Love and War Read Online Free Page B

behind the two girls the cops found with their faces knifed up?   No one gets away with lying to me, Caprice. Daughter or not.”
    “They were stealing from you,” Caprice replied casually.
    “They’re professional sluts,” Domani snapped. “That’s Paolo’s call to make. He has people to take care of shit like that. You are not one of those people, Caprice.”
    “I want in.”
    “Why?”
    Caprice’s eyes wandered around the restaurant before they finally landed back on her father’s face. His face was expressionless, like someone had just asked him about the weather.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I meant why?” Domani answered. “This isn’t some HBO show. This is real life. A dangerous life. It’s my life and Nico’s life. It doesn’t have to be yours.”
    Caprice shrugged her shoulders. “It’s the family business. I’m tired of being the pretty girl on campus. I’m tired of being coddled like I’m a baby. You brought me here and exposed me to all of this. Now I want in.”
    Caprice spent a lot of time watching her father from the sidelines. When Domani entered a room, he owned it and everyone in the room. It wasn’t his customary steel gray suit or his 6’4” height. It wasn’t his permanent sneer or his mysterious dark eyes that made rich men clear a path for him. Domani Bonatelli was powerful. He possessed the two most important weapons a man could have.
    Money and power.
    Caprice knew that she could finish college and continue to make money. Money was easy to come by, especially since she’d been making money since she was a kid. Money wasn’t what she craved with every inch of her soul. It was power.
    The ability to control every situation. To have people listen when she spoke…to do what she said without question. She wanted people to fear and respect her because they had no other choice…just like they did for her father.
    She could be CEO of her company and make millions but that wasn’t enough for her. She needed her father to bring her into his organization and let her rise through the ranks. She wouldn’t ever be the Don because Nico was next in line. She was happy with that. She’d do anything to prove to her father that she was ready.
    “I have ideas,” Caprice finally spoke. “You know I’m smart. I know things, Dad. We aren’t back in the thirties bootlegging and doing business out of the back of a speakeasy. Those days have been over. It’s time to think outside the box and do things differently. Who cares if I’m a girl?   Step out of the stone age, please.”
    Domani was silent as a waitress brought his usual veal piccata and Caprice’s eggplant parmigiana . The girl poured two glasses of dark red wine and hastily left the area.
    “You are not a killer,” Domani’s voice was grave when he spoke to his daughter.
    “Neither were you until you had to be,” Caprice countered. “Face it, the Black Diamond Mafia is not only trying to cut into our percentage, but they are trying to run us out of Queens. Nico is good, but he needs help. I just want to help.”
    Caprice eyed her father with the same intense stare he was giving her. “He’s my brother.”
    “Aries is heavily protected. His people are dirty and grimy, and won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your chest.”
    Caprice smirked. “From what I hear, Aries is a man with a weakness for pretty girls with big asses. He’s weak. I can take him.”
    “Eat your food. Go to class. Graduate from school and get a job. Be done with this. My answer remains the same.”
    Caprice unfolded her arms as the shock of what he said registered on her face. She thought she had given a compelling argument. She wasn’t prepared for him to say no…again.
    “No?”
    Domani nodded. “That’s right. You can play gangster at the shooting range with Nico. You can take your frustrations out on the heavy bag at the gym, but I am not authorizing your involvement in anything that Nico does. Do not challenge me. If I hear anything