I realised that was all he was going to tell me about this long term plan of his, I chose to leave it there. I didn't really want to argue with him again. Nodding my head I rested my head on his shoulder again. "Okay. Anyway, let me know we're home, I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay baby girl." I felt him wrap an arm around me to pull me in closer to him before my eyes finally closed.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Do you want me to stab you Dani? Because I will." When Aviana gave me a glare I put the item I was holding down onto her bed. "Then who's going to help you get ready for your date?"

"I'll ask Carson."

Carson? Really?

"I don't think he'll want to go through your underwear drawers, do you?"

Yes drawers. This woman had more lingerie than Victoria, and she owned a freaking store.

To prepare her for her stupid date, I raided her entire underwear collection in her walk in closest, putting the best options on her bed in her room so that we could look through them.

When I rose an eyebrow at her she just glared at me from her place on the bed next to me. "I don't care, anyone is better than you. I'm not wearing that for him, he doesn't deserve it."

"He was so nice to you Aviana, I don't understand why you're so against seeing him."

"He made fun of me." When she pouted her lips I had to resist the urge to laugh at the fact she was supposed to be a hardened criminal. "It was cute. At least just put it on under your clothes, we both know you're only ever thinking about sex, there's no doubt you'll end up going back to his place."

"I do love sex." She nodded her head thoughtfully causing me to smile before she let out an exaggerated groan standing up. "Fine."

Before I could stop her she suddenly took off her robe in front of me leaving her in absolutely nothing.

Nothing.

"Aviana what the hell are you doing?"

All she did was let out a laugh at my alarmed tone while I covered my eyes letting out a squeak. "It's not that big of a deal Dani."

"You're naked."

"So why don't you join me." When I heard her sultry tone I just shook my head causing her to let out a laugh. "You're such a baby, just give me a second then."

After a few moments she told me it was safe to open my eyes and at least this time she was wearing the lingerie I'd picked out for her.

"Why wouldn't you warn me?" Letting out a huff I sat down on her bed as she lay down next to me somehow not even bothered she was only wearing underwear.

"It's not that big of a deal. If we're going to be bestfriends then we have to see each other naked at some point."

Okay two things, one - why would I need to see her naked for that? and two - bestfriends?

"You want to be my bestfriend?" When I turned my head to look at her she she nodded. "You set me up with another night of wild sex, of course I want to be your bestfriend."

"Only because of that?" When she saw my frown she let out a laugh shaking her head. "I'm just kidding Dani, it's not because of that. You're just so sweet and caring and you always make me smile. Plus, I told you I don't really have any girl friends so-"

"I don't have any friends." When I cut her off she gave me a frown sitting up to look at me. "None?"

"No. Ayden never let me have any friends, so while I was in college I never made any. I even worked at a make up counter when I first moved here but he made me quit that job so I never got a chance to make any friends there."

Somehow she didn't give me that look of pity that I expected from her, instead she just smiled. "Well, I'm your bestfriend and I'll always be your bestfriend."

"But Carson is-"

"He's your boyfriend so he doesn't count." She shook her head before she pulled me into a hug, still not bothered by her lack of clothing. "I'm sorry you went through that Dani."

"I haven't even told you everything yet." As she pulled away from me she gave me a smile. "Well, tomorrow night we'll have a girls night and we'll get ice cream and pizza and you can tell me everything if you want to. Right now, I have an hour before Ignacio gets here and I haven't shaved yet."

"Shaved?" I wish someone told me not to ask that.

"My hoo-ha."

Oh dear.

Once she was done in the shower, she finally came back out into the room and changed into her dress that she wanted to wear. "Can you do my hair while I do my make up?"

Nodding my head I got up off the bed and stood behind her while she sat at her vanity to start her make up.

It sounded like a good idea right? Well it didn't work, she ended up with smudged make up whenever I tugged too hard on her hair by accident and I ended up with bruised ribs from the times she elbowed me when she got angry.

"Next time I'm doing your make up." Letting out a pained groan I rubbed my side as she stood up admiring herself in the mirror. "I don't know, you did a really good job with my hair. But, I guess if you worked at a make up counter you'd be really good at that too."

"Well I'm not doing it for free." When I flashed her a glare she only smiled, slipping on her heels before she grabbed her clutch turning to face me. "How do I look?"

"Absolutely beautiful." I flashed her a smile as I stood up checking the time on my phone. "He should be here any second."

"He's already here."

"What?"

