Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
The man’s definitely got spirit. There’s no way Mom and Dad are going to convince him now. He made up his mind, and when a leader like Adriano chooses a course, it’s almost impossible to turn them from it. That’s not stubbornness. That’s just being decisive.
But I can’t let him leave this room. Otherwise, I’ll lose what I nearly killed myself to get.
“Adriano, let me speak with you in private.”
Everyone stares at me. Adriano pauses before the door, hesitating. His frown returns and his head tilts to the side as he turns to me again.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I might be able to convince you that this is for the best. All I ask is two minutes.”
“Seems like a bad idea, bro,” Seamus mutters from the table. “You’re not really the diplomatic type.”
“Shut up, Seamus,” Declan hisses at him.
Adriano slowly turns in my direction. I can tell he doesn’t want to do this. But I also know my reputation carries weight, and he might worry that if he doesn’t at least hear me out, he’ll be making an enemy of a very dangerous person. It’s not fear in his expression, but a kind of pragmatic respect.
“Two minutes,” he says, crossing his arms.
I gesture at my family. “Everyone out.”
“Cormac—” Dad begins, but Mom gets up and takes his arm. She tugs him lightly.
“Come on, dear, they can figure this out.” She smiles sweetly as she pulls my pissed-off father out of the room. “Sorry again, Don Marino. I swear, no offense was intended.”
Adriano doesn’t reply. He’s watching me carefully. Seamus and Declan file out next, with Seamus tossing me a bemused look, while Declan stomps along grimly. Once we’re alone, the door shuts, and I face my wife’s very pissed-off brother.
“This was my doing,” I tell him firmly. “My parents had no idea.”
He considers that. “I can believe it. They looked as surprised as I was. But why?”
I think of all the nights I snuck into his house, slinked my way into his sister’s suite, and took a little piece of her. All the deaths, all the offerings. My ritual cleansing.
I can’t tell him any of that. I can’t tell him how she’s my first and last thought of every single day, how I’ve been deeply obsessed with her for over seven years, how she’s everything to me. I can’t make him understand that watching Finn marry her would’ve broken me.
He’ll kill me on the spot.
“Finn is a good person,” I say, struggling with the words. Seamus is right, talking isn’t really my specialty. But I have to try. I have to do it for her. “He would have treated your sister well, but he’s not enough for what’s coming.”
Adriano’s head tilts. “I don’t know what that means.”
“We have enemies, Don Marino. They don’t want to see our two families come together. Our deal will make us even more powerful, and that means there will be a target on your sister’s back. Especially since you’re putting her into a position of power. Finn is a good man, but you don’t need a good man to keep Bianca safe. You need a man like me.”
I let that hang in the air. Every word is true. I can think of at least three different organizations that will likely want to kill Bianca before the end of the month, and at least one that might be capable of pulling it off.
Only I didn’t marry to protect her.
I married to possess her.
“Are you suggesting your family isn’t strong enough to keep my sister safe?” he asks very slowly.
“I’m saying we are. I’m saying I am. Your sister is important. Our alliance must work out. I believe I am the only person in the country that can guarantee she’ll be completely safe.” I take a step toward him. To his credit, he doesn’t flinch away. “I swear to you, Don Marino, on my blood and any shred of honor I have left, I will make sure your sister remains unharmed. Nobody will touch her. Our enemies will suffer if they try. I will fill New York with graves if that’s what it takes.”
I force myself to stop talking. The earnest zeal in my voice makes me uncomfortable. Adriano definitely hears it, and he’s studying me intently now, trying to figure out what’s going on.
But he’s not a stupid man. He knows how these situations work. There’s always a danger in an alliance like this, especially in the first few months, when it’s possible that a quick death can make the whole deal fall apart. I’m sure he had a protection arrangement in place with my father; only now I’m offering him something much better.
“I know the rumors about you,” Adriano says, keeping himself steady. “You’re good at what you do. You’re efficient when needed and brutal if necessary. But an assassin is not a bodyguard.”