My father just compared me to a horse,I think numbly.Next, he’s going to show off my good teeth.
“She’ll do,” Accardi grunts. “I agree to your terms, Malcolm. We have an alliance.”
That can’t be correct. I heard that wrong. I’m not going to be shackled to this horrible old-
“I’ll be seeing you next month,mia cara, my dear.” He leers at me horribly before my father spins the laptop back to face him.
“Mala, go get packed, we leave in two hours,” he says, not bothering to look up at the daughter he just sold off.
“Wait.”
He looks up, brows drawn together furiously.
“I told you to go pack.”
“Papa, I need to speak to you. Please give me ten minutes.”
He gives me a glare that promises retribution. “Enzo, let me just handle getting my little girl out of here and I’ll contact you when we’re in the air.”
There’s a muffled answer before he slams the laptop shut.
Begging’s fine. I’m not too proud to beg. “Papa, please. You can’t give me to that man. You know he killed his first two wives!”
He waves his hand impatiently but doesn’t look at me. “Those are rumors. You just do your job for the family and you’ll be fine. If we handle this right, you’ll have a son soon, and we’ll have enough information to get rid of Enzo at just the right time. I’ll take over to help my daughter in her time of grief and we’ll have both organizations in-house.”
“Do you care about me at all?”
Why am I bothering to ask this? I know the answer, but maybe I just want him to say it.
The storm’s gathering in his eyes and it explodes as he slams his hands down on the table. “What I cared about,” he shouts in my face, “is losing my son, myheir.You were selfish and cowardly enough to save yourself rather than your own twin! You put us in this position.” He calms down slightly, smoothing his tie.
“We’re not coming from a place of strength right now. We’re having some severe supply chain issues. We’re losing customers. My captains are not as confident about Richard as they should be. We need a strong alliance to keep those fuckers from getting any ideas.”
His sharp eyes are watching my expression, and his tone is softer now. “We can’t do this without you. Michael is gone, and your mother… do it for them. You owe it to Michael.”
My shoulders slump. He knows he has me.
“Now go on, go get packed. You have two hours.”
“Thatold fuck?”
Willow, Mariya, Tati, and Meiying are clustered together, looking at a picture of my betrothed.
“You’re kidding, right?” Tatiana says doubtfully, “This guy is at least forty-five.”
Angling to look at the picture, I shake my head. “That’s his wedding photo with his second wife, it must be ten years old. Both his wives are dead.”
Throwing another sweater in my duffle bag, I scowl at Jun, who’s taking it back out. “Two dead wives and you’re meant to marry him? No.”
“I don’t have a choice. You know how this goes,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “My family needs this alliance. Losing Michael was a big blow to our stability.”
“Would you like us to kill Accardi for you?” Meiying offers solicitously.
“Yes,” Jun warms to the plan, “I’ll poison the wedding cake. Don’t Americans have that thing where you feed him a slice of cake?”
“No, I think it’s that she smashes the cake in his face?”
“Even better,” Jun says happily. “I conceal a capsule in the piece of cake and when she smashes it in his face, it’ll release a targeted neurotoxin that-”
