AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Miami
“Could you look less miserable?”I ignored Enzo’s question and watched the dark clouds as they hovered over the full moon.
Three days.
That was how long it’d been since I’d left Italy without a goodbye and stepped on American soil.
I hadn’t had the chance to get answers or bring up my career before the call ended, asking to pack my life. Duty called.
No, not asked, ordered. It only served as a reminder that even as a successful twenty-six-year-old woman with a career, clients, a future, and plans, my life had never been mine.
In two hours, I’d packed eighteen years into a suitcase.
Ten years.
That was how long it’d been since I last saw my eldest brother, Enzo.
Eleven yearssince I’d last spoken to Leo, my second-oldest brother. This was after he bled a poor bastard with the blade of his knife for whistling in my direction as we walked down the streets of Venice.
No onesawanything. No onesaidanything.
Today proved it didn’t matter how far or long I’d been pushed away from this family. I still carried the weight of blood and power only aprincipessaof La Cosa Nostra could.
For me, it meant a loveless marriage.
Because that was all we had ever been in their eyes as a woman, a bargaining chip.
The large blacked-out sedan reduced its speed at the sight of the large gates that hid my future den. That was if everything went according to Enzo’s plan. The size of the home didn’t surprise or intimidate me. Money never did, not when I’d been showered with it to do what was asked of me, as if happiness had a price.
“Don’t ignore me,” Enzo sneered, and the feel of his dark gaze slid over me. “This is not the time for your games, Katia.”
Leo was entertained in the back as his dark chuckle traveled inside the cab.
I gave Enzo my full attention. His stern brown eyes demanded an answer.
Without regard to his men at the front, I spat, “My apologies,brother. I’d forgotten it’sjustmarriage.”
His lips curled in distaste before he shot back, “Say the word, and California it is.”
My head snapped forward, and my breathing sped up as my shoulders stood back. I didn’t speak a word.
“Didn’t think so,” Enzo replied coldly.
The urge to feel the cool touch of my brass knuckles caused my hand to twitch, a desperate tic. Curling my hand around my small clutch where I kept it safely inside, I brought it closer. But it wasn’t enough, and instead, I ran my fingers over my right thigh. My eyes closed to the hint of the thin holster strap where my push dagger hid beneath my dress.
Hurt him.
Hurt him as much as he is hurting you. Show him how his parting gift can be put to use after ten years.
I took a calming breath, easing the fire that burned through my veins, while the car rolled to a complete stop next to the stone front steps of the mansion. This was it, the bit of freedom I once possessed would be taken tonight. All due to ego and a sloppy murder.
Enzo pulled the door handle, stopped, and uttered, “Don’t fuck this up, Katia. I won’t blink twice before I deliver you to Los Angeles.” He exited the car, and I waited for his threat to vanish from my mind. Instead, it sank deeper into my soul.
My door opened, revealing Enzo’s inked hand stretched out for me. I took it without choice before wrapping my hand around his arm. The same arm that helped me up as a child after scraping my knees, only to be told that pain and blood were no reasons to cry. They were meant to teach a lesson.
Two steps later, Leo stood to my left, and with each footfall closer to the front door, the more I struggled to keep my legs from giving in.
It angered me to see my own body failing me. I was stronger than this.
