“I promise,” Stefano assured her, his voice gruff, raspy.
She drew back, and I gasped at the raw emotion on his face. I’d seen that expression when he’d dropped all pretense and showed me the real him the day he pulled me from hell. Pain radiated through my chest, and my hands shook. Not wanting Stefano to notice the tremble, I clasped them behind my back.
I felt hot and knew his gaze was on me. I’d always been able to feel it. I raised my chin in challenge. I was a fool to have thought he wouldn’t notice. He saw everything when it came to me.
Annoyed, I busied my hands by putting the dishes in the dishwasher. They needed to talk, and I had to stay out of it.
It wasn’t long before Stefano left, and Marissa turned to Sofia, Lil, and me. Mischief sparkled in her smile, and my heart sank. I knew what she had in mind.
“Tony’s meeting me tonight.” She held up a hand, palm facing us. “Before you say anything, I listened and am attempting to find common ground between us.” She winked. “With a party, of course. He and Eva will be there in a few minutes.”
“They’ll be where?” Lil asked.
“There’s a party hosted by the football players, and we’re going. They’re meeting us there.” She pivoted and flew up the stairs, throwing one last comment over her shoulder. “Hurry up and change because this night is happening.”
The three of us hadn’t moved. Sofia rested a hand on my arm, and I turned toward her. “What?”
“Is there something going on between you and Stefano?”
I laughed, but it came out dark and forlorn. “You know their father. Frank Rossi married off Camila, his oldest, to the Russian mafia. Marissa is next, but she’s the lucky one. Maybe. And Stefano? His father will never relinquish power to him. A relationship between us cannot happen.”
“Of course it can! So what if he isn’t boss? Like you care about that.”
I reined in my emotions, determined to keep them close so my friends wouldn’t see how affected I was. “True. I don’t care, but his father does. He’ll make sure to choose a suitable wife for Stefano, and it won’t be me.”
“Well”—Sofia frowned—“dammit. Nothing is working out for us how we want it to.”
She was referring to Enzo. I had no idea what the problem was between them, but it was apparent that there was one. I would have to talk to my brother soon. They both deserved to be happy.
“We should go to the party.” Lil gave Sofia a slight shove in the direction of the stairs then motioned for me to follow. “We need to enjoy the last week of true freedom that we have before the break. It makes me sick to think we only have one semester before we’re home again.”
“You okay?” Sofia wrapped an arm around Lil’s waist. She nodded but hurried up the stairs ahead of Sofia to get ready.
She wasn’t fooling anyone. Sofia and I both knew that Lil was dreading graduation and having to move back home more than anyone but Marissa. I squared my shoulders and followed them upstairs to change for a night of partying. Our freedom was limited, and we needed to enjoy it while we could. Sooner rather than later, I knew it would end.
CHAPTER TEN
SOFIA
Pulsing bass notes traveled through the crisp winter night, dampening the sound of snow crunching under our shoes as we walked the short distance to the football house. A bottle of vodka dangled from Marissa’s fingers. There would be beer, but we always brought our own alcohol.
We followed Marissa like rats behind the Pied Piper to the party, our guards trailing us and dressed like college students to blend in, our one requirement when Stefano and Enzo had assigned additional soldiers to keep us safe. Normally, I would have been upset about the restriction of freedom, but Ivan’s presence was unsettling.
Emiliana shivered, and I glanced at her. The two of us had hung back a little while Lil and Marissa passed the vodka, laughing as they stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. I looped my arm in Emiliana’s. “It’ll be fun.” She grimaced, and I laughed. “They need it. When the semester ends, they’ll return home to existences they would give anything to trade us for.” Lil’s father was unpleasant at best, and she knew her days were numbered until he informed her of who she would marry, based solely on what he would gain from the union.
“And that’s why I’m going tonight, but I don’t have to like it.” She shuddered.
I knew her reaction wasn’t from the cold. “Yeah, but you’ll be with us.”
“Mmhm.”
The door to the party house flew open. A couple stumbled out and narrowly missed colliding with Lil, who had the bottle tipped back on a two-shot swallow. “We’ll need to keep an eye on those two.”
“Yeah,” Emiliana said with a sigh. “They’re feeling all kinds of pressure. It’ll probably do them some good to let loose.”
My gaze bounced around the yard and then to the house we were entering. “I keep expecting all the guys to show up and party with us.”
Emiliana didn’t even blink. “They said they would if they could get away.”