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Her father speaks up. "The reason Shana knows so much, it's because she was attacked."
"What? I was just with her. She didn't say anything. She looked fine, wearing makeup and everything. She said she was okay." Evelyn's confusion isn't enough to distract me from the smirk spreading across her father's face. He's obviously proud that Shana is taking things in stride. Still, the Don's son-in-law is a piece of shit, and that's nothing to be proud of.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"Top Gott," Evelyn replies with the nickname given to the female prison on Staten Island. "I thought she was supposed to be with the non-violent offenders."
"She was," Don Rossi says. "I mean, she will be. I had to pull every last favor I had with the Department of Corrections. But it wasn't bad. Supposedly, one of the Montegna girls got to her, told her to deliver a message. They're taking over, and we're all supposed to fall in line. Luckily, it's just a cut to her side, but more of a bruise to her ego. She's got protection now. I made sure of that."
"I can talk to some of the guards and make sure it stays that way," I tell them. Don Rossi and Evelyn eye me with surprise in their expressions. I shrug it off. "I don't want her sister to be a distraction. The wife of Alessandro De Luca needs to focus on being the face that represents the Rossi Family aligning with ours. Everyone we do business with needs to understand that crossing either organization means crossing both of them."
"Why would the Montegnas break up La Familia like this?" Evelyn sighs, resting her forehead on her delicate fingertips.
Oz speaks low, desperately trying to keep his anger in check. "After Don De Luca suffered his heart attack, we tried to keep it quiet. He'd only been in the hospital a few hours before the news got out. They know that both our Families are in rough transitions and felt like La Familia was no longer necessary. They want to take everything from us. We need to work together."
I still don't know how much of that information is true. I trust Oz to an extent, but I know he's willing to exaggerate threats in order to push whatever strategy he wants in place. Normally, it's to the Family's benefit. But with my father in the hospital for the past two weeks, the De Luca Family’s foundation suddenly has cracks in it.
"I need to speak to Evelyn alone," I announce to the room. "Have Father Andrew ready to proceed in a few minutes."
They leave us, and Evelyn is still cross with me. I slide a chair in front of her, sitting down so we're face to face.
I'm adamant as I speak to her. "You have to go through with this. I can see you're already thinking about bolting through that door."
"I don't have to do anything. Marrying you is definitely not on my list. I can't believe Shana let me walk into this shit."
I chuckle. "Would you have let Lurch bring you here if she told you the truth?"
"Jenkins does whatever my father tells him to do, but I'm sure I would have ditched him to avoid this fuckery."
"Why are you still in New York?" I ask her. "If your Family keeps you in the dark like you won't get your hands dirty, why stay?"
"Why should I have to leave? The only thing I want is for them to stop treating me like I'm some eight-year-old spoiled princess. Especially when it comes to ruining my life."
"Believe me, mio dolce, being married to me isn't going to ruin your life. However, I have a certain reputation that needs to remain intact. You need to behave, Evelyn. I'm going along with this sham of a marriage because it allows my Family to recover from my father's setback. For a while, we weren't sure he was going to recover at all."
"I'm sorry about your father, Alessandro."
Oh, the way my name comes off her lips makes me think about the many ways I can come off her lips. Shit. I'm not supposed to like this, her, or the idea of her becoming my wife. She's a distraction, a weakness. If I enjoy any minute of this, Evelyn is going to be a target for anyone looking to cripple the De Luca Family. We can't risk another blow when it already feels like someone has targets on our backs. I have to keep my head on straight and my other head flaccid.
She doesn't deserve my ire. I nod, accepting her sympathy. "Thank you. Are you going to marry me or not?"
"Do we have to go through all of this? Why can't we just say we're married?" she asks, shaking her head with her eyes locked onto the door.
"We should because if we announce it and it comes out that the marriage isn't real, can you imagine the blowback? People need to believe we were so in love that we rushed into this church to have Father Andrews marry us. I'll make sure no harm comes to you or your family during this treaty. I have more pull than the Rossis right now, anyway."
"How do you figure that?" The insult to her pride flashes across her eyes.
"Mio dolce, my father is sick, not dead. There are no rats on our side of this. We don't have any politicians on the run after beating a bunch of charges. Charges which he buried his wife under. Your vineyard is drowning. I have friends in places La Familia would never go and could never be allowed to enter. Behave, Evelyn, and I will keep you all safe."
"What if I don't? Behave?" she asks. The challenge in her tone tells me she's ready to throw her life away to simply not be held down or back.
"If you don't, Evelyn, then your behavior as this spoiled fucking brat is going to end your Family. No additional protection for your sister, and we let the Montegnas ruin your organization. You'll take what's being given to you and hope you have your lives in-fucking-tact by the end of this shit."
"This isn't a treaty. It's a hostile fucking takeover."
"Better me than dealing with Don Montegna, mio dolce."
"There's nothing sweet about any of this. Stop calling me that," she hisses. Again, cute.
