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It’s straight engagement-ring material.
“If you say yes, I’ll schedule a meeting with my jeweler, so we can create the ring of your dreams. Be my wife, and I will make you happy every day of your life. I will protect you. Protect your family. And spoil the fuck out of you.”
My smile grows times two.
“Yes,” I whisper.
28
ONE MONTH LATER
“Your mom is getting sketchier and sketchier,” Damien tells me over the phone as I exit the casino. “So I’ll reiterate again, don’t tell her shit.”
Sonny pretty much abandoned the casino and all his responsibilities associated with it after my father’s death. Smart on his part since it would’ve made it incredibly easy for me to kill a man who showed up to his nine-to-fucking-five every day.
Me? I’m here, day after day, taking care of business while waiting for him to show his hideous-ass face.
He’s done nothing but make threats while not following through. He’s waiting for the perfect time to strike, so I need to be ready.
Not every man joined him. Some kept their loyalty to the Lombardi name.
Twelve men who once served under my father left with Sonny, and ten stayed with me. The others fled the state, not wanting to choose a side.
I’ve already killed three of Sonny’s men, which drops him down to nine. I shot two others and instructed them to deliver messages to Sonny. There have been rumors he’s recruiting men off the street to join him, providing them with a false hope of being involved with a Mafia crime family. Sure, the job sounds enticing in the beginning. What he fails to inform them is untrained men end up dead within the first month. That’s why every man of mine was brought into the family through merit and affiliation.
I grit my teeth while approaching my car. “Don’t worry. I’ve kept her in the dark, where she belongs.”
Men have been watching my mother. I tested her loyalty and learned we couldn’t trust her. I told her I’d be at certain locations at exact times, and Sonny’s men would conveniently arrive there. She’s a fucking traitor.
“She’s been to the hair salon twice and nail salon four times,” Damien continues. “When Pippa and I were dating, I always paid for that shit. And let me tell you, that isn’t fucking normal.”
The fact that I can’t trust the woman who brought me into the world is unfortunate. She’s either using the salons as a way to meet Sonny or deliver messages to him.
“Tell Julian to continue following every move she makes,” I tell him. “She’s bound to slip up.”
“On it,” Damien replies, and we end the call as I slide into my car.
Then I call my rat of a mother.
“Hi, honey,” she coos on the other end as if I were a small child. The pep in her voice makes me sick to my stomach.
“What did you do today?” I’m not one for small talk with people I don’t trust.
“Oh, nothing.” She drags out the last word. “Just brunch and stuff.”
I’m fighting for my family’s life, and she’sbrunching.What a joke.
I scratch my cheek. “Do you think it’s a good idea tobrunch, given our circumstances?”
Her laughter grates on my nerves. “Brunch is always a good idea, honey. Maybe we should have brunch sometime this week.”
I tighten my grip on my phone. “What about dinner tonight?”
“Of course.” That pep in her voice explodes with excitement. “You tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
“What about your house? A good ole-fashioned family dinner.”
“Oh, terrific! I’ve missed those. Will Amara be there? I miss my granddaughter so much.”
