Sleeping With the Enemy

Sequel: Chapter Four

Anthony

When Alex showed up and told me that Mr. Avenetti wanted to talk to me in his personal office at his family's home out in Hewlett Harbor, I thought for sure I was about to be whacked. No one got to go to the Avenettis home unless you were on their highest level of detail teams, or part of the family yourself. And I was called there specifically.

Alex said it was for a job, but that felt like a nice cover story, and I was a mess of nerves the entire way. My fists clenched so hard that my knuckles were white, and I thought I might hyperventilate. When my dad sent me here, it was because he thought I had it too easy working for him and my uncle Luca. He wanted me to have an authentic experience, and he thought it might keep me out of trouble. Instead, I was about to be sent back to him in a body bag.

I kept my head down, and jaw clenched, refusing to show any kind of weakness. If I was about to do, I was going to do it with whatever dignity I had left.

So imagine my surprise when I found out it was an actual job. Not just any job, but a massive promotion to immediate family detail. It was a cush job, and one that came with a hell of a lot of clout and respect.

The estate was even more immaculate than I pictured in my mind. The long cobblestone driveway was lined with trees, and there were big grassy fields on either side. The house itself looked like a castle, sitting high on the cliffs overlooking the bay. It was walled with dark gray stone and towering white pillars. There were large, white flowering bushes, each perfectly manicured and cut. An enormous porcelain fountain was in front with crystal clear water and some koi swimming in it. When I stepped out, I felt like I was at some exotic resort instead of a house in New York.

With the amount of money the Avenettis brought in on a monthly basis, I shouldn't be surprised. It was massive and modern and the amount of windows seemed like a tremendous security risk. But when you had the place locked down like Fort Knox, I guess windows didn't really matter.

"You don't need to worry, Mr. Avenetti. She's safe with me."

"You can drop the Mr. Avenetti shit. It's just Brandon now." He grinned, heading for the door. "I'm going to go get Gemma and my wife."

A few seconds later, he came back into the room. "Anthony, this is my wife, Sadie, and this is our daughter, Gemma."

One look at her and I knew I was going to be in serious shit here. She was an absolute smoke show. Tall and slender and curves in all the right places. She couldn't be much younger than I was, but she was so mature and confident. Her long, dark hair was draped over her shoulder, tucked neatly behind her ear, and her painted rose lips curled up into a poised smile. And those eyes. Damn, were they beautiful. Big and brown and sparkling with mischief. I would bet there was plenty more where that came from.

"Nice to meet you." Sadie grinned politely. "We're happy to have you here."

"Some of us are." Gemma rolled her eyes. Apparently, she wasn't thrilled about the situation.

"Gemma," Brandon rubbed his forehead. "We've been over this."

"Yes, we have." She sighed petulantly. "And I know you think I need some kind of glorified baby sitter, but this is ridiculous."

Glorified babysitter? I fought the urge to laugh. Feisty and beautiful--that was a dangerous combination. Meant my job was certainly going to be interesting.

"It's not open for discussion." Brandon cut her off sharply. "Do not give him a hard time, Gemma. I'm serious."

She pursed her lips, ready to bite back with another snide comment, but then she thought better of it. "Yes, sir."