Page 27 of Fallen Rook

I peered through the window dispassionately, watching the sunrays dancing upon the Atlantic Ocean. They reminded me of Tom’s eyes. So brilliant and blue.

“Hey, Enzo,” Tiernan barked. “Talk some sense into your brother. As the next in line to wed in an arranged marriage, tell him why he can’t lose his head over this.”

“Yeah,” Achilles encouraged. “Tell Luca about your deal with Katya.”

“What deal with Katya?” Luca turned to me sharply.

“Katya and I have agreed to have an open marriage,” I heard myself say, my mind still adrift. “She’ll be able to take a lover. I’ll probably do the same.”

Katya was gorgeous, fun, mature for her twenty years, and, from what I could tell, wickedly smart.

And I didn’t want to marry her one bit.

We had no attraction, no spark, nothing that could ignite into a flame. The one and only time she’d kissed me, all I could think about was the fact her lipstick tasted like a strawberry lollipop, my least favorite flavor.

But my family’s business and the survival of the Camorra depended on this union. I always put the Ferrante legacy first. Luca had done the same, and so had Lila. Achilles was the odd one out who married for love, but he’d earned it after what our father had put him through.

Katya and I had agreed to the open marriage because she deserved more than a loveless, sexless life. I could stomach sacrificing my own happiness for the Camorra, but I would never jeopardize her joy, too.

“And you think it’ll work?” Luca gave me a sidelong glance.

I shrugged. “I think it’s our best shot. And I don’t give a shit what other people say.”

“We need to expedite this marriage.” Achilles rubbed his knuckles over his jawline. “This union is all that stands between us and a full-blown war. Remind me why you two aren’t already hitched?”

I pushed off the window, finally leveling my glare on the men in the room. “Katya’s in the U.K., doing a semester at Carlisle Prep. She’s taking one of Vaughn Spencer’s courses.”

“Ah. Of course,” Achilles said sarcastically, because he didn’t know who Vaughn Spencer was, and did not plan on enlightening himself further. “Big fan of his work.”

“When’s she coming back?” Luca demanded.

“For good? May fourteenth.”

“You’re getting married on May fifteenth,” he said decisively. “And you’re not fucking it up, Enzo. In order for me to get Sofia back, you must marry this woman.”

“What does my marriage have to do with yours?”

“If you knock her up before I kill Jeremie, Alex might think twice before going to war.”

“Yes. You’re impregnating her on your wedding night,” Achilles ordered me, businesslike. “I don’t fucking care how you do it, just get it done. Cowboy up and do it for the family business.”

I licked my lips, reaching for another cigarette before finishing the one I was holding. My breath was choppy, and my lungs burned.

They were right. Prolonging the inevitable was silly. I’d already agreed to this. It had to be done.

“So, you’ll let Jeremie keep his head?” Tiernan eyed Luca.

“For now,” Luca conceded. “I need to be strategic about the way I eliminate him from Sofia’s life. I suppose slitting his throat in front of her won’t do.”

“Probably not,” Tiernan murmured.

Achilles shifted in his seat. “Tierney says most women don’t like blood. I tend to believe her.”

My oldest brother sighed. “Enzo, start planning your wedding.”

Luca’s gavel crashed against his desk.

The meeting was over.