And yet I can’t let this go. The look on Siena’s face drives me wild. She’s wretched with pain and misery, and if I leave now, it’ll only get worse. They’ll grind her to dust and that girl I met one night in a bar will disappear into nothing. They’ll take whatever joy and light is left inside her and ruin it, and all for what? Because she made one foolish mistake? I keep thinking of that night, and the idea of leaving her here in this place, mopping up cum and blood and cleaning toilets for the rest of her days, fucking men whenever that rancid old woman Zita tells her to, sounds like an utter nightmare. Even for a traitor, this is too far and too much.
Another idea hits me. It’s worse than the first, so much worse. The ramifications will be long-lasting and will stretch out through my entire life, and yet I open my mouth and speak. It’s like I have no willpower with Siena around. I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her away from here. No matter the cost.
“Then I will marry her,” I say, my voice a low growl. “Do you find that acceptable, or are there more suitable matches?”
Guido stares in shock. Siena’s face whips up, her eyes wide.
“No!” she says, shaking her head.
“Be quiet,” Guido snaps at her and looks back at me. “Surely you don’t mean this?”
“Are you questioning my word, Don Bastone?”
“I am not, but have you thought this through? I told you, my daughter is a traitor. She works in a whorehouse. You’re the eldest son and heir of the Novalov family.” He gestures in the air, as if that clears everything up.
I know what he’s saying. There are a thousand reasons why this is a huge mistake. She’s too far beneath me in the social hierarchy, her kin are flesh dealers and minor mafia, she’s a traitor, and worst of all, my father will cut my throat before he allows me to take a woman like Siena as my bride.
I step toward Siena and her lower lip trembles.
It convinces me that I have to keep going.
Her face is twisted with a myriad of emotions. Fear, yes, anger, yes, but also longing and want and misery and sorrow.
I caused this in some ways, and I can’t turn my back on her, not the girl that left me in my sleep.
I will not be denied, no matter the consequences.
“Imagine your family’s standing if I marry your daughter,” I say softly to Guido, but I don’t stop staring at her. She meets my eye and chews on her lip, that full, beautiful lip. She’s a traitor and a liar, and hate boils in my guts, but the hate is mixed with a frenzied need that scares me. “Imagine how close to my father you will be. Our businesses will intertwine with each other, and we will both grow stronger as a consequence. Imagine it, Don Bastone. This is your chance, and all you need to do is give me your daughter, a girl you so clearly do not care about.”
Silence again. The hum of a TV playing too loud drifts into the room. Siena keeps looking at me, blinking rapidly, and I keep looking back. Don Bastone grumbles something under his breath and paces back and forth, considering my offer, before he sits at the end of the bed with a sharp huff of air.
“Very well,” he says, gesturing at his daughter. “You may have her, if that’s what you want.”
“I have one more condition,” I say, holding up a hand.
He sighs and waves me on. “Go ahead.”
“You will not speak of this to my father.” His gaze narrows sharply, but I push ahead. “Let me deal with him first. As you suggested, he will not be happy about me finding my own wife, and it will be an uphill battle to convince him of Siena’s worth.”
“What happens if you father doesn’t accept this?” he asks slowly, watching me carefully.
I stiffen and finally look away from Siena.
I don’t have an answer to that. If my father doesn’t accept it, likely he will kill us both and throw our corpses into unmarked graves. If I take this risk, there is no going back, not to Bastone, and not to anywhere.
But I can do it. My father wants me to marry and I do have some agency in who I choose.
This will not be easy. The Bastone family is strong in whoring, but weak everywhere else. They’re a minor family, and my father wants me to marry someone from a stronger clan, someone that will bring more power and wealth into our bratva. Siena will not do either of those things.
And yet my desire remains. I can’t understand it. I don’t know why I’d risk so much for this girl. We had a single night together, and I’ve had plenty of women for one night only, and yet she’s the first that truly stuck in my mind. I can’t shake her, no matter how hard I’ve tried the last two months, and here she is suddenly back in my world.