Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
I nod and swallow the lump in my throat. “True.”
“Be careful, love,” Rosa says. She brushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear. When I look at her, I suddenly see the lines around her eyes. She’s getting older. We all are.
“He just… shuts down,” I say softly. “He… doesn’t seem like he wants to hurt me, but at the same time, how could I not be hurt if he’s telling me one thing but his actions don’t jive with his words?”
She sighs. “Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do. You’re bound to him by vows and family obligation. You should never allow him to abuse you, and you should never allow yourself to be taken advantage of. You know if either of those things happen, you call Romeo. You call any of us.”
“Right.” My stomach plummets. “He doesn’t, though, Rosa.”
How can I tell her how much I love the way he is with me? All protective. When he talks to me, I feel like I’m the center of his world. When he looks at me, I know I am.
I can’t tell Rosa any of this. I’m not sure what I can.
Maybe abusive or unfaithful men pull the wool over the eyes of their lovers. But Salvatore’s the type not to hide who he is or what he does. He’s never pretended to be a good man.
Mario and Tavi saunter out to see us, each with a drink in hand. “You did good, little sister,” Mario says with a grin. “You did real good.”
Tavi’s less effusive than Mario, but his eyes still twinkle at me just the same. I open my mouth to respond when Mario’s phone rings. He turns away from us and glances at the screen. “Gloria,” he says with a wink. Gloria, his wife, works for us as one of the private investigators. My heart gives a little twinge. I miss all of them.
We look away to give him privacy, but when Mario stiffens we can’t help but listen.
“Are you serious? Are you sure, babe? You can’t make an accusation like that without… okay, okay. Yeah. I will.”
He’s white as a ghost as he bends his head toward me. “Stay very calm. No sudden movements. Gloria’s sending me texts she wants me to look at with you. She says it’s urgent, and she’s asking Romeo to get our guards and our car now.”
A cold chill runs down my spine. I look around for Salvatore, his cousin, my mother-in-law, but none are anywhere near here.
What?
I stare as his phone vibrates with messages from Gloria.
It takes me a second to realize what I’m seeing, and when I do, it takes all of my self-control to keep myself in check. “Oh, so cute,” I say, pretending I’m seeing adorable puppies or one of my nieces or nephews in case anyone is spying on us.
A picture of the blonde woman I rescued in the shop fills the screen. She’s sitting with Salvatore at a bar.
Mario swipes.
She’s with Cristiano.
Agnesia.
He shakes his head.
Salvatore, pushing an envelope toward her and looking over his shoulder.
Those could mean anything. That could’ve happened before—
Another text from Gloria.
The picture with Capo happened one hour after Marialena “rescued” the blonde. The pictures with the others were the next day when they initiated her payout. Her name is Penny Marcioni. She’s a well-known con artist hired by his family. Marialena was set up.
I look up at Mario and blink. His face is a mask, unreadable. His phone beeps again, and we both look down.
She’s in grave danger. GET HER OUT OF THERE NOW.
My heart plummets. All of it was a lie. He set me up. I’m so naïve, I believed he actually loved me.
“Let me get my things,” I whisper.
“We have no time, Marialena,” Rosa whispers back. “We’ll bring our car around. We have to leave now, before Romeo goes after him. God, he’ll start a war…”
“Good,” I say between clenched teeth. I hated Cristiano and Agnesia, now I hate the whole family, all of them, and their underhanded, conniving, betraying ways.
“Not good. You don’t know what you’re saying,” she whispers. “Trust me, it’s never good when two families war. Innocent people will die.”
My throat tightens. Rosa sees the look on my face and hers falls as she drapes an arm around me.
“It’ll be okay. Trust me. It hurts now, but it’ll be okay.” It worked out for her because she ended up with Santo in the end. But me? I thought I loved him. I gave my virginity to him. I gave my heart to him.
I nod and try to put on a brave face but can’t stop the tears from falling. I swipe at them angrily. I have no time to cry. There will be time for that later.
Rosa takes my hand and tugs me along. I hold my head high, pretending that nothing’s wrong. I smile at those we pass, doing everything in my power not to betray that I’m heartbroken, hurt, and angry.