The Guardians I:Feel The Fire: The Guardians, #1

By Jennifer Raygoza

I had thought I had life all figured out. We lived. We suffered pain. We died. Death had never bothered me much. It was love that scared the hell out of me, because love made you weak, and in my line of work there was no room for that. My name’s Gianna Botticelli. I’m the daughter and only female employee of a Los Angeles mafia boss.  Today was supposed to be like any other day, and then Caleb walked into my life.

He is sexy and mysterious and knows things he shouldn’t. I don’t like it at all, but I can’t help the way he makes me feel inside. There was something different about him. What was he? All I knew was that after meeting Caleb, things would never be the same, as he introduced me into his world, an unknown world where the battle of good versus evil rages on.

Sacrifices would be made, hearts would break and lives would be taken. How far was I willing to take this journey, I kept asking myself? If I had to sacrifice myself to save everyone and everything, then the answer was easy. All the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer Raygoza
• Release date: Aug 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386286332

Book preview

The Guardians

Book One

By

Jennifer Raygoza

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

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Cover Artist: Vladyslav Starozhylov / Dreamstime

Edited by Elizabeth A. Lance

To my husband Joel for encouraging me to finish this book, and to my kids Athena and Jovon for inspiring me with love even when life gets tough.

Chapter 1.

The Meeting

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You know, your mom would have hated for you to have anything to do with this, my father said.

I lowered my face, looked up at him through the corner of my eye, and answered in my usual smart-ass way, Good thing she's not around then, right?

My father shot a quick, stern glare at me, then came over and placed his hand on my right shoulder.

You know, Gianna, he said, trying to sound comforting, I still miss her too.

I stood there, all five feet, seven inches of me. I must have looked like my mom when she was mad. People said I had my mom's big hazel eyes. My wavy brown hair came from my dad though, although my nervous, fingernail tapping on the table was definitely from her; she always did that when she became anxious about something.

Dad, I... I don't want to talk about it, I said as I took a deep breath, fighting back tears.

He walked over to his desk and pulled a thick envelope out, and then he came back and placed it in my hand. Gianna, I hate sending you on these jobs. I would rather send your brother, Teddy, my father said.

That made me upset. I hated that he still thought of me as a tender, fragile doll that was easy to break. How could he still treat me like a five year old; especially after knowing I grew up in his house of chaos and mayhem? Here in the wonderful city of Los Angeles, California; the place where I was born and would probably die.

My father was Dominic Botticelli. He ate, drank, and slept his work—if that's what you would call it. My dad was the go-to guy. If there was something, anything that you needed, Dominic Botticelli could get it for you. People always gravitated toward my father; he was well known and most people respected - or should I say - feared him.

It was hard to tell if he really missed my mom, considering the women he had in and out of this place. After all, my father was an attractive man, especially for his age. Everywhere we went, women clung to him as if he was some kind of Greek god. It was almost like he could snap a finger and they would come running. Ugh! I hated that. My mom was never that type of woman.

Mom was strong, sexy, and never put up with anything or anybody. My father always put her high on a pedestal. The way he looked at her, I knew he would never love a woman the same way he loved my mother.

Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself. Besides, Teddy is a jackass.

He couldn't help but smile at what I said. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I know, Gianna, I just don't want anything to happen to my princess.

Most girls liked being called princess by their dads. I wasn't one of them. I hated it. It made me feel like a kid again—and not in a good way. As he kissed my forehead, I rolled my eyes and let out a deep sigh, dropping my head. I stood there looking at the envelope in my hands, my knee twitching from frustration.

This is for a special client, my father said. You must deliver it by six p.m. The address is inside. There will be a man waiting there. You will need to drive him back here with you.

I understood my instructions, so I turned to walk away.

Gianna! he yelled.

Yeah, Dad?  My back was still facing him as he called out to me. I refused to turn around.

The man you’re picking up is Caleb, and he’s...well, let's just say he's important. Try to be nice to him, please.

There was something odd about my father's tone. It didn't sit well with me. I mean, what was so important about this client? I thought I heard my dad mumble, She's just like her mother, but I was still groggy from my nap. I was more irritated than ever after my discussion with my father. I hated talking about my mother.

I walked outside to our patio and saw Teddy on the floor lounging next to the wall, his gun lying near his thigh. He looked exactly like my father. He had the same wavy brown hair, olive skin, and grey, powerful eyes.

You know, you ain't so pretty when you wake up, Gianna, Teddy said while eyeing me.

