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I shuffle on my seat until I’m sitting upright as Alessandro strokes the back of my hand soothingly.
“I haven’t been on a plane at all.”
Alessandro’s eyes widen. I enjoy the moment because I don’t think I’ll surprise this man too often. “Never?”
I guess it is unusual for someone whose family is wealthy not to have traveled, but I really haven’t experienced anything of the world. I shake my head.
“The farthest I’ve ever gone is Sicily, and we hired a boat to sail down the coast.”Thanks to my grandfather’s aversion to flying.“I’ve never been on a plane and certainly not one like this.”
“Well, as my wife, it’s something you’ll get used to.”
Dread swamps me as he mentions me becoming a bride.
“We don’t have to marry.” My words prompt an immediate narrowing of his eyes, a signal of displeasure. “I mean, now that my grandfather’s gone, surely your arrangement with him is at an end.”
“No. Now that your grandfather is dead, it’s more important than ever that I honor the arrangement. It’s the best way to keep you safe.”
“But why? How will marrying you keep me safe?”
“Because I’m a Volante.”
“And that’s enough, is it?”
Alessandro presses his lips together and looks off to the side. I don’t know if he’s irritated by my question or if he’s trying to decide how much he can share with me. Either way, his brow furrows as he frowns deeply. Eventually, he draws in a deep breath and turns back to stare into my eyes.
“It’s more than enough to protect you. It’s why your grandfather wanted you to marry into a powerful family like mine. He suspected for a while that someone close to him has been plotting to take over his organization.”
“How do you know that?” I can’t keep the exasperation out of my voice. I don’t understand any of what’s happening here. It’s disconcerting to realize there was so much about my grandfather’s life I was unaware of. “How do you even knowNonno?”
“He’s been doing business with my family for a long time. He and my late father were partners in several enterprises.”
Indignation surges through me. “My grandfather would never be partners with a criminal.”
Alessandro smiles tightly, displeased by that characterization of his father.
“I can assure you he was a close ally of my father and then my brother when he took over as head of the family.”
It’s hard for me to accept that. It would mean everything I knew about my grandfather was built on a misconception about the type of man he was. I search the recesses of my mind for some piece of evidence to disprove what Alessandro’s telling me, but what I come up with is lame.
“I never had a bodyguard. Surely, if my grandfather was mixed up in Mafia business, I wouldn’t have been able to roam freely.”
Now the look Alessandro gives me is one of an indulgent adult humoring a small child. He raises an eyebrow and smiles.
“Could you ever roam freely, Emilia?”
I don’t have to think too hard to come up with the answer. Of course I couldn’t. My grandfather controlled where I went and what I did. Though he indulged my desire to work at my uncle’s hotel, he gave me strict instructions to go straight there and back. His friends were everywhere in the town. They probably had eyes on me every second of the day. Why did I not realize this before?
“So, let me be free now.” I hate how desperate I sound.
“No.” The bluntness of his response shocks me. “This is happening so get used to it.”
“But why? You can’t possibly want to marry me.”
Alessandro curves a hand around my cheek. His thumb strokes my skin in a gesture of tenderness.
“But I do, Emilia. I wanted you the moment I first saw your photograph. You’re mine.”
The wordminerubs me the wrong way. “Like a possession?”
