Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
"A Valentino alliance would improve their position," I state. It's not really a question. Everyone knows the Valentinos are the most powerful family in Chicago. They're also the only family with no recent blood-ties to any of the other families. As it stands, their empire ends with Rafe, Luca, and Gabriel. Any family who manages to hitch themselves to that cart stands to inherit the kingdom, or a massive portion of it, anyway.
"Yes." His clipped tone gives me pause.
"There's something you aren't telling me."
He turns the sauce off, removing it from the heat before slowly turning to face me. "Your father would be aligning himself with the family that virtually destroyed his, bella," he says quietly. "It won't be pretty. The others will see it as something akin to a hostile takeover. He'll lose respect, be seen as a mouthpiece for the Valentinos."
I flinch.
"This is what it means to be mafioso, bella. This is what Omertà demands of us," he says quietly. "We do what we must to protect the family, even when we don't like it."
"Is that what you do? Protect your family?"
Luca nods. "The only fucking reason I took the vow was to keep Rafe and Gabriel alive." He chuckles ruefully. "They have not made it easy. Rafe is Rafe. He breathes and has a target on his back. And Gabriel has a hard-on for fast cars and living on the edge."
"You're the reasonable brother?" I ask, doubt heavy in my voice.
He hears it and smiles. "No. That would be Nico, Rafe's twin. The only one smart enough to get the fuck out," he murmurs, a shadow passing through his expression.
"The scientist."
Luca nods.
Marcello told me enough of the story long ago. Vincent Valentino demanded an heir, and Rafe fell on the sword so his twin could have his freedom. It destroyed Rafe and Nico's relationship, though I'm sure why. I opt not to ask. It's not really my business.
But hearing about him now brings something into focus that I hadn't considered before. Luca knows what it's like to lose people to this life. His mother was murdered, and he and his brothers have spent two decades at odds with Nico. He's already experienced the worst this world has to offer.
And despite everything, he's here right now, trying to keep my family from losing anyone they don't have to lose. He doesn't owe it to us. After the machinations and manipulation from my grandfather, most people wouldn't bother. But he's here anyway.
If I can keep that nightmare from coming true, I have to try. His family has lost enough. He's lost enough.
"I'll do it," I blurt.
Luca looks at me unblinking.
"I'll do it," I say again. "I'll help you."
"Why?" he growls.
Because I think I'm falling in love with you.
"Because I don't want to lose anyone," I say instead of speaking that terrifying truth.
Chapter Six
Luca
Dinner with Callandria is a quiet affair. We're both locked in our own thoughts, wrestling with our own minds. I thought her agreement would satisfy me, yet victory feels hollow and empty.
I want her heart and her trust. Without those, I'm little better than the bastardo she called me. Dio. I'm tangled in knots for her, and she has no idea.
"Here." I slide my phone across the table to her once we've both finished eating. "You should call your father, bella. He wants to know you're safe and that you're here because you want to be."
She eyes the phone for a long, silent moment and then reluctantly picks it up.
"2003 is the lock code."
"The year I was born," she murmurs.
And the year Nico left the family.
"You trust me with your lock code."
"I offered you freedom, Callandria. It wasn't a lie," I say, holding her gaze. "Until things are settled, you aren't to leave the house or have contact with your family. Those rules are for your safety as much as for theirs. But I'm not your captor. You aren't my prisoner. You're going to be the mother of my child."
"My father wouldn't try to hurt me, Luca," she says in disapproval.
"No, but he may try to fulfill whatever contract he sold you into." Anger sizzles in my bloodstream at the thought. "I'll start this war myself to keep that from happening, Callandria."
She swallows audibly, rattled by my confession. "Andrea Maceo," she whispers, staring down at the phone. "That's who I'm supposed to…."
"Cristo." Andrea Maceo is a prick. He doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as her, let alone put his filthy hands on her gorgeous body.
"I used to have nightmares about it," she continues. "About being his wife, I mean." A soft laugh escapes her lips, devoid of humor. "Maybe he'll finally stop plaguing my dreams."
"You'll dream of me, bella," I say, rising to my feet to circle the table toward her as jealousy claws at my insides. Fuck. She doesn't even like the stronzo, and I'm pissed that he occupies her mind. That he haunts her nights. I sink my hand into her hair, craning her head back. "I'm the only man you dream about now. I'm the one you think about."