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“I’m going to earn that right to fuck you…and be your husband in every way.” I walked back into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it because my self-control was fraying and it wouldn’t take much from Bianca to make it snap.

Time for a cold shower.

Chapter

Eighteen

Bianca

Two days passed after the club fire. Everyone was on edge. I saw Sandro for a few hours yesterday and he hadn’t come home overnight. I hadn’t seen Divina since then either. If Tommy turned on Sandro, Divina would, too. If that happened, Gian would become boss.

There was nothing else for me to do. I could only organize the kitchen so much. We had enough groceries. The house was clean. I didn’t feel like walking the property. I could feel Sandro’s men were split about blaming me for the club fire. At least Sticks kept them in check, and Miller still smiled at me.

It was midmorning, and I was moping over coffee. What freaking timing. Everyone was turning against him just when I was coming around to being married to him. And if staying married to him meant he had to remain boss, then I wanted him to succeed. He didn’t spell it out to me, but it was the only way.

The pressure would be off Tommy. That would make Divina happy, but would Tommy be fine with it?

The sound of car doors slamming reached my ears. It was faint, but I also heard voices. Sandro? My heart raced and I rushed to the foyer. It rattled against my rib cage when Raffa and Griselda walked in.

Again?

The same men in suits who were with him the other evening flanked Raffa’s sides. An older gentleman in spectacles, wearing a button-down shirt and khakis, was with them. The fact that he looked nervous fueled my swelling anxiety. I recognized him as the mob doctor who tended to Renz.

But what worried me was the absence of Sticks and Miller.

With difficulty, I pushed the words out of my mouth. “Is Sandro okay?” Was he hurt and they were bringing him here to be treated? My secondary concern was if they were coming to pick me up becausehewas dead.Please, oh please, let Sandro be all right.

“Sandro is fine,” Raffa said.

I glared at Griselda. “You can’t be here without my invitation, remember?”

Her malicious smile made my throat tighten. “Where’s Sticks?”

One of Raffa’s guards grinned, revealing a gold tooth. He also had a scar across his right eye. “He’s takin’ a nap.”

“What did you do to him?” I shrieked. Fear compounded with anger propelled me forward. “What is this all about?”

“I think I’m getting the wrong end of the bargain. Sandro’s not close to fulfilling the requirements of your marriage.”

“Is this about consummating the marriage again?” I snapped, but I was glaring at Griselda because, for whatever reason, she appointed herself as my tormentor. She was the instigator who started this whole drama. “Well, I’m sorry to inform you I’m not a virgin and we don’t have a bloody sheet to prove it to you!”

Raffa sneered. “Such a shame, really. I didn’t think about that when I agreed to Sandro’s terms.”

“He’s trying hard to help this family survive. And if you’re going to blame him for the club fire, then blame Gian for starting this clusterfuck.”

“You were the one who gatecrashed the Rossi gathering,” Griselda snapped.

I glared at the gold-toothed soldier who prevented me from shoving Griselda out the door. “Get out of my way. I don’t know what you did?—”

I never finished my sentence. Gold Tooth and another soldier grabbed hold of my arms and started hauling me farther into the house.

“Are you nuts?” I struggled, stumbled, and slammed into the console table. The vase of sunflowers crashed onto the marble floor. This time, their merry faces did nothing to quell the insidious dread inside me.

And as my feet dragged across the floor, I watched Griselda crush their beautiful blooms under her heels.

“Get your hands off me!” I screamed again. The desire to claw at Griselda’s smug face warred with my worry about Sandro and his men.

Gold Tooth stopped and whispered in my ear, “It gives me great pleasure to have my hands on you. I want to do more, just like what your husband did to my eye.”