Yeah, well, you're ugly all day long, so get off my ass, I said through my teeth, pretending to bite at him.

Teddy and I had a love-hate relationship. We would take a bullet for each other, but most of the time we couldn't stand being in the same room together. Teddy was one year older, but I felt like I was the older one and I treated him like the younger sibling.

I usually had a soft spot for Teddy, but today was definitely not one of those days. He took my mother's death so hard, he was always covering up his emotions with endless sarcasm.

My mother died three years ago while giving birth to what would've been my baby sister. She lost a lot of blood during the delivery, and the baby didn't have enough oxygen. They both passed quickly and painlessly–at least that's what the hospital told us.

The night of her death, I cried to the point that tears could no longer be produced. After her death, I never shed another tear. It's like my beating heart was ripped right out of my body–and it was replaced with a cold hard stone.

The funeral came and went. While most grieved, my brother drank. That was his way of dealing with it all. He drank himself into a stupor, then he got into my mother's car and drove drunk, crashing into a grocery store front window.

We weren't sure if he was trying to kill himself, or if he was just too drunk to know that he had hit and severely injured a cashier. The judge suspended his license and locked him up for a year.

With his wife in the cemetery, and his only son sitting in jail, my father cracked. He would spend hours looking at my mom's pictures, his face lifeless and numb. Picture after picture, he became more and more emotional. He even started talking to them.

Vivian, my Vivian, he would say, over, and over.

When Teddy got out of jail, it seemed like everything was being pulled back together. Well, everything except that Teddy and I refused to talk about mom.

I stared down at Teddy propped against the outside wall of our large patio. Teddy, I’ll be back. I'm picking up a client for dad, I said, while purposely kicking his leg as I stepped over him.

Oh, no! Hell no! He shook his finger as he started to raise his voice, getting increasingly upset. He was pulling himself up from the ground. This is my job! I wanted to go get Caleb. It's a man's job, Gianna. Girls need to stay home. Go cook or clean or something.

You're a freak, Teddy. I gotta go before I'm late, I said as I grabbed my keys from my pocket, chuckling while walking away.

Teddy stood there, shaking his head in disbelief, mumbling, I can't believe Dad.

As I drove away, I could picture Teddy running back into the house to confront my dad. He was very disappointed and he wanted to make sure that was known.

I opened the envelope and read the address off the inside flap. It wasn't far from our house, so I had plenty of time to get there. I drove past my old school. If mom were still here, she’d have a spaz-attack over me dropping out of college to work for Dad. I quickly threw that thought out of my head. Stop beating yourself up. Mom isn't here, I thought.

Just shy of thirty minutes later, I arrived at the location. The building was two stories high. It had no windows from what I could see, and was barely lit. If it weren't for a man in an overcoat motioning for me, I would've driven right by. It was starting to rain hard. I parked the car right outside the building. No one was around; not even the mystery man in the overcoat. It was getting dark and a little eerie. I got out of my car, shut the door, and started walking toward the front of the building. I carried the envelope in my left hand. I made sure to walk with confidence, trying not to look scared.

As I walked inside, a woman sitting at a desk looked at me and pointed to the right–as if she knew what I was there for. I looked up and saw two attractive men coming my way.

Wow.

One had messy brown hair and almond eyes. He stood taller than his partner. His skin was pale, but he was rather handsome. I couldn't look away from them, especially his partner. He had blond spiky hair and piercing brown eyes. I noticed he was pale too, but he was very attractive. I must have had my mouth open.

I told myself to focus on the task at hand. As I composed myself, the taller man spoke.

I think you have something for me, he said with a seductive smile.

I felt a weird sensation rush through my body. I thought my legs were bending. I tried to stand up straighter, hoping they didn't notice. I was feeling a bit faint. I couldn't tell if I was just overcome by these handsome men, or if I was coming down with the flu, or if I was just nervous. It was probably a combination of all three.

Uh, yes I do, I said as I handed the envelope over to him, bracing the wall while making sure I didn't look directly at the blonde man. I didn't need any more distractions at this point.

The brunette male opened the envelope and his eyes widened. He secretly flashed something to the blonde male that I couldn’t see.

I'm supposed to take someone back with me. Do you know anything about that? I asked as I pulled my thoughts together.

I couldn't help but notice how good the two men smelled. What's wrong with me? I thought–I never get this distracted.

Yes, let me introduce myself. I am Cain, said the taller brunette. "And this