Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Henry’s face falls. “I caught some rumors about it a day or so ago—right before he called the meeting. I wasn’t sure, so I mentioned nothing. It didn’t seem like the right time, and I didn’t want to mention it to Liz until I was sure.”
I shake my head at him. “You’re a heartless prick for doing this to her.”
His jaw drops. “Since when do you give a shit? She’s a smart woman, and Vitali is no fucking monster to women, from all the information I’ve gathered. He’ll treat her with respect and maybe even love.”
I can’t even respond as I rip the car door open. I can’t think. My vision is red with anger. How the fuck did it come to this? From the moment I put my hands on Liz, she was mine. I am a fucking Mafia king, and I’m not giving her away to someone else.
“I don’t know what other option we have,” Henry says, his voice downtrodden as he turns onto the street. “You know as well as I do that the moment Romano and Greco join, it’s over for us. This is the end of a reign.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” I say quickly. “There’s got to be another way than handing Liz over to that family.”
“That’s the most secure way to get this done, and you know it.”
And I fucking refuse to do it.
I don’t reply to him, the wheels in my head turning. There has to be another way to fix this. I’m not handing over Liz; that’s nonnegotiable. However, there’s also nothing for me to give Liz if I lose my family’s control.
Fuck. It’s a lose-lose situation.
“We’ll talk to Liz about it today,” Henry says to my silence. “I know she’ll be upset, but it’s just how it is. I think it’s better that way. I don’t want to blindside her with all this.”
“You’ve already fucking blindsided her. What the hell do you think this is going to do?” I snap at him. “The poor woman has been through the wringer. She’s lost her job, learned of your criminal activity, and now she’s being handed over as a wife to someone that she doesn’t know or love.” The last word makes my heart flip in my chest.
Henry sighs. “Why are you being so difficult about this? It’s Gerard, right? He’s fucking her?”
My throat tightens at the comment. “Uh…”
“Fuck. She probably thinks she’s in love with him,” Henry says, not giving me a chance to deny it.
Trust me, I want to set him straight, but to set him straight is to tell him the truth. Being alone with him in a car is not the right time to do that. He really might kill me. Few people know just the lengths Henry will go to keep what’s his. I just never imagined he would put his daughter up for grabs.
“I swear she falls so fast. That’s what I get for leaving her in a house full of men,” he continues. “How deep are they? Do you know? Because if Gerard is your heir, this could really make shit difficult. He could cause trouble.”
“He… he’s not…” My voice trails off as I begin to mull it over. Gerard isn’t my heir, but would that change anything if he was? Would there be some way to have him forge some allegiance? I mean, Vitali doesn’t have an heir of age, but the other families do.
“What if we married him off to a Greco or Romano?” I say the words cautiously, and I swear Henry looks like I just punched him right in the gut.
“You really want to start a war, don’t you?”
I shake my head. “Vitali’s never been a friend.”
“He’s our only friend with this new matchup.”
Why is he so dead-set on this deal?
“Also, aren’t you against arranged marriages?” Henry raises his brows at me as he asks the question. “Because what’s the difference between Gerard and Liz?”
“Gerard might actually appreciate it,” I say coolly, unsure if that’s true. What I do know, though, is that Gerard is aware of this kind of shit happening. He wouldn’t be surprised, and it would be a level up for him. That would be a win-win.
“I don’t support this,” Henry’s cold tone snaps me back to reality. “I need to work this out with Vitali. I don’t give a shit about the other families.”
I narrow my eyes at him, something tugging at my brain. “Why?”
“You know this is the best way,” he says, ignoring the question and reaching for the volume knob. However, before he gets far, his phone rings. He picks it up and answers it, his voice dropping low.
Suspicion continues to tug at my gut, though I think it’s just that he’s willing to throw his daughter to the wolves. I’m not sure why he would do that, though in some regard, it is customary in the underworld. My head is so lost in thought that I miss the entire conversation between Henry and whoever is on the other end of the phone.