"He texted me ten minutes ago to tell me that he's outside." She shrugged her shoulders casually as she sprayed on some perfume. "So why aren't you downstairs?"

"Dani, you have to make them wait a little bit. I can't seem too eager."

I don't understand this girl, first she didn't want to go, then she shaved in anticipation and now she's playing hard to get.

Shaking my head I headed towards the door with her following close behind me. "Can you do a checklist?"

"Fine. Phone?"

"Check."

"Make up?"

"Check."

"Gum?"

"Check."

"Condom?"

When we heard the male voice behind us we turned around to see Fox grinning at us as he came closer. "No way that's his job."

When we finally reached the front door she turned to look at me giving me a huge smile.

"I'll text you to tell you how it goes."

Nodding my head I gave her a quick hug as she opened the door to leave. I guess I just expected to see him sitting in his car waiting for her but what I saw was definitely a surprise. Ignacio was standing outside holding a bunch of roses for her which was cute, but the surprising part was Grey and Carson who were glaring at him.

As soon as she saw them she let out a worried sound as she rushed outside in her heels, grabbing Carson's hand to get his attention.

"This is so good." When I heard Fox's voice next to me I turned to look at him smiling when I saw his eyes fixed on the scene outside.

"What are you two doing? Leave him alone."

"We were just talking Aviana, just letting him know the rules."

"Rules? There are no rules, I'm 25 years old Carson." As she spoke she tried to pull him away from a very amused Ignacio. "There are always rules. For one he's not allowed to touch you without your permission, he has to keep you safe at all times and, he has to keep his eyes focused on you and only you."

So even though I could tell she was annoyed by Carson's protective side, I couldn't help but smile at how cute he was being. He knew she was hurt last night when she saw him kissing his date, so he was just making sure he got the hint.

"Don't worry, she's the only one I've got my eye on." When he spoke in his thick Spanish accent, Grey just glared at him. "You better, otherwise we'll chop your-"

"That's enough. Guys just go, you're going to ruin our night before it even starts." This time she grabbed Grey's hand too, trying to pull them away from Ignacio and back towards the house.

"Be careful Avi." Finally Carson stepped back turning to face her as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I will, now go."

Although she was still glaring at him I could see her smile before she turned to look at Grey who was still glaring at her Spanish date for the night. "Grey, go."

Once he finally got the hint he gave her a quick hug before the two them came back into the house, only giving me time to see Ignacio hand her the roses and open the car door for her before they closed the front door.

"You think he got the hint?" When Carson turned to look at Grey I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his response. "Next time we'll take a knife or something just to show him how serious we are."

Idiots.

As soon as that conversation was finished Grey walked away telling them that he going to see his daughter that evening, now leaving me alone with Fox and Carson.

"Bro you want to go train? I've got time to fit you in now for an hour before my nightly work out."

"Blonde or brunette?" I scrunched my nose up in disgust at Carson's question as they began to walk to the stairs with me following close behind.

"Two blondes."

Okay, gross.

Carson only laughed at this before he nodded his head. "Yeah, let me just go and change."

"Wait, can I come with you?"

When they heard my question they both turned to look at me.

"Sure Little One, but if you kick me in the balls again I don't give a damn if you're a girl, I'm choke slamming you on the canvas."

He flashed me a grin before he left Carson and I standing there at the bottom of the stairs while he headed towards the basement. It didn't take long for Carson to change into his workout clothes while he forced me to do the same even though I insisted I just wanted to watch him work out.

That was the only reason I wanted to go, to see him without a shirt again.

"Why does she look so mad?" As we walked into the gym Fox smiled from the ring when he saw the glare on my face. "I'm making her train with me after while you go off for your ménage a trois."

"What's that?"

"A threesome, it sounds classier in french." When Carson flashed me a grin I just shook my head, wishing I didn't bother asking.

As he walked over to Fox who jumped out the ring to meet him, I couldn't help but question in my head if he'd ever had a threesome. I mean I probably didn't want to know the answer, but have I ever been the type of person to not let my thoughts run away with me?

For the first half an hour they spent time on the strength training machines where I got to watch Carson train his back, chest and arm muscles since it was apparently 'upper body day'.

"So..." When I awkwardly attempted to start a conversation with Fox while Carson was in the middle of completing his fifty press ups, Fox turned to look at me with a grin."So..."

"That's so freaking irritating."

Oh yeah, he hated when I said 'so' like that.

