Chapter One
(Content warning may be found at front of book.)
Sienna
New Year’s Eve
Something was about to happen, I could feel it as I descended the stairs of my cousin’s mansion. It was New Year’s Eve and Lucien, my guardian for the last nine years, was throwing a lavish party like he always did. As the wealthiest man in the outfit other than the boss, it was his prerogative. Or perhaps he just wanted a chance to show off, to flaunt his status, his beautiful wife, and lavish house. It was never easy to tell what my cousin intended.
It wasn’t the party that unnerved me, it was the scent of heavy anticipation in the air that seemed to go unnoticed by everyone else. They moved about giddy with excitement and glittering in their jewels, unbothered by the dark cloud tinging the horizon.
Trying to shake my anxiety, I walked through the hall toward the kitchen, hoping to take a quick shot of whiskey before I had to make an appearance. As I stepped into the back of the house, leaving behind the glittering finery, I felt something else creep up my spine. It felt like sad desperation, as if things would never again be the same.
Perhaps it was just the waning year.
I ducked past the cooks and the waiters, holding up my slinky gown as I stepped into the wine cellar and the door fell shut. Blessed silence surrounded me and my heartbeat slowed. There was a case of whiskey in the corner and I opened a bottle and sipped it. Heat slid down my throat and settled in my stomach, calming my nerves.
I hated mafia parties more than anything. I loathed the greedy stares of the single men, all hoping to score a chance with the ward of the boss’s favorite underboss. I hated seeing the empty stares of the mafia wives, all the life beaten out of their pretty faces. Now they just sat at their husband’s sides, too afraid to look higher than the floor.
A shudder moved through my body and I bolted more whiskey. The ring on my finger caught the light. Lucien had arranged my match with the only son of the boss months ago, but tonight he’d handed me a ring and ordered that I wear it to the party.
I raised my hand. It was expensive, probably thirty grand or more, but I wanted nothing more than to tear it off and shove it into the furthest corners of the pantry. Goddamn them all, all these made men who used us ruthlessly in their schemes, like we were nothing more than the poker chips they traded over whiskey and cigars.
Closing my eyes, I imagined a better place. The marsh outside the house where I’d lived with my parents. Into my mind came the gentle image of the sun rising over the water, steaming from the heat of the day before. Birds teamed in the trees overhead, a myriad of chickadees, warblers, and flycatchers. All of the little songbirds I’d grown up watching from my window.
There was a clipped knocking at the door and I jerked from my reverie. The knob turned and I scrambled to my feet, trying to hold the whiskey behind my back. The door swung ajar and Lucien stood there, his mouth pressed into a thin, angry line.
God, I hated him too. After the accident that took both my parents, Lucien had acted as my legal guardian. Which meant that he had forced me to leave the haven I’d grown up in and go to a boarding school until I was old enough to marry off to a man of his choosing. He probably felt lucky he’d had such a valuable commodity fall into his lap.
I should have fought him, I should have run into the woods and kept going until I crossed the border to Canada. Instead, I argued with him until he allowed me to get my degree first. Then and only then would I voluntarily allow him to marry me off to Aurelio Romano, the boss’s son, a man who sent a cold shiver up my spine every time his hungry gaze fell on my body.
“What the fuck, Sienna,” Lucien snapped, his ice cold eyes boring into me.
He shut the door, his presence filling the small space, and gripped my upper arm. His fingers sent a jolt of pain through me and I ground my jaw, forcing myself not to let out a whimper. He pried the bottle of whiskey from my fingers and shoved it onto a high shelf, out of my reach.
“Are you drunk?” His silky voice was hard and demanding, bearing down on me like an impending storm.
I shook my head, blinking through wet lashes. God, I hated him.
Lucien pressed his mouth together, releasing me with a derisive flick of his wrist. A flash of regret passed over his face as I winced and then he concealed it, his face impassive.
“You’re not marrying Aurelio,” he said.
I froze, a spark of hope rising in me. “What?”
“I never intended for you to marry him,” Lucien said, keeping his voice low. “Tonight, I’m going to overthrow the boss and his son with the help of the Russian godfather. In return, we will form an alliance with his organization and you will marry Viktor Anatole.”
I just stared at him, his words sinking in slowly. “What? Why are you saying this? Are you trying to get killed?”
“I’ve been planning this for years, Sienna,” Lucien said impatiently. “And I’m setting it in motion tonight.”
“Why would you want this?” I repeated dumbly.
“You know what Romano did to me,” Lucien said, his jaw tensing.
Everyone knew what the boss had done to Lucien. They knew he’d been falsely accused of impregnating Romano’s daughter, imprisoned and tortured because Lucien refused to marry her without a paternity test. When it came out that he wasn’t the father, it had seemed like Lucien was willing to let the misunderstanding drop.
But I knew my guardian better than that. He’d only forgiven Romano so quickly because he knew that someday, he would kill him.