Kidnapped

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

-Tatuyanna Torrono >

I push open the double oak doors of my father's office.

Freshly showered and wearing a simple long, black strapless dress that was tight around my breasts, and waist, right down until my hips where it gets flowy. The dress stopped around my calves. My taste in fashion hasn't always been eclectic.

I wear what I want. As long as I was comfortable.

My eyes instantly lock with my father. "I know what you're talking about concerns me," I walk into the room, taking a seat next to Ares. "I want to be included in this conversation."

A long minute of silence passes by without either of them protesting. I'm almost certain I was going to get my ass shot out of here.

Instead my father sighs. "We're expected to attend a ball this Friday. It is important that you attend with me." He gets straight to the point, making me smile with triumph.

A memory flashes in my mind. I remember the first time we visually met. We both got visceral annoyance over some man lacking forthrightness.

"Wait-why do I have to be there?" I frown, meeting the same heterochromatic eyes reflected on my own. "I'm introducing you to the public eye. The underworld has yet to find out I have a twenty-one-year-old daughter."

"I thought they already knew about me," I cross my arms over my chest. "No, neonata. They think they know I have a daughter from a paid-out whore. They don't know your mother was a doctor. A woman far more respectable than a whore they claim her to be,"

I look down hesitantly, nibbling at my lower lip. "You don't have to go if you don't feel comfortable about it." He reassures, his stern gaze softening. "Ares will be with you most of the time."

I meet Ares' nonchalant gaze. "I don't need a bodyguard anymore, father. I can protect myself now." I say, sending him a playful glare. His hazel eyes slightly narrow. "You sure? I'm pretty you're lacking in physical combat." His snide remark sends my blood roaring.

"What?"

He has a satiated smirk on his face. As if he achieved at getting me pissed off. "What? You're the one that dived straight into firearms, skipping the most important element of self-defense." He argues, his demeanor serious but the playful glint on his features tell a different story.

My face sours. "And what? I like blowing shit up," I shrug stubbornly crossing my arms with a frown.

He scoffs. "Yeah, shit like a dozen innocent birds?"

A loud laugh escapes my throat as I get a brief flashback. "That was six years ago, and an accident." Ares shoots me a glare. "People like you, are a menace to nature." He says, clearly offended for the animals. Since when was he so into nature in the first place?

"I didn't know you watched Nat Geo wild," I tilt my head, mockingly smirking at him. "Oh, go to hell," He chuckles while a giggle echoed throughout the room. "You're still a psychopathic murderer."

I stifle another laugh. "They were stupid! What wild animal moves toward the danger? They should've fuckin' ran for their lives!"

"Flown," He corrects. "Flown for their lives."

I shoot him an unimpressed glare. Since he's acting all smart, I ask him a mathematical question. Numbers were my specialty. "What's the area of my father's territory located in Agrigento?" I ask, having the answer in my mind already.

"What is this? A fuckin' tutoring session?" My father grumbles, seemingly exhausted over me and Ares' constant banters. It's been this way for the past six years.