When Carson muttered his words as he did another press up, Fox turned to glare at him. "Shut up or I'll give you another fifty. Anyway my Little One, what would you like to talk about?"

"When are you going to teach me how to shoot a gun?" When I finally thought of the question, Fox nodded his head as he shifted his gaze back to Carson on the floor. "Soon, just let me know whenever you're free and we'll do it."

"Is it hard?"

I should have known he was a freaking child. The moment I asked that question he burst into laughter causing Carson to laugh as he finally finished his set of fifty press ups. "You're so annoying."

When I let out a huff they both just laughed as Fox instructed Carson on what his next exercise was.

"To answer your question, it's not exactly easy but you'll get the hang of it - you have the best teacher." When he flashed me a grin I just nodded my head as I watched Carson use the weight machine to work out.

"Can I try?" A few minutes later when he heard my question Carson turned to look at me slightly out of breath as he held his water bottle in his hand. "Sure, but let me drop the weight for you, it's too heavy for you."

Getting up off the bench he let me sit down as he adjusted the weight to one more suitable while Fox just watched on in amusement.

"Why do you want to train your back? I thought girls liked doing squats and stuff like that."

"Okay first that's sexist and I just want to try it, it looks fun." Of course Fox just rolled his eyes clearly not finding this fun at all since he does this everyday while Carson just smiled.

Coming up behind me he pulled down the bar that was above me so that I could hold onto it before he let go allowing me to pull it down like I'd been watching him do.

I think I managed about five reps before he helped me to let go of it, allowing the bar to go back to the top of the machine.

"I don't want to do that again, I think I'm just going to stick to the squats." Stretching my arms out in pain I ignored their laughter as I stood up moving back to the bench I was just sitting on.

Once Carson had finished with his strength training he did five minutes of on and off sprints on the treadmill before they finally got in the ring.

"I've only got twenty minutes then I have to take a shower and change so hurry up." As he spoke Fox slapped the pads together causing the sound to echo around us in the empty gym before he held them up in front of Carson.

Just like that they very quickly got into a rhythm with Fox shouting combinations at Carson who responded by throwing punches and kicks every time. Just like last time it was mesmerising watching how focused and precise he was with each hit as he moved around the ring with so much ease.

"Little One you're up."

When I heard Fox call out to me I lifted my head away from my phone to look at him with a frown.
"What?"

"Carson is going to teach you self defence - proper self defence, I have to go." When he gave me a pointed look I knew he was referring to the incident from a few weeks ago when I kicked him in his area. "Is now a good time to apologise for that?"

"Nope, but you're lucky it still works otherwise you'd have a bunch of angry women coming after you." As he jumped out the ring he shook his head as he grabbed his phone, keys and his hoodie to put on. One thing I noticed about Fox was that he was almost always dressed in work out clothes since he was the trainer here. Everyone else wore suits or dresses and stuff.

Giving me one last smile he reached out to pinch my cheek causing me to swat his hand away as I stood up from the bench. I could hear his laughter as he walked out the gym before he finally left Carson and I alone.

"Come on beautiful." Gesturing for me to get in the ring with him he waited for me until I was standing across from him.

"Do you know how to punch?"

"With a fist?" When I gave him a confused frown he came towards me taking my hand. "Please tell me you at least know how to make a fist."

"I'm not stupid, I don't tuck my thumb in." This time when my confusion morphed into a glare he let out a laugh nodding his head. "Okay, sorry."

"We'll practice your punches first, then I'll show you some moves to get out of a hold."

"But I just came to watch you." When I pouted my lips he let out a laugh nodding his head. "I know you little perv, now come on."

"I'm not a perv, you're my boyfriend I can stare all I want, we've been over this before." As I spoke I stepped back lifting my hands like I'd seen all the boxers do on movies and things.

"That's cute baby but your stance is all wrong. You need to come forward on one foot but balance your weight while keeping your hands up at all times."

"My hands are up." When I glared at him he just rolled his eyes. "I was just saying. So anyway, distribute your weight equally and keep your core tight at all times. You need to use your core to give your punches the power you need."

"I don't understand, how do I tighten my core?" When he heard my confusion he came around me coming up behind me causing me to lower my hands. As he stepped up behind me he put his hands on my waist turning me body slightly to the side.

"Take a deep breath" As he spoke he placed his hand on my stomach pressing down gently helping me to tense my core. "Just like that, when you exhale keep it tight as if my hand was still there."

As I exhaled the first time he kept his hand there and then the second time he removed it allowing me to practice the technique.

