AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you propose to the girl?” He pointed a finger at me, then ambled to the bar cart to pour himself a drink. “I came here because I wanted to hear the good news in person.”
“I did ask her.” Though I wouldn’t call it a proposal.
“That’s my boy.” He grinned, then sipped from his glass as his eyes glassed over.
No doubt he was picturing himself telling Vittoria how her niece was now a Gallo, how she wanted me to take over as Don, and how Vittoria was no longer allowed to serve as Don. He hadn’t even bothered to ask if Donata had said yes. I supposed that didn’t matter to him.
He licked his lips then turned to me. “All my life I had to endure that condensing bitch. Even when we were kids. She always acted as if she was better than me. With time, the others began to do the same. They treated me like an outsider. I should’ve been king. Not Giovanni.”
And down the rabbit hole we went. Every time, the complaints were the same. If we were on the phone, I would’ve muted him by now and left the device somewhere nearby. Letting him vent was easier than explaining to him that he wasn’t owed anything. He had more power and money than most people. But he didn’t care. He wanted more. He wanted revenge for whatever it was Vittoria made him feel.
His hatred for her was so great, sometimes I wondered if maybe he was in love with her. Was that what this was about? Unrequited love? Jesus. How many times did she turn him down before he decided that revenge was the only path? I rubbed the side of my face, wondering if there was anything I could say to make him see that this plan of his was insane.
On the one hand, he was putting all of us in danger. He thought he was being clever by forcing this marriage on Donata Salvatore. If we pretended to marry for love, no one would be able to prove Uncle Jimmy’s coup d’état.
On the other side of that coin was Donata herself. I had spent all of two nights with her, and I could already feel myself drowning. A marriage between us would be a mistake. Together, Donata and I were at best, a maelstrom—a disaster waiting to happen, waiting to consume everything in its path.
“Giovanni thinks his marriage to her is as good as done. But we’re going to beat him to it.”
“What?” My head snapped up at him. “Don Valentino is seriously considering marrying Vittoria’s niece?”
“You’re not listening to me. He wants her. And he won’t stop until he gets her. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Up until now, I thought Uncle Jimmy’s conjectures were just that, his own made-up ideas of what he imagined the other Dons were planning to do to get more power. In my mind’s eye, I clearly saw Don Valentino ogling Donata the way the men at the club had done last night. He looked at her as if she belonged to him. I saw him touching her, running his hands under her dress.
“She doesn’t want him.” I clenched my jaw.
“Who cares what she wants?” He poured himself another drink. “We have the upper hand here. Giovanni wants an engagement party next week to give everyone the good news. We’ll come in with even better news. We’re going to show up with Donata and introduce her as your wife. In front of everyone, they will have no choice but to recognize the alliance.” His grin spread across his face and distorted his features. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. A Gallo and a Salvatore. Giovanni won’t last a day. And then, I’ll get what’s coming to me.” He met my gaze. “You’ll have to put a baby in her as soon as possible.”
“She’s twenty years old.” I glared at him.
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. She’s young. She’ll be able to give us at least five children.” He patted my shoulder.
I hated that he spoke of Donata as if she were cattle. But there was no point in wasting my time trying to explain to him how wrong he was. All I could do was protect Donata from Uncle Jimmy no matter the cost. Right there and then, I made a silent promise to always be there for her, to watch over her, and protect her.
“I’ll make the arrangements and send you the details. Just make sure she’s good and ready by Friday.” He shook a long finger in my face.
“Friday? That’s not even a week away.” I raked a hand through my hair, shooting a quick glance toward the stairs. I had a bad feeling about Donata breaking out of my suite and catching us red-handed, while staging a coup to overthrow the king. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through. You’re going to get us all killed.”
“You’re wrong. There isn’t a single detail I haven’t thought of.” His green eyes turned insidiously dark as he glared at me. “Our time is now.”
“Killing a don is punishable by death.”
He hadn’t said it. But I could only assume that as soon as Donata and I got married, Signoria Vittoria would suffer some kind of accident. With me as the new Don Salvatore, he thought he could vote Don Valentino out. But even with my vote, the board was still three to two in favor of the sitting king.
“You can’t be thinking of killing two Dons in one night.”
“Let me worry about that.” He beamed at me. “I have something very special planned for Giovanni and Vittoria. When the time comes, they will step down. I guarantee it.” He reached for my shoulder and squeezed it. “You don’t look as excited as I’d thought you’d be. Donata ruined your life. Now you have all the time you need to make her pay. Unless you’d rather give her to Giovanni.”
The picture he casually painted in my head made me see red. I inhaled and exhaled silently to keep my composure. “She’s not a button you push, if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t give a shit what happens to her. If that old man wants her, he can have her.” I shrugged.
“Hmm.” He pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. In the next beat, he pulled out a gun and held it to my side. Jesus fuck, he was demented. “I wonder if the sweet princess feels the same way. Would she care if I shot you? Would she marry me instead to save your life?”
“You haven’t done this in a while.” I let out a dark laugh. “Last month, you were going to shoot me in front of Mom. I’m starting to think you’re bluffing.”
Last month, when I merely suggested that what he was planning was a coup d’état, he pulled out a gun in the middle of my mother’s living room, while she was in the kitchen getting dessert. He swore he would shoot me in front of her and make her watch me die if I didn’t do as he asked.
He didn’t want to kill me. I was more useful to him alive. But here was the thing, Donata didn’t know that. And I had a feeling she’d marry him to save me.
