Page 76 of The Arianna Arrangement

“Only in my tits and ass.” I smiled sweetly as my mother smothered a cough. “I know how to make sure my man drools when he sees me.” My appraisal of her was the same as what she’d given me, before turning to look at my brother, who wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on at this side of the table. “Unlike you. Sandro doesn’t even seem to notice you’re in the room.”

Her jaw ticked for just a moment before a grin fell over her lips. “I know how to get and keep his attention. Don’t worry about that, dear.”

My mother huffed. “Most whores do.”

Valentina’s posture stiffened and even I registered her as a threat at that moment. “You will do well to remember who you are speaking to, Giulia. Going toe to toe with me hasn’t worked well for you in the past.”

The way my mother’s lips pinched told me there was more to this story. I filed that away to ask about later as well.

“Ari,” my attention turned towards my brother at the other end of the table, “tell me, how's your senior year so far?”

“Absolutely delightful. I think I stand a real chance of being Validictorian.”

Percy choked on his drink and I saw Tuck roll his eyes.

“You do realize that title has to do with brains and not the skills you’ve acquired in the bedroom, right?” Valentina smirked. Sandro’s mask was in place, but I saw the fire behind his eyes when he looked at his soon-to-be wife.

I just smiled. “Aww. Jealous, Tina?”

“Enough. Why can’t we just have one family dinner without drama?”

Even with his mask in place, I could read the stress on my brother’s face and the fact that I was adding to it made a pit form in my stomach. “I’m sorry, Sandro. Senior year sucks because I hate school, but I’ve had fun hanging out with Leyla and Potter at school when I can and I’ve been putting in more effort this year because I definitely want to graduate.”

He smiled. “That’s good. Have you thought about what you’re going to do after high school? I know the Givenchy’s are good with you pursuing a degree and having a career.”

I grimaced. “Ugh. Definitely not college. I loathe school.” I’d actually decided recently what I wanted to do after high school, but had yet to talk to my husband about it, so I wasn’t going to air that out here.

The warm smile Sandro gave me made the knot in my stomach loosen. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you to decide what you want to do. The world is your oyster, Ari.”

Chapter 37

Tucker

“Gentlemen, have a seat.” When dinner was over, Sandro had Marco, Elio, and I follow him to his office. “We need to discuss the Blackwood situation.”

It shouldn’t have surprised me that Marco and Elio were aware of what was going on. They were his lieutenants after all. However, I didn’t know how much they knew, so I was going to let Sandro take the lead on this.

Sandro’s attention turned to me. “We were called into a syndicate meeting last night. Emiliano Carbone informed us that he has cut a deal with the Blackwood family.” He ran his hand down his face and growled before his eyes met mine again. “With the help of Nico Ricci, they were able to track down the family. But instead of executing them all, they made a deal.”

That was not what I was expecting. “What kind of a deal?”

Sandro sighed. “Carbone would spare the lives of Sr.’s wife and children on a couple of conditions. One, he turned himself over to Nico, who then helped with the death and disposal of the older Blackwood since so many eyes are on Emiliano right now. Two, Junior would take his place at the family business and is now in bed with the Carbone family. They basically own him.”

I felt sure that if anyone looked closely, they would have seen smoke billowing out of my ears. Before I could say a word, Sandro held up his hand to stop me and continued. “I know that this is the exact opposite outcome you wanted, and I’m not thrilled with it either, but my hands were tied. The deal was done when they called the meeting, so there was literally nothing I could say. But even if it wasn’t, I couldn’t have said anything. We couldn’t risk them thinking that we played a part in all of this.”

I let out a deep breath, trying to reign in my anger because this wasn’t Sandro’s fault. “This isn’t only the exact opposite of what I wanted, Sandro. It’s the worst case scenario. Now Bradley is going to be even more powerful. Not only is the entire company and bank account at his disposal, but he has connections to one of the five families.”

Marco crossed one leg over the other, then turned to face me. “That’s not exactly true. He’s essentially been neutered. The Carbone’s own him. He might have their protection, but not their power. And he only has their protection so they have access to his money and reach. The good news is it should protect Leyla more than making him penniless and powerless would have.”

That seemed unlikely. “How?”

Sandro took over again. “With that option, there is no one to keep him in check. He would have lost everything, and when people have nothing else to lose, that’s when they become dangerous. Now, he’s on a leash. Everyone knows that the Vitale’s and Givenchy’s have an alliance through your marriage to my sister. I couldn’t dole out retribution before when he came after your family because he didn’t have any affiliations, but now that he does, I can protect you better.”

“If he comes after anyone in your family, Sandro can go to Don Carbone. Bradley is an extension of him, like your family is an extension of Sandro. It would be the same as if one of his men attacked one of ours. He would have to either take care of the problem himself to keep the peace or go to war.” Marco said that as if that should ease my worries.

“That doesn’t make me feel better. Bradley hasn’t grown up in this world. Crestwood is a completely different world than it is here. He’ll see this as him becoming more powerful and untouchable.”

Sandro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s possible. I know that he was in Emiliano’s care when we met last night. He was probably threatening his life and making sure he understood what was expected of him. If he becomes a problem for you, let me know and I’ll handle it.”