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“No.” I shook my head. “I won’t.”
“If you don’t, then they’ll kill me.”
“WHAT!” I shrieked and looked around, my eyes finally settled on Phoenix. “Is that true?”
“He has to go through all three you chose, and you’re a substitute; if he doesn’t keep his promise, then yes, we’ll kill him,” Phoenix said so casually that I wanted to puke.
I’d never drawn blood before like that, at least not on someone I tolerated and was admittedly attracted to.
“Twenty seconds,” Tex called.
“So.” Santino released my wrist. “Will you really be the death of me? Or not?”
With shaking hands, I quickly reached for his shirt and did the one thing I could think of doing that would hurt but not cause a ton of damage.
“Ten seconds,” Tex yelled.
I drove the knife into the left part of his chest and quickly drew a line down, then a line across, and another, and dropped the knife just as Tex yelled, “Time.”
Everyone got up slowly and walked around the tables to where Santino and I were standing.
My blood sugar must be low, I both felt like puking and passing out. I swayed on my feet; Andrei steadied me and lifted Santino’s shirt with one hand.
The rest of the men chuckled.
“What?” Santino asked.
Andrei jerked his chin toward him. “She marked a K right over your heart.”
Santino did a double-take between Andrei and me. “Seriously?”
“How are you still standing?” I swayed again.
“Deep breaths, Katya,” Andrei whispered next to me.
I nodded, panicked because I couldn’t read Santino’s expression. He almost seemed pleased that I’d cut him, which was weird even for him.
“All right, now that that’s settled.” Tex took a deep breath, picked up the knife from the ground, swiped it across his shirt, and then sprayed it with something.
Everyone chuckled.
“You know I hate germs,” he grumbled, then faced us. “Hold out your hands, please. Palms up.”
I was afraid of what was next. But if Santino could be brave, I could be too. I held out my hand palm up right next to his.
Tex cleared his throat. “With the witnesses here and as the Capo dei Capi of the Five Families of the Cosa Nostra, I hereby bind Katya Petrov-Sinacore and Santino Sinacore in holy matrimony. Let their blood spill into the earth if either of them goes back on their word and loyalty to The Family.” Before I knew what was happening, he made a quick swipe of the blade across my palm, then Santino’s, and pressed our palms together. He grabbed a piece of rope and tied our wrists, then pressed his hands down on it.“Sangue dentro non fuori.”
Every man in that room repeated it, then looked at me.
Including Santino.
He leaned down and whispered,“Sangue.”
I repeated,“Sangue.”
“Dentro non fuori.”
Shaking, I finished the phrase.“Dentro non fuori.”
