His Stolen Bride - MINK Page 0,20

can have her.” Fernando shrugs. “But he must return Gianna to me.”

“Why? Is she needed at home?” I ask.

“She’s needed to be married.” Fernando’s sour smirk returns. “I’d gotten rid of the dead weight by marrying her to Giuseppe and now you, so I—”

“Old man.” I keep my tone even despite the rage pulsing through my veins. “Speak of her like that again, and there will be war.”

Fernando’s eyes dart to Cato. “You should keep your man on a tighter leash.”

“He’s not my man. He’s my ally. My equal. Any attack on him, any undermining of his position will be seen as a direct attack on the Davincis.”

“You would throw your lot in with a gutter snipe with no bloodline so boldly?” Fernando scoffs.

“See?” I smile coldly. “That’s better. Insult me, Fernando. I don’t mind. I’ll be dancing on your grave either way and burying the Carrera name right along with you.”

He shoots to his feet. “You dare insult me like this? After I’ve let you have my daughter?”

“You never deserved her. She was too good to be a Carrera.” I stand, too, the room going tense and hovering on the edge of a knife.

Cato is the only one still seated, though I know his hand rests on a hidden blade. “New family alliances can be so fraught, don’t you think?” He sighs. “At least I can say one thing for it. This place will soon be wiped clean of Giuseppe’s terrible taste.” He grimaces at the portrait above the fireplace. It’s of Giuseppe in a bullfighter’s costume, and the artist made him a good foot taller than he was in life, as well as ten years younger.

Fernando’s gaze travels to the portrait. He snorts, then belts a laugh as he re-takes his seat. His men stow their weapons and relax as their boss simmers down. He wipes at his eyes and points at Cato. “You should take that one home with you. Put it in the little one’s closet and threaten him with it if he’s bad.”

Cato smiles. “Appolonia is scary enough. My lioness keeps everyone in line. Including me.”

Fernando laughs again. “Oh, women. They can do that, no?” He settles and turns back to me as I sit. “Listen, my newest son. You have a Carrera bride, and it is your right to claim her as a Baldoni. I understand. I did the same with my wife. But you can’t erase the bloodline that will lead to strong, powerful children for you. Bella is a Carrera as much as a Baldoni.”

“She is Baldoni.” I nod. “And she comes from a great line. I don’t disagree. But any alliance between Baldoni and Carrera necessarily takes a back seat to my loyalty to Cato.”

“A loyalty that goes both ways,” Cato adds.

“This is the way it was meant to be.” Fernando sighs. “Brothers fighting for each other instead of against each other like we always seem to do. Cain and Abel, eh? Always the same story.”

“Ten percent.” I tap my index finger on the desk. “You take ten percent of whatever I bring in from Giuseppe’s shambles of an operation. But anything I build that’s new, that’s all mine.”

Fernando looks at Cato.

“You heard him.” Cato shrugs. “I back him in this.”

Fernando focuses on me again. “Thirty percent. Carreras built the operation that Giuseppe ran into the ground. Any less than thirty is an insult.”

“True, but you let him run it into the ground. Now I’ll have to spend my own capital to get it running again.” I lean back and do some quick math. “I’ll do fifteen percent. No more.”

Fernando chews this number over. His men tense again, their hands straying to their weapons. Lucenzo is in the hall, locked and loaded, and Cato and I have been in enough firefights and brawls to work as a seamless team. If Fernando balks, we’ll kill him and his men, then deal with the harsh repercussions from the other families.

Fernando shakes his head.

Fuck. I ease my hand to the hidden pistol under the desk drawer.

“I had no idea when I married off my Bella it would be to such a strong ally.” He stands and holds out his hands. “It’s a deal.”

14

Bella

“Talia. Please, I don’t think I can eat anymore,” I almost beg the cook.

She’s trying to fill my plate for the third time. Gianna laughs from beside me.

“Santino said you must eat more.” Talia, the resolute cook, drops another piece of biscottate onto my plate. She’s laid out a variety of breads