Taken_ A Dark Mafia Romance - Piper Stone Page 0,77

she finally stopped walking, turning to face me. “You are very astute.”

“If what you said is true about my father and this Taglioni mafia family, what hold could they have on him? As far as I know, my father isn’t high on the list of important men within the sect, other than his connection to true blue blood and the reported ties to the Irish mob.”

I lifted an eyebrow, laughing. “You heard about the mob factor, huh?”

“I might have tried to push away from the family life, but I’m not stupid. From what I overheard years before, there is some tethering but by distant family only. He actually made fun of having a mobster as a family member to whoever he was talking to. I still don’t get it.”

She’d paid much more attention to sect business than I’d realized. “I don’t have all the answers, although I am going to find them out. What I do know is that your father has far too many connections to individuals that have created difficulties within the sect, including Senator Bellows, who was at the party.”

“I know him. He was one of my father’s closest friends. A real asshole if you ask me.”

“Was?” I asked, the news more than interesting.

She nodded. “They had some sort of a falling out, which is why I was surprised to see him at the great engagement party. Why?”

“The senator is investigating the sect. While he’s not well liked in the world of politicians, a break like this could jumpstart his career.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He always said he wanted to be in the White House.”

I studied her face, the way she’d moved from fury to resignation and finally to another emotion altogether. I could see actual love in her eyes. What also struck me was her comment about the White House. The good senator couldn’t make his way there if the sect remained in power.

“What are you planning on doing, Matteo?” she asked with such concern in her voice that all I wanted to do was tell her the truth.

“I’m going to flush out who’s responsible for threatening your father as well as planning on taking down the sect.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“My mother used to say that if you want to know the truth, you go to the source of the evil.”

“The senator?”

I laughed as I took both her hands in mine. “Eventually. I have a pit stop to make first when we return.”

“And you’re not going to tell me where, are you?”

“I will. Eventually. You have to trust me. I hope you feel you can.”

Winter shifted her gaze toward the ocean, her mouth pursed. “The truth is that for some crazy reason I do. I might not understand everything that’s going on or what level of power the sect has, but I do believe you want things to be different. For your family. For yourself. For us.” When she turned to look at me, there were tears in her eyes. “I do adore you, Matteo.”

I kept my grip firm, pulling her even closer. “While I realize you don’t know me, you’ve come to mean more to me than I would have dared believe. It’s not just about our amazing connection or the passion that explodes between us. The way I feel is all about the woman standing in front of me.”

“And how do you feel?”

When I took a deliberate step backwards, allowing her hands to fall, I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing. My eyes never leaving her, I reached into my pocket, pulling out the small box before kneeling on the sand.

“What are you doing?” She pressed her shaking hand over her mouth, gasping when I opened the lid.

“Winter O’Brien, I do love you and I don’t expect you to love me in return, but I hope you can one day. You are an incredible light to the darkness I’ve fallen into and you’re right, living means taking chances. We have no idea what the future brings, but maybe taking a leap of faith is necessary.” I heard the anguished tone in my voice and hated myself for it. “Life is what you make of it, something I’m learning from you. I would love to have the honor of you becoming my wife. Not because of the sect or the requirements of the Box, but because you know in your heart that we will share an amazing life. I won’t promise you the world, but I will