****
Roman Greco hated these small little party get-togethers. His father arranged it as a way of inviting him and his new wife, as well as Liam. He’d seen the older man give her a hug, and he just knew it was a dig at him, or in some way telling him he wasn’t good enough.
Liam had told him plenty of times that he was merely the best of the worst. He didn’t understand what the big deal was. He married his daughter, and business was going great betweenthem. All the boxes for this union to work had been ticked, and still, Liam looked at him like he wanted to slit his throat.
It just so happened the feeling was mutual. He didn’t like Liam Smith.
The man wasn’t mafia, he wasn’t family, and in no way was he blood. There was no denying Liam had worked himself from the ground up, building a reputation for himself and becoming the feared crime boss that he was. His name rivaled the Greco name for fear. Men were loyal to him, and they never, even under threat of torture or being tortured, turned on him.
Lucas Greco, Roman’s father, had been impressed and wanted to finally meet the man that no one would break from. Not even to save their own skin.
Who instilled that kind of loyalty?
The man in front of him was deadly. Roman saw it in the man’s eyes. There was nothing living there, and he heard the rumors that the only person who was ever safe from this man was his daughter, Alex.
So much rumor and gossip followed this man. Roman didn’t believe it all.
He sipped at his whiskey and stared at the man over the rim of the glass. He didn’t fear Liam.
Roman was the only man in the history of the mafia to have killed a man at the ripe old age of ten. Serving his father and the Greco name was in his blood, as was becoming the boss, when his father would hand the reins over to him. Until that time, he still had to do what his father instructed.
“How is married life treating you?” Liam asked.
“Fine.” He clenched his teeth, wanting to beat the crap out of the man in front of him. There wasn’t much difference between them in age, just twenty years. Liam was fifty-five years old while he was thirty-five years old.
Unlike the women in their world, he didn’t have to marryat a young age. Most of their daughters were often betrothed by the age of twelve and married at either eighteen or twenty-one.
Alex was twenty-one, and she was nothing like the women of his world. She didn’t bow her head or try to be hidden. She held herself tall and proud. There was also defiance within her gaze. His father had told him of her denial to take the virginity test and how Liam refused to enforce it.
Liam stated that his daughter was a virgin and he believed her.
Roman didn’t. He also hadn’t fucked her either, hadn’t consummated their marriage. He expected Alex to tell her father they hadn’t had sex, but she still kept quiet.
He didn’t know what her game was, but he intended to find out.
No one took him for a fool. When it came to Alex, he already had people in place to find out her weaknesses. So far, she showed none. She had also not proven to be a liar either, which … baffled him.
Liam chuckled. “Just fine.”
“I think we should talk business,” Lucas said, interrupting. “I’ve gotten word—”
“Business is for the morning where booze hasn’t been so freely offered,” Liam said. “Do you think I got to where I am by taking the words of drunken men?” His gaze turned back to Roman. “I have it on good authority that you’ve been with Denise.”
Roman tensed up. He didn’t know how Liam knew of his ex-lover, or her name, and to be honest, he wasn’t happy with it either.
He kept his personal life very private, and his lovers were always protected.
Since his marriage, he hadn’t enjoyed another woman, not even his wife. He’d been so focused on dealing with thefallout from taking an outsider as a wife. Alex was … so different.
She didn’t know their customs and often just stood by herself, ignoring everyone, or being ignored, he wasn’t quite sure.
What was with her? He couldn’t read her.
Women like Denise, his ex-lover, were interested in power and money. They only wanted what was best for themselves. When it came to Alex, he wasn’t sure what it was. He also couldn’t find out the relevant information he needed to know more about her. Her father kept it all under wraps.
No one knew anything, and that pissed him off.
Whenever he had a computer guy onto something, there was always some glitch or problem that stopped him from finding out everything there was about his wife.