“Rectify?” Sani snapped, standing up from beside me. “There is nothing to rectify! Aria is my wife, and she is staying my wife.”
“Calm down, Santino. I’m not suggesting we hand her over to him,” Alessio said.
“Good. Because it’s not happening. She isn’t going anywhere near that bastard.”
“We agree, but that doesn’t change the fact that by blood, Arianna is a McKenna. The fact that she now bears the last name Buccini means we have provoked a war we have been trying to avoid for years.”
I grabbed Sani’s hand, forcing him to sit back down beside me because I needed to feel the warmth of his body next to mine. He felt like the only real thing in my life at that moment, and all I wanted was to dig my nails into his skin, hold on to him, and never let go.
“No war,” Cecilia mumbled. I glanced at her as the entire room fell silent. She lifted her head, and I could see the concern in her brown eyes as she looked at her family. “There must be no war with the Irish.”
“It’s okay, Mamma,”Gio soothed, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“She shouldn’t be here. This is only going to upset her. Whose idea was it to fly her to Rome for this?” Sani growled.
“Do not speak to me as if I am not here, Santino,” Cecilia’s voice had sharpened. The look on her face was fierce and piercing as she locked eyes with her son, and for the first time, I glimpsed the woman who raised them. A true mafia wife. “I may be old and fading, but I am still your mother, and I remain at the head of this family. You make a mess, I help clean it up.”
Sani exhaled, then backed down, muttering an apology and taking my hand.
“I’m withMamma.Avoid war at all costs. So, what are our options?” Elenora asked.
Alessio ran his ringed hand through his short brown hair. “Honestly, there aren’t many. And even fewer that will work. Whatever way you look at it, we will need to yield to McKenna’s demands to avoid a full-blown war.”
“I say we just go to fucking war then. We are the Del Brenta! We have overtwenty Italian families under our command. We have allies in New York and France. The Irish want a war, I say we bring one to them,” Raffaele shouted with all the passion of a young man who had never truly seen battle in his life. Siro, Alessio’s son, pounded his fist in agreement.
“It’s not as simple as that,” Alessio argued. “The Irish have strong links with the Russians and the Boston Mafia. If they decide to back McKenna in this, we’re talking about a war that will cost hundreds of lives, millions of euros, and last for years, potentially decades. You boys will bear the brunt of it. Yes, we have allies, but that doesn’t mean they will want to step into an international war to protect their marriage.”
I stared at the sapphire locket in my hand, shifting it from side to side and watching how it caught the sunlight and shimmered with various hues. The way my stomach tightened and bile rose in my throat with every word they spoke made me want to dive into the gemstone and drown beneath the blue. This was all because of me. Thousands of lives. Millions of euros. Years of war. Over me.
“Realistically, what can we offer McKenna to appease him?” Giovanni asked Fabi, a man I had never met before today but who was apparently Alessio’s right-hand man and consigliere.
He sighed at his laptop screen. “Access to the Naples shipping port. A few new contracts that haven’t been finalised yet.” He puffed out a breath. “But if McKenna is behind what happened in Rome, he’s already stolen three international contracts from us when the port shut down. I don’t think this will be enough. He’ll want something permanent.”
“What about offering the same deal we gave the New York Mafia? We made Frankie Galiz’s son a Capo here in Italy. What if we took in one of McKenna’s bastards?” Max suggested from the screen.
Alessio shook his head. “McKenna has no children.” I looked up when I felt those crystal blue eyes on me. “That’s why he wants Aria. She’s his only remaining blood relative.”
“You mean his only remaining asset?” Sani growled.
“Exactly. And if he wanted her this badly, he already has arrangements in place for her. I’ve heard rumours about Sean wanting an alliance with the Bratva heir.”
I closed my eyes as Sani began making it very clear for the millionth time that my uncle could shove his plans up his ass.
“So you are saying there is nothing McKenna will want in place of Aria?” Olivia asked.
Alessio and Giovanni exchanged a look of understanding before Alessio said, “My guess is that Aria was going to be used in a marriage alliance to secure McKenna’s relationship with the Russians. If he doesn’t give them what he’s promised, he’ll make an enemy of them too.”
“So? What does that mean?” Elenora asked.
“It means that once the Russians hear about Aria and Sani’s marriage, they will have the means to retaliate against us. McKenna will choose a side. And he has no loyalty to us, nor does he truly care about Aria. He’ll side with them.”
“Oh,cazzo,” Elenora grumbled, dropping her head into her hands.
I glanced at Sani’s taut jaw and narrowed eyes, then at all his family’s worried faces, fighting back the gut-wrenching emotions in my chest.
“It’s not too late,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I fought back tears. They all looked at me, but I avoided Sani’s eyes. “There won’t be a war if I go to Ireland. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
“Aria, no. That’s not even—” Olivia began speaking, but before she finished, Sani grabbed me, hoisted me over his shoulder, making me squeal as he stormed out of the room.
