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PROLOGUE: LUCA
Two Weeks Ago
One lesson my father taught me when he was preparing me to take over as the Don of the Conte Family in Italy was that it was better and easier to ask for what you wanted than to simply take it.
Another tip he gave me was that politeness and charm made it easier to get what you want over threats and brute force. Not that he nor I weren't willing to kill for what we wanted, but such actions are messy and best avoided if they’re not necessary.
The third lesson my father instilled in me was to always honor tradition.
Today, these lessons seem sexist and old-fashioned, but the Mafia is deeply rooted in those antiquated traditions.
I remind myself of these teachings as I stand before Don Niko Leone. He leans against Donovan Ricci’s desk while the ladies have a baby shower in Donovan’s back yard.
I like Niko and have a good working relationship with him. Killing him for what I want would not only be messy, but problematic. He is the single most powerful Don in New York. Hell, on the entire East Coast of the United States.
Not that I’m afraid of him. I’m powerful in my own right, even if I live an ocean away in Italy. But I'm not interested in waging a war if I can avoid it. Even so, make no mistake, I will get what I want from him one way or the other. And what I want is Niko’s sister, Aria Leone.
I am hopeful that Niko will be reasonable, although he's known to be a hothead, and he doesn't stick to tradition as much as other Mafia Dons. I hope the latter facet of him will be to my advantage. But the way he crosses his arms and scowls at me suggests that he knows why I'm here and he doesn't like it.
I start by offering him the respect he deserves. "I appreciate the face-to-face meeting, Don Leone."
"If this is about Aria —"
"I've come out of respect to ask for her hand in marriage."
Niko's brows arch in surprise, and I'm wondering what he thought I was going to ask. Sure, my father bought Niko’s sister-in-law, Lucia Fiori, from her father, so I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility that I am looking at a similar arrangement.
But Aria isn’t a woman a man buys like a side of beef. It’s out of respect for her, not Niko, that I’m here asking for her hand.
From the moment I met her, I've known she is the one to be the queen of my Family.
It isn't just that she's a Mafia princess. It's not that she's obscenely beautiful and has a body that has ignited my fantasies. A body I have yet to touch anywhere except in my dreams.
It's not even that I know she understands our world and will be able to navigate it easily. It's her vibrant personality, her adventurous spirit. She's intelligent, although her sheltered life has made her slightly innocent of the world.
"Is she pregnant?" Niko asks.
His question offends me, not so much for me, but for Aria. "I respect you more than that, Don Leone. I have not touched her." Not that I don’t want to. Not that I haven't had opportunities. But it’s been clear to me that I need to play my hand right and treat her and her brother with the respect expected by Mafia Dons.
"I appreciate your showing me respect by coming in officially and making your offer?—"
"But I haven't made my offer yet." I know we need to negotiate the arrangement. I must offer something to him in return for Aria's hand. To be honest, I feel I’ve already paid and Niko owes me. Niko has his happy home, as does his best friend, Donovan Ricci, because of my assistance in his war against Tiberius Abate and Giovanni Fiori, both of whom are now dead.
Plus, I would've been well within my right to force Lucia to come back to Italy with me. I promised my father that I’d take care of her when he died. Hell, I could've forced her to marry me, despite the fact that she had been married to my father.
As creepy as that sounds, my father never consummated the marriage. He and Lucia grew to love each other, but the marriage was completely platonic. My father had been too sick by the time he married her to have more than that.
My decision to let Lucia stay wasn't completely out of the kindness of my heart because I could see an alliance with Niko and Donovan would be beneficial to my black-market import-export business. But it had been knowing that Lucia had finally found happiness away from that fucking father of hers that persuaded me to let her stay. As such, I have already given more in this relationship with Niko than he's given me.
Even so, I'm prepared to offer him access to our black market trade into New York. There’s no price I won’t pay to make Aria Leone mine.
Niko holds up his hand to stop me. "There is nothing that you can offer me that will have me agreeing to your marrying my sister."
Anger simmers in my gut as his words feel disrespectful. He may be the most powerful Don in the eastern United States, but I am equally as powerful, if not more so.
The Mafia was born and bred in Italy. Niko Leone exists because of what my ancestors created. He isn't the only Don I have ties to in the United States. I know other Dons who would be eager to see Niko taken down a peg or two, or out altogether.
"I believe you owe me more resp?—"
