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I can sense thebuthanging in the air like a threat, so I remain silent.

“But Alto has made some excellent counterpoints these past few weeks, and I’m beginning to think that your stunt is nothing more than that. A stunt.” Finally Santino looks at me. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong,” I reply confidently. “My move got us closer to the Falzone family than either you or Alto has managed. I’ve been invited into their home for dinner. I’m marrying their daughter. They’re basically signing everything over to me, to us, the second we’re married, so what’s the problem?”

“Little birds tell me that Enzo is planning on using the wedding tocrushus. I asked you to keep an eye on Jasmine. Has she mentioned anything along those lines?”

I shake my head. “No. She’s excited about the wedding.”

“Of course she is,” Santino scoffs. “She’s just a stupid girl.”

“Her mother as well. They seem to be celebrating things. They want this feud over and done with, and that’s finally on the horizon. Isn’t that what you want?”

Santino takes another slow drink. “What Iwantis power, Roman, did you forget?”

“No,” I reply tightly. “But I fail to see how this merger does anything but grant you more power.”

“You fail to see it because you’ve been blinded by some fucking pussy!” Santino suddenly slams his glass down onto the desk, sending a cascade of bourbon over his fingers. “I know Enzo. That prick is biding his time. He’s more shrewd than I am, and the little birdies tell me he plans to use this wedding to crush everything I have ever worked for.”

“Are these birdies Alto by any chance?”

“It doesn’t matter! What matters is that Alto seems to be the only one with this family’s best interests at heart.”

“How can you say that?” It’s challenging not to raise my voice. “After everything I’ve done? I’ve dedicated mylifeto you, father. I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked and more. Even this wedding is sacrificing my freedom foryou.”

“And yet you are blind to how Enzo will use this against me. I won’t sit by and let that bastard make the first move.”

I want to tell him that he’s wrong, that Enzo plans to do no such thing, but I have no confidence in my words. Jasmine hasn’t told me her father’s plans, the same way I never told her that my father ordered me to spy. Granted, my spying was minimal.

“Enzo has always been one step ahead, and that’s been so fucking infuriating. Even taking his shipping lanes didn’t put as much of a dent into his wealth and power as I needed it to. He just fucking…adapted. Well. No longer.” He raises his glass and drinks deeply.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to kill him. And his bitch wife too.”

“No!” The words slip out of me before I can stop them, and Santino’s eyes narrow.

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“Father, you have to see how much worse that would make everything. Enzo has incredible loyalty from his men and the people underneath him. If anything happens to them, you havethat to face, and Jasmine isn’t going to take that lying down. We’re so close to peace. Why risk rocking the boat when I almost have a ring on her finger?”

“Because I don’t want peace!” Santino’s lips press into a thin line. “I don’t want an amicable joining of families, don’t you see? I don’t want to end the feud, I want to fucking win it. I want that bastard dead, I want his daughter on her knees begging for mercy, and I want to absorb every fucking cent he has. And then it will be me on top with the vast wealth of the Falzone fortune inmybank account.”

No. No, this is wrong.

All my planning is unraveling like a spool of thread, and I have no doubt that Alto has a hand in this. “If you kick the hornet’s nest, it won’t be just the hornets that answer. Did you forget that the eyes of every family ten times the size of ours is watching this wedding?”

“I hadn’t forgotten.” Santino sets his empty glass down and adjusts his waistcoat. “They’re watching to see an amicable merging of power, and I’m going to show them a swift and vibrant takeover. I willshowthem that they can never take their eyes off me or they will be next.”

“You can’t do this.”

“Why? Sorry, did I miss when you became head of this family? Did I not read the memo where you were in charge?” He wrinkles his nose and scoffs sharply. “Are your feelings for that bitch clouding your judgement? Where is the killer I could send to do a job at the drop of a hat? The ruthless man who would do everything and anything for this family.”

“I’m still here!” Stepping forward, I clutch the back of the chair in front of me. “And I’mdoingwhat needs to be done rather than stirring up unnecessary aggression like fucking Alto. You know a plan like this crumbles the second Enzo gets a hint that you’re up to something.”

“And where would he get that hint?” Santino raises a brow. “Let me make myself crystal clear, Roman. This is how we move forward. I’m done playing nice, and I’m not going to sit around like a fucking turkey waiting for Enzo to kill me before I kill him. And quite frankly I don’t care for your thoughts. I only need one thing from you.”

“Father, this is insane! Don’t you see that any action destroys the engagement? These weeks and weeks of silence and ceasefire have been profitable for all of us. We’ll be back into a bloody war within the day!”