My Neighbor is Bad News

8: Lockdown

When Jenna awoke from the night that she had spent in the hospital, her mom was the first to slap her across the face before she broke out in tears and hugged her. They were both a bawling mess when her siblings had came into the room and then everyone was crying. Everyone minus her father who was not present. 

According to her mother, he had business to attend to and find a way to clean up the mess that Jenna had apparently caused. Jenna apologized for doing what she had done but it was bound to happen. She felt caged and like a bird holding a grenade, she was ready to blow up anytime and she had to leave. 

Except leaving did nothing if provoking her father even more and he was dead intent on making sure that she married the Giovanni's heir. It seemed that she had made things worse by running away. 

Taking a deep breath, Jenna entered her father's study as soon as she came home from the night she had spent away. She knew that the wound was mediocre and not enough to warrant staying overnight in the hospital, but by her father's orders, she was to stay the night. The bullet had gone through her bicep with a clean shot and there was not much to repair. Currently her arm was bandaged and she was not to move it strenuously unless she wanted to reopen her wound. 

He was sitting behind his walnut desk and he was talking on the phone with his back towards the door. When the door closed behind her, the loud slam in the all but quiet room made her presence known. Her father had turned to look from the corner of his eye and she noticed the tic in his jaw as she moved closer. 

Jenna took a step forward into the chair that faced his desk and he hurriedly hung up the phone before turning to her. She had to admit that she was afraid of what he would do and she was ready to get hurt. It was one of the reasons why she chose to sit in front of his desk than walk around it like she usually did. She wanted to have at least one measly barrier between them if he decided that he wanted to hit her as well.

She watched him take a deep breath as his slicked back hair shone in the dim lighting. He was a good six foot tall and he was built like a beast. When she had seen the photos of a younger him, he was lanky and tall but maybe becoming the mob boss's young protege caused him to up his scare factor. He had a scar on the side of his face when he was shot and he had a glazed over eye from when he was blinded in prison. Jenna had to admit that her dad had seen some stuff.

"Papa." Jenna said when she felt that his stare to her was enough judgement. He moved around the desk and she clenched her teeth unaware of what was going to happen next. She was ready to take a hit if he was going to show her. 

He stopped in front of her before he bent over to grab her from the seat and pull her out of it as he gave her a hug. Jenna was stunned and in pain as he touched her wound and she yelped. He let her go and took a step back. With a questioning look on her face he apologized and composed himself once more. "You know I am disappointed in you." He said and Jenna nodded feeling the force behind his words. "But I am glad that you're safe. You are lucky with the stunt that you had pulled that was all you got. Jenna you understand that you could have been dead!" He shouted and she flinched. 

"There are targets on our family's heads. They could have found you and killed you. If it was so easy for us to find you, what do you think our enemies might have done." He continued and Jenna nodded her head. She didn't understand what could have been so bad. "Tonight, you shall meet with the Giovanni heir for your betrothal, I swear Jenna you do something like this again, I have a mind to murder you myself." He said and Jenna was ready to argue back but the look on his face told her that she was fighting a losing battle.

If she thought that she had a stubborn streak, her father was the king at being patient and meticulous. He was the winner at mind games and she wasn't in her right mind to try and challenge him so soon.

Jenna huffed as she exited his study and found her mother and sister eavesdropping from the other side of the door. Her mother held her composure as she was obviously caught as the only emotion that she received was a quick fix of her clothing as she straightened herself up. With her head held high she said, "There is a dress in your room that we would like you to wear for tonight's dinner."

***

Jenna looked at herself in the mirror as she studied the dress that was chosen for her. The outfit itself was pretty and it accentuated her figure without looking too tight on her body. The color was gold in color and she donned accessories that was provided as well. The dress was one shouldered and she didn't think that they cared too much whether or not her arm was bandaged. She wondered if this was done purposefully to remind her of what she had done. 

When she had gotten back to her room, she wondered what had ever happened to Cade and she had her sister find out if he was part of the security detail that was assigned. She had never seen him before and she wondered if maybe it was due to the fact that she never paid them any attention herself. 

On that thought, the security was upped three times the usual and the cameras were on and in use. There were some extra surveillance in locations that there wasn't any before and Jenna wondered if this was because of her. On top of that, they removed anything that could be used to aid her in escaping like ledges, shrubbery, and even decorations. She was really on house arrest.

Sighing, she thought back to Cade. The way he spoke that night that she could vaguely recall, he sounded like he knew her and she really wondered who he was. He had saved her and he damn well was no good samaritan. That made her wonder if the way that he had treated and acted around her was real. Was the kiss even real.

Jenna wondered if he was paid extra to make out with her and make her want something more than she could fathom and the idea that he wasn't exactly who he made himself out to be hurt her more than it should have. He was playing a role as her neighbor and even though he outright offered to have sex with her, he never pushed her any farther than that. She could only believe that he knew that he had a job to do and sleeping with the Mob Boss's daughter would not get him a promotion, rather death.

Jenna sighed again as her chest hurt a bit and she was angry. Despite feeling used, she used that energy to become angry. As much as she loved her family, how the hell were they thinking about keeping her locked in once again and she was stuck at square one. 

Apparently in a couple hours, she would meet her soon-to-be husband and she wanted to vomit at the thought. The Giovanni's were the rival gang that wanted to take down the Castigioli's but because her father was the current leader, his reign had come. From what she knew, he was feared by allies and enemies alike. Hell, she was scared of him at times and he was her father.

But just because her father was who he was, that didn't dictate who she could and could not marry. Being the mob daughter was not all that it was cracked out to be and she couldn't imagine anyone wanting a life like she did. She just wanted to be a normal woman in her early twenties finding herself.

But she couldn't even do that without the name that followed her and the power behind it. She was the daughter of the Castigioli and most of the time she didn't want to be a part of the name. She loved being in the family but not the name that followed her like a thorn in her side.

 There was a knock on the door that shook Jenna out of her thoughts before the door opened and her mother entered once more. "You look beautiful sweetheart." She said as she looked at Jenna with warm eyes that also held something else that she couldn't distinguish. Her mother looked great for having the three kids that she had had and she adorned a beautiful evening gown. 

Jenna couldn't stop herself from thinking if her parents had a marriage that was arranged as well as both of her parents didn't seem to match well. While her father was intimidating and huge, her mother was very petite and small. They seemed to be the total opposites of each other but Jenna couldn't remember if her parents were ever on bad terms neither could she remember if they were in love.

Sighing, she moved past her mother in the direction in which the dinner would be held and she felt the uneasiness feeling of meeting who her future would be with.