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He merely presses his lips together.
"Put it down to good pussy, and now you can move on, you—"
He tosses the espresso cup aside and grabs my collar. "Don’t fucking talk about her like that."
"My bad,fratello." I raise my free palm. "I was merely saying that this clears the way for you to consider the arranged marriage with theCamorraprincess."
He hesitates.
"Think about it. You took your chances, and it didn’t pan out. Now, you can do the one thing that will help resolve this feud between theCosa Nostraand theCamorra. Another thing that Nonna wanted. You marry the princess, and peace reigns between the families. It makes life safer for all of us, not to mention, it opens up a host of business possibilities."
"You do realize, it’s because Michael wants to legalize theCosa Nostrabusinesses that he wants this union to go ahead. This way, he’s assured that they won’t take advantage of our moving away from organized crime and endanger our lives."
I stiffen. Of course I’m aware of it. I’ve tried hard not to think about it. It’s the done thing, after all. Thieves want to go straight. Criminals want to reform. Offenders want to make up for their transgressions. Me, though? I’m a villain. The one with a black heart. The one who’s never dreamed of anything but being the head of theCosa Nostra. Take that away from me, and what do I have?
Her, you have her.
And she married you because she needed to find a way back to the premiere of her musical, which is this evening.
I lower my hand to my side. "Or don’t marry her. I mean, it will solve quite a few problems if you do, but if you don’t, I’m sure we’ll find some other way to work out our differences with our fiercest rival.”
He glares at me, then rips the half-undone tie from around his neck. "Fuck! Fucking f-u-c-k."
49
Luca
"Fuck no." Michael glares between me and Massimo. "It’s too dangerous. I’m not letting you do this."
"I’m not asking you for permission. I merely came to inform you, something I didn’t have to do, by the way," I remind him.
His gaze narrows. Anger vibrates off of my older brother. He’s in full Don mode. The fucker may be methodical in his approach, and he may be looking to break away from the business of our forefathers by looking to legalize theCosa Nostra,but he still holds onto his power and authority, I’ll give him that much.
"What about you, Massimo?" Michael turns to him. "What do you think about Luca’s proposal?"
After our little heart to heart at my place, Massimo agreed to accompany me to Michael’s place. Not that I need the extra support—okay fuck it, I totally do need the additional boost that Massimo offers by being here. If nothing else, he’ll distract Michael enough that I’ll be able to get him to agree to my plan… Or so I thought.
"Speaking of Massimo..." I lean forward on the balls of my feet. "Has he told you about his decision yet?"
Massimo tenses behind me.
"Decision?" Michael scowls.
"Regarding your earlier proposal to him?"
Michael straightens. "About theCamorraprincess?" He tilts his head. "Thisisabout theCamorraprincess, I assume?"
Massimo lowers his eyebrows. "The fuck you up to,stronzo?" he growls.
"Asshole, here, is vacillating a little. You know how it is when it comes to your own wedding, it can be a little difficult to speak your mind? He wants me to inform you—"
"Luca." Massimo takes a step forward.
"—that he’s ready to marry theCamorraprincess."
"Bastardo!" Massimo closes the distance to us. He plants his heavy hand on my shoulder, then raises his other fist and pulls it back.
I hold his gaze. Massimo’s taller than me, and slightly broader. While I’m strong, Massimo has a good few pounds on me. Whenever we’ve sparred in the past, it’s always been a standoff. Of course, all those times I defended myself. This time, though, I refuse to raise a hand. With his fist almost in my face, he stops. Anger vibrates off of him. The pulse drums at his temple, and the tendons on his throat pop.
