Page 16 of The Mafia’s Fiancee

Yes! Relief filled me. My heart beat faster, with peace.

“He killed the other man, but as soon as he left the ring, Marchese men captured him.”

That relief disappeared, instantly replaced with dread.

“Antonio has him, Em.” She bore me with a sad, worried stare as she gave up on the cuff on my wrist. None of the keys worked, but she wasn’t giving up. Resuming with her hurried, fumbling fingers, she attempted to fit the keys in the cuff on my ankle.

Antonio capturing Luke didn’t bode well. Not at all.

“Is he mad because he killed the man he arranged to kill him?” I asked, knowing how stupid that question was.

“Probably, but more so because of you,” she replied. “I also heard the guards saying they had to be ready for Antonio coming back. He planned to after the fight to force you into marriage tonight.”

I tensed, pushing again at the cuff on my wrists. Whimpers left my lips, unbidden, but also unpreventable. I was beyond desperation now. I was enslaved with an obsession to escape.

“If not to force a wedding, here, then to consummate it. In advance. You’ve got to get the hell out of here. Now.”

I nodded, panicked with a renewed sense of hopelessness.

“It’s obvious he’s got an issue with Luke, with you being seen with him. But the guards are getting excited about joining forces. For the Giordino and Marchese families to at last be allies and stronger than ever.”

Which would oust the Rossini family completely.

“They made it sound like there are already plans to end the Rossini reign,” she said, as if she could read my mind. “Then Vincent—not your dad—would monopolize all of Miami. ”

Shit. The Rossinis wouldn’t be ending. It seemed like they might be starting all over again with Luke, if he were to follow Marlo’s footsteps.

“You can’t—Dammit, Em, you can’t get stuck with him. Antonio and his dad are going to ruin us all. They’re too hungry for having all the power. I know I’ve always tried to stay indifferent about you being stuck with him, but I can’t let you suffer under his control. It’ll be bad. I just know it.”

“Hurry,” I begged her. “Please, hurry.”

She didn’t slow, trying the keys at my ankles. “I’m sorry I was so sick and out of it at the Tropican. Had I known this was coming, had I been awake when they captured you, I would’ve tried to find you sooner.”

“I know.” I knew because I would always do the same for her—and had in the past. We were like sisters. She was the only friend I’d ever been allowed, and when I thought of her always being there for me, it chipped away at the loneliness that I suffered all my life.

Until I met Luke, she was all I had. Still, she came through for me, trying to get me out so I could avoid Antonio.

Now that I had him and wanted a long future with him, I had to do all that I could not to lose him for good.