“If I stay, are you sure you’ll be able to keep the three of us safe?” It was the one key to the puzzle that I still didn’t understand. Giovani sounded a little like the boogeyman, only he was very real. How could anyone protect us from him?
“Because I am a woman, my father wouldn’t make me a capo. No family has ever had a female capo, and he refused to be the first. The old fool dreamed of taking Vegas, and believed he needed a strong male heir to turn that dream into reality. But Father never realized that women don’t need a title to rule. The Mariani family will one day take Vegas, but it won’t be because of the fear and respect my father demanded as a man and a capo. No, that earned him nothing but a pine box. You see, Annetta, real power doesn’t need to demand fear and respect. When the Mariani family rises, it will be because strong women like us—the real power behind this family—got sick of watching our loved ones die and shoved our family to the top where it’s harder for everyone to reach us.”
She released my hand and passed me a piece of paper with a phone number written on it. “Take care of yourself and my grandbaby. That’s my house number, but only use it from a payphone and in case of an emergency. Don’t speak to anyone at this number but me.”
I thanked her, and then headed into the house to think.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dominico
“GIVE HER A little time, Dom,” Mamma said before sipping her wine.
Mamma had spent the day with Annetta before meeting up with me in a restaurant on the outskirts of Vegas to discuss a game plan. So far, the only plans my mother seemed to have involved waiting.
“I can’t give her time,” I replied. “If he finds out about her and the baby—” I gulped back the rest of the sentence, because I honestly had no idea what my father would do. Would he kill Annetta and our unborn child to keep them from getting in the way of his plans? Yes, I was certain he would. “You’re sure she’ll be safe if she agrees?”
Mamma nodded. “He can’t kill her. Not unless he plans to kill you as well as all those loyal to the Mariani name. Gio forgets that he’s not a Mariani by blood, but we all remember. He’ll have to play the whole thing off like he knew about it and supported your decision, otherwise he’ll look like a fool for letting you mess with his plans.”
“And what about the Pelino family?” I asked.
“Adamo is a hothead. He’ll be angry, no doubt. But he can’t throw too big a fit, or your father will have to cut him off. As much as Adamo spoils Valentina, he won’t risk his profits or his life for her. At least not without a better offer, which is a possibility. Adamo is not the faithful dog your father thinks he is.”
“But will he cause problems?” I asked.
Mamma tapped the table. “Probably. The efforts to cripple the Durantes are going well. Money is pouring in right now, and we have the upper hand. I hope Adamo is smart enough not to let his ambition blind him. Gio will not tolerate any sort of an uprising right now. Your father has his faults, but he knows how to keep his men in line, Dom.”
I blew out a breath, still unable to believe what we were planning, and afraid to put too much hope in the idea. Marrying Annetta! Was it really possible? Of course, there was another option Mamma and I weren’t discussing. She’d given Annetta a way out. She wouldn’t tell me the details, but if Annetta decides not to marry me, Mamma would help her take our son and disappear. The betrayal I feel over her making that offer stings.
“You should have let me talk to her first,” I said, still upset by the way I’d been blackballed from their conversation.
“I needed to see for myself what she was made of,” Mamma defended. “And this choice needs to be hers without any influence from you.”
And it was tearing me up inside. What if she chose to walk away? Could I let her?
Mamma grabbed my hand. “Trust me, and trust her. This is a lot for both of you to take in. She’ll need time to process, and you will, too. You can’t just march in there and propose to her.” She smiled. “As romantic as that sounds.”
I’d never considered myself a goddamn romantic, but everything about Annetta made me want to get down on one knee and slide a fat rock onto her finger. Which reminded me I still needed to take care of that little detail. “You’re right,” I admitted. “I need to get a ring first.”
“I’ve got it handled,” Mamma said, pulling a small white box out of her pocket and setting it on the table. “This was my grandmother’s. She was a strong woman, an anchor for my grandfather. I think she’d like Annetta and want her to have it.”
Inside the box was a gorgeous round diamond on a unique vintage band. “Thank you,” I said, admiring the ring. “It’s perfect.”
“And it will keep you out of jewelry stores. I do want you to wait a couple of days and let her think over everything first. You cannot push her into accepting this life, Dom.”
Guilt pierced my chest. Annetta deserved more than a mobster for a husband, and I was a bastard for wanting to pluck her out of her safe, normal life and subject her to the dangers of my family. But with the baby coming, I didn’t see any way around it. I had to marry her before Father found out about the baby. That is… if she’d have me.
“What if she says no?” I asked, fidgeting with the ring box in my pocket.
“She loves you.” Mamma smiled reassuringly. “I’m already working on wedding arrangements, dear.”
Relieved, I sat back down and swallowed back another gulp of beer, wishing it would chill me the fuck out. “Okay, I’ll give her a couple of days.”
“Good, because now we need to figure out where the two of you will live after the wedding.”
***
Two days later I stood on Annetta’s doorstep, clutching the ring in my pocket with a sweaty hand and clinging to the hope that the woman I loved wouldn’t say no. I couldn’t sleep, so I’d gotten up early and parked down the street, where I watched her father climb into his truck and take off for work. I wasn’t afraid of her old man, but no matter what Annetta decided, I wanted it to be between me and her first.
