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“I have everything I need to prove Fia’s culpability, Renzo,” Nero told him. “All you have to do is give me Kasen to make it all go away.”
Chapter 7
Nero~
While I had expected some serious theatrics, I hadn’t expected Renzo to blow Mano Barone’s brains out in front of his entire family. However, unbeknownst to him, Renzo had just taken care of a loose end for me. Now that Mano was dead, there were only two other people on the planet that knew of what I’d done to make Kasen Milano mine, and neither one of us was going to say anything.
Doing his best to protect his favorite, Renzo said, “I gave my word to Kasen that she could have her own life away from the family business.”
I cocked my head. “And from what I can see, you’ve kept it,” I replied. “It’s my understanding that she has a thriving career and doesn’t even have a guard assigned to her.”
“Forcing her to marry you breaks my word to her,” he argued.
“Who said anything aboutforcingher to marry me?” I posed.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Kasen doesn’t want any part of this life.”
“And that’s perfectly okay,” I said, my voice practical and matter of fact. “Make no mistake, Renzo; I’m not here to force anyone to do anything. Kasen will have a choice just like Fia did.”
To her credit, Kasen stepped forward, done being left out of the negotiations for her future. “Then the answer is no,” she said. “If you’re giving me a choice, then the answer is no.”
Kasen lookedme right in the eye when she delivered that gem, and it took everything that I had in me not to order everyone from the room, so that I could mount her like a fucking animal. She looked like she did that day in the courtroom, and I knew that my reign would be the most powerful one in history with her by my side. I’d never been so obsessed with another human being in all my life, and if she knew the kind of hold that she had on me, she’d be too terrified to exist.
Turning away from her beautiful face, I looked back at her father. “Very well.”
Renzo’s chin came up because he knew better than to believe that it would be that easy. “Is it?”
My lips twitched in a grin that I usually reserved for my enemies. “I will search for a bride elsewhere. However, rest assured that my pursuits will be answered with honesty, Renzo.” His eyes flared as he realized what I was saying. “When asked, I will let it be known that I am searching for a wife because the Milanos have failed to honor their word to us.”
“Oh, God…” Sonya cried out, still holding a sobbing Fia in her arms.
“Your daughter’s indiscretions will become public, and I will let it be known that you allowed the betrayal to go unanswered for.” I cocked my head as Renzo’s face turned red with anger. “After all, why should I allow people to believe that it wasmyfamily that hadn’t kept their word?”
“You bastard,” Renzo seethed, the writing on the wall.
“How long do you think it’ll take for it to get back to O’Brien, Schulz, and Kotov that you no longer have the support of the Sartoris?” I went on, Sonya’s cries getting louder. “While your numbers are decent, are they big enough to ward off the others if they decide to work together to split your territory?”
“Renzo!” Sonya cried out. “Do something!”
“And before you startto paint me as the villain in this movie,I’mnot the one that started fucking my guard while I was promised to someone else,” I reminded him.
To Renzo Milano’s credit, he said, “If they come for us, then they come for us.”
Looking at the older man, it wasclear to see where Kasen got her backbone from. While he knew that he couldn’t fend off the others, that wasn’t stopping him from doing everything necessary to save his favorite daughter. Where Sonya Milano was more than willing to serve Kasen up on a silver platter, Renzo was not, and it was hard not to admire the man.
“Wait,” Kasen said, stepping closer to her father, and it was like the racing judge waving the checkered flag. “Just…wait.”
Renzo turned towards his daughter. “No,la mia ragazza preferita-”
My favorite girl.
“Papa, just listen to me-”
“You are not going to sacrifice yourself for your sister’s indiscretions, Kasen,” Renzo told her.
“But you are?” she fired back. “You’re willing to riskeverything that we have-”
“I am not risking anything,” he spat. “It was your sister that risked everything because of her selfish ways, not me.”
