Ryan considered the proposal. He liked a challenge and beating Adam would be more than enjoyable. It would be revenge for his father taking over the leadership of the Alpha estates from his grandfather, Dester.
"You're already married to her. Will you convince her to do it again?"
"I'll get married as tradition dictates. She in a veil and white dress, and I in a tuxedo."
Genevieve started laughing and turned to Ryan.
"Take it, Ryan! But I'm going to hope you lose. I'd love to see something like that."
"I thought you saw yourself at the altar marrying Adam."
"Yes, but with her..." Genevieve started to say, then stopped herself in surprise and turned to Adam. "Are you going to marry another woman, forever?"
"I'm never going to marry for love, Genevieve. It'll just be an act, since she'll be serving the men in the family. She'll be my shield, so I don't let my wives bother me with requests for a more formal relationship."
Genevieve loved Adam, but she really wanted to see him fall in love and grovel at some woman's feet, so she turned to Ryan.
"You need to accept that!"
Ryan stared at the woman and then turned to Adam.
"You're weak, Adam. You can't make a little girl fall in love with you..." Ryan teased him.
Adam took a deep breath.
"She's going to fall in love, Ryan. And she's going to tell you the day you propose to her."
"Are we going to toast with Gin?" Ryan asked, laughing.
For the first time that night, Adam cracked a smile.
...
Anna was hugging herself outside the room. She was shivering and hadn't brought a coat. The men looked like walls in front of her, and Adam was taking his time at dinner. She thought about going in again, but at the last second, she just sat down on the stairs that led up to the front door of the living room, from where she had left more than an hour before. To her surprise, the two men sat down next to her, each on one side.
"I wish I could quit this job, Jefferson." The one sitting on the left said, and Anna looked at him intently. Brown hair and eyes, a clean-shaven face, he looked about thirty-two. Then she looked at the man sitting to her right. Golden hair and brown eyes, he looked about fifty. She felt like asking him why he didn't want the job anymore, but the other man got angry.
"Don't you love life? What about your children and wife? Mother and brothers? Do you really think the boss would kill you before making you watch him torture everyone you love?"
"He's not that bad. Just my life would be enough. My mother and brothers don't know what I do for a living, and there's no point in killing them."
"But your wife and children do."
"I don't believe that Alpha is cruel enough to punish them. Even in his twisted conception, I've never seen him kill someone he considers innocent."
Anna widened her eyes in surprise. "Kill?" All's son was killing people? Then she realized the reality of the life she was involved in. It was the mafia and their boss was ruthless.
"You're right about that, Johnny. But have you forgotten that for him, everyone who knows the business and secrets of the Lens family is not innocent? You should have thought before you took this job. It's for life. He'll consider you a traitor and so will your family. I've seen him give the death sentence to entire families, for far less than abandonment."
The man looked forward thoughtfully and stood up.
"We could let this girl run away. We both know the future that awaits her."
"You may not care about your family anymore, but I wouldn't trade their lives for that unknown girl. Fuck, Johnny! She's the boss's bitch! She's nothing!"
Johnny looked at Anna, who was livid. Until that day, none of the men who worked for All had dared to insult her.
"She's just a child who wasn't to blame for the circumstances that led her to be the boss's mistress, Jefferson. You have no right to talk like that."
Jefferson stood up too.
"You made a choice when you decided to join this family. You knew that the only way out was to be killed. No one ever deceived you about that. I know you pity the young woman, and that's why you keep talking about escaping from the boss, but if this woman escapes, the boss won't be satisfied with a quick death. Maybe his father will forgive him, but our now ruthless and creative boss never will. You answer to him. You're not a human asshole! You're one of us. We can't hide from Alpha!" Jefferson said and walked away towards the gate of the house.
Johnny looked at Anna again.
"Don't mind his words. He's a good man, but he's forgotten that..." He said thoughtfully.
Anna opened her mouth to say something, but it was another question that came out of her throat.
"What's so horrible that your boss has planned for me?"
"I can't be specific, but it's something that some women, before you, preferred to death. And that made them surround themselves with care. You won't have the chance to make that choice."
Anna remembered the medicine she had held in her hands. Perhaps All had taken it from her, so that they could do whatever they wanted with her, after his death.
"You can help me have a choice. Give me poison. I'll only take it if All dies. No one will ever know..."
He shook his head.
"I have a wife and three children. I'd put my safety at risk, but I can't put theirs. I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry, Johnny?"
Johnny looked startled behind Anna, and she stood up too and saw her Adam-like friend standing there, staring at them coldly.