My eyes widened. “Is that…?”
“…Pepper spray,” she finished for me.
CHAPTER 10
LORENZO
My nostrils flared. “Where the hell did you get that?”
“Ma gave it to me in case you do anything I don’t want. She knows I wouldn’t be afraid to use it—even against a Made Man.”
Her ma?That was the same woman who had looked at me with wide eyes and assured me that her daughter was ‘an absolute angel’, yet here she was, equipping her with a weapon to use against me.
“You know what’s supposed to happen tonight?” I snapped.
When she didn’t answer, I got out of bed and marched over to the dresser. Grabbing Anni’s purse, I rummaged through it, thinking that she might have a gun as well, but thankfully found nothing else that could be used as a weapon.
I looked back at my feisty wife and scowled at her. “Why the fuck have you got pepper spray when you know how to shoot a gun?”
“Ma wanted to give me a gun for tonight, but Papà wouldn’t let her. My dad thinks guns are dangerous,” she shrugged, as if bringing a gun or pepper spray to your wedding night was completely normal.
I grasped her wrist tightly, and removing the spray from her hands, I confiscated it. “You’ll end up hurting yourself with that,” I spat.
“I’m not sleeping with you,” she said firmly.
“You know we need to produce the virgin sheet for tomorrow morning?”
“You’re a resourceful man. I’m sure you’ll work something out.” She turned her back to me, and turning off her nightstand lamp, she settled down to sleep.
Watching her, I could tell by the tension in her slim shoulders that she was worried that I might insist on my rights and try to force her.
I had never forced a woman in my life, and I wasn’t about to start now.
Clenching my jaw, after a minute I took a knife from the holster I’d left on my nightstand.
After taking one more look at Anni’s turned back, I made a small cut to my finger, dripping the resulting blood onto the bedsheet.
I would not be humiliated by Anni again. The Fratellanza and Imperiosi wanted to see blood on the bedsheets tomorrow morning, and that was what I was going to give them.
***
The next morning, we got showered and dressed in silence. I wore a custom-made suit in the darkest navy blue, together with a crisp white dress shirt.
Anni wore a pale blue shift dress with a matching jacket and had oversized sunglasses perched on top of her head. It looked like something Jackie O would have worn, but it would do. Thank fuck it was suitably formal for this morning’s brunch and not another one of her weird outfits.
When we took the elevator down to the hotel foyer, I found Marco waiting for me.
“Good night, I hope?” he said, smirking at me.
Anni averted her eyes, a blush running up her cheeks.
“It was fine.” My tone was terse.
“I need to talk to you on the way to the brunch, Lorenzo.” Marco moved on to talking about his favorite topic: business. “I’ve received some intel on the Cartels this morning, and we need to decide quickly how to act on it. We can drive together to the brunch and speak in the car on the way there.”
We walked out to where the valet had brought around Marco’s car.
After opening the back door for Anni, I got into the passenger seat next to Marco. The brunch was back at the Venetiville Country Club, a twenty-minute drive from the hotel we had spent the night at.