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She’s mafia-adjacent enough, from her father’s connections, that The Commission is okay with it. Yet she’s notactuallymafia, which saves me from getting stuck with some needy, clingy little mafia princess with a don of a father breathing down my neck.
Also, it puts Charles squarely in the palm of my fucking hand.
I knowall sortsof shit about all sorts of people in this city. That, honestly, is what I truly trade in with Club Venom. Not sex. Not fantasies. Not hedonism.
Information.
By that metric, I’m richer than fucking Elon.
Charles has no idea that I know this, but he’s in trouble. As he’s gotten older, he’s failed to secure new relationships with the younger generations as they come up through the ranks of this city. Which means his little kingdom built on nothing but handshakes and understandings and favors is starting to crumble at the foundations.
Charlesneedshis daughter to marry someone like me. And I plan on leveraging that need to the fullest.
Now, he has no idea thatIneed Maeve to marry me as much as he needsmeto marryher. I mean—he’ll probably figure it out at some point. But I’ve seen no need to put all the cards on the table just yet.
Anyway, for all those reasons, marrying Maeve Black is a perfect plan.
…Perfect, except for the fact that Gabriel and Alistair Black and Ihateeach other.
The details don’t matter. I know what theythinkI did to their family.
I, however, know the truth.
And now here we are.
Carmy—as in Carmine Barone, Vito’s eldest son and one of my closest friends—snickers from behind me. I turn away from the facade of the Black residence to glare at him, still sitting there in the passenger seat with his fucking feet up on the dash.
“Well?” I mutter, glancing at my watch.
He lifts an amused brow. “Well, what?”
“Well, I’m not giving you a fucking piggyback, so let’s go.”
He chuckles, his white teeth flashing as he runs a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, no, I’m fine right here, actually.”
I glare at him, my jaw clenching. Carmy grins wider.
“Sorry, Dante… Did you think I was coming along for emotional support?” He laughs, sprawling back in his seat. “No way, bud. I’m here because this ishighlyamusing to me.”
I give him the finger as I turn to glare up at the house again.
“By the way, were you aware that Charles once tried to use his influence to ban all strip clubs in New York?” Carmy clicks his tongue against his teeth. “You and your new father-in-law are going to haveso much funtogether.”
I turn to level a withering looking at the friend who’s been more like a brother to me since even before his family took me in. “Venom isnota strip club, dickhead.”
“Just a masked sex club that regularly hosts voyeuristic orgies and kink nights. My deepest apologies for confusing the two.”
“Are you done?”
“For now.”
I glare at him once more. “So, you’re staying here.”
“Yep. Can you leave the radio on and crack a window?—”
“Don’t fucking smoke in my car.”
I slam the door shut to the sound of Carmy’s snickering, turning to groan at the Black family mansion once more.
