“It wasn’t me. It?—”
“Hmmphhh. In the famous last words of Shaggy,” I deadpan, cutting him off.
Undeterred by the fact I’m pointing a gun at him, he sighs in exasperation. Like my line of questioning is an inconvenience. Well, cousin dearest, you know what else is a fucking inconvenience? Having my suspicions confirmed that I’m being bartered off like fucking livestock in some episode ofYellowstone.
I unlatch the safety with a click, and this spurs Marco into action.
“Chiara, give me the gun,” he says firmly as he walks towards me. “This is fucking madness. I did not have three dead bodies on my bingo card today.”
“Not until that idiot tells me what meddling has been going on behind my back,” I level. “Besides, what’s to say I won’t shoot you too?”
Marco cocks his head to the side and bores his vivid green eyes into mine. He gently pries the gun out of my hands, murmuring, “We’ll work this out. I won’t let them do that to you. Okay?” In this moment, he feels like the only true ally I have. He doesn’t know what I suspect about the truth of his identity, but now is not the time to discuss that.
“My father is trying to forge a truce with the Rizzos,” AJ finally explains. “Marrying you into the family instantly enforces a peace treaty between the families.”
“So why don’t you take their daughter as a trophy wife?” I retort. “Why does it have to be me offered as the prize? Oh wait! That’s right, you’re too busy fucking around with a certain redhead. Does Uncle Gino know about that? Maybe we shouldcall him now for a group therapy session where we all air our dirty secrets.”
AJ is in my face in a flash, vein in his temple bulging and skin flushed.
“Do not utter a fucking word about her,” he grits out. “I’m trying to figure a way out of this, but you haven’t made it fucking easy with all your white lies, surprise job offers, and antics withhim,” he says, waving a hand towards Raf. “My dad thinks you’re up to your old tricks, and that has made him want to expedite this whole fucking arrangement.”
“Tell them we have a deal,” interjects Raf in lawyer mode. “That you’ve got intel that the Rizzo’s lawyer is double-crossing them—including going rogue and trying to take down Marco’s business with last night’s gas leak. Keeping Chiara close to me is a way to feed information back to you. He knows that you’re a silent partner in La Rosa with Marco, yes?”
“Oh good. Let me get some snacks while a bunch of misogynist men make plans for Chiara’s life. Because an arranged fucking marriage is not enough,” I butt in.
Raf glares at me. He’s throwing me a lifeline and I’m pulling the detonation cord. Not because I’m not thankful for his chivalrous gesture, but because I want to protect him. I don’t want him to get into bed with my cousin—or become involved in a game of bartering favors, for that matter. The Mob always comes back to claim them one way or another. Raf does not belong on that side of the underworld.
Turning his attention to Marco, AJ cross-checks Raf’s story.
“Is that true? Was Arty behind the gas leak?”
“Yes, he paid off a city worker to tamper with the mains.”
“I should have had them put a bullet in his head and not just bust him up,” AJ snarls.
“I’m going to pretend I heard nothing of this,” Raf says. “Talk to Gino. Convince him Chiara needs to stay to accompanyme to a few law events, including the Law Gala, as part of our deal. Assure him there is no truth to those photos, and while we continue to make it look as though we are dating, I will not lay a finger on her. You have my word.”
“How did you know?” asks AJ.
“Know what?” replies Raf.
“About my uncle’s arrangement with Domenic Rizzo.”
“I have my sources.”
“Ah. Spoken like a true lawyer,” says AJ.
“So do we have a deal?”
“Leave it with me,” assures AJ.
“I have very little faith in this statement, cuz,but seeing as Raf is my lawyer, I’ll trust he has my best interests at heart.” I stare at him pointedly. “Right?”
“I hope you know what clusterfuck you have just invited into your neat, orderly life.” AJ chuckles darkly, like I’m a disease that will ruin Raf.
And maybe that’s the truth. But he’s just effectively managed to negotiate more time for me, time I need to use wisely, because there is no way that, while I am still breathing, I’ll be forced into an arranged marriage. I’d rather meet the same fate as my parents than become a cog in an evil game of power that has no end.
“If we’re done, I have better things to do with my time—like drink Better than Cock cocktails.”
