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He stopped in front of a steel door and produced another key to open the lock. “Exactly. They will never see us in the same light as you, Bash, and Damian. You need to marry Luca. It will make all of our lives easier if you do.”
“I can’t marry him, not until he changes his attitude.”
Marcello clutched my shoulders, those sad blue eyes searing into my soul. “If I had asked, would you have said yes?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Then pretend he’s me.”
My heart cracked in half at his words.
“Marcello, I can’t.” I slid my fingers up his muscular bicep and pulled him closer. “You’re not like him.”
“Your choice effects me, too. So if you care about any of us, you’ll accept Luca’s proposal.”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I’m not ready.”
“My brother won’t change, Alex. Accept him, faults and all. He’s been like this his entire life. Luca is used to getting what he wants and doesn’t care who he fucks over to get it.”
“How much longer do you have before I have to choose who I want to marry?”
He scrubbed a hand across the dark stubble on his jaw. “The end of the summer.”
“Luca said he wants a queen. Then he needs to treat me like one.” I smiled. “Maybe you can teach him a thing or two.”
Marcello winked. “Yeah, I can do that for you. But I don’t know if he’ll listen.”
I followed him through the doorway that dumped us into a tiny, dark room. Marcello got on his knees and gripped a steel panel on the floor, using all of his strength to lift it.
“Great,” I deadpanned. “Another spy tunnel. What is with your family and secret passages?”
“In our line of work, this is necessary. We would have died in a hail of gunfire if my father didn’t think to have these tunnels built before he opened the club.”
Marcello climbed down the first few rungs. “Let’s go, princess. Get your sexy ass down here.”
I laughed at his comment. If only Luca was more like Marcello, I would have married him in a heartbeat.
I peeked into the dark space and cringed when I couldn’t see the bottom of the scary pit. “How far down do we have to go?”
“This tunnel is deeper than the one at my house.”
My arms and legs trembled as I looked down, my fear of the dark slithering down my spine like a snake. “How much deeper?”
“I can go as deep as you want, princess.” He snickered, a sexy grin in place. Then he wiggled his fingers. “C’mon, get down here. This is life or death. My brothers will run through here any minute. You don’t want to be the holdup, or Luca will throw you down here.”
I shivered at the thought. “Your brother is so vile.”
“He gets the job done.” Marcello reached out for me. “Grab my hand and step down the ladder. I’ll carry you on my back.”
“No, I can do it.” Shoving down the nerves, I turned my back to him and climbed down the ladder. “Keep going, Marcello. I got this.”
He grabbed my ass. “That’s my girl.”
My sweaty hands slipped on the metal rungs, so I had to take turns wiping them down my sides. Accepting my place with the Salvatores came with its challenges. Like being forced daily to conquer my fears. They were testing the limits of my mental illness. I intentionally avoided situations that could trigger an attack. And if this shit with the Russians continued, it wouldn’t be long before they had to hospitalize me.
I hated feeling like the crazy girl. None of my men feared anyone or anything. They dove headfirst into situations that could get them killed without a second thought.
As I moved down the ladder, I reminded myself I’m a Salvatore girl. One day, I would marry one of them. So I had to act like them and be brave.