"You know, it's kind of hard to focus when my teacher is so hot." When I muttered the words I felt his chest rumble behind me as he laughed before he stepped away from me. He didn't even bother to respond to my clear attempt at trying to get out of this as he came up in front of me again.

For the next few minutes he made sure to get my form right when I threw a punch since he decided that was the foundation to anything we did. After that, he taught me a few combinations using the pads that Fox was using with him earlier.

"I'm tired now."

"I don't care, we're not done." As he tossed the pads on the floor he untied and tugged the punching gloves off my hands tossing them on the floor too.

After that he showed me three different moves that I could use if someone ever came at me from the front, he did say he'd show me how to get out of holds from behind another day but I wasn't planning to ever get myself in this situation again.

"Get up."

"No."

"Get the hell up Daniela."

"No you're being mean to me and I'm tired." When I pouted my lips continuing to lie there on the floor in the ring staring up at the ceiling he let out a frustrated sigh. "It's Saturday night and I'm stuck in the stupid gym with you."

"I'm trying to teach you something useful."

"I don't care. Aviana's on a date, Grey's with his daughter and Fox is even having fun and all my boyfriend wants to do is spend his time getting sweaty in a smelly gym." When I finally finished my rant I let out a huff as I lay there waiting for him to say something but all he did was laugh.

"It's not funny!" When I turned to glare at him he just nodded his head through his laughter as he came over to me. "Get up."

When he held his hand out to me I glared at him for a moment longer before, very begrudgingly, taking his hand allowing him to help me get up. Instead of letting go of my hand straight away he used it to pull me into his chest. "What would you like to do instead of this?"

"Something that doesn't smell." When he heard my response as I scrunched up my nose from our proximity he let out another laugh. "How about we go and take a shower together and then I'll cook for you since Giana has gone home?"

Subtle.

"I like the second part of that plan but I don't want to shower with you."

"Why beautiful?" Somehow this bitch was still amused even though I was annoyed at him. "Because you know you're just going to try and have sex with me and I'm not getting pregnant just because you want to do it in the shower. I told you this last night."

Cue another laugh.

"I'm being serious." When I narrowed my eyes at him he just nodded through his laughter. "Okay, okay. Separately it is then."

Giving him one last glare I nodded my head before I stepped out of his grip. Just as he said we both ended up showering separately after that stupid training session, he went first and then went downstairs to cook me dinner while I was busy showering.

"You need any help babe?" As I stepped into the kitchen Carson turned to face me flashing me one of his cute smiles. "No I'm okay, just sit down it's almost done. I made you this."

As I walked over to the island in the middle I smiled when I saw my favourite cranberry juice and peach Schnapps cocktail sitting on the counter waiting for me.

"Thank you." All he did was nod before he went back to his cooking. A while passed as I just sipped on my drink and watched him move around the kitchen doing the last few touches while I was also busy thinking about random things in my head.

"I want to get drunk." When those words left my Carson turned to look at me with a frown. "What?"

"I want to get drunk, I want to try it. To see what all the fuss is about." Shrugging my shoulders I gave him a smile as I put my empty glass down on the counter. "Dani there's no fuss, just idiots who do it. It's a stupid thing to do."

So he was still annoyed about that drinking game I played with Fox and Avi.

"Why is it stupid?"

As Carson responded to my question he was busy putting our food on to two plates.

"Because you'll lose all control of yourself, you won't know what you're doing or remember what happened the next day. It's not exactly the safest thing to do, is it?"

"Okay sure if I was going out to a club I wouldn't do it there, but if I'm at home with you then it's not that bad, right?"

Even though I gave him a smile he still just shook his head, putting down the pan he used to cook with as he grabbed two forks. "You'll still get a hangover from hell the next day and I'll be the one having to take care of you."

He did have a good point.

"What does a hangover feel like?" As soon as I asked that question he flashed me a grin. "I'll tell you in a second. Do you want water to drink or something else?"

"No water is good." Nodding his head he grabbed two water bottles before he came and sat down on the stool next to me at the island.

"So a hangover feels like...have you ever had a really bad flu?" When I nodded my head picking up my fork to start eating Carson continued. "So imagine all those symptoms that you get apart from the coughing, so a really bad headache, nausea, aches and pains, dizziness and sensitivity to light."

"But why would that happen?"

"Alcohol is a diuretic, so you end up severely dehydrated after drinking, which leads to all those lovely symptoms."

