The Vatican - M.E. Clayton Page 0,9

Uncle Phoenix. But their word wasn’t the ones I really needed. I needed the word of the three men who hadn’t immediately agreed.

Assholes.

“Uncle Phoenix?” I prodded.

It took him a while, but he finally got the words out. “You have my word, Francisco.” I knew it was costing him. He loved Saveria devotedly. If she were unhappy, then that meant Aunt Frankie would be unhappy, and Uncle Phoenix didn’t fuck around when it came to his wife’s happiness.

I looked over at Uncle Ciro. “Uncle Ciro?”

He looked even less pleased about having to butt out of my marriage, but he, too, finally relented. “You have my word. Though, if you hurt her…”

I gave him a tight nod. “Understood. But hurting her and pissing her off are two different things,” I replied. “I know she’s not spoiled like Cira, but Saveria is also not going to just roll over on this. I don’t need you guys agreeing to some back-alley compromises with her behind my back.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

I finally looked over at Dad. “Dad?”

I saw it in his eyes. He didn’t want to give me his word when he couldn’t promise he’d keep it. If Saveria went crying to him, he was going to struggle with not giving in. However, I knew if he gave his word, he’d keep it at all costs. Only, this time, it might cost him everything he held dear.

After what felt like forever, Dad finally gave me a tight nod of acquiesce. “You have my word, Francisco,” he said. “But, now, I’ll have your word that you will do everything you can to make this work.” His black eyes narrowed, and he looked every bit The Father of Morgan City. “I want your word that, no matter how difficult it gets, you will never humiliate that girl by mistreating her.”

We all knew what he was talking about. While a lot of Capos and members of the organization cheated on their wives or kept mistresses, my father and uncles have never strayed, nor would they ever. Their devotion to their wives was absolute, and they’ve done their best to set the example. I may have fucked my way through a few regulars at The Sapphire, but that was only because they said I couldn’t have Saveria yet.

I gave him the answer all the men in the room wanted to hear.

I gave him the truth.

“Do you honestly believe I would cheat on the woman I love?”

Chapter 5

Saveria~

Staring into the mirror, I wondered if I was trying to force this.

I liked Geno, and he was checking all the boxes, but as I stared at myself in the mirror, feeling like putting on lipstick would be too much of a hassle, I wondered how much did I like Geno, or how much did I like the idea of him.

Or maybe I just missed sex.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship long enough to have sex with the man, and maybe that’s what I was craving. And, while I’ve been in relationships serious enough to have sex, Geno’s the first man I’ve ever had over at my apartment.

I lived in a Benetti building that was made up of four floors: two apartments on each floor, one occupied by one of us kids and the other by our guard. Mica lived across from me, but he was never intrusive. I lived on the top floor, with Dante below me, Mattia below him, and Angelo on the first floor. It was set up that way because, as one of the Benetti princes, Angelo was expected to protect the rest of us. Our security was topnotch, so there wasn’t any real fear that something would happen, but Aunt Remy had raised her boys to be protective and know their roles at a young age. Aunt Remy was head of our family security, and she took that shit serious.

And in that spirit, I rarely ever had anyone over to my apartment who wasn’t family. We all were very careful about our personal space. No one wanted to send Aunt Remy into a fit because she could be scarier than Uncle Luca if she was pushed, and nothing pushed her like our safety. But I still felt like Geno had the makings of someone who could handle my family, so I really wanted to give this a shot.

And, though he’s not been vetted by the family, Mica had done a background check on him as soon as I met him the night at The