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I will never be his. And yet, in some ways, I know I already am.
I stare at Carlos, wondering how close he was to my parents. “So, if I asked you to help me get away from Rio…”
His eyes widen.
Desperation fills me as I read the “no” in his expression without him having to say it out loud. “For the sake of my mother?” I add. “You said you loved her. Didn’t you?Please, Carlos.”
My voice thickens as my throat clogs with sudden tears. Will I never get away from this place?
I should have jumped into the river when I had the chance.
You fool. You goddamn, bloody hesitating fool.
Carlos leans forward and briefly pats my knee. “I did love your mother, yes. You look so much like her, my dear. And for that reason, I wish to give you a little advice.”
“Advice?” Somewhere along the way, I’ve lost the glass of champagne. I cross my arms over my chest to stop the nervous fidgeting that my fingers itch to do. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“Rio will soon have you sign over your rights to the Carlotti empire. It is vast, Bianca, and as the sole remaining Carlotti, you are an extremely wealthy woman in your own right. Your father was a clever businessman and ran a tight crew back in the day.”
A laugh threatens to bubble up and out of my clogged throat.
My father’screw? My father’sfucking crew?
Carlos is still speaking. I blink away my impending hysteria and try to focus on his words.
“Sign the papers. Do whatever he asks of you. And when the time is right, I will step in and help you wrest it all back. But I have to warn you, my dear. Never try to run from Rio. His reach is far too powerful.”
He pulls out a handkerchief and mops at his brow. I’m still processing his previous words about my father. My family. Myempire.
“You fascinate him, at present,” Carlos continues. “That much is obvious to all who see you together. But make no mistake, if you run, he will never forgive you. He will hunt you down, and he will kill you. And then he will kill everyone you’ve ever loved or held dear. It’s who he is, Bianca. It is all he knows, and I do not want you to ever experience the terror of being on the wrong side of Gregorio Agosti.”
16
“Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.”
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Bianca
How doI stay on the right side—as Carlos Rossi put it—of Gregorio Agosti? Is it possible to avoid the metaphorical axe falling when I’m married to a mob boss? I’m never sure when or from what direction the next threat will appear.
I do little during the day except sit around in my suite while various people visit to provide expensive manicures, pedicures, facials, and hair treatments.
A woman arrives one morning with an entourage who wheel in rack after rack of clothing. I am invited to choose the pieces I want while the woman measures up every inch of my body so they can customize my choices.
The visit is terrifying for what it implies—a long-term future as Rio’s wife, where I may actually need all these pieces of fancy clothing, and all I can think about is one day being able to escape and get back to my old life.
Except my old life is gone.
Nothing will ever be the same again, even if I do manage to get out of here and rejoin the team at Lots of Paws. Not that they’d have me back after what happened right on their doorstep.
The bigger issue is that I can’tunknowwhat I know now—that I was born into a Mafia family; that my blood is tainted by the violence that touched my friends and threatened the people and workplace I care about.
There’s no coming back from that.
Francine continues to deliver food in her usual deadpan manner, and every so often, I’m allowed out—accompanied, of course—into the estate gardens to stroll and get some fresh air.
In truth, I’ve never been more bored in my life. Is this how rich people fill their days? I’ve always studied or worked and looked after myself, and at the rescue center, things like manicures and perfectly coiffed hair are a total waste of time and money.
