next appointment isn’t for another thirty minutes.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t bother knocking and waltz into his office. Dropping his half-eaten sandwich onto the wrapper, he dusts his hands off and rises to his feet.
“Jamila, I wasn’t expecting you. Please, have a seat. What can I do for you?”
Taking a seat opposite of him, I cross my legs slowly.
“I caught your speech this morning, and I have a proposition for you,” I begin. “I feel I’m often misunderstood. My family’s rivalry with the Marocchi’s is long overdue to end. I grew tired of the fighting long ago.”
“As have many in Vita.”
“I agree. I’ve come to realise, I can’t bring peace on my own. However, if we were to form an alliance, it could still happen.”
His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t shoot me down. He’s intrigued.
He scoots forward in his chair. “Alliance? Do you not have any faith in the prophecy anymore?”
“If it hasn’t come true by now, surely I’m not alone in thinking it never will. Alliances are made in war all the time. If you and I were to unite, do you think it would be possible?”
I pose it as a question, hoping he comes to the same conclusion as me. Only, he leaves me disappointed.
“Unite how?”
“The people would have to see us as one. We’re stronger together than apart, and if we were to marry, that would be the leverage we’d need to bring peace.”
I smile to myself when he chokes on air, then coughs, trying to hide his surprise.
“You would marry me? For Vita?”
I try not to snap when I explain, “It wouldn’t be for love, Alexander. It would be an arrangement that benefits us both. It wouldn’t be the first time a marriage has developed from a business connection, and it won’t be the last.” Rising from my chair, I straighten my jacket. “Take some time to think it over.”
He sits in silence as I walk across his office, glad to be getting out of here, when he says, “A marriage between us would show a united front, and I would be more than happy to reap the benefits it would bring. Come, sit, and we’ll discuss this further.”
Chapter Three
Raphael
My father would’ve sent soldiers to take out the mayor before the night was through at his audacity to threaten us. However, as I stand before my father’s grave, I foresee it would’ve been a mistake to act as he would have.
It would be sloppy.
Inhaling deeply on my cigarette, I flick the ashes over the grave. I have no respect for it, let alone his corpse lying beneath the dirt. I’m the one who took him out and paid for the extravagant funeral. The cost of his headstone alone is worth more than what most of the people of Vita earn in a decade.
Cristian steps up beside me and hands over a white and gold gilded envelope with my name handwritten across the front. It feels expensive. Ripping it open and pulling out the stiff card, I have to read it three times before I believe what I’m seeing.
I’ve never had to deal with her potentially getting married. She’s been alone for ten years, and quite frankly, I hadn’t thought of the possibility. But as I stand here, clutching the invitation to Jamila Camarco and Alexander Salvatore’s engagement party, I have to laugh.
“I didn’t think you’d find it funny, Cousin,” Cristian huffs. “Didn’t think she’d settle for Salvatore, either.”
“She’s not settling. She’s making moves.”
“Yeah, using her pussy. I thought she had more class.”
I would agree with my cousin if I didn’t know her so well. I’d put money on her keeping the mayor at arm’s length until their wedding night. Alexander will be so busy relishing in the attention of the people, he won’t look too hard at her reasons for keeping him out of her bed, or that she’s using him to keep Hell from raining down around her.
“What’s the plan now?”
“Nothing changes. We go after Salvatore when I make the call. And as far as Mila Camarco is concerned, she’s already dead.”
Throwing my cigarette butt to the ground, I head for my car.
“Is she, Cousin? Because you finally had her in your arms at the ball, and she’s still breathing.”
What the fuck is his problem?
Stopping, I turn to face him. “Would you have me escalate this war in a room full of citizens?”
Cristian looks away. “You haven’t given anyone orders regarding her for a long time, Raphe.”
Walking back across the grass in my handmade leather shoes, I