Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
There’s no way I’m going to marry that man.
I shove my chair back and throw myself to my feet. “Absolutely not,” I say, practically vomiting the words onto my father’s desk. He stares back, expression pained. “I won’t do it. You won’t make me.”
“Fiorella, please. Think carefully. We’ve asked little of you—”
“I already gave enough,” I hiss at him, eyes wild and wide, thinking back to that terrible day all those years ago. “I keep myself out of family business. You know that. I don’t want any of this.”
“I know, darling.” Papa wilts slightly. The old Don Serrano of my youth was all thunder and power, but the cancer’s taking so much from him these days. He looks like he’s barely keeping himself together. “But you have to understand that you do not have a choice.”
I take a step back from the desk. “You can’t force me. If you do, I’ll run away. You know I will. I’ll get in one of my cars and I’ll drive far and fast somewhere you can’t catch me. If you try to force me to marry him, you’ll never see me again.”
Papa nods gravely. “I believe you. But you’ll still do it.”
“I won’t.” My heart pounds at the idea of becoming that man’s bride. It was bad enough having sex with him on his desk in a moment of vulnerability. But to actually wear his ring? To become his wife? It’s absurd. It’s obscene.
I never wanted this life. I always planned on leaving one day after Elisa was safe and established. But not like this.
“You will.” Papa stands. His face hardens. “And if you don’t, I’ll make your little sister do it. How will you live with yourself then?”
My mouth drops open. I can barely think. I look at Raf, and he only stares back, looking somewhat bored.
“How can you say that?” I whisper, barely managing the words. “You’re going to blackmail me?”
“I’m going to give you a choice. It’s either you or Elisa, and I know how you feel about your little sister. Elisa would make a much better wife than you, and we both know she’d say yes without a fight. But I’m giving you this chance because I love you, Fio.”
“Fuck you,” I whisper, staring at my father. At my monster. “You don’t love me. I’m just a tool to you. Always have been.”
He flinches. “Don’t say that.”
“If you go near Elisa, I’ll kill you. Do you hear me? If the cancer doesn’t do it, I fucking will.”
“Good. That’s the daughter I know and love.” He smiles, his eyes watery and sad. “I’ll tell Don Marino you accept.”
“Go to hell.”
“Fiorella,” Raf drones. “Careful now.”
“I won’t do it, and I won’t let you force Elisa.” I stare at the men, backing away.
“She’ll happily do it, and you know that,” Raf says with a sigh. “See reason. We’re giving you a chance to spare her.”
I clench my teeth. My jaw flexes. I look around, trying to imagine some way out of this—but they’re right.
Elisa will do her duty. She might even be happy about it. The chance to marry an important mafia man? One as handsome as Luca?
But I’ve met him, and I know what he’s really like. I know what they’re all like.
I won’t let her get trapped in that hell.
“Fine,” I spit at them. Hate flows through me. But even more than that, a plan slowly starts to form. “I’ll do it. Just stay away from Elisa.”
“I’m glad you saw reason,” Papa says, sinking back into his chair. “The wedding will take place in one month.”
I turn away, keeping my cold fury in check. Raf stays behind as I storm back into the hall. I have to stop and lean against a doorjamb to catch my breath. I’m hyperventilating, and by the time I get myself under control again, the plan’s becoming more than just an idea.
There’s a way out. There’s always a way out.
Chapter 6
Fiorella
One Week Later
Elisa sits on top of the workbench in the corner of my little garage space. Her legs kick back and forth as she scrolls absently on her phone. I push myself out from under the Spider and wipe my hands on an old rag.
“Where’d you learn to do all this car stuff anyway?” Elisa asks, frowning at me as she puts her phone down.
“Showing an interest in my hobby all of a sudden?”
She shrugs like she could barely care less. “I’ve seen you do this stuff a million times, but I have no clue where it actually comes from.”
“The guys teach me a little.” I nod toward where my dad’s guys are hard at work breaking down their vehicles. It’s noisy as hell, and they’re speaking a mix of Spanish, English, and Italian. “Mostly I learn from YouTube.”
“Seriously?”
“You’d be surprised at how many random little videos there are teaching you stuff.”