Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
A violent tremor shudders through me, and I can’t keep the growl out of my tone when I say, “Get up.”
She quickly scrambles to her feet but keeps her head bowed.
I can’t believe her father made her apologize to me after what I did to her. That’s next-level fucked up.
Angry, my eyes flick to Tanaka, where the fucker is sitting on the couch like it’s his throne. “Yuki isn’t the one who owes me an apology.” I take a step toward Tanaka, and it has Yuki flinching hard. Looking at her bastard of a father, I continue, “Your men hurt my brother and killed my guards. You will apologize on their behalf.”
“No apology will make this better,” Tanaka says, refusing to give me what I want. “The men are dead, and your brother survived.” His eyes flick between Yuki and me. “There’s a way we can stop this war that’s taking up too much of my time.”
“And what would that be?” I mutter, my patience wearing thin.
Tanaka smirks at me. “Marry my daughter.”
There’s no way a father can be this cruel.
Looking at Yuki, I notice her hands are fisted so tight at her sides, her knuckles are white.
Then I glance at Christiano. He shrugs, silently telling me this is my choice to make.
Growing up in the Cosa Nostra, I always knew an arranged marriage might be in my future. It worked for Uncle Angelo and Uncle Damiano, so I’m not against it.
But I can see it’s the last thing Yuki wants.
Turning my angry gaze back to Tanaka, I say, “Yuki will never agree to this.” Not after I beat her to within an inch of her life.
“She doesn’t have a choice.”
Slowly, I let out a breath while fighting not to lose my shit with this man. My eyes flick to Yuki again, and addressing her, I ask, “How do you feel about all of this?”
She cringes backward, and it has Tanaka angrily barking at her in Japanese.
Her head lifts, and when her eyes meet mine, there’s so much fear I can feel it vibrate between us. Her lips part, but no words come out, which has Tanaka shouting again.
I’m just about to tell him to shut the fuck up when Yuki says, “I would be honored to marry you, Mr. Vitale. It’s the least I can do to help restore peace between the Yakuza and the Cosa Nostra.”
I let out a heavy breath, and when I shake my head, Tanaka barks out an order in Japanese that has panic washing over Yuki’s features while she takes a few steps backward.
Kano comes up behind her, and I’m struck absolutely speechless when the man yanks down the zipper of Yuki’s dress before ripping the fabric from her body until it pools by her feet.
“As you can see, she has lost weight and has a perfect body,” Tanaka says. “Any man would be lucky to have her. I have a few lined up, so you'd better make your decision now, Mr. Vitale. This offer is only valid for today.”
Tension rolls through the room like a tidal wave, and when Christiano darts to his feet, I shoot forward while shrugging my jacket off. Yuki gasps in shock at the humiliation she’s forced to endure, her body trembling badly as I wrap my jacket around her.
The instant I have her covered, I turn toward Tanaka, ready to kill him.
“Augusto,” Christiano says with authority that has me stopping in my tracks. “Are you willing to marry the woman?”
My head swivels back to Yuki, and as I take in the state she’s in, I can’t bring myself to say no.
I don’t know anything about her except that she’s suffered a lot because of me. First, I almost killed her, and today she’s been horribly humiliated.
“Augusto?” Christiano says to bring my attention back to the volatile situation.
“Yuki’s innocence is intact. She’s currently being trained to be the perfect wife,” Tanaka says, his tone matter-of-fact as if we’re discussing the sale of a car or house. “If we arrange the marriage for a month from now, I can guarantee she will be ready to serve all your needs.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
A second away from losing my shit, I turn around and stalk out of the suite so I don’t give in to my thirst for revenge and kill the head of the Yakuza with my bare hands.
“Augusto!” Adriano calls as he follows me. Being the eldest out of the five heads of the Cosa Nostra, he’s like an older brother to us all.
When I come to a stop at the end of the hallway, I turn around to see Rosie with Adriano. Noticing how pale she is, I move forward and wrap my arms around her.
“That’s…” She can’t get the words out and shakes her head as she returns my hug.