The Rocchetti Queen - Bree Porter Page 0,3

that, he didn’t have to say.

I nodded, piling up my plate. "I've been thinking of ways to get rid of him and replace him with Salisbury. Unfortunately, I never paid attention in Social Studies, so I've come up with nothing."

"We could always kill him," Alessandro said casually.

"No. Then his deputy would take over. She doesn't seem to be sympathetic to our cause either." I passed Alessandro a small loaf of bread and we left the buffet table.

Alessandro found us a spot on the couch to sit—well, by 'found', I mean, he gave the previous guests a foul look and they quickly scurried away. My husband balanced his plate on his knee, even making such a domestic act look threatening...and sexy.

I cringed at my rising lust. Sex was off the table for six weeks—doctor's orders! But the countdown had caused a few small anxieties to rise up in me. I knew, in the sane part of my mind, that Alessandro wouldn't be bothered by the stretch marks that Dante had left. Yet still...the nagging thought refused to leave me.

Pregnancy and childbirth had struck a major blow to my vanity. And though Dante was the beacon of my life, my body felt...as if it wasn't my own anymore. My hips and stomach and breasts were unrecognizable. No longer belonging solely to me.

Perhaps it never had been. But I had been happy living under the fantasy that it was.

"What's with the strange look?" Alessandro asked me, his rough voice cutting through my self-pity.

"Nothing." I smiled at him. "Just tired."

Before Alessandro could say anything else, his father came stomping over. Beautiful Aisling followed, her eyes meeting mine and brightening in greeting. The redness of her hair was striking against the black dress she wore, making her stand out among the brunettes and blondes.

Toto the Terrible looked mad. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Your brother is getting on my last nerve," hissed Toto. Aisling arrived by his side, seeming unconcerned with his anger. "Kissing up to a politician?"

"Heinous," Alessandro replied.

Toto shoved his hands into his pockets, practically shaking with annoyance. "When I was a boy, politicians slavered over the Outfit. Where do they think all the fucking money comes from? Big business? Fucking, please."

"They're all corrupt bastards," Alessandro agreed. "But this one has a relationship with the FBI."

A sliver of delight passed over Toto's face. He looked over to Salvatore Jr and Mayor Ericson. "That won't end well." He seemed almost too pleased about that fact. His head snapped back to us, most of his attention falling to me. "Where did my father stash Salvatore’s girl?"

There was only one Salvatore’s girl nowadays. Adelasia di Traglia, who was currently pregnant with my brother-in-law's baby and in an undisclosed location.

We had already sent Nero to hunt for her, and though he insisted he could extend the search across the country, the results had not been very promising. Wherever Don Piero had hidden Adelasia and the newest Rocchetti had been a secret he’d taken to the grave.

"We will find her," I replied.

Toto huffed. "I doubt it. My father was good at hiding things." His eyes skittered to the roof, liking he was peering through the plaster and insulation, trying to see his mother. "What will we do with the bastard?"

Aisling looked to Toto. "Will they not be regarded the same as Beppe?"

Beppe, of course, was a Rocchetti, son of Enrico and an unnamed woman. But his lack of legitimacy meant he could never be a 'real' member of the Rocchetti family. As far as lives of bastards went, Beppe had a good life in the Outfit, but my heart did still ache for him.

"I think Salvatore might drown it," Toto said. He made an effort not to look at Aisling as he said this.

"Is that your twisted way of expressing some concern?" I inquired, not really wanting to discuss infanticide over my lasagna.

Alessandro seemed to agree with me. "It will be up to the Don what happens to the child."

Whoever took up the mantle next...

My gaze moved over the room, picking up on all the viable candidates. It would be a Rocchetti—there was no doubt about it. But who?

I felt like the host for a gameshow, lining up all the contestants and judging their strengths and weaknesses.

Carlos Sr was too old and Carlos Jr too weak. Santino was too young, and Roberto was too boring.

It would come down to four men: Toto the Terrible, firstborn and respected member of the Outfit;