“That’s an impressive amount of vengeance,” I said admiringly. “Thank you for telling me.” My stomach dropped, “Wait, what about Kelli? Tell me your guys didn’t hurt her!”
“Of course not.” This mafioso has the nerve to look insulted. “We questioned her without revealing anything about you, and then sent her on her way with a fistful of cash and a warning not to ever talk about this again.” He paused, “Well, that part might have been a bit scary, but overall…”
I rolled my eyes. Taking a fortifying gulp of the excellent Chianti, I tried to channel my inner badass. “Okay. All our cards are out on the table. Thank you also for saving me from Santos’ creeps, though I would like to note that if you hadn’t forced me out of hiding, they never would have found me.”
“Is that a thank you?” Dario asked, one brow raised.
“No! I mean, yes, of course, but… wait.” I gathered my thoughts. “If you’ve been chasing me across Europe because you were concerned I was a security risk, you now know I’m not. This is very nice, and Martina is an amazing cook. But… I need to get out of here. I need to go. I can’t stay in one place right now, especially after that near-miss at the airport.”
He’s still watching me, swirling the wine in his glass.
“If you’ll give me back my things, I’ll be on my way,” I persisted, frustrated that he was just looking at me as if I’d been chattering some adorable nonsense.
“What do you see ahead of you?” Dario asked. “In your life. A career, maybe a family? How long do you think you can be on the run until they finally catch up with you?”
“How long?” My fingers tighten on my knife as I think about Santos’ sneering face. “I can be on the run one day longer than they can search for me. They’ll give up eventually, no matter how spiteful they are.”
“I can’t speak for your father,” he shrugs, “but those cartel guys never forget an insult. There’s a better way.”
“What?” I do not understand why Dario’s so invested in this.
Now that filthy grin of his comes back, stretching his sensuous mouth and showing off all those white, even teeth.
“Marry me, Cora.”
Chapter Ten
In which there is "I do," and "What the hell?"
Dario…
I watch as the blood drains from Cora’s face, leaving her sheet white. Not the most flattering response to a man’s proposal, but I am willing to overlook it.
“Are you insane?” she gasps.
Well, that was uncalled for. Though not entirely wrong.
“It’s quite possible,” I agree, “though that has nothing to do with my proposal. You must admit there’s some kind of symmetry here. You ran away from your parents-”
“I’m not a wayward teenager, I’m twenty-three, it’s not like I ran away because they confiscated my cell phone!” she protests.
I ignore her, “It would take a certain kind of man to protect you from that shitty future they planned out for you.” I smile modestly, “A man who can handle Santos and your father. I’m about to take over our financial interests in Boston, how lucky is that? I’ll have a gorgeous, intelligent wife whose father is a US Senator from Massachusetts-”
“He’s the worst kind of weasel,” she interrupts me, “you donotwant to work with him!”
“Oh, trust me. We already know just how dirty Senator Thorne is,” I laughed.
“You don’t get it,” she protests, “I don’t want any of this. I’m not getting dragged back into my father’s bullshit. The whole point of disappearing is to leave this all behind. I don’t want to be an ‘asset’,” she puts up two fingers in a mocking quote, “I want to be free of all of this. I want to be something more.”
“People like us will never be free from the family we were born into,” I said coldly. “Whether you like it or not, this is who you are.”
Cora pushed her chair back, standing up to pace. “All my life, I’ve tried to be better than them,” she said angrily, “and you-”
“Is that why you chose cancer research?” I asked.
She thought about it. “Maybe… probably. And you want to throw me right back into that cesspool? Hell, no!” I watch her angrily move back and forth across the granite terrace.
“Hey, hear me out,” I said, rising to put my hands on her shoulders. “Those assholes won’t give up. Not anytime soon, anyway. You’re good at disappearing, I’ll give you that. But they have unlimited funds and a complete lack of motivation other than spite. This is a win-win,Bellissima.I will provide safety, and security. Your - admittedly unpleasant - family connections will help me build my empire in Boston.” Her chest is heaving with anxiety, and those perfect breasts distract me for a moment.
