I’m not safe anymore. Even my brothers—the strong, powerful men I love and trust—can’t protect me now.
I’ve never felt so alone in my life.
I let them hash out my future and tell myself I’ll do whatever they say. My heedless actions have caused enough problems as it is. And then I hear the one word that makes me come back to full attention.
“The only safe choice is probably marriage,” Tavi says with a grimace.
Marriage.
Marriage!
Marriage?
I’m the only single Rossi woman left, and I’ve known for a while—we all have—that my marriageability and virginity make me a really,reallyhot bargaining chip. The very thought makes me sick to my stomach. I’ve never even really given myself permission to think too much about it, because if I did, I’d want to leave. And I love it here. I love my Nonna and Mama, my brothers and sister, my nieces and nephews and those who’ve married into this family. I don’t want to leave them, and a part of me hoped my family was secure enough, especially after solidifying ties with our cousins, that he wouldn’tneedto marry me off.
Marriage.
My sister was married young to a man who cheated on her. My brothers have broken the mold by being faithful to their wives, but none of us are fools. We know that a typical mobster only marries for convenience. Infidelity is their bread and butter. My father and his brothers all had mistresses, and Tavi’s wife, my sister-in-law Elise, has told me horror stories of the loveless marriages she witnessed in her own family.
Marriage.
The chances of me marrying anyone who would be faithful to me… who would reallyloveme… are between slim and none. I’d be better off planning the life of a spinster, which doesn’t really sound half bad to me…
“It might be the only way,” Romeo says, stroking his chin.
He turns to Tavi. “Ottavio, I want you and Orlando to pull in all the resources you can find and compile a list of eligible men we might consider for her to marry.”
“Hello!” I finally speak up, my momentary meekness forgotten. “You’re talking as if I’m not right here.”
“We don’t have time, Lena,” Mario says earnestly. “You’re in mortal danger, sister.”
Mortal danger?My brother doesn’t use such terms lightly. He’s not prone to dramatics or exaggeration. If anything, he’s the one most likely to brush things off.
My stomach roils with nerves.
Mortal danger?
Outside the window of Romeo’s office, I hear the sound of cars approaching the newly procured security gates out front. My stomach lurches.
Could be anyone. Delivery, my sister Rosa or Mama returning from an errand, one of the nannies come to watch one of the children.
Romeo jumps to his feet and looks out the window, then curses under his breath as every guard we have stands at attention at the gate. I peer over Romeo’s shoulder to see not one, but three heavy black SUVs lined up at the gate just as Romeo’s phone chimes.
This is not good.
The sense of foreboding grows in my belly. Mario closes his eyes and mutters under his breath. Orlando swears to himself in Italian. Gloria meets my eyes across the room, frantic and wide.
And I know before they tell me.
It’s him. He’s come. I’ve hardly processed what’s happened and he’s already shown up at my doorstep.
Romeo puts the phone on speaker.
“Salvatore Capo asks for an audience, boss,” the guard says.
No.
Already? Did he follow us here? Maybe stopped for a cup of coffee to give us time to sweat it out? God!