CHAPTER 2
CONSTANTINO
I’ve learned to be a patient man, which goes against my instincts, but I know it’s going to pay off sooner rather than later. The only reason I was able to learn to be patient was realizing the outcome was the same regardless of how long it took. It’s how I was able to remain a man who takes what he wants.
Sometimes the best things require planning and patience, both of which I’ve exercised to snare Lily Scavo and put her right where I want her.
She’s going to come to me. I know it deep in my soul, the same soul which pulses for her. It has since the moment I saw her.
Giovanni should have never brought her to the meeting with me. He should have never put her in my sights because I had no idea who she was until he did. Now she’s all I can think about. My obsession turned into relentless planning as if I was taking over a country and not the heart of the woman destined to be mine.
The day of my meeting with him, Giovanni was beaming with pride when he introduced his daughter to me. It made me wonder if I had always been in business with such a stupid man or if he simply had a blind spot when it came to her.
Her blonde hair made her look like an angel, and I had a hard time tearing my eyes away from her. The only reason I was able to was the thought of having video footage to look back on, to pour over. The video became the one thing which could curb my obsession as I collected information about the woman destined to be my wife.
When our eyes met, hers dark brown when I was expecting a light color, I could see an intelligence beyond measure and a fire there. I barely stopped myself from ripping into Giovanni as the meeting progressed it and was clear he expected her role to be one of silent femininity.
If I hadn’t already decided to make her mine, Giovanni’s treatment of her would have pushed me over the edge. It was clear he was proud, and he spoiled on her, but he still clipped her wings. I don’t want to clip her wings. I want her to soar and always come home to me after her flight. And, of course, track her as she rides those air currents.
I knew from the moment I saw Lily that she would be mine. Something in me rose and took notice, something I’d never experienced before. I was raised to be ruled by instinct with a certain moral compass, one which a lot of people wouldn’t understand, I know. Still, there were lines, no matter how much everyone else might want to look at our family and only see monsters ruled by greed and violence.
It simply wasn’t the truth.
Family is important to us. It’s one of the reasons my brothers and I protect our sister, Daisy, the way we do. She thinks we’re sheltering her, but she has no idea what is out there in the world and how she could be hurt in it. It wouldn’t be about her. It would be about her family, her brothers, and that was a risk we weren’t ever going to take.
Anything happening to Daisy wouldn’t have been acceptable. We’ve done a good job with keeping her safe and I am damn proud of it. For us, she’s precious and not a pawn.
Which is why I saw red when Lily stepped out of the meeting to use the bathroom and Giovanni leaned forward. “You know, while my Lily is beautiful and smart, I won’t be able to leave the family to her when it’s time. I love my daughter, but I needed a son to take over the business.”
“She could be at the helm just as well as any man,” I spoke with measured words, unsure if he was baiting me or if it was really how he felt.
He scoffed, “Maybe so, but you and I both know no one would take her seriously.”
I wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but I realized he wasn’t far off either. As much as I hated it to be true. The only family who values women the same way we do in the Agosti family are the Orlov’s, but, even then, probably not enough to put one at the head of their family.
A queen rules with a king.
The realization set my heartrate spiking. The glint in Giovanni’s eyes told me he came to the same conclusion I did. “There are some men I trust in the organization, who I think would be a good match for my Lily.”
I clenched my entire body, trying to force myself not to launch across the desk at him. He thought he could put another man with my Lily. There was no way. No way in fuckin hell.
Lily walked back in before I could blurt out anything which would make my immediate obsession clear as fucking day. I’ve learned not to show all my cards too soon and with Gio’s plans, I knew letting him see what I wanted, even a little bit, would be a huge mistake.
I’m not sure how I got through the meeting without killing the man or giving myself away, but I did. Every stolen glance I wanted to send her way I tried to hold back. I didn’t want my eyes to be anywhere but on her, so it was a special kind of torture.
One I’ll never have to repeat any time soon. After the meeting, I set about finding out everything I could about Lily. There wasn’t much to find, which made sense because the scent of good girl coming off my woman was a delicious aphrodisiac. I knew I would have to act to make Lily mine, but I couldn’t move too fast or do anything in a way which would call attention to myself.
Not if I wanted Lily to come to me for help.
Jericho Rowe killing a man in my club for touching the woman he considers his, was a stroke of fucking luck. Then again, I’ve always been more than a little lucky. I decided I would need to wait a little while and then use Jericho’s skillset. Taking Giovanni Scavo left Lily vulnerable and alone.
I know most people wouldn’t do something so extreme, but I’m far from the norm. I don’t have time to walk on eggshells to get the job done. I only had to make sure I didn’t get any blowback because then she wouldn’t trust me, and she wouldn’t want to come to me.
Jericho was probably the one man who would understand the burning fucking need I have for Lily, considering how he feels about his wife, Briar. He’s possessive and obsessed with his woman the same way I am with my Lily. Though, he doesn’t need to know. He killed Gio for no other reason than he owed me, and I called the hit.
Simple as that.
Since Giovanni’s death, I’ve been waiting and watching. I don’t know if Lily has been mired with grief or if no one else is watching out for her, but I’ve been able to keep a very close eye on her. It both pisses me off and thrills me. There have been so many times when I’ve been able to get too close to her. I could have grabbed her and taken her far away from the things which cause her stress. I almost did.