"Why didn't you just become a doctor instead of a mob boss?" Of course he only laughed at my question. "I don't think that's enough qualify to be a doctor, do you? And anyway, I didn't have a choice."

"Well what did you want to be when you grew up?" When I gave him a small smile, he took a second before he answered. "Something to do with business, I've always had that kind of mindset. But then I found out my father died and I had this instead."

I remember he told me once that when his father died he was called by someone and told that he was next in line for the title, but I never really understood how that worked.

"So when that guy called you, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Surprisingly he didn't seem annoyed or irritated by my question. "Did they come and take you from your home and bring you here?"

"Yeah, my family and I were taken to their previous base where my father worked in the city. I was kind of just told the rules by a bunch of men in suits holding guns in their hands and then I was 'sworn in' I guess you could say."

That must have been terrifying, especially since he was becoming the leader of an organisation he didn't even know existed until then.

"So you had the same initiation that I had?"

"It was similar but the rules were different. Among many others the main one was that I always put the interests of the family over my own and that...the my bond with the mafia family is stronger than blood."

When he frowned at this taking a bite of his food I could instantly sense his shift in mood. "I don't get it."

"It basically meant I have to choose the mafia over my family if it ever came to it - if not then I'll be killed." It fell silent between us for the moment while I sat there trying to process what he just told me. "But you're the boss, I don't-"

"Daniela there are different ranks in the mafia and each one has different responsibilities to uphold. If I screw up, I may be at the top but there are still people who will hold me accountable for it, they just don't tell everyone about it."

"Oh." When I looked away from back down at my food I could feel his eyes on me for the moment before he let out a sigh. "Sorry if that came out a little harsh, I didn't mean it."

"It's fine, can we just change the topic? I don't really like this one anymore." When I gave him a shy smile he nodded his head leaning in close to press a kiss to my cheek. "Of course beautiful."

For the rest of our dinner we didn't touch on anything to do with work or the mafia, instead choosing to talk about any random things that we could think of. It was refreshing really, to be able to spend some time with him without having to think about that.

"How's your mom doing? I want to see her again." When I mentioned his mother he nodded his head as he swallowed a bite of his food. "She's good, she's been asking about you too. I'm sorry I've just been so busy baby. Maybe sometime this week we can go out for dinner? I think she's busy tomorrow night but maybe Monday night?"

"Monday night is good. Oh, by the way I have an appointment on Monday morning with my gynaecologist."

It was so nice how he didn't look at me weirdly when I just casually dropped that into the conversation. He's definitely different to most guys - he takes care of me when I'm on my period, he's the one who did research on birth control for me and he doesn't even care when I mention my doctor.

"For the birth control?" When I nodded my head he just smirked at me. "That means we can shower together as soon as we don't have to use condoms anymore."

So maybe he wasn't totally different from most guys.

Of course I just rolled my eyes at this, taking the last bite of my food before I got up to put our empty dishes in the sink. Once we were done eating we decided to go for a walk in the garden to digest our food before we went upstairs.

"How long did it take for you to get used to having guards everywhere?" When I broke the peaceful silence around us Carson shrugged his shoulders next to me. "A little while, not too long. Why? Does it bother you?"

"Not as much as it first did, but I guess I still find it weird. I mean we came out here for a peaceful walk and there's all these armed guards standing around."

As I spoke I looked up at the guard who was closest to us, standing against the wall at the left side of the 'garden'. It actually felt more like a resort than a garden, the paths just went on forever all the way to the bottom where the fountain was.

"Just ignore them, focus on me baby." As he spoke he took my hand in his giving me a smile.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You're going to ask me anyway, so why do you bother wasting my time with the first question?" Of course I just narrowed my eyes at him when he gave me a teasing smile. "Screw you then."

My response caused him to let out a laugh which although was like music to my ears, I just kept the glare on my face. "I'm sorry baby, what was your question?"

"What's your biggest fear?" When I asked him the question he pursed his lips for a moment as thoughtful expression crossed his face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Pulling him to a stop I looked at him as a soft breeze whipped around us. "Losing you."

I wasn't expecting that, but then he always seems to surprise me whenever we have deep conversations. "Really?"

"Before I met you I always felt like something was missing in my life. But now that I have you, the idea of losing you just...it scares the hell out of me Dani."

Keeping his hand tight in mine I stepped closer to him, reaching my hand up to his cheek I gave him a smile. "I love you Carson, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be right here."

