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Unthreatening.

“Let’s take her to see my father,” Jack said after a long moment. His voice was deep, calm. I didn’t miss how he rubbed Hailey’s back to reassure her. Hopefully that was a good sign for me. “I’m sure he’ll have some questions.”

I turned my head to look up at Tomas again, to see what he would do. He didn’t argue though, he just nodded, and gripped my upper arm in his big beefy hand. Fear fluttered in my lower belly. It was time to meet another don.

He couldn’t be worse than Don Bianco, right?

Chapter Thirteen

Tomas

I felt Ivy trembling in my grip as I led her down the hall, following behind Jack and Hailey. Hailey kept peeking over her shoulder at Ivy, her guilt for her grandfather’s misdeeds written clear across her expression. She had gotten better at hiding her emotions since marrying Jack, so hearing where Ivy came from must have thrown her for a big loop.

Her guilt didn’t bother me, because it meant she would argue for letting me keep Ivy.

I was also relieved to see Aunt Serena in the don’s office when we walked up to it. The door was open and she was leaning over, studying something on his desk. Both of them looked up when we came trooping up the hall. Both she and the don immediately focused on Ivy, the only one they didn’t know, and frowned.

Aunt Serena wasn’t really my aunt. More like second cousin once removed, but she thought it was easier if I just called her Aunt. She treated me just like she did Gio, who was her actual nephew. She straightened up to her full height as we walked in, her dark gaze flitting between me and Ivy. Beside her, the don, Lorenzo DiNardo, slowly got to his feet as he scanned all our faces. Only a few inches taller than Aunt Serena, he was showing his age more than she was, having lost most of the hair atop his head and his suits were a little tighter as fat spread over his muscle.

Still, he was imposing, secure in his confidence and power.

“Jack,” he said, addressing his son even as his gaze kept sliding back to Ivy. “What’s all this?”

“Tomas returned, mission completed – I assume.” Jack turned his head to me, as he suddenly realized he had not asked. I nodded. “This is Ivy. Don Bianco was keeping her in a cage.”

Like me, he knew the impact of making a blunt statement, and I was glad of it because I now knew he was on my side as well. Even if it was only for Hailey’s sake, that was a good place to have him. Aunt Serena’s eyes immediately widened and filled with sympathy as she bustled around the side of the desk, her hands outstretched in front of her. Ivy tensed, leaning against me as if trying to hide behind me.

“Oh you poor dear,” Aunt Serena said, ignoring Ivy’s wariness, and pulling Ivy to her in a hug. The panicked look that Ivy shot me over her shoulder was almost comical. She clearly had no idea what to do. “And Tomas rescued you?”

“Um… yes?”

“Hailey said no innocents,” I explained with a shrug.

Aunt Serena stepped back, pursing her lips as she looked over Ivy’s ragged haircut, gray dress, and lack of footwear. She cast a glance at me. I suddenly felt like hunching my shoulders, not that I could hide since I was the biggest person in the room. I’d done the best I could.

“I take it the cage was somewhere that allowed Ivy to see you complete your mission?” Don DiNardo’s voice was calm, controlled, and missing the sympathy that Aunt Serena clearly felt. He was focused on the danger Ivy presented. We didn’t want a war with the other Familias, but assassinating the head of the Biancos would do exactly that… if anyone could prove it was us.

Ivy was the only one who could actually identify me as the person who had shot Don Bianco.

“Yes.” I tensed as the urge to grab Ivy and run ran through me. It was surprisingly strong, and whether or not I followed through with it depended entirely on what happened next. I… I had given my life to the Familias. I did the work. Sometimes I even enjoyed it. I had never wanted anything else.

Not like the way I wanted Ivy.

It would be a fool’s mission, considering I was currently in the heart of the don’s lair, but… I might try anyway.

“Shit,” Gio muttered behind me.

Aunt Serena frowned. She might be sympathetic, but she was still the don’s wife, and she understood how much danger Ivy now posed to her family. Hailey’s head whipped back and forth between all of us, pain in her eyes as she looked pleadingly up at Jack… and Jack hesitated.

“I want to marry her.”

“You what?”

Everyone in the room spoke at once, but they all used the same words, even Ivy who twisted around to stare at me in shock. I kept my gaze on the don, waiting for his verdict.

Ivy

The woman holding my arms had a grip like a steel cage, and I knew it would be a mistake to try and break free. If I hurt her, I had no hope at all. My best guess was that she was Mrs. DiNardo, the don’s wife, and even if he hated her, hurting her would not be tolerated. Even by accident.