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“Go to hell,” Anissa hisses. “I’m going to make sure every captain in the family knows what you’re doing. When they hear about this Italian whore—”
“Watch your mouth,” I say and stand, anger coursing through me. “You may speak to me in that tone because I have nothing but pity for something as wretched as you, but if you insult my wife again, I will cut you down where you stand, you fork-tongued witch.”
Aunt Anissa rears back, eyes wide. “You’ll take her side? Over your own flesh?” She shakes her head slowly. “Finally, you prove yourself to be what I’ve always known you were. Sophia, come, we’re finished here.” Anissa turns and storms off.
Sophia gets to her feet. “It was nice meeting you, Camille. I hope you enjoy what time you have left.” She turns and follows her mother.
Silence enters in their wake.
Well, that didn’t take long.
Slowly, I sink back down to my seat. Camille’s staring at me with wild, frightened eyes, and I throw back the rest of my wine.
“That went well,” Helen says and grins. “Don’t let them scare you. They’re really dramatic.”
“Dramaticis putting it nicely,” Lycus says, but he’s still staring at where Sophia and Anissa were sitting moments before with a grave expression.
I can already hear the conversation we’ll have later about this.
I hoped I had more time to prepare. I wanted to make my marriage official before news spread throughout the family.
But I should’ve known better.
By sunrise, every captain and every soldier will have heard about Camille, and the real struggle will begin.
Chapter24
Evander
Gareth lights his cigar and takes a few puffs. My close friend and lawyer grins at me through the smoke and sighs as he leans back in his chair. We’re hidden away in a private room at an upscale club in the heart of Chicago, a location loyal to my family.
Though I wonder how long. News about Camille is spreading, and there’s already a lot of grumbling.
“I’ll be honest, Evander, when I got the call about setting up marriage paperwork, I thought it was a joke.” Gareth peers at me over the glowing end of his cigar.
He laughs quietly to himself. Gareth’s tall and handsome for a lawyer, with broad shoulders and sparkling blue eyes, but I don’t let his boyish looks fool me for one second. The man has the heart of a lion and the morals of a killer, though I’d trust him with my life if it came to that. I’ve known him since college where we were a part of a club called the Atlas Group, and our little organization has remained tight ever since. We’re spread out across the United States, though mostly concentrated down in Texas.
“Sometimes I wish it were.” I lean my head back and sigh. High-quality whiskey tickles down my throat and I try not to think about the look on my mother’s face as she left the table the night before.
“Tell me about her.” Gareth leans closer, head tilted. “Who managed to trick the great Evander Kazan into marrying her?”
“Her name’s Camille.” I squeeze my eyes shut, picturing Camille in that dress and those damn sneakers. It’s the perfect description of her: beautiful and classy, but fiercely herself, only ever able to bend, but never, ever break. “And it’s a temporary situation.”
His eyebrows raise. “Temporary?”
“It’s complicated. She needs my protection, and this is the best way to do it.”
“And why, exactly, are you giving her your… protection?” He frowns at me. “Is this a euphemism, by the way?”
“No, it’s not a euphemism for anything,” I say, glaring. “I got her into some trouble, and I’m doing my best to get her out of it. I thought I was dealing with some abusive asshole nobody, some little fly I could swat away, but it turns out her former husband is a Capo in the Pavone Famiglia. Like I said, things are complicated.”
He whistles. “You’re not kidding, that’s intense even for you. Now I understand why marriage is the only option. I take it your family wouldn’t exactly be happy with you casually dating the enemy.”
“Exactly.” I rub my temples and glare at him. “Now, did you do what I asked?”
“I did and I didn’t.” His smile fades. “I have some bad news for you.”
“Why am I not surprised? Lawyers never have good news.”
