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But I was going to give her more. I just needed time to make her see that.
“We don’t think Gino has the balls to start a war. None of his underbosses will support a war without reason. That’s why he tried so hard to create one. He is ready to sacrifice his daughter, for fuck’s sake.”
“Not a big sacrifice for him,” Luce murmured.
I couldn’t stop the fire from filling my veins. “I am going to make him regret even considering sacrificing you, Luce.”
Her chest moved faster, and she looked somewhat like her fiery challenging self. “You will?”
“I will,” I vowed. “Even if it won’t right away. I won’t let him get away.”
Her lips twitched in a smile, but she didn’t let herself. She straightened her back and gave me a challenging look. I knew she was still a bit scared, but she wanted to shake off all her weakness since she knew she was not going to be separated from Elsie forever.
I really wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to make her forget about all of her worries, not just a few of them.
Luce asked, “What are we going to do then?”
We already argued about that a lot with Sal and Antonio. I was happy with the plan we agreed upon. “He thinks I will be insulted with no blood on the sheets. I definitely will not be, but unfortunately, that is not going to work well. I want to send him a message. I want him to know you told me everything. I want him to know you are under my protection from now on because you will be. I will protect you not because you are a woman or weak but because you are my wife. You are my family now, Luce and I protect my family. I want him to see that. I want him to realize he lost you, and that was the biggest mistake he made because I am not going to stop.”
She took a deep breath. “You want him to see I am on your side.”
“And I am in yours. We are partners.”
“Are we really?” Luce asked. She still held some vulnerability, but I could tell my words eased her out. Everything I said, everything I wanted, she wanted it too.
I gave her one of my signature smiles. “‘til death do us part, my sweet bride.”
This time her lips twitched, but she still rolled her eyes at me. She was sweet when she was annoyed with me. “How are you going to send him that message, though? It sounds pretty detailed.”
I liked how she felt more relaxed now. I got up from the bed and went to my bag. “I mean, I cannot directly tell him. I want him to guess from my actions that I knew what he planned, and I chose to protect you.” I leaned down and took out one of my knives. “I am going to fake the bloody sheets.”
“What?” Luce asked, looking confused.
“He thinks I am going to get angry when you don’t bleed, but instead, I am going to show him how I picked your side. I will also tell him how he couldn’t get what he wanted tomorrow, but that is just to make sure it gets into his thick skull.”
“Isn’t that a declaration of war, though? You are going to mock him.”
“I will,” I said proudly. “But it is not an open declaration. He cannot start a war over this shit. It won’t make sense if he can’t find supporters.”
“So, it will be a silent declaration,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “He can’t attack you but will know he made an enemy. He will spend his days in fear.”
Just like he did to Luce.
I smiled. She was so smart. “Exactly,” I agreed. Then I lifted the knife to my arm and stepped closer to the bed. “Now, shall we?”
Chapter 16
Luciana
“No!” I said in a panic, getting on my knees on the bed just before Valerio could cut the skin off his arm.
He gave me a weird look. “No?”
It was stupid. I should have just let him cut himself, but I couldn’t stop myself. His plan was good, but it was also dangerous. He was going to make my father scared, but that also meant he was going to fuel his hate. He was going to search for more ways to attack the Outfit.
Valerio took a risk. No, actually, he made the whole Chicago Outfit take a risk just for me. He gave me more than I required.
I didn’t have anything I could give back to him, and I was afraid of him wanting that. I didn’t want to be in debt. So even if it was small, I couldn’t let him cut himself.
