Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,384

it?” Romero asked in a low voice. I wished I could see his face to get a hint about his emotions. He sounded as emotionless as I had.

“Benito Brasci. You probably don’t know him, but—”

Romero interrupted me. “I know him. I met him during a gathering last year.”

“Oh,” I said, then waited but again Romero was silent. Why was he so calm? Didn’t he care that I was going to marry another man? Maybe this had always been a distraction for him. Maybe he’d never intended for us to have more than…what? An affair? I felt dirty just thinking about it. “He’s much older than me.”

“I know.”

Of course Romero knew but I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“I thought,” I said hesitantly. “I thought we could…”

I didn’t dare utter the words.

“You thought we could what?”

I closed my eyes. “I thought we could run away together.” I cringed when the words had left my mouth. Could I sound any more pathetic and naïve?

“That would mean war between the Outfit and New York.”

He said it matter-of-factly, like it had absolutely nothing to do with him. I hadn’t thought of that but of course that would be the first thing that crossed Romero’s mind. The Famiglia always came first.

I’d been stupid. Mother had always warned me that men promised you the world if they wanted something from you. Romero had been kind and loving, and I’d given him everything in turn. My body, my heart, every little thing I could give. I’d given it gladly and I didn’t want to feel regret over a single thing, but it was hard.

I bit my lip, suddenly on the verge of crying. I could feel the floodgates open. It wouldn’t be long now. “You’re right,” I croaked. “I—” I choked and quickly hung up. Then I hid the phone in my travel bag again and curled up on my bed, letting sobs wrack my body until my muscles hurt, until my throat hurt, until everything hurt, but nothing as much as my heart. Was this it? The end of every dream I had?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Romero

I stared at my phone. What the fuck was Scuderi thinking? I’d wanted to kill him so often in the past, now I wished I’d done it.

Nino came out of the meeting room and put a cigarette into his mouth. That guy grated on my fucking nerves. “Why the long face? Get yourself a nice long blowjob from one of the girls. That always puts a smile on my face.”

I stormed toward him, gripped him by the collar and flung him against the wall. His head smashed against it and he dropped his stupid cigarette. “What the fuck, you asshole! Let me go!” he screamed like a fucking pussy.

I punched him in the stomach twice and he dropped to his knees. God, I wanted to fucking kill someone. I didn’t even care whom. I hit him over and over again.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Luca growled. He gripped my arms and pulled them behind my back. “Romero, what the hell are you doing? Calm the fuck down.”

I relaxed in his hold and took a deep breath.

Matteo knelt beside Nino who was bleeding from a wound on his head and from his nose. I hadn’t even realized I’d hit him in the face too. Aria joined us after a moment. Since she’d started working the books of the clubs, she was here quite often. She gave me a questioning look, then worry twisted her face.

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard,” Nino snarled. I’d love to see him try.

Matteo helped him to his feet. “You won’t do anything. Go inside and have someone stitch up your head.”

Nino staggered off, but not without sending me a death glare. As if I gave a fuck. Let him try to kill me. I’d wipe the fucking floor with his weak ass.

“Did something happen with Lily?” Aria asked fearfully, walking up to me.

“You can let me go now,” I told Luca. He did and stepped back, his narrowed eyes flitting between his wife and me.

“Why would Romero know if something was wrong with Lily?” he asked carefully.

Aria didn’t say anything, only looked at me, her eyes reflecting the fear that had settled in the pit of my stomach. Maybe I should have been worried that Luca might find out, but I didn’t give a shit about that either.

“Your father has arranged a marriage with Benito Brasci for her,” I said in a low voice.

Aria gasped. “What? He never