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Nico’s right. Why wait? I’m not marrying Nico for love. I’m marrying him to kill him. The sooner we’re marred, and the sooner he starts to trust me, the better.
“All right,” I say. “Let’s get married.”
Once I’m in the car and Nico shuts the door, I know I’m trapped. Once I legally marry Nico, I will be his forever. The reality of that is terrifying. He’s a stranger to me. The man who killed my father. Supposedly. We never got proof about that, but Beatrice is insistent it’s Nico, and I have to believe her. Someone murdered my father. If I can find out the truth that it really was Nico, I won’t hesitate to kill him.
Nico drives us to the end of the driveway, which is blocked by a large, metal gate that opens with a code. I don’t know the code. These are things I need to learn if I’m going to kill Nico and escape.
Even though we don’t have a guard with us, a car follows us. Looking behind me, I recognize Enzo in the driver’s seat.
“You’re always with a guard?” I ask.
“Yes. In my line of work, you can never be too careful.”
“And what exactly is your line of work?”
Nico slants his eyes at me as a slow smile spreads across his face. “I think you know. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
“My father was a business man. Not … not the Mafia,” I whisper. Might as well put it out in the open.
“Well, once you marry me, you’ll be a part of the Mafia, too.”
I was always a part of the Mafia, just without realizing it. My father kept me sheltered, but since his death, I’ve been squarely planted in the world of the Mafia, even though it wasn’t my choice.
“Are you always guarded?”
“Why do you ask?”
“It just seems tiring. Having people around you all the time.” Sweat begins to build in my armpits. I can’t ask too many questions, but I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut.
“We’ll have privacy once we’re married. Don’t worry. But there’ll always be a guard stationed outside our bedroom. I never want to be taken by surprise.”
Like marrying me—a stranger who wants to kill you.
“You trust me?” I ask.
He chuckles. “No. I don’t trust anyone. But I’m not afraid of a tiny woman. Besides, if you tried anything, my guards would kill you in a heartbeat. No one is that stupid.”
My panic spikes. Is he on to me? “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Glad to hear it.”
I settle in my seat and force my mouth closed, lest I spill the beans on my entire mission.
It’s strange to be driving to my wedding. Everything with Nico is … clinical. There’s no love between us. This is a marriage of practicality. He wants a wife, and he wants me. Simple as that.
“Why did you choose me?”
Nico doesn’t look at me as he answers. “Because you remind me of myself. You have a fighting spirit, I can tell. It’s attractive.”
“You didn’t even speak to all the women. Maybe one of them could have been your wife.”
“No. I know what I want, and I don’t waste time in getting it. I liked what I saw in you, Aurora. There was no point in talking to the other women.”
A man as brutally honest as Nico is terrifying. The reason? There’s no hiding with him, which is a problem because I have to hide who I really am.
Nico pulls up to a church—it’s grand and very catholic.
“I don’t have a wedding dress.” I’m in a simple blue summer dress. Nothing flashy but still feminine.
