"Let him plan. I'm not marrying his stupid daughter."
"But you're pretending to be in a relationship with a schoolteacher from Queens?" Rafe shakes his head, amused. "Dante, buddy, I love you, but that's either brilliant or insane."
"It's both," Matteo says quietly. "Which is usually your style."
He's not wrong. The triple homicide I buried for him twelve years ago was both brilliant and insane. It's what earned me his trust, his friendship, and eventually my position as capo.
"What if Adrian wants her back?" Luca asks suddenly. "Guy might be a coward, but he had her for three years. That's a long time to just walk away."
"He won't." I set the glass down, untouched. "I made it clear what happens if he comes near her."
"You sure about that?" Enzo's voice is skeptical. "Desperate men do stupid things. And from what I hear, he's pretty desperate."
"If he shows up, I'll handle it."
"By 'handle it,' you mean—" Rafe makes a cutting motion across his throat.
"If necessary."
Matteo studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he leans forward, elbows on the table, and his voice drops to that tone he uses when he's being the don instead of my friend.
"Your father might be a bastard, Dante, but he's right about one thing. You need to stay away from scandal."
I let the words sink in. "I know."
"Do you?" Matteo's gaze is steady, unflinching. "Because from where I'm sitting, you just took another man's girlfriend and moved her into your house. You're planning to parade her in front of your family and the Bellandis. If this goes wrong—if anyone digs into her past, into Adrian's debts, into how this arrangement started—it won't just blow back on you."
"It'll blow back on all of us," Enzo finishes. "On the family. On our operations."
"I'm aware of the risks."
"Are you?" Matteo asks again, softer this time. "Or are you so focused on defying your father that you're not seeing the bigger picture?"
The question stings because there's truth in it.
"I can control this. This is why I chose a schoolteacher with no past." I say.
"Good." Matteo sits back. "Because you're my capo. My friend. My brother. But I'm still the don, and I can't let personal choices jeopardize what we've built. If this situation with the girl becomes a problem—a real problem—you'll have to deal with it. Quickly and cleanly. Understood?"
I nod sharply. "Understood."
The tension in the room shifts slightly. Rafe breaks it with his usual timing.
"So, is she hot at least?"
I glare at him.
He grins wider. "That's a yes. Man, you are so screwed."
"She has a mouth that could cut glass, and she moved herself into a different bedroom tonight because she refused to sleep in mine." The words come out before I can stop them. "Happy?"
Of course, Maria texted me as soon as it happened.
All three of them stare at me.
Then Rafael starts laughing. Full, genuine, doubled-over laughter.
Bastard.
