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“Why?”

“He found out that Luca was my sponsor to fast-track the made-man ceremony with the commission so I could marry you.”

“And Dom?”

“Dom is sending every De Lucci soldier into our territory.”

“He’s not supposed to do that.”

“He’s straddling the line for sure. Intimidation without confrontation.”

“And?”

He hitched his shoulders as though saying it was as he expected. “Tensions are high.”

One wrong trigger and there would be an all-out war. But both families wouldn’t want that. The commission would come down on their heads if it caught the attention of the public.

I walked to the fridge to get water. “Want another beer?”

“Sure.”

“Is there any other way I can see my family sooner? I mean, even talk to them. See them over FaceTime. They just need to know I’m okay.”

I popped the cap off his beer and handed it to him. Sandro was already shaking his head before I finished my sentence.

“I saw Raffa briefly today,” he said. “He’s enjoying Cesar’s suffering.”

Too late, Sandro realized he said the wrong thing because he must have seen the expression change on my face before I realized my whole body had locked up in fury. Any effort to be on the same page, same line, same word disintegrated.

He quickly blanked his expression.

That pissed me off further.

“Bastard,” I managed to get out.

“You need to hold your temper around him, Bianca.”

“Why?”

“What did I tell you earlier?”

“You have no choice but to kill a man if he insults me.”

“Exactly that.”

At first, I thought it was endearing how Sandro was so protective of me, but an uglier conclusion was taking form, especially in light of Dad’s suffering. My dad, who’d done nothing but want what was best for me, was suffering at the hands of the Blind Don, who was using me to fuel his revenge. “Is that your way of keeping me in line?”

“If you think I’d manipulate you that way, then I’m disappointed with you.”

His words sliced into my already ragged heart. My mouth curled in anger. There was no remorse on his face to soften the blow. He’d become a stranger once again. He was always going to be one of them.

“Well, fuck you, Alessandro Rossi, and fuck this marriage. Imagine how disappointed I am in you!”

His face hardened even more. A muscle in his jaw jumped before he took a swig of beer.

I couldn’t stand to be around him. Fuck him. Fuck the Rossi crime family. Fuck them all to hell.

“I’m going to my room. I can’t stand your company.”