Page 2 of A Vendetta That Ruins

“No problem.”

He’s too quiet, far too fucking quiet for my liking. “I’m going to settle Anna in for the night and then I’ll meet you in your office before you leave.”

His eyes meet mine.

It’s not a fucking request, it’s an order from the boss of the family, not usually how the two of us roll, but I’m sure it has something to do with me marrying Anna and he may as well just get it off his chest because come tomorrow, she’s going to be mine and his new sister-in-law. Whether Anna or Nicolo think it’s a good fucking idea or not.

Anna meets my gaze, her lips pursed as we reach the top floor of the tower. “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” I tell Nicolo, guiding Anna with a hand on her lower back to my penthouse door. I close the door behind us, and she turns, her eyes filled with concern. “This wedding, it’s a bad idea, Vincenzo.” She paces the floor. “One bad idea after another to protect me when you know Bastian Gallini is never going to stop coming.”

“Once you’re mine, it’s no longer your problem to deal with. It will be up to me and the bosses and elders to deal with, and you will be protected.”

“Don’t you see…” She stops midsentence and shakes her head. “No, I won’t do it. We’re not putting others at risk because of something my father did.”

I snake a hand around her nape, draw her close, and place a finger to her lips. “Enough. I’ve made up my mind. You’ll be my wife after tomorrow. You will be a DeLuca. After what we did to the fucking Sarones and Gallinis tonight, all their dead left to rot, the Sarones who are left and the Gallinis will be coming. Make no mistake about that. Maybe even with allies we don’t know about. We have a small window of time to make you mine. It happens tomorrow.”

Her eyes glisten with unshed tears and it’s like a stab to my heart. Anna should be happy the night before her wedding, especially after what she did for my family, but I’m not changing my mind about tomorrow. There’s really no other way. “Draw a bath and try to relax. I’ll be back soon.”

Anna swipes away a tear. “Now that I’m back in your prison, go and enjoy the many amenities of the DeLuca top tier prison.”

I turn away. First her, then Nicolo, then the arrangements, and then to deal with my parents. This fucking night. Definitely not your last night of being a bachelor night, that’s for damn sure. I slam the door on the way out which does absolutely nothing to stop this pounding headache that’s been building for hours.

Nicolo looks up from behind his desk and inhales the scent of his coffee. His vice of choice. I can smell the strong aroma of Fazenda Santa Ines, a premium bean grown in the Mantiqueira Mountains of Brazil.

“Coffee, so late in the night?” I ask, pouring myself a glass of Dalmar to take the edge off before folding myself into the chair across from his desk.

He nods as his dark eyes meet mine. The best friend, brother, and underboss a man could hope for but something in that gaze tells me I’m not going to like what he’s about to say.

3

Anna

I draw a warm bath and sprinkle crystals into the water, sliding out of the outfit I thought would keep me disguised as I left the building, hide me from the cameras, at least for long enough to get far enough away.

My plan was sound, but the men at the dock and along the shore really caught me by surprise. The water turns a pale pink as I sink into its warmth, inhaling deeply with the realization the only thing that kept me from being turned over to Bastian Gallini when the Sarones and Gallini soldiers caught me tonight is Vincenzo and his crew.

I’m not sure how they knew where to find me, but I am certainly glad they did. Otherwise, the men who captured me would have finished what they started, and by now, I’d be in a shipping container or back of a car, bound and gagged and being taken to the most brutal asshole alive.

I hit the button for the whirlpool to start and close my eyes, sinking against the small pillow at the edge of the large luxurious tub, while the swirling water works to soothe my muscles and calm my nerves.

So close but so far. If I could have just made it to safety, I could have gone underground and never have been heard from again. I was ready to leave my life, give up being an auntie or seeing my sister or Vincenzo, Lanah, and his brothers again. As long as it kept them all safe, and it would have. Somehow those bastards knew where I was, but how?

I close my eyes just soaking in the warmth, and trying to let go of the day until Vincenzo returns. Marriage. Surely he won’t get things arranged that quickly.

The thought of what a real marriage to Vincenzo could be plays in my mind, not for the very first time. This man, no matter what has happened, has managed to settle right into my heart. The minute I knew how I truly felt about him, I ran. Not to protect myself but my family and the man that no matter how much I want to deny it, or question our connection, I love.

The thought of walking down the aisle with him as a token wife, a show for the other mafia families just as an arrangement to ensure protection, makes me sick to my stomach.

This is going to end up being just another sham mafia family wedding, one for show, or proof of mergers and power. Vincenzo and I may have the best sex, and he’s said that I’m his to protect but at some point, surely his plan was always to let me go?

To send me back to the Rosellis because Massimo will never approve of a marriage to Vincenzo, not after he’s kept me from him and my sister, lied right to my brother-in-law’s face. I just don’t understand what the end game is. Maybe a trade for territory rights, or something else I’m just too blind to see.

No matter what, I can only imagine how furious Massimo is going to be when he finds out Vincenzo married me without his consent. I smile. Nor mine. Clearly, it’s happening whether I say yes or not. There’s going to be a price for that from the Rosellis though. There’s always a price when you cross a Roselli, and my family, the Cassones, know that all too well.

A far cry from the wedding I thought I would have with my father walking me down the aisle. If it weren’t for him, Sophia and I would never have been beholden to any of the males in the Roselli or DeLuca families. Agreeing to give me to Bastian’s brother Barcelo was the worst thing he ever did, but it’s not really entirely his fault. Barcelo was good at being deceptive, the best.

Barcelo Gallini, the brutal fuck, he had us all fooled, especially me. But no matter how cruel he was to me after Papa agreed to give me to him, his brother Bastian is never going to stop trying to seek revenge for the death of his brother.

His brother Bastian is always going to believe it was my fault and he’s not going to stop until this vendetta of his has ruined me in every way imaginable.