Kidnapped by the Devil

Chapter 25: Matteo

"I know that Matteo," he sighs. I look at the old man confused as ever. First he doesn't like me and now he's playing nice? "I see the way you look at my daughter, the way you study her surroundings and her movements. It's honestly pretty intense, but I will warn you. If ANYTHING happens to my daughter in any way, shape or form, and you are the reason behind it I will hunt you down," Kenneth says with serious. If I was just some regular guy dating Carina he would have succeeded with his 'intimidating father' act, but I'm not just some regular guy. I'm far from it, and intimidating me isn't going to make me fearful of his 'power'.

"I understand completely sir. I just want to make Carina happy. She deserves that after everything she's been through," I say honestly. Now that I have gotten to know Carina on a more personal level and let her in, I want to do everything in my power to keep that breathtaking smile on her face. Relief washes over Kenneth and he relaxes a little.

"Good. I see some friends of mine. I'll see you tomorrow," he smiles and pats my shoulder as he walks away. I watch as the old man crosses the dance floor and vanishes into the crowd. If it wasn't for the fact that he fucked up on our deal, Carina and I would have never met. I can't help but silently be thankful for the old-timer's slip up. I laugh to myself as the thought of never meeting Carina comes to mind. That gorgeous fireball has no idea how she's turned my life around.

"What's that smile for," someone says interrupting my thoughts. I turn to see Jessica's little brother Cooper standing there with Sophia.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Everything okay," I ask bringing my attention to Sophia. Her cheeks are a little flushed and she's looking everywhere, but at me. What happened?

"Where is Carina," she asks. I scan the crowd and spot Carina talking to her mother and Heather. I point in her direction and Sophia rushes over to her. Cooper tries to follow, but I immediately grab the boys shoulder. I'm going to find out what he did to Sophia to have her so frazzled.

"Where do you think you're going Coop? I want to have a little chat with you," I say cheekily. Cooper turns around and cockily stuffs his hands into his pockets. What is this kid's problem?

"By all means," he mumbles and I raise my eyebrows in complete shock. This kid really doesn't know who he's talking to does he? I have never encountered such disrespect from someone so young.

"You might be Jessica's little brother, but make no mistake; I will end you if you don't learn to respect me, and especially Sophia. I saw the way you looked at her," I say getting straight to the point. We all know I'm never one to beat around the bush with things. "She isn't a piece of meat. She may not be able to verbally speak for herself, but don't think that's a reason to take advantage of her," I continue. Cooper's face goes from bored to angry in the blink of an eye.

"I would never take advantage of Sophia," he says through gritted teeth. I have to admire the kid's balls. He clearly isn't afraid to stand up for himself, especially against me.

"I'm glad we are clear on that Cooper, because if you do, well let's just say that things will get very dirty," I say so low that I know he's the only one to hear me. "I'm sure your sister and brother-in-law have told you that I don't make empty threats. Don't test me, because you'll find out," I say and walk off leaving him standing there. I don't care to hear what he has to say about Sophia. If she's going to date, she needs to be old enough to do so. I'm not going to ship her off to keep her away from boys, but if I am going to be her guardian when Lucinda and Frankie die. I have to make sure she is looked after in all aspects. Tomorrow I'm going to have to have a conversation with my mother to see what age is suitable for Sophia to date. I don't want her experiencing heartache too early on in life, especially in her condition. She's already so fragile, and she is about to experience the biggest heartache anyone could ever experience, losing a loved one to death.