After holding my stare for a moment he dipped his head bringing his face towards mine to press a kiss to my lips. "I love you too Trouble."

He flashed me a smile before he pecked my lips one last time and then began walking again, intertwining our fingers as we walked. "So what's yours?"

"Hospitals." When I told him my biggest fear, which I guess was much less romantic than his, he turned to look at me. "Hospitals? What about them?"

"Everything, anything you can think of. I'm terrified of illnesses, the thought of giving birth, needles, being put to sleep with anaesthesia, surgery, the stupid surgical masks the doctors wear in movies. I'm even scared of those rolly beds they have."

Even though I was being absolutely dead serious Carson let out a laugh at my words. "They're called gurneys."

"I don't care, I'm still scared of them." When he heard my reaction he let out another laugh as he let go of my hand, instead throwing an arm around my shoulders as we walked. "You're so freaking cute Dani."

"Carson I'm not joking, this isn't funny. It really is my biggest fear." When he heard the seriousness in my tone he let go of me, turning to face me like I did moments ago. "I'm not laughing at you baby. I promise you, I will do my best to protect you from ever having to set foot in a hospital and if I can't, then I swear on my life I will be by your side through every single second."

"Really?" My question came out barely above a whisper as he nodded his head, pulling me into his arms. "I promise."

He held me like that for a few moments before he finally let me go and we continued walking. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Of course."

"How did your mafia start?" I've always loved history and from the little I knew about the mafia, in America in particular, their rise to prominence was really interesting.

"My...great...great grandfather Salvestro Agnello started it." I couldn't help but smile when he seemed like he was counting the number of 'greats' in his head. "He started it in 1894 when he was twenty-four years old after he migrated here from Italy."

"Wow." When he heard my surprise tone he turned to look at me. "Your mafia is 127 years old."

"You did that math in your head just now?" When he rose an eyebrow at me with a smile I nodded my head. "You're old as hell."

"I'm not old, the organisation is old."

"I don't know about that babe, you're going to be 30 years old in five years, that's pretty old." When I gave him a teasing smile he just rolled his eyes pulling me in closer to his side as we walked. "You're cute. Anyway, he started it as a small mob in the slums of New York. He was poor, he didn't have much so he turned to crime. He managed to grow it though, he fought for dominance in the area fighting the Irish mob as his biggest rival."

"Atticus's Irish mob?" When I frowned at him he nodded his head with a frown of his own. "Yeah, so this rivalry of ours isn't anything new, we've been going back and forth with threats and attacks for years, but I will be the one to end it. I know I threatened him last night, but I have a plan which might take a little longer than he's expecting."

"What do you mean?" When I gave him a confused frown, I think he thought my cluelessness was cute or something when he smiled. "Atticus gets paranoid really easily and one thing you can't do in this life is get carried away by your own thoughts - it's self destructive. I'm going use his paranoia to my advantage and then, I'm going to kill him."

"So your threat last night was-"

"Step one." When he flashed me a grin I nodded my head.

"Good, at least your plan has started - I want it done soon." When I gave him a smile he pressed a kiss to my forehead before he continued the story about his mafia. "Once he became established enough the prohibition era came around in 1920 and his son, my great grandfather, used that to grow even stronger and richer selling illegal alcohol and drugs. After that it all just took off and the Agnello name became notorious."

"So all of this is because of your great great grandfather?" Nodding his head Carson turned to look at the huge house that was now at the other end of the garden letting out a sigh. "Yeah, you remember I once told you I loved reading biographies of people who made it from nothing?"

Nodding my head I thought back to that conversation we had about Oprah Winfrey on our way to Los Angeles.

"He was just like that, he worked so damn hard and even 127 years later his name is being carried with pride and respect."

"Agnello?" Although he nodded his head he still added a little bit extra as we started walking again. "His full name. Starting with his son we all took his name Salvestro as a middle name."

"Wait, your middle name is Salvestro?" When I turned to look at him with wide eyes he nodded his head letting out a laugh. "You didn't know?"

"You never told me." Although he was clearly amused he still apologised. "Sorry beautiful. It must have slipped my mind."

"Carson Salvestro Agnello. That's hot." When I flashed him a grin he let out another laugh pulling me to stop so that he could place his hands on my waist, a suggestive smirk tugging at his lips. "Maybe we should go and test it out upstairs?"

As per his suggestion, we did that and I have to say, his name has a nice ring to it.

What did you guys think?

Thank you for reading! ❤️