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The heavily tattooed mafioso raised his chin, denoting I’d piqued his curiosity.
“I have concerns,” I continued, “that Fausto Mancini may attempt to withdraw his daughter from our engagement.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s a possibility, yes.”
“And what makes you think that?” he asked.
“Therein lies the delicacy of the matter.”
Renzo slowly paced in front of a large window overlooking the bay. “I understand you fell victim to a rather harrowing attack today. If Fausto fears for his daughter’s safety, that would seem a reasonable concern.” His insinuation that I was a danger to Noemi didn’t bother me. It was his job to shake out the truth, and I knew the ground I stood upon was firm.
“If an adversary stirring up problems was enough to make us unfit to marry, not one of us would have a wife.” I shot him a leveling stare. “I’ll keep Noemi safe, just like I did today. I see no reason our alliance should fail because of a father’s ungrounded fears. And besides,” I continued a bit more warily, “I’ve discovered that she faces a much higher chance of coming to harm under her father’s roof than in my care.” I let my meaning drift in the air between us, my unyielding stare never leaving his.
Renzo remained perfectly motionless. “That’s quite the accusation.”
“A delicate matter, wouldn’t you say?”
He raised his chin a fraction, then turned his gaze out the window. “Your concerns have been noted.”
Renzo didn’t give me any indication of what, if anything, he might do with the information I’d passed along. Still, my intuition told me he was an honorable man. I’d seen the tiniest of tics in his right eye when I’d called Noemi’s safety into question. Maybe I was wrong, but I got the sense he wasn’t any more accepting of domestic abuse than I was.
The knot coiled tight in my gut since being attacked finally eased.
“I appreciate your time, Donati. Give my best to your father.”
He nodded, signaling I’d been dismissed. Fine by me. I’d said what I’d come to say. Now it was time to move on to the next course of business.
The second I was back in the Mustang, I called Bishop and gave him the license plate of the car that had come after us.
“See what you can dig up on the owner. I doubt it’s directly associated with the assholes who came after us, but it might be a lead. I want that motherfucker found.”
“Yes, sir. You coming by the gym today?”
I still hadn’t cleaned up my knuckles after cracking them open while fighting the Albanian. Worth every drop of blood, but I’d had enough for one day. “Maybe tomorrow.”
Once I’d had a full day to think about what had happened and how terrified Noemi had been, I’d need an outlet, no matter how busted my knuckles.
“Countin’ on it,” Bishop said before hanging up.
God, I hoped we’d find that bastard. I couldn’t lay a finger on Noemi’s father or take away the trauma she carried with her, but I could make that Albanian fucker suffer, and I’d love every minute of it.
The gunshotI’d half expected never came. I didn’t know who was more apt to shoot first but considering Conner’s anger and Dad’s volatility, I was surprised at the remarkable quiet downstairs. Eerily quiet.
I was reminded of the silence that drew me to peek from the car. Conner’s merciless intensity as he’d stood, gun still raised, had been chilling. It was no secret he was capable of murder, but seeing it play out in living color was another story, especially when he’d done it to save us. Watching him kill another man should have horrified me for several reasons. Yet all I could summon was a warm blanket of relief. I would have been dead if it weren’t for his ruthless pursuit of those men.
Silenced permanently.
My father never would have paid for what he’d done, and it would have been my fault for not speaking up. I realized as I sat in the quiet of my room that I was done wasting time. I had to tell Uncle Donati the truth about my mother’s death.
“What fuckinglieshave you been feeding them?” My father stormed into my room, teeth ground tight with anger. “Iknewyou were opening your goddamn mouth.”
I’d never seen him so manic.
I tried to scurry back onto the bed but was too late. His hand fisted my shirt and yanked me to him, our faces inches apart. So close, I could smell the insanity wafting off him. I forced myself not to struggle, though it felt like he’d reached deep inside my chest and squeezed the air from my lungs with his fists.
“Whatever you’ve done, you’ll fucking fix it. You hear me? If you think once you’re married, you’re free to do as you please, think again. We’reblood. You’re bound to me above all others, and if you forget that fact, it’ll be your brother who pays. You fuck this up, and I guarantee you’ll feel it.”
