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“I am Lorenzo Russo. You are at one of my residences. I’m the head of this family. I am Boss. Do you understand what that means?”
“Yes,” I replied flatly.
“What does it mean?” he asked. Apparently wanting confirmation that I knew just how deep of shit I was in.
“You are head of a mafia crime family.” My hands clenched on the arm rests.
“Very good.” He nodded. “So you know what I am capable of.” He made it a statement, not a question. A dark cloud enveloped around him as his eyes darkened.
“What are you going to do with me?” I knew he was supposed to be asking the questions but I couldn’t stop myself. If they were just going to kill me they would have done it already. I was becoming more unhinged by the second. My knee started shaking but I kept my face impassive.
“I will get straight to it. Listen good because I will only explain once. Normally in a situation such as this we simply put a bullet in your head and be done with it.” The delivery was so nonchalant it made my blood run cold.
Thats when I felt an insane amount of energy coming from the window again. I knew it was Luca. I was so tempted to look. I closed my eyes for a moment to stop myself.
“But,” Lorenzo continued, “Arianna has begged me for your life. You are of no use to me and therefore have no value. There is no reason for me to let you live.” I swallowed hard. “The only way you walk away from this situation is, you will not be walking away at all.” He paused. “You will marry into the organization.”
My eyes widened, while my heart skipped to a stop. I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
Whaaaat?
My mind was reeling. Trying to comprehend what that meant in full wracked my brain to the point of self-combustion. My limbs felt disconnected form the rest of my body. White noise sounded in my ears.
“You will be married off. I know you have almost no family, no co-workers and hardly any friends. This makes you less of a threat for someone to worry for you. Otherwise, this conversation would not be happening.”
Ouch. He made my life sound so pathetic. I wasn’t prepared for how much it stung. And yeah, it was all true, but it was my life. Mine.
“Arianna tells me you are a person who lives by your word. Once you give your word, you keep it. So, hear me when I say; if you do make the commitment to marry, you will be giving your word to keep your mouth shut. You give your solemn vow that you will never speak of anything you see or hear to anyone outside this organization, ever.”
Oh God.I doubled over in my seat and wrapped my arms around myself as I struggled to keep from hyperventilating. Panic tore at my entire body. The room shrank around me, closing in. Suffocating me.
Lorenzo raised his voice so I could hear him over my strangled breathing. “You will never try to run, and you will never betray your husband in any way. Go back on your word and do any of these things, you will be punished. Arianna will be punished as well for vouching for you, in whatever way Matteo deems appropriate.” He paused. “Your punishment will be your own husband putting a bullet in your head. Then anyone else who failed to keep you in line will suffer consequences of my choosing.” His gaze skipped around the room but I was too distracted freaking out to see who he was looking at.
I heard shuffling feet and lifted my head to look at Luca. He stood ram-rod straight, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His jaw so tight it looked painful. He stared at me with so much emotion I couldn’t begin to keep up with them all. It was confusing. There was pain, sadness and, sympathy brewing in huge clouds behind his eyes. He was concerned. For me? Why?
I looked away, not able to deal with how he was making me feel at the moment. Too much. It was all too much. Tears threatened again and I bit them back with everything I had.
Grandma. My mind went to the one person Lorenzo hadn’t threatened and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why. I peered across at his unreadable expression, but apparently I was an open book.
“I won’t even bother threatening you with your grandmother’s life. From what I’m told she is on her last leg anyway. A waist of men and resources to do away with her.”
My face flush red hot. The temptation to jump across the desk and rip out his throat with my nails was strong. But despite his age he appeared to be just as agile as the rest of the men. I sat as a kitten in a room full of wolves. I would be torn to shreds before I could even dig in my claws.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I straightened in my seat and shot a challenging look at Lorenzo. “So who is it? Who is the man I would marry?” I had to know.
“My first thought was Nico.” He inclined his chin to the right of me where Nico stood.
I looked up into cold hazel eyes and swallowed hard. Nico smiled at me devilishly, all while eye fucking me with his gaze. He licked his lips and met my eyes. What I saw made me want to shrink to the size of a flea and disappear through the planks of wood in the floor. Oh shit.
My eyes strayed to Luca behind him. He was staring at Nico with murderous intent. I realized he was barely holding himself back from ripping Nico apart. He didn’t like the way Nico was looking at me. And my treacherous heart swelled.
“But Luca has claimed you.”
My head snapped to Lorenzo and back to Luca so fast I got a kink in my neck. Those beautiful brown irises were now on me, full of heat and longing as they stared unblinking at me. There was a softness in them that threatened to have me melting on the spot.
“If you except, you will be given to him.”
My eyes slid closed. Given. There is was. I would no longer be a person. I would be property. It would not be a marriage, it would be ownership.
