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I shoved my hand into my pocket, uncertain of what to say to her.
“I heard your father was planning on killing you if you didn’t take his place as the great Don of this Cosa Nostra. Is that true?”
Her tenacity was enticing.
“Yes, that’s true. A tradition that began in the seventeen hundreds or so.” What the fuck hadn’t Dillon told her?
“Would you do that to your own son if he didn’t want to becomeyou?”
Her question was something I’d never considered. It hit me hard. “No.”
“Really?” she asked with attitude.
“I’m not my father.”
“You could have fooled me.” She took another gulp then placed the glass on the counter, yanking the box into her hand and ripping off the top. When she dumped the entire box into boiling water, several strands fell to the floor, the dogs scampering to find out what she’d dropped. “Damn it.”
“Let me get them.” I eased to the floor, trying to grab the pasta before the dogs. When I stood, she was staring at me then almost immediately dropped her gaze.
“If I’m ever lucky enough to have a family, they will be sheltered from this life.”
“Then your way of life will die with you. All the traditions. All the pomp and circumstance.”
“So be it.” I’d obviously surprised her.
“You’ve probably never been in love.” She turned around, stirring the sauce with vigor.
There was no reason for me to admit anything about my past. It no longer mattered, at least to me. Everything about the woman yanked at heartstrings I’d shut down. It had never been my intention. “I deeply cared for someone years ago. We met in college and thought we could make a life when we graduated. Then she found out who I was. She ended the relationship over the phone, telling me she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with someone she didn’t know.”
“Good for her.” She dropped her head, tossing the wooden spoon onto a plate. “You bring out the worst in me. I’m sorry that you couldn’t work it out. Did you try and contact her later?”
“I did. Once. She was dead.” I’d done everything in my power not to think about Mary or the circumstances marking her death. It was a level of guilt that had been a driving force in leaving the family business.
“What?” She turned around to face me, horror on her face. “Did an enemy kill her?”
“I don’t think so. She was attacked on the streets of Chicago. That’s all I found out.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Yes, it is. However, if you’re asking if you’ll always be in danger, yes, to some degree; but one thing I’ve learned is that death can occur at any time for any reason. You should know that given your profession.” I did what I could to shut down the memories, although I had a feeling they’d continually surface given the way I felt about Sarah.
“Most people don’t tempt fate quite so readily nor do they take the kinds of risks you do every single day.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you honestly think I will spend my days hunting down bad guys? I leave that to the cops. My father created a successful business starting from the moment he set foot in America. He worked eighteen-plus-hour days to build the business, including spending a lot of time behind a desk making phones calls, finalizing deals.”
Sighing, Sarah shook her head. “Don’t sugarcoat what you do. You’re a criminal.”
“Are some of the businesses crossing a line? I’m still not going to lie to you. Yes, but not the majority and Luciano was dead set on shifting most of our business to the right side of the law.”
After staring at me for a full ten seconds, she looked away, closing her eyes. “I want, no, I need to hate you.”
“But you can’t. Can you?” I walked closer once again.
“No, and that makes me crazy. You act as if I will derail my career for you, tossing everything I’ve worked for my entire life.”
“I never said you had to give up being a doctor.”
“A surgeon,” she corrected.
