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“You know, Lucca, your reputation wasn’t wrong. You hold all the cards, and play them all. Assuring you aren’t blinded by any moves.” Enzo shifted, smirked and said, “Even if I place my trust in you and let her live, it still leaves him. And we both want to keep this from going further tonight.” He meant a vote from all families. Lucca wouldn’t risk having my life in the hands of others, and Enzo couldn’t be seen weak in their eyes, even if it wasn’t his mistake to clean but his brother’s—he was here for Leo. “And I listened to your reputation, knowing this wouldn’t be easy. You asked for an agreement. I have one. You can take it or leave it.”
The hidden risk of Enzo’s admission chilled my bones as I worried about the wager coming into play.
Lucca would take it if it benefited him, and me. If it benefited his Syndicate.
“There’s been tension between our families for quite some time.” Lucca didn’t give anything away as he listened to Enzo. “For me to fully trust this would work, I need something that ties both of our families together.”
When Enzo motioned his hand, and Leo moved toward the door, I hurried over to Davina’s side, keeping her seated with my hand on her shoulder as the door creaked open.
We knew danger wouldn’t be able to penetrate Lucca’s home let alone his study unless all his men were dead, but it was my chance to feel her presence near me, touch her warm skin as the next minutes could be the end of it all.
But when a woman walked through the door with such a regal presence with every step, I was taken aback. Her footfalls didn’t stop and her dark red dress shifted fluidly until she stood next to Enzo. Her long brown hair was pushed to her back and her green eyes settled on Lucca.
“A marriage,” Enzo proposed.
For the first time with others around, I noticed the small cracks of Lucca’s composure trying to slip as his eyes held fury. It was a small slip. His eyes roamed over her, and with a scoff, he smiled.
“Katia Vitelli,” Lucca said as if it were a joke. “I thought you were a myth. Guess they just kept you well hidden.”
“They did, for years in the old country. That is until you are needed to fulfill your duty.”
No one missed the way she almost spat her last words.
Lucca chuckled as if this all amused him. “Does your boss know about this?” he asked Enzo without removing his gaze from Katia.
“My orders were to fix the problem and solidify the family. I am just following orders. I don’t make them yet.”
Davina’s hand slipped over mine, comprehending how this woman was offered like a pawn, and sadly, for princippesa’s like Katia, high in power and regal blood, it meant wedlock for someone as powerful for the best of the Famiglia. Love and care was a luxury in this world.
Lucca’s smile widened, and I was sure he had his reasons. “Deal.”
Katia closed her eyes briefly but otherwise remained composed, appearing unbothered.
“One last thing,” Enzo expressed while fixing his cuff and turning our way. “I advise never returning to New York,” his tone warned Davina. “You nor your father.”
“I won’t. Miami is home now,” Davina replied, unaffected to know she would never step foot in the city she was born and raised.
“Then it’s settled.” Enzo took a hold of Katia’s elbow announcing their exit, but she didn’t remove her eyes from Lucca right away.
It was only a few seconds, but enough for everyone to notice how she wanted to say more. Instead, she remained quiet until breaking the eye contact she held to her future husband as she turned her body toward her brother. Enzo looked down to Katia, his lips twitched slightly and said to Lucca, “We’ll be in contact with the arrangements.”
Lucca nodded and raised his palm outwards, motioning the door.
When the door closed, I felt the air return to its normal pressure even when the shock of this turn of events lingered in a vow.
And now, nothing stood in the way.
DAVINA
My feelings ran chaotically in my mind. Shock and disbelief to have witnessed an arranged marriage in this day and age. As a woman, it infuriated me. Katia had no voice and no say to speak her thoughts. But as she stood in the middle of the room, with the same confidence and assurance for herself as she did in the gala, something told me if it wasn’t Lucca, it would’ve been someone else. She knew when she stepped inside the home why she was here, and instead of showing any weakness or displeasure, Katia remained a true princess who’d been molded in the life of crime and royalty.
It was hard to ignore the relief that warmed my body, knowing it was over. New York would remove the target on Ilias’s and my head. Enzo didn’t have many options but to trust. Since he couldn’t, he chose the Famiglia instead of his own blood.
A foreign thought, but a rude awakening to understand how organized and how far they would go in, all for the name of Cosa Nostra.
“Davina,” Lucca’s voice pulled me away from my thoughts. “I can’t express how stupid it was for you to speak at the time you did, and although I believe it benefited us… I’m going to ask you once. Don’t do it again. It’s not a threat,” he added. “It’s a warning. Men in this life have different views, and I hate to go through all this trouble for nothing.”
Leave it to Lucca to sound concerned for a mere second before taking it and adding more to his trouble. But I didn’t care, I found it funny that he at least tried to remind me of the views of the underworld.
