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“Besides, you’re not my dad.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Now, tell me where she is. This isn’t funny anymore.”
“Luxtyn, I assure you this is not a joke,” Angelo says as he stands. He holds his hand up to me like I’m an animal ready to attack and he’s doing his best to keep me at bay. I roll my eyes at the theatrics.
“You really want me to believe you’re a Mafia boss?”
“It’s not a matter of wanting you to believe me. It’s the truth, and the sooner you come to terms with it, the better.” Angelo’s voice comes across with an air of superiority, and I don’t like it.
My eyes narrow and I crinkle my brows as I drop my arms to my side, clenching my fists. “Where do you get off bossing me around like that?”
His dark eyes soften and he’s back to holding his hands up in defense. “I understand this is a lot, but your mother’s life is in danger. The sooner you come to terms with who you are and what’s going on here, the faster we can work at finding her.”
“Fine. You’re in theMafia. And what about you?” My eyes flicker to Matteo’s, and I’m immediately annoyed at how relaxed he looks. “You are too? What, you work for Angelo or something?”
He releases an amused scoff. “The fuck I do.”
That was expected. The way Angelo recoiled when Matteo reminded him of whose house he’s in already answered that question for me. I just wanted to hit a nerve. “Then what’s your role in all of this?”
Something flashes through Matteo’s eyes, but before he can answer, Enzo speaks. “Maybe we should hold off on bombarding her with more information. She looks like she’s on the verge of overloading. You’re going to end up causing her to pass out from overstimulation.”
That doesn’t deter him as he stands from the couch and stalks over until he’s directly in front of me, enveloping my senses in woody, earthy tones that contain a hint of spice. I would be intoxicated by it if I wasn’t in this ridiculous situation. “Your father and I made a business deal,” he says low,almost like a growl. “I get control of his port as long as I hold up my end of the bargain.”
“Matteo, I really think this should wait.”
Matteo holds his hand up to his brother, silencing him, while his eyes remain glued on mine. I want to look away, but it’s as if those dark-brown irises have captured me, locking me in place, making it impossible to look away. I want to ask him what his end of the bargain is, but I can’t seem to formulate the words.
“Go ahead. Ask me what my part of the deal is,” he urges, reading my mind.
“W-what is it?” My voice comes out barely above a whisper.
Matteo smiles something fierce. Something wicked. Putting his perfectly straight white teeth on display. I’d swoon over it if I knew no better. Whatever his part of the deal is, I’m not going to like it.
“You and I, Little Lux. We’re getting married.”
11
MATTEO
Luxtyn takes no more than two seconds to process what I said before attempting a right hook to my face, but knowing my girl here likes to play dirty with knives and shit, I’m a lot more on guard with her than I was before.
I catch her small fist in the air and give it a light squeeze, encouraging her to put it down. She finally does, then pulls her hand away from me and backs away, never taking her eyes off mine. The frustration wafts off her in waves.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she bites out. “We’renotgetting married.”
Raising a brow, I take a few predatory steps toward her, causing her to fall back into an armchair. I lean over her, placing a hand on each arm rest, caging her in. “Yes, we are. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up dead, and you really will never see your mother again.”
Luxtyn raises a brow, and it’s a shock when she doesn’t attempt to knee me in the balls while the threat to her life lingers in the air. “So, you’re going to kill me if I don’t marryyou? I didn’t realize you were so desperate to have a woman by your side,” she says. “Why do I even need you? Angelo can just help me find my mom.”
“Your dad can’t even trust the people closest to him. What makes you think he can find your mother on his own? You need resources, not to mention protection once they discover who you are. Two things I can easily provide.”
I continue to hover over her in the chair, not because I think she’ll run away, but because I relish being in her space. This girl might actually make having a wife. . . exciting.
There’s a thought I never thought I’d have.
“The police ... the police can help me. I’ll just go to them,” she says. The girl is eager to find a way out of this situation, but unfortunately for her, there aren’t any other ways.
“There are corrupt police all over this city, Luxtyn. You’re more than welcome to try that, but you’ll just put a bright-red fucking target on your back. You have ties to the Mafia now. They won’t be able to do shit for you.”
Her face pales, the pink from the fire in her cheeks disappearing as she takes in what I’m saying.
