Page 6 of Coercion

But that wouldn’t do much for our alliance, would it now?

I grit my teeth, biting back the irritation and stare down at the screen in front of me, at the image of the woman who will soon be my wife. Only, she doesn’t look like a woman at all.

She looks young.

Too young.

Her dark hair hangs down in loose, natural waves. She’s not wearing any makeup. She looks the exact opposite of what I’d expect a Mafia Princess to be.

But it’s her eyes that get me; within those deep brown irises is a sadness that seems to swallow me whole. It’s like she’s never learnt how to smile, never felt an emotion akin to joy.

I’m not sure why it bothers me so much. I’m not sure why I care. Women are expendable, our women even more so. But then, all of us are in a way. This deal is proof of that fact. We all have our parts to play and it’s far better we remember that than let idiotic notions like sentimentality confuse things.

“How old is she?” I ask before I can stop myself. Up until now I’d never considered what age she was. But she barely looks like an adult. The t-shirt she’s wearing engulfs her body, but there’s no hint of a chest, no hint that she’s even fully past puberty.

“She’s legal.” Gunnar says.

“She’s twenty one. Just turned twenty one.” Levi smiles. “Like a fresh peach ready to be eaten.”

The way he says that makes my skin crawl. The way they both speak about her makes me feel something akin to fury.

My eyes drop back to the girl.

Twenty One? I’m over twice her age then.

Nico lets out a grunt before getting up. “A word.” He says into my ear and we exit the room, walking far enough that all the men lurking outside can’t hear.

“What do you think this is?” I ask because we can both sense something is up. No normal marriage pact would go like this. We wouldn’t simply be shown a picture, normally both families would meet, the bride and groom would meet too. That’s what I was expecting from today. That she would be here, that we’d exchange some pleasantries, some pretence at getting to know one another under everyone’s watchful gaze.

Nico shrugs. “He’s playing us but we know that. He wants to make us look bad so if this deal goes south he’s got mud to sling at us before the other families.”

I narrow my eyes, “You think he wants us to say no to the girl?”

Nico pauses. “He knows I won’t.” He says. “And what they’re offering is worth too much to say no.”

“She’s a child.” I state.

Nico shrugs. “You heard what they said, she’s twenty one. Besides you’re only marrying her. No one said anything about anything else.”

“Meaning?” I raise an eyebrow.

“She’ll be your wife in name only. Put on a show for the other families but in private keep your life separate.”

“Is that an order?”

He nods. “Yes. We don’t even know if the girl can be trusted. She’s a Holtz after all.”

I grunt back. Like that isn’t obvious. The girl is probably a snake, all primed to pass on any and all information about the Morelli Family and our doings.

I’ll have to watch what I say, watch how I act.

From the moment I put a ring on her finger I won’t be able to let my guard down for a second. I’m literally opening my home up to a potential enemy and inviting her inside. It’s reckless in the extreme, but then, Nico wants this, he wants this alliance. Who am I to deny him?

Nico walks away and I follow after him. It’s Gunnar who meets my eyes as we walk back in and I’m itching to wipe that look right of his face.

“We agree.” Nico says. “To all the terms. Preston and Ruby will marry.”

Ruby