Vanessa would never forgive them, but she was no fool. She knew what people in their world did to others. Once people were inside the mafia, there was no way out unless it was six feet under.

“Diago, a pleasure as always,” her father said, finally approaching the man who’d crashed their party.

The man himself took a second sip of whiskey and shook his head. “Tastes like piss,” he said.

His voice was so guttural, rough, and Vanessa quickly took a sip of her water to hide her smile. No man had ever insulted her father on his taste of fine wines and liquors. He considered himself a connoisseur on such matters. Her father would always buy the most expensive barrel or case he could find. She’d often heard people complain about the taste of such fine … alcohol. It was all crap.

Again, as his only daughter, she couldn’t express such opinions. Her father never wanted to hear anything from her.

Just this past week, he had taken her to a plastic surgeon’s office. He was hoping to remove the scar that had become part of who she was. He wanted her to go under the knife because he couldn’t marry her off.

She’s also been told that once the scar was gone, he intended to put her on a strict regimen to lose weight. She’d heard him complain about her fat ass. Sometimes, the walls were a bit thin, and she was able to hear entire conversations.

Vanessa watched as her father tried to compose himself at the insult that had just been thrown his way. She’d seen a lot of men and women get punished for such an insult, but not Diago. Her father was afraid of him, she was sure of that.

“I can find something more to your liking,” her father said, clicking his fingers.

She already saw a waiter headed toward him, but Vanessa didn’t see anything else, as Diago, for some odd reason, was looking straight at her. She’d lowered her glass during their interaction, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d seen her laughing at her father’s complete submission to this man.

Crap. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble. She remained perfectly still.

“Yes, you can offer me something new.” Diago walked straight past her father, and then headed in her direction. The whole party had stopped in their tracks and were now watching the man who was quickly closing the distance between them. She tried not to freak out or make a scene. She knew how much her parents hated scenes.

At first, she thought Diago was going to move straight past her, but that was insane. There was nothing but a wall behind her.

All too soon, he reached out and grabbed her arm. He didn’t tug, nor was his grip painful. Vanessa didn’t fight him. It seemed pointless to fight him. She simply followed him as he moved closer to her father. She still held onto her glass of water, but then they were in front of her father.

“I’m taking her,” Diago said.

“You cannot take my daughter.”

“Oh, but I can, and try to stop me, Norma. Just try it. You knew this was going to happen, and like I said, debts always need to be paid.”

And with that, Diago took her.

No one tried to stop him, and the truth was, with her heart racing, Vanessa didn’t want anyone to stop them.