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“Dario,” she exclaimed almost fondly. “You know you cannot possibly see your bride-to-be before the ceremony. I understand your eagerness, but—”
“Where’s Rocco?” Dario cut her off, and to give her credit, she didn’t respond to the glacial tone in his voice. I tried to twist my arm away, as at the moment our joined hands were hidden by his body, but Dario simply tightened his fingers.
Elisabetta smiled. “In his study.” She turned to me. “Alessandro, there are guests still needing trays and the stylists will be arriving soon and will need help bringing in their equipment.”
“Not anymore,” Dario said bluntly, and turned, nearly dragging me down the remaining flight of stairs. I heard her shocked inhale when she saw him holding my hand then her hurried steps as she tried to catch up. Dario didn’t wait for her, though, and didn’t bother to knock before he burst into Rocco’s study.
The picture of the gardener’s daughter on her knees with Rocco’s cock shoved down her throat made me barely a single swallow from throwing up. It was too close, too close to memories I had no intention of dragging up. Not shockingly, all Elisabetta did was demand she leave.
The young girl ran as Rocco zipped himself up. I could see he was going to laugh and make some disgusting comment until he saw Dario still gripping my hand. He frowned, then looked at his wife. “What did he do?”
The fury that rose up when he automatically assumed I’d done something to be dragged down here like some errant child wasenough to chase my nausea away and I took two angry steps forward before Dario once again stopped me. “I need to discuss something pertinent to us all.”
Rocco’s laugh was a little nervous and a lot panicky, and I took a moment to gloat. I wanted this vile excuse for a human being to suffer as much as possible. He sauntered to the bar and carefully poured out two glasses of his expensive scotch. I’d never had any, but right at that moment I was tempted. Not that I would get offered some.
Rocco waved at a seat in front of the desk that Dario ignored along with the glass of the clear brown liquid he proffered. “I’ll get right to the point. It has come to my attention that Sofia isn’t a virgin.”
Any other word, any other fucking word, and my feet wouldn’t be frozen to the floor in shock. The hypocritical, egotistical bastard rendered me speechless for about a millisecond before I turned my furious glare on him, but he was still speaking.
“As you know that was a stipulation in our agreement.”
Which shut me up. Rocco closed his mouth as well, which seemed to have been open due to his jaw becoming unhinged, then shot a frantic look at his wife. There. That second. Instead of becoming angry and defending his daughter’s honor, he was simply scared she would be found out. Because I was so astonished, I sat in the chair Dario had been offered. Being a virgin was practically mafia wife 101. It was all kinds of hypocritical bullshit, but double standards were still alive and well inla famiglia. It was also exceptionally clever. And might just avoid the bloodshed I knew he was trying to prevent.
Not that he would avoid it forever. Would probably relish it when the time came. Would probably roll about in it until he resembled the devil I knew him to be.
“And as a result I am, of course, withdrawing from our contract,” he paused while I appreciated the yellow color Rocco’s skin had become, “and marrying your son instead.”
Rocco spit out the mouthful of scotch he had just taken, and I rather enjoyed that as well. “But that’s—”
“The only alternative unless you wish our territory to be surrendered to my brother, who would immediately appoint me as his under-boss. We both know Gianni has no interest in the role, so running things would be my responsibility, and not yours,” Dario added. I thought Rocco was going to smash the crystal glass he was holding so tightly, and if I never had another second’s pleasure in my entire life, I would forever remember this one.
Dario clasped my hand tighter, drawing me up, and I stood on still-shaky legs. “And of course, as Alessandro’s husband going forward, I will take responsibility for his mother’s care.” He swept from the room, and I followed.
Not that I had a lot of choice.
I didn’t get the chance to say one word in the car because as soon as the door closed, we tore out of the drive. Dario also got straight on his phone, issuing rapid-fire instructions like bullets.
My head was spinning, and not because we were taking corners like we were on the last leg of the Indy 500, but because it was like I had come full circle.Trapped.
I thought I was going to die the day I had defied Rocco. I wouldn’t ever think of him as my father. Elisabetta had struck me so hard my head had bounced off his desk, but I’d dragged myself up off the floor and ignored his demands for the diary. Did he think I was so stupid? I very carefully told them that the diary had been copied and sent to three different lawyers where it would be released to the heads of the five families in New York upon either my disappearance or my death. The sameinstruction was to be carried out if anything happened to my mamma.
And while the five families might not interfere, they wouldn’t look the other way over something like this either.
It had almost been worth all the time I had spent on my knees.
It took a moment to realize the inside of the car was suddenly quiet, and I glanced over at Dario. He flicked his gaze to the driver and for the first time I took notice of the man, the really scary-looking man that his expensive suit did nothing to hide, and I took in what I could see, including the tattoos on his neck and hands. His eyes met mine in the mirror and I had to struggle not to look away. Bullies were all the same.
“Alessandro?” Dario drew my attention back to him.
“Where’s my mom?”
“Safe.”
“Safe where?”
“You can have a call with her nurse and see her online as soon as tomorrow.”
My heart started beating even harder, if that was even possible. “I want to see her now.”
