“Then we’ll figure it out without your help.”
“You won’t.” She sounded utterly certain. “The Santoro family killed Gino, and this is only the beginning. I know them. I know I can lead us past this threat. But without me, you’ve already lost.”
I didn’t know where she was getting that information, or whether it was even true they were responsible for killing my father.
I exchanged a look with my brothers. We were all thinking the same thing.
“We’ll take our chances, Mother,” I said. “Get out. I don’t want to see you again.”
A long second passed. “You’re making a big mistake.” She grabbed her purse from the coffee table and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
“Fucking finally,” Rom muttered. “I came to tell you that Morales is keeping Mia locked up in his apartment. I’m taking a few guys and getting her out.”
I nodded, knowing Rom was worried about that girl. He’d confessed a few days ago that he’d been seeing her in secret. “Take whoever you need.”
I watched him leave, my mind already turning over possibilities, strategies, moves, and countermoves.
Alessio blew out a heavy breath. “She will challenge you at the ceremony. Until then, she’ll do her worst with the capos. Point out every mistake you make. Use every weapon she has.”
“Do you think there’s a chance she’ll win the vote?”
Alessio looked thoughtful for a moment. “It would go against tradition having a woman at the helm.”
“But?”
“But Father trusted her.”
“She cares more about securing her power than finding out who killed him.” I shook my head. “The capos know me. They’ll vote for me.”
“This vote won’t be about who’s more competent,” Alessio said. “It’ll be about who looks steadier. More disciplined. More willing to do what the family requires during a turbulent time.” He leaned back in his chair. “You heard her just now. She gave away her strategy. She’ll keep emphasizing that you’re good, but you’re just not ready. And that’s a risk the family can’t take when we’re under attack.”
I clenched my jaw. “If I find Dad’s killers, that will be enough to sway the vote my way.”
“True,” Alessio said. “But whether you find them in the next sixty days is a big goddamnif. You really want to put all your eggs in that basket?”
“What do you suggest?”
“Marry Fabiana now. Mother turned your resistance into evidence against you. Neutralize that weapon.”
I raked a hand through my hair and glanced out the window, turning that over.
“The marriage might’ve been Mother’s idea,” Alessio continued, “but whatever her original plan was, it’s clearly irrelevant now that Dad’s gone. Lock down the Messero alliance before anyone starts testing the cracks, and show the capos you’ll honor Dad’s arrangements. And do it quick, before Mother goes to Messero and tries to make some other kind of move with him.”
I’d spoken to Messero earlier, and there’d been no mention of Fabiana calling the engagement off. He would have said something if she’d talked to him, which meant she hadn’t. At least not yet.
I rose from the sofa and moved toward the window. In the night sky, the moon glowed.
I’d hoped that after that night at the bistro, after I’d gotten her to agree to what I wanted, that I’d stop thinking about her.
That hadn’t happened.
She invaded my thoughts even more than before. I hated that I still felt guilty over how I broke her. I hated that when I closed my eyes, all I saw was that lone tear sliding down her cheek. I hated that I reached for the memory of her in my arms to soothe the ache inside my chest.
To have her as my wife…
Previously, that idea had only filled me with rage at having my life controlled by Mother, but now it filled me with something far worse. Something hot and possessive anddemanding.
To marry a woman who got under my skin the way Fabiana did was dangerous.
