Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
He bows not because he's defeated but because he was smart enough to see what others didn't. Strength, real strength, means knowing when to fight, and when to concede. His family has survived every major shake-up and shakedown for the last half century because he knows when to be the hammer and when to be the nail.
Right now, he could be either.
"I heard a rumor today," he says, staring at me across the table of the small deli situated halfway between my territory and his. It's neutral ground, the only place we meet. There is no one else here except Mattia and Tommaso's consigliere, Battista. To bring anyone else would show weakness. Tommaso may be old, but he’s far from weak. Intelligence blazes in his eyes. His broad shoulders are straight, his head held high.
"Apparently there are a lot of those," I murmur, sipping my brandy. "I've been told they say I'm a murderous fiend who gets off on terrorizing people."
Tommaso smiles at that. I'm sure he's heard the same rumors about himself. Though, they're more accurate when it comes to him. He enjoys inflicting pain. He always has. I do what's necessary. At least I did. Now, I'm not so sure.
"They say your lawyer is on the lam," he says.
"That one is new." We talk around the truth, never lying outright to one another. It's our way. There is no honor in deceit. But I learned long ago to live in that gray area between truth and deceit. My lawyer is on the lam, but the rumor is new. I didn't deceive, nor did I confirm.
"Mmhmm." Tommaso watches me like a hawk, looking for a crack, anything he can use. "They say you were spotted in gang territory looking for him."
I take another sip of brandy, giving nothing away. I can't tell him that Diego betrayed me, just like he won't ask if I'm after his territory. We'll give each other nothing the other could potentially use, nothing that might threaten our thrones. This game is as old as time. Every word I speak, he'll pick apart, look at from every angle. He'll try to find a hole, anything he can use. I'll do the same.
I've gotten good at this game too. My father was a master at it. He taught me well. I'd rather hang myself with my chains than play another round of this fucking game right now. Actually, I'd rather be at home, wrapped around Amalia than play this fucking game. But I play it anyway.
Why?
I'm not sure I even know anymore. No, that's not true. I do it for Gabe and Luca, and for Nico. To ensure their safety. If not for them, I would have let this empire crumble long ago. There is no leaving the mafia, no life after Omertà. Genovese and men like him stay their hands only because they know they can't beat me. If they could, my brothers would live with targets on their backs. It wouldn't end until every one of us were dead.
"I was in gang territory," I say eventually, giving him a partial truth, the parts I'm sure he's already confirmed. "I picked up something that belongs to me."
"The girl." He cracks a smile, and I know I just gave the wily bastard exactly what he was after.
Mafankulo. So that's what this is really about. Amalia. I want to smash my glass into his smug fucking face. Instead, I force myself to relax back in my seat, striving for calm. I don't want this motherfucker to know a goddamn thing about her or how I feel about her.
"She's yours," he says.
I'll kill you and everyone you love if you touch her.
"Why so interested in who warms my bed, Tommaso?" I ask, arching a brow. "Sofia would gut you in your sleep." Everyone knows he doesn't fuck around on his wife. She's a little firecracker of a woman who leads him around by the balls.
"I know the rules, Rafael," he says, unoffended. He gives me a shrewd, assessing look. "Your father was un gran’ disgraziato. Our women were always meant to be off-limits, but he didn't listen to reason. I always suspected you'd be the one to take his place."
I eye him levelly, not sure where he's going with this.
"You understand family in a way he never did," Tommaso says. "It’s the only reason I'm telling you this now. There's a rumor. Someone is offering a lot of money for the girl."
"Who?" I growl.
Tommaso shrugs. "It could be just a rumor. But my Sofia sleeps easy at night again. This girl deserves the same chance. We protect what belongs to us."
I jerk my chin in a nod, my heart pounding. I'll fucking kill anyone who even thinks about coming for her. But I don't say that. I can't. I know he sees it in my eyes though. There's no hiding it. I'm in love with her. Pretty soon, everyone will know it.