Page 54 of The Reaper's Bride

She nods again. “It’s been arranged.”

“How… This is madness, Frankie! Worse than that, it’s betrayal.”

“I’m not asking you to be involved.”

“You told me! How am I not involved? My husband would expect me to tell him this.”

Frankie starts to tremble, her eyes filling with tears. “I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you. Cat, please…”

“Why would you agree to help her? Doesn’t Sofia realize how much you risk agreeing to do this, the selfish girl?”

Not that I believe they’ll be successful. We’re always guarded when we’re out in public, and she’ll need more than a moment’s distraction to escape. New York may be enormous, but the Vicinis are all-powerful here and Sofia will be a girl alone, a caged bird with clipped wings trying to fly.

And that’s not what worries me most.

Once this plan is discovered, Sofia may be chastised. Her cage may shrink, and Carlo may be angry enough to clip her wings further for a time, but I suspect no real harm is likely to befall Silvio De Luca’s golden daughter.

Frankie, on the other hand, as the Rat’s Daughter has only a shred of the protection Sofia has enjoyed since birth. If she’s tarred with the word ‘betrayal,’ there will be no hope of any honorable marriage arrangement. Maybe no hope for Frankie at all.

“Don’t blame Sofia. It was my idea.”

“What?!”

“Carlo came to see me in Reno a couple of weeks ago, and I saw for myself how unhappy he will make Sofia.”

“What do you mean he came to see you-”

“Sofia called me soon after that, saying her father won’t let her out of the marriage. She was so heartbroken by Carlo cheating even though I knew it was stupid of her to expect more from one of our men. Theyallcheat. The Seconda just gives them a tradition to make it sound more palatable.” My mouth opens to disagree but Frankie carries on. “There’s something else I can’t tell you, too. Someone who has agreed to help us. Someone with connections.”

“Frankie!”

“Just trust me. I may be throwing away my chance to pursue my dreams, but I had a solution to offer her, one that might work, and I won’t let Carlo have her. Not if I can stop it.”

I study my dear friend shrewdly, wondering what kind of solution she envisions and what she refuses to share.

I also worry greatly over what to do about Alessio. He made me promise never to betray him, especially in matters involving the Trio in Las Vegas.

But, we’re in New York and Sofia is Carlo’s fiancée. He will be the jilted groom. What difference will that make to Vegas?

That excuse won’t cut it, I know. Sofia is a De Luca and, much as I want her to escape this marriage and this world if that's what will make her happy, I’m not sure it will work. Either way, it will reflect poorly on her family, including my husband.

“I think it’s best if I don’t know any details, Frankie,” I say at last, overwhelmed with apprehension for tomorrow.

“But you won’t say anything, will you?”

Slowly, I shake my head. I can’t tell on them… no matter how much I fear hurting my husband and my marriage by not doing so.

29

Alessio

A sleepless night leaves me dangerously edgy and having company makes this commercial flight an even bigger pain in the ass. Rocco, the pathetic pussy, has acted like a whipped dog since I kicked his ass and sent him back to Reno after my wedding, so it’s interesting to see him behaving more like his old cocky self around me. More than that even, he seemsamusedby something.

“I think a video would’ve been better than just the audio recording. I would’ve liked to have seen the whore’s tits bounce while he fucked her ass,” he says to his father while giving me a smarmy grin. “I’ll bet even the brother would get hard watching that and want to join in the-”

“Rocco,” Uncle Enzo growls, a clear warning swinging in his tone. “For once, do yourself a favor and keep your stupid mouth closed.”

I shut my eyes, not giving a fuck about whatever amateur porn garbage Rocco’s drooling over. I want to be with my wife. Thehint of vanilla and cloves still clung to our sheets last night but no Caterina there meant no rest. She left me a message yesterday afternoon, but I was in a meeting with our top cocaine supplier and after that I had the debtor’s run to make before I left Vegas for a couple of days. By the time I made it back to a practically empty mansion last night, it was far too late for me to return her call.