“Then you also know now is not the time to fight over past mistakes. There’s a reason we’ve decided to join our families by marrying Fabi to Cosimo. The growing Bratva threat cannot be ignored. We can crush them easily together, or we can fight them separately and lose even more of our men.”
“None of that changes the fact that you lied to me. You told me he burned in that fire. How can I partner with someone I can’t trust?”
“I lied to you one time. I’ve never lied to you about anything else.”
“You expect me to believe that? The right thing to do would be to call the wedding off and find another wife for Cosimo. You’re not the only powerful family in New York, Rafaele.”
Vita clears her throat. “My love, can I talk to you in private?”
Gino looks at his wife. Something unspoken passes between them. “Of course. Excuse me.”
They walk out, leaving Rafe and me.
“He’s as stubborn as a mule,” Rafe mutters. “And he likes to hold grudges.”
“I was ready for this.”
“You should have stayed away.”
“What’s done is done.”
“Fuck, Nero,” he says angrily. “It’s like youwantthis to happen. What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t want it, but I’ve made peace with it.”
Rafe stares at me like he doesn’t understand me. I don’t expect him to. The mistakes he made with Cleo pale in comparison to how I’ve hurt Blake.
Gino walks back into the room alone. His footsteps are measured as he moves to reclaim his seat across from us. “My wife seems to be set on this match for our son. Sometimes, she sees things that I don’t, but after many decades together, I’ve learned to trust her intuition. The wedding is still on.”
“Good,” Rafe says. “I am as committed to our partnership as ever. And Nero—”
“Nero still has a debt to pay.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand straight. In the chair beside me, Rafe stiffens.
Gino stands up and shrugs off his jacket. There’s a gun tucked into the front of his waistband. He walks around the desk and leans against the edge of it, stopping just to the right of my chair.
I lift my gaze to his, and whatever lingering hope I had left disappears. There’s no mercy in his eyes.
“Get on your knees.”
My skin tightens over my bones. Adrenaline rushes through my veins, making cold sweat break out over my back.
This is it.
“Now, Nero.”
I won’t beg him to spare me. Not when I can tell he’s already made up his mind.
And I won’t cower. If I die, I’ll die like a made man.
I push out of the chair and kneel.
Behind me, Rafe sucks in a harsh breath. “Nero is a capable consigliere. He can help me—”
Gino’s laugh is humorless. “You can’t expect me to hand him right back to you as if nothing happened.”
“Let’s talk about this.”
