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“At least consider it, Cristian. It’ll be good for business, especially given we’re allies.”
“I’ll die before forcing my daughter to marry a man for the sake of business. Gigi is off the table. Name another price, or if you want to be such a greatallyto my family, bring Eddie to me as a show of respect.”
I brush my bloody knuckle along my cheek in frustration. “With all due respect?—”
“The answer is no. It’ll be no tomorrow and no for the next fucking century. While I appreciate you finding that Polorono piece of shit, my daughter is off-limits. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.” I chuckle arrogantly and hold out my phone so Cristian hears me shoot Eddie in the head. “Eddie is dead. Consider it an IOU.”
Eddie’s body jolts backward in the chair, his head snapping back before his body drops onto the concrete. Blood spills from his skull, running onto the plastic we laid underneath his chair earlier.
I end the call, snap a picture of Eddie’s dead body, and text it to Cristian. He might believe I can’t have his daughter, but he underestimates my determination. I’ll find another way to claim Gigi.
3
“I can’t eat another bite,” Aunt Helena says, relaxing in her chair and rubbing her stomach.
“Me neither.” I groan but can’t resist havingjust one morenibble of my pasta.
“Sucks for you two because I’m ready for dessert.” Aunt Celine wipes her mouth, careful not to smudge her deep maroon lipstick.
Aunt Helena and Aunt Celine are my father’s sisters. Like me, Aunt Helena grew up as a Mafia boss’s daughter. She married Lorenzo, a man who works for my family, and they had Luca, who is now involved and moving up in rank.
Aunt Celine, on the other hand, is a result of one of my grandfather’s many affairs. My grandparents treated her as such. My grandfather left a demand in his will that Celine marry Santos, his attorney’s son. If not, she’d lose her inheritance and protection. After my grandfather’s death, she married Santos, forever binding them to us.
“I mean, I could go for some cheesecake,” I comment before gulping down my vodka cranberry, setting my napkin on the table, and standing. “Order me something. I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Their conversation shifts to talks of their husbands as I leave our private dining room. I pass a guard blocking a door to a room with a man screaming inside. I quickly glance away and pretend not to hear anything. A server waiting with a drink tray in his hand does the same.
L’ultima Cena, the restaurant we’re eating at, translates to thelast supperin Italian. This place is known for concealing crimes and homicides—turning meals into a man’s literallast supper.
When I leave the restroom, the guard and server are no longer in the hall. I stop when the door that was blocked off earlier opens. Antonio emerges, cleaning blood from his hand with a napkin. My heart races, and I press my back against the wall, watching him wipe each finger carefully. His white button-up shirt sleeves are rolled to his elbows, and specks of blood linger along the collar.
I draw in a breath of courage and stroll in his direction, pretending not to notice him.
My strategy is to stare at the floor andaccidentallybump into him as I pass.
I should’ve planned it better because as soon as I reach him, he shoves my shoulder, driving me backward. I gasp when my elbow collides with the wall, nearly causing aMona Lisareplica to fall.
“If it isn’t the Marchetti princess.” Antonio steps closer, invading my personal space, and stares down at me.
Shutting my eyes, I catch my breath while also inhaling the smell of cinnamon on his lips, alongside …metal?
No, blood. Definitely blood.
Opening my eyes, I peer into his wicked ones. “If it isn’t the Lombardi villain.”
His pupils dilate like I’m his next victim to bloody up. “You shouldn’t wander around alone. You never know who’s hiding, ready to snatch you up.”
“I think I’m safe in a restaurant.”
“You’re not safe anywhere.” There isn’t an ounce of humor in his tone.
“Anywhere orwith you?”
A cynical smirk tugs at his lips. “Especiallywith me.”
My gaze gravitates to the hand he was cleaning blood from. “You’d never hurt me.”
