Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“None.” Finn gets up. “Mrs. Rossi, lovely to meet you. Everyone else, good luck. Jasha sounds pissed.” He strides out, hands shoved in his pockets, whistling.
I look at Rocco and Orsino. Both men seem nervous. They’ve only ever been Dons of a prosperous city. But what will happen to our organization if Jasha really does want to start fighting for more control?
We finish with some minor business before I leave, steering Maddie out of there. My head’s distracted, but when she laces her fingers into mine, I tug her close. Dante and the bodyguards act like they’re not watching as I bend down to kiss her cheek.
“Good job,” I whisper.
“I feel like that went really bad.”
“No, baby. Jasha’s been unhappy for a long time. That wasn’t your fault.”
“And Rocco? You’re really going to marry Saul to his daughter?”
“I hope so.”
She leans her head against my chest. “What a mess.”
“But it isn’t your mess, alright? I’ll handle whatever happens. You only have one job from here on out.”
“What’s that?” She looks up at me and those big, round eyes send a flutter into my chest.
Fuck. If the city’s barreling toward war—
I really can’t afford to feel the way I’m feeling.
I can’t want to spend all day in bed with my wife.
I can’t need her, because need’s a weakness, it’s a liability, and Jasha’s the kind of man that will exploit whatever opening he finds.
I kiss her gently.
“Your only job is to get pregnant,” I whisper in her ear.
Which makes her cheeks turn pink as she tightens her grip on my hand.
Chapter 23
Maddie
Renzo’s stressed when we get back home after the meeting. He disappears down into the basement, leaving me alone to process what just happened.
It was a short meeting. I didn’t know what I expected. Maybe some congratulations, maybe some camaraderie. Instead, it felt like all the men in that room wanted to kill each other and were only restraining themselves out of politeness.
Except that Russian guy decided to blow it all up.
Jasha Aslanov. I shudder thinking about him. Those light gray eyes freaked me out, and I didn’t like the way he talked to Renzo.
I didn’t totally understand what happened in there, except it was pretty obvious nobody was happy with Jasha storming out. If that council was created to avoid war, what does it mean if one prominent member just quit?
It’s all above my head. I just wish Renzo would talk to me about it.
“Where’s the boss?” Dante asks, coming into the kitchen as Tara’s making me some tea.
“Basement,” I say.
Tara slaps Dante’s hand away when he tries to pick some chopped peppers off her cutting board. “Not done yet. That’s an omelet for Renzo.” She waves Dante off.
“Can’t blame him for being stressed.” Dante joins me at the table, shoulders slumped forward. “That didn’t go well.”
“Is it as bad as I think?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Hard to say. The Russians are always making threats and puffing their chests up but usually nothing happens. That felt different though.” He seems uneasy, which doesn’t help my mood at all.
“What’s Renzo doing in the basement?”
“Working out. Probably beating up on the heavy bag.”
That makes sense. He’s stressed, so he’s working out some aggression. “Does he do that a lot? Work out when he’s in a bad mood?”
“Yeah, basically. For as long as I’ve known him, anyway.”
“How did you two meet?”
Dante gives me a little smirk. “Sometimes I forget that you’re new to all this.”
“Thanks for the reminder. As if I’d forgotten.”
Tara brings me some tea and lightly smacks Dante’s head. “Be nice,” she says.
Dante grins at her and winks. “Always am.” He turns back to me. “I’ve been friends with Renzo forever. We met as kids. My father was a Capo back then, worked for Renzo’s dad. Renzo and I have been running together since we were in diapers.”
“What was Renzo’s dad like? Nobody really talks about him much.”
Dante glances away. “He was a force. Big guy, loud laugh. Charming, everyone liked him. That council was his idea and he held it together. Renzo’s a good Don, he works hard, he’s smart and vicious when he needs to be, but his father casts a shadow over all that. I think Renzo married you because he wants people to start seeing him as the man his father used to be.”
I turn my tea mug around in circles. It makes a lot of sense—if Renzo’s father was as impressive as Dante says, Renzo must feel like he has to work twice as hard to prove himself. And he’s doing that on top of caring for his mother, watching out for his brothers, sending his sister to college, and all the other responsibilities of running the organization.
That’s why he wanted a wife. He called it legitimacy, but I think he wants people to see him as the man his father used to be. Married with children on the way. A Don that will be around for a very long time, cementing his legacy.