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“Where is she? Are you hiding her in the closet?” she whispers.
I tickle her, and she lets out a giggle and squirms in my lap.
“Fernando!” She squeals and tries to scoot away from me, but I capture her easily in my arms and cage her against my chest.
She looks up at me, and I kiss her again, feeling every bit of love and promise that our future could hold.
My phone vibrates on the counter. I ignore it and kiss her more, my fingers tangling in her soft hair as I lift her onto the counter and grab her waist.
The phone keeps buzzing.
She pulls back and looks.
“Ignore it.” I chase her mouth.
“Wait. It’s Angelica.” She swipes it from the counter and hits the answer button.
I groan.
“Hey, what’s up?”
I feel when her demeanor changes, see when her shoulders slump.
“When?” she asks. She listens for a short while, then nods. “Okay. I’ll, um, I’ll tell Fernando. See you soon. Love you.” She ends the call and meets my gaze. “The Frangiones know. They found out you took me, and they want Antonio to hand me over.”
“Never.” I grit my teeth, my body going tense. “I’ll never give you up, Bianca.”
“The other families have arranged a meeting to hash out what’s to be done.” She sets the phone on the counter. “They want me there.”
“No.”
“If I don’t go, then all the families will take the Frangiones’ side by default. They’ll come for Antonio, Angelica, you, and me.”
I fist my hands and try to think through all the avenues we have to escape. But when I think about the full force of all the families being brought to bear against the only people in this world I love, I sigh. They wouldn’t survive. Antonio would fight until his last breath, but not even he could survive a consolidated attack.
“It’s okay.” She cups my cheek. “I’ll be okay.”
I meet her eyes again, then kiss her like I fucking mean it. Because I do. She’ll never become a Frangione bride because she’s mine. Always will be. The families be damned.
20
BIANCA
Iwonder if there is some mob rule book? There has to be some kind of loophole or something that we can use to our advantage. I’m no longer a virgin. For all I know, I could be knocked up. What if I’m already married? Then I can’t marry someone else. Unless they kill Fernando. My stomach churns, and I wring my fingers together. I want to go back to our little cabin and stay forever. It was our own bubble without the rest of the world.
Those days were the best and most freeing of my life. I’ve never felt more myself than when I was alone with Fernando. He gave me things I never knew I needed. I didn’t have to be quiet and meek. I could say and do what I wanted without fear of being judged or of there being consequences. It’s been so ingrained in me to be a certain way, but Fernando is showing me that I can be any way I want. It only makes me love this man even more.
With each mile we draw closer to the city, I sense a shift in Fernando. I can tell he’s going from Fernando to the Butcher. It’s not that I fear the Butcher, it’s that I fear what wrath he might dish out.
I bet if I asked him to turn the car around and drive us the other way, he would. He’d pick me over everything else. Knowing he’d do that for me gives him every bit of loyalty that I have inside me. I’ll do anything for this man because I know he’d do the same for me without hesitation. I honestly had no clue there were men like him in this world.
But Fernando isn’t going to suggest we turn the car around and go make our own lives somewhere else. He knows it would kill me if something happened to my sister. Even her husband and Carina are growing on me. When I think of us all, I can see a world so different than the one Angelica and I always thought we’d have to endure.
It’s not only me that would be losing the ones they love if we ran. Fernando would also be giving up his family. I honestly don’t think he understands the depth of love he has for Antonio and Gilly. They’re basically his brothers.
I think he confuses some of his loyalty with love. You’ll never convince me that the Butcher has done some crazy, terrible things for Antonio just because he enjoys doing them.
I might have thought that two weeks ago, but not now that I know Fernando. The way he touches and loves me. That man is dangerous only to those who could do harm to the people he cares about. He might think he’s doing a job for loyalty. He can title it whatever he wants in his mind, but it’s love. It would kill him if something happened to them because we took the selfish route, especially when the reality is they brought us together in a way.
