Page 42 of All Your Lies

“All business, I see.” He nods before sitting down and looking back at me. “My reach is growing, but so is yours. I have watched you acquire many territories and ports I had my eye on. Your father recently rescinded an agreement. I’m hoping to make a deal with you.”

“You aren’t taking over my territories or ports—” I say firmly and without hesitation. While I recognize the threat of his power and his reach, I won’t let him intimidate me. I’ve fought relentlessly for years to reach this point, and I refuse to let anyone rip away my hard-earned accomplishments.

He laughs as he sparks up a cigarette and inhales deeply. “Is he always this serious?” Alexander questions Vinny, who ignores him with a slight expression of contempt.

Alexander gazes back over at me. “I’m looking for more of a partnership.”

“I’m listening.”

“I will give you access to the ports I have and a percentage of the guns and drugs if I can have access to your ports.”

“What’s the catch?”

He laughs. “You Italians, always so serious. I would like to arrange a marriage to unite us.”

If he didn’t say it so seriously, I’d probably laugh because there’s no fucking way I’d unite us in that way.

“Isn’t Roman a little young to be married off?” I ask, referring to his half brother, who’s closer to my age than his.

His nose scrunches up, and he scoffs. “Roman still has his head up his ass in university. I’m talking about me. It’s time I settled down and made a family. I need a legitimate heir.”

The thought of him starting a family is unsettling. I’ve heard the whispers of the things they do in their secret society.

“I don’t believe an arranged marriage would work for me.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t want to be the reason for an innocent child to die.”

He’s quiet as he contemplates my words.

We might have our rules in the Mafia, but the secret society portion of the Bratva, The Void, is deplorable. If their firstborn is a girl, they kill her immediately. They see a firstborn female as weak and a stain on the family’s name. A female can only be born after the son, their heir, is born. No fucking way am I going to be involved in something like that. The Mafia would have killed Alexa if we had done things like that, and that thought disgusts me.

“Your father said your sister would be available before we severed ties.”

My skin crawls as my anger rises to the surface, and I’m tempted to kill my father the second I get back to the US. If I wasn’t so dead set on sticking to my plan, I would. He dangled Rosie in front of everyone like a piece of meat to see who would benefit him the most. It’s disgusting, and I’m tempted to speed up my plans so I can eliminate him sooner.

I shake my head. “My sister is already arranged to marry someone else.”

Vinny glances at me but dismisses it just as quickly. I really hope my hand won’t have to be forced into marrying her off to someone she doesn’t want.

“Pity,” Alexander says.

fourteen

Alexa

“Girl, you got packages at your door, and they’re kind of heavy,” Jenna yells from somewhere down the hall.

“I do?” I ask, jumping up from my bed.

“Yeah.” Jenna comes in with two matte-black packages topped with orange bows.

“What’s in them?”

“Fuck if I know. Let’s open them.”

I give her a pair of scissors and let her go to town. She’s far more interested than I am.