I was sent to voicemail and quickly hung up. I hadn’t even put the phone away when the screen flashed with Romero’s name. Taking a deep breath, I answered.

“Lily, are you okay? I was in a meeting and had the phone on mute.”

I slumped against the wall at the sound of Romero’s voice. It calmed me but at the same time it made me realize what I could lose if I had to marry Basci. “Father has chosen a husband for me,” I said eventually. I sounded like I was talking about the weather, completely detached.

Silence followed on the other end. I couldn’t even hear breathing. I didn’t dare say anything, although I was bursting with fear and anxiety.

“Who is it?” Romero asked in a low voice. I wished I could see his face to get a hint about his emotions. He sounded as emotionless as I had.

“Benito Basci. You probably don’t know him, but--”

Romero interrupted me. “I know him. I met him during a gathering last year.”

“Oh,” I said, then waited but again Romero was silent. Why was he so calm? Didn’t he care that I was going to marry another man? Maybe this had always been a distraction for him. Maybe he’d never intended for us to have more than…what? An affair? I felt dirty just thinking about it. “He’s much older than me.”

“I know.”

Of course Romero knew but I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“I thought,” I said hesitantly. “I thought we could…”

I didn’t dare utter the words.

“You thought we could what?”

I closed my eyes. “I thought we could run away together.” I cringed when the words had left my mouth. Could I sound any more pathetic and naïve?

“That would mean war between the Outfit and New York.”

He said it matter-of-factly, like it had absolutely nothing to do with him. I hadn’t thought of that but of course that would be the first thing that crossed Romero’s mind. The Famiglia always came first.

I’d been stupid. Mother had always warned me that men promised you the world if they wanted something from you. Romero had been kind and loving, and I’d given him everything in turn. My body, my heart, every little thing I could give. I’d given it gladly and I didn’t want to feel regret over a single thing, but it was hard.

I bit my lip, suddenly on the verge of crying. I could feel the floodgates open. It wouldn’t be long now. “You’re right,” I croaked. “I--” I choked and quickly hung up. Then I hid the phone in my travel bag again and curled up on my bed, letting sobs wrack my body until my muscles hurt, until my throat hurt, until everything hurt, but nothing as much as my heart. Was this it? The end of every dream I had?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Romero

I stared at my phone. What the fuck was Scuderi thinking? I’d wanted to kill him so often in the past, now I wished I’d done it.

Nino came out of the meeting room and put a cigarette into his mouth. That guy grated on my fucking nerves. “Why the long face? Get yourself a nice long blowjob from one of the girls. That always puts a smile on my face.”

I stormed toward him, gripped him by the collar and flung him against the wall. His head smashed against it and he dropped his stupid cigarette. “What the fuck, you asshole! Let me go!” he screamed like a fucking pussy.

I punched him in the stomach twice and he dropped to his knees. God, I wanted to fucking kill someone. I didn’t even care whom. I hit him over and over again.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Luca growled. He gripped my arms and pulled them behind my back. “Romero what the hell are you doing? Calm the fuck down.”

I relaxed in his hold and took a deep breath.

Matteo knelt beside Nino who was bleeding from a wound on his head and from his nose. I hadn’t even realized I’d hit him in the face too. Aria joined us after a moment. Since she’d started working the books of the clubs, she was here quite often. She gave me a questioning look, then worry twisted her face.

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard,” Nino snarled.

Matteo helped him to his feet. “You won’t do anything. Go inside and have someone stitch up your head.”

Nino staggered off, but not without sending me a death glare. As if I gave a fuck. Let him try to kill me. I’d wipe the fucking floor with his weak ass.

“Did something happen with Lily?” Aria asked fearfully, walking up to me.

“You can let me go now,” I told Luca. He did and stepped back, his narrowed eyes flitting between his wife and me.

“Why would Romero know if something was wrong with Lily?” he asked carefully.

Aria didn’t say anything, only looked at me. Maybe I should have been worried that Luca might find out, but I didn’t give a shit about that either.

“Your father has arranged a marriage with Benito Brasci for her,” I said in a low voice.

Aria gasped. “What? He never said anything that he was looking for a husband for her!” She glanced at Luca. “Or did he mention anything to you?”

Luca’s expression was stone. “No, he hasn’t. But right now I’m more concerned about the fact that Romero knows about this before anyone else and that he almost kills one of my men because of it.”

I leaned against the wall. I might as well tell him the truth. “Lily and I have been seeing each other during the summer.”

Matteo let out a low whistle. For some reason it annoyed the crap out of me. I glared at him and almost lost my shit again when I saw his grin. What the fuck was so funny?

Luca got into my face. “Didn’t you tell me not too long ago that you weren’t interested in her? That there wouldn’t be a fucking problem when she was around? I remember that conversation pretty damn well, and now you’re fucking telling me that you were seeing Liliana behind my fucking back all summer?”

Aria touched Luca’s arm and positioned herself halfway between us. “Luca, please don’t get mad at Romero. He and Lily didn’t mean any harm. They fell in love. It just happened.”

“And you knew all along?” Luca muttered. “You knew and didn’t tell me? Didn’t we have a discussion about loyalty and trust when you helped Gianna run away?”

Aria blanched. “They are my sisters.”

“And I’m your fucking husband.”

“Luca, she didn’t mean--” I began.

Luca jabbed his fingers against my chest. “You stay the fuck out of this. You’re lucky I don’t put a bullet into your head right this second for going against my orders.”

“Hey, calm down Luca. Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Matteo said, trying to be the voice of reason, which was a joke in itself.

“Oh, I suspect it’s exactly as bad as I think it is,” Luca murmured. His eyes fixed me. “Just tell me this, will we be in trouble on Liliana’s wedding night?”

I knew what he was asking.

“Lily won’t marry that guy. Isn’t he over fifty? It’s ridiculous,” Aria butted in.

“Over fifty and a nasty piece of shit,” Matteo added.

Luca ignored them. His eyes bored into mine. “Will there be a fucking problem on her wedding night?”