“No, you don’t,” I snarled, losing my composure for a second. I leaned back and blew out a breath. “You were born into royalty, Leo. With that comes responsibility. If you don’t want to be treated like a child, then start acting like an adult. Set a date with the Lanzas and leave the poor girl alone.”
“Not that again. Dad, please, try to understand me. I can’t be with Claudia, not after I…”
“Not after what?”
“Lina is the one, Papà. I’m in love with her.”
I swore in all the languages I’d spoken in my head, a volcano of wrath erupting inside me, eating me up, tearing at my sanity. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that for your sake and hers.”
He swallowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’re Leo Bellomo, my soon-to-be underboss, and she’s Angelina Baldi, an outsider, a program kid,” I said what he might understand, leaving the real reason out. “You two can never be together.” Because she was mine.
“I’m telling you I’m in love with her. I don’t care—”
“But she’s not in love with you. She’s not for you, Leo. Never will be.”
“She will. I’m gonna do anything to make her love me back. But first I need to protect her from that asshole.”
I’m the asshole? I’m the asshole you fucking spoiled prick? You fucking thief?“Like you can protect an ant.”
“By your book, I might be useless, but the truth is I’m not. I can protect her. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“No, you won’t. All you’re going to do is askmefor help, like always.Iwill protect her.Iwill save her. Not you. Because you don’t want to do whatever it takes.”
His jaws clicked as a deep line formed between his brows, his eyes distant as if he was lost in thought.
“Leo, if you really love her and want to protect her, you’ll do what’s best for her. Leave her be, Son. Isn’t it enough what she had to go through all her life, now you want to bring her into yours?”
“My life isn’t dangerous. I’m not like you. I don’t lead the same life you do.”
I snorted. “You’re part of the family whether you like it or not. Let’s assume she’d forget about today by some miracle, and she’d want to look at your face again when you told her what it meant to be a Bellomo. Have you thought for one second what could happen to the poor girl when the Lanzas know?”
He stared at me as if the thought had just hit him. This boy was going to be the end of me. “Think about it, Son. Don’t lie to yourself. You can’t protect her. She’s better off with someone else.”
He nodded slowly, pensively, and I knew I won. Angelina had always been mine. No one would ever take her away from me.
“I’ve thought about it. You’re right. I can’t protect her like this,” he said.
I donned my scarf and grabbed my sunglasses, rising to my feet. “I’m sorry, Son, but it’s the right thing to do.”
“That’s why I decided I’m ready to become made.”
My hands stopped in their tracks. I thought I was too old to be surprised anymore. I was wrong.
“I’m ready for my initiation. I’ll take my omertà and be a made man.” He looked up at me, his face never been darker. “I’ll be your underboss, Papà, like you always wanted.”
“You’ll do that…for her?”
“Yes. You just have to promise me one thing. Until I do, you keep her safe. You can’t let anyone hurt her, not the Lanzas, not that asshole. Keep her safe for me, and I’ll be the son you want me to be.”
Just like that, the game I thought I’d mastered had turned on me.
Angelina Baldi wasn’t a whim to my son. To forsake all his ideals and join the life he resented and refused to be a part of for years just for her meant one thing. He was truly in love with her.
He was ready to give me the thing I’d always wanted from him, only if I sacrificed the one thing I wanted more.
No. Not going happen. He wasn’t in love with her. He couldn’t be. He didn’t mean any of it. I refused to believe he did.
