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“Let’s have tea next week.” Lacy linked Britney’s arm before sauntering away.
I craned my neck, spotting Enzo and Dante still conversing. I was tempted to get the hell out of there, but when Tony, Dante’s son, turned down the hall, I ducked into the bathroom and locked the door.
Once I finished and washed my hands, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Would the Casella family really leave something this important to a fucking auction? I took a deep breath and clutched my hands into fists. Well, I could stop wondering about who it would be. Only three families had a chance, and the Morenos were at the top of the fucking list. They’d been after the docks for years.
Fuck it, I needed to get back to the party.
I double-checked my makeup, then slid out of the bathroom. Someone grabbed my forearm and tugged me away.
“Hey!” I slapped at him, knowing right away it wasn’t Enzo.
We turned the corner, and he flipped around, pulling me to him. “I’ve been looking for a few minutes alone with you all night.”
Tony Moreno smiled as he pushed me up against the wall. “Your brother has kept you tucked away all these years. Oh, how you’ve grown up. I can’t wait for the negotiations.”
“Negotiations?” I asked, playing the dumb mafia princess.
“I could skip all of us some trouble and take you up to my room, claim you as mine.” He trailed his hand down my arm, the overwhelming scent of his cologne making me nauseous.
I playfully pushed at him. “We should get back.”
Seven
LORENZO
“I don’t understand why your father is insisting on all these formalities. We can be done with them, and I will compensate your family quite well.”
I hated Dante Moreno. If I ever found proof his family was behind the death of Serafina’s father, he’d be exiled from Philly. Every time I got close, the trail went cold again. I wasn’t giving up until the bastard was gone.
“It’s not like you can still marry her.” He took a drag from his cigar while I rotated the one he’d given me between my fingers. I glanced back inside, waiting for Sera. This party was the last place I wanted to be, but as head of the family, it was expected of me.
“I’m guessing whoever took out Rosetta didn’t think about him leaving that clause in his will, did they?” I could have sworn he flinched, but he only smiled when he turned back to me. There was a reason Rosetta had sat at the head of the table where the Casellas sat now. He was smart. It was what made the betrayal and his death so hard for everyone to take.
“I’m sure Tony will find her to be quite the bonus.”
I gritted my teeth. “We’ll see you with everyone else on the twenty-third.”
He scowled. He wasn’t the only one trying to skirt the rules Rosetta had put in place for his territory and daughter. Not only had Rosetta planned to make sure his territory was safe, he wanted Serafina taken care of. If he was still alive, I’d be heir to most of Philadelphia, and she’d be by my side. We’d rule together.
“It’s been nice catching up, Dante. I’ll be in touch.” I didn’t give him a chance to keep me a second longer. It had already been ten minutes. Did it really take that long to go to the bathroom?
I smiled and shook hands as I moved through the room to the hall Serafina had gone down. When I reached the bathroom, someone who wasn’t Sera stepped out. Doesn’t she realize everything I do is to protect her? It’s all I’ve done since I pulled her out of the fire that consumed her father and most of their staff. I’d gone after her father, but he had been stuck. He made me promise I’d get her out, which I had. Never in a million years had I thought the nine-year-old little girl I carried out of the house would grow into such a beautiful, feisty force to be reckoned with.
When I found her, she wouldn’t be able to sit for a week after I got my hands on her.
“Tony, stop—” Her voice echoed down the hall.
Following the sounds, I walked down the hall and around the corner to find Serafina pushed up against the wall and Tony fucking Moreno feeling her up.
“Serafina, what the hell?” I let her out of my sight for a few minutes. While I wasn’t surprised, she was in this predicament, the person with his hands on her did surprise me.
Tony flipped his head around to me. “She’s not married yet. She can have a little fun.” I saw fucking red, but before I could close the difference between us, his face paled. He turned to Sera. “You bitch.”
He stumbled back, grabbing his side. Fuck, she’d stabbed him and not only that, but in his fucking house at his fucking party. I gripped his neck and shoved him against the other wall. “You know the rules, Moreno,” I growled.
Sera stood with her knife in her hand, shocked by what she’d done.
He pulled himself to standing, holding his side. “She came on to me. Not my fault she’s a slut like her mother.”
