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“I’m going to,” Carmen said. “But Tristan, there’s more.”
“Explain. Now.” The words came out sharp, like bullets. My mind raced, connecting dots with lightning speed. Silvio’s lust for retaliation had been clear, but this—this was a new level of threat.
“After you backed off marrying my sister, things got very bad for my dad. I don’t think you understand how precarious his position was compared to the Callahans. He was losing allies left and right and he thought going to your dad was the solution. Of course, my dad had resources…and the war had been happening for years and years, so he could have easily retaliated. The marriage between a Callahan and an Orsini was genius. But you can’t think there were no consequences to your mistake, can you?” she asked.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“When you decided not to marry Adriana, it meant my dad lost his footing. He was desperate,” she rushed on, her voice quivering. “He blamed you for losing his allies, and now that you’re back with Adriana...” She trailed off, her implication hanging heavy between us.
“Go on,” I pressed.
“Your engagement to her makes you both targets,” she whispered, as if saying it louder would make it more real. “He thinks by getting to you, he can regain some of his power.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “That’s his daughter.”
“Doesn’t matter. Think about it. You’re the head of the Callahan family now, right? And Adriana, well, she’s going to be a Callahan soon. And your children? Callahans. Who got the best end of the bargain here, Tristan?”
“Me,” I replied immediately. “Me, because I got to have her.”
“You’re sweet,” Carmen said. “I don’t know how helpful that is when it comes to running the biggest mafia family in the city, but I’m sure my sister likes it.”
“Christ.” My hand flew to the back of my neck, squeezing tight. Adriana, fiery and bold, didn’t deserve to be a pawn in this messed-up game of power. Neither did I, but there was no opting out—not when blood and loyalty bound you to the life. “So he has her?”
“Yeah, I expect he does,” Carmen replied.
“Where are they holding her?” I demanded, locking eyes with Carmen. It was time to shift from defense to offense. Adriana needed me, and I wasn’t about to fail her—not now, not ever.
“I don’t know,” she said.
I inched closer to her, so close I could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose.
“You better hope for your sake and mine that you’re not lying,” I warned, my voice low and threatening. “Because if anything happens to her...”
“I’m not lying, Tristan,” Carmen countered, matching my intensity. Her green eyes flashed with a mix of irritation and determination. “I want her safe just as much as you do.”
“Damn it,” I backed away from her. “Think! Think about where he could have taken her!”
“I’ve got teams searching every known Orsini location,” Kieran informed me as he stood up. “And I have someone watching Rossi.”
“Better hope it’s not Killian,” I said. But right then, the fact that he had betrayed me didn’t seem to matter at all.
“Yeah, about that–”
I held my hand up to stop my brother from talking. “Later,” I said. “Right now, my priority is to find Adriana.”
Carmen swallowed. “That should be your priority,” she said. “Because if you don’t find her quickly enough, I’m worried something really terrible is going to happen to her.”
Chapter Eighteen: Adriana
My dad had told me everything.
My head was pounding. I didn’t understand any of it. I knew there would have been some retaliation when Tristan had decided not to marry me, but I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect this level of anger, of viciousness.
Maybe I should have. I’d been too naive about what my father did for business. Tristan had made that very clear.
Pacing the wooden floor of the stilted beach house with my bare feet, I felt each creak beneath my bare feet like a ticking clock counting down an unknown deadline. The sun outside cast short shadows through the windows, but any warmth didn’t reach the cold knot of worry in my stomach.
“Daddy,” I started, my voice wavering more than I intended. “What are you going to do with Tristan?”
