Rocco nodded, relief blatant on his face. “Thank you, Dante. You won’t regret it. I’ll be a loyal Consigliere, if you want me.”
“You’ll be Consigliere when I claim power, that’s my promise to you.” I paused. “But if you ever mention this event again, I’ll finish what I didn’t today. You’ll take this secret to your grave either way.”
“Nobody will find out from me.” Rocco regarded me with admiration and respect. I couldn’t detect deceit in his demeanor. I lowered the gun and put it back down beside the Russian.
“You need to move him to the side a bit so the angle is right,” Rocco said.
He was right. I dragged the Russian to the left then shoved my glove back into my pocket. Rocco gave a satisfied nod.
Enzo stormed inside, looking disheveled. His eyes landed on Jacopo. “Fuck. The fuckers got him?”
I nodded. “He was struck by a Russian bullet. We will have to avenge him. The Bratva needs to pay with blood,” I said firmly.
Rocco smiled grimly. “They will for killing my brother.”
A shared lie. I didn’t trust Rocco, but I trusted in his hatred for his brother and his eagerness to become Consigliere. Both would ensure his silence… for the time being.
One betrayal was always followed by another. It would take years for me to realize it.
After a late-night meeting with my father, the old Scuderi, and our Captains, I finally headed up to my room. I wasn’t sure if Father really believed that Jacopo had been shot so shortly after I’d found out he was to marry Ines. I had a feeling he knew of my betrayal but chose to ignore it. Or maybe he’d hold it over my head later. I wasn’t sure of his motives. He had only one heir, me, and he and Mother were too old for another child. He was bound to me like I was bound to him if I wanted to keep the respect of the Outfit. Patricide was something that wouldn’t be accepted in our traditional circles.
On my way to my bedroom, I stopped in front of Ines’ door. I rapped my knuckles against the wood.
“Dante?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Come in.”
I pushed the door open, slipped in and closed it. Ines stood in front of her window, already dressed for bed in a long nightgown, her long blonde hair trailing down her back. Jacopo’s disgusting words of what he’d do to her flashed through my mind, followed by the grim satisfaction that he would never touch an inch of my sister.
“I wanted to tell you…” I said but trailed off when Ines turned around to me. She knew Jacopo was dead. The utter relief shone on her face. “You aren’t supposed to listen in on meetings, Ines. Father will punish you.”
Father expected me to punish her as well, but I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t hit her, or hurt her in some other way. He’d never tortured her as he had me, but he hit her and treated her like she was less. My refusal to do the same infuriated him.
Ines rushed toward me and flung herself into my arms, hugging me tightly. “I’m so happy, so happy he’s dead. It’s horrid of me to be happy about something like that, but I am. I could dance from joy. I prayed every day since I found out about the marriage that he’d die, and now my wish came true. I know it was you. I know you killed him so he couldn’t hurt me.”
“Ines,” I hissed in warning. “What are you talking about?”
She raised her blue eyes filled with gratefulness. “I know it was you. Don’t lie to me. I know you did it to save me from him.”
I didn’t say anything because Ines knew me too well. No matter what I said, it wouldn’t change her mind.
“Thank you for saving me. Thank you, Dante. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Tears filled her eyes again, and my chest tightened. She rested her forehead against my chest, releasing a shuddering breath. “Thank you for killing him.”
“Ines,” I rasped. “Shhh. Nobody must know. Jacopo was killed by the Bratva, all right?”
She pulled back, smiling softly. “Carla is so lucky to become your wife. If she knew how honorable you are, she would stop worrying so much.”
My brows drew together. “Carla’s worried about marrying me?”
Ines and Carla had been friends for as long as I could remember, which was why I knew Carla despite her low status as only second daughter of a Captain—according to my father. The knowledge that they talked about me behind my back didn’t sit well with me. I hadn’t started noticing Carla until a year ago when I’d taken her home after she’d visited our home. It was inappropriate but Ines hadn’t felt well enough to join us. The thirty-minute drive during rush hour had forced us to talk and her soft lullaby voice as she talked to me about mundane things like stitching or cooking had given me a feeling of calm. While calm always reflected on my outside, true calm on the inside had eluded me. I’d started paying closer attention to her. She was beautiful but very shy about it, naturally submissive, kind and religious, almost pious. She was good in a way I strived to be every morning when I swore not to become like my father and yet failed to be already at breakfast when I entertained thoughts of how to remove the old man without losing the Outfit’s respect. If anyone could bring out whatever good there was in me, then it was someone like Carla.
Ines smiled. “You are hard to read, and quite frankly scary for people who don’t know you, so… everyone except for me.”
“She agreed to marry me.”
“Her father agreed, and any Captain would be insane not to agree if he could marry his daughter off to the future Boss of the Outfit.”
I stiffened. “If Carla doesn’t want me—”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what is it you’re saying, Ines? Tell me.”
She lowered her arms, her smile falling. “Don’t—” She swallowed. “Don’t sound like him. You scare me when you do.”
I released a low breath and touched her arm lightly. “You don’t have any reason to be scared of me and neither does Carla. But I need to know if she doesn’t want to marry me, if she isn’t attracted to me.”
Ines shook her head. “Of course, Carla wants to marry you. Almost all the girls are attracted to you, even if you act like you don’t notice. Your aloofness is driving them crazy. You should hear the speculations making the rounds. It’s cringe worthy. Even Carla sometimes falls trap to them.”
“What rumors?”
Ines bit her lip. “I’d rather not say.”
“Ines,” I said firmly.
“Honestly,” Ines said, flushing. “I’d rather not say.”
“I need to know the rumors making the rounds about me, especially if Carla buys into them.”
Ines looked away. “It’s making the rounds that you’re so obsessed with work and so untouched by human emotion that you don’t require any kind of physical closeness, which is why some people believe you’re…” Ines cringed.
I raised my eyebrows.
“…you’re a virgin. Carla actually asked me if you’re saving yourself for marriage.”
I stared at my sister. Her cheeks were red. She covered her mouth with her palm and laughed, eyes crinkling with amusement. Her shoulders shook. “Sorry.”