Page 82 of Thorns of Blood

“Keeping tabs on me?” I answered with my question I knew the answer to. Mother had a harem of men in Boston, sneaking and spying and doing her bidding. But her power didn’t extend beyond that and it never would.

“Where’s Romeo?” Her eyes darted behind me as if expecting him to appear out of thin air.

“He’s handling a job for me.” I didn’t owe her any explanation and her games were getting cumbersome. “You and I have to talk.”

“You sound so serious. Any chance you’ve come around?” A greedy gleam in her eyes stared back at me while I fought to keepmy cool. “The Agosti and Tijuana empires are your birthright,” she supplied.

I smirked. “Hardly, considering I’m not an Agosti. Or did you forget that you cheated on your husband?”

“Listen, Giovanni, I have a plan and?—”

“No,” I cut her off, not letting her finish another thought that would probably cost lives. “Whatever plan you have in your head, I’m putting an end to it now.”

“But you could run both the Omertà and the Cartel, then?—”

“Mother, this is just a courtesy visit. There’s no more Omertà for me. I’m getting out.”

“Youinsolentboy,” she spat out. She raised her hand, but before it could connect with my cheek, I caught it and gripped it tightly. “You have no idea what I’ve done. All for you, ungrateful piece?—”

“Oh yes, I’m sure spreading your legs was a terrible hardship. My deepest apologies, Mother.”

She stared at me, lost for words, but that didn’t last long.

“It’s because ofher.” I raised a brow but didn’t confirm nor deny. “How dare you throw away everything I’ve done for you?” She all but shouted. “You deserve better than whatever damaged scraps that girl has to offer.”

A red-hot anger flared to the surface and I took a threatening step forward, towering over her.

“Enough,” I growled. “You’d be lucky to be a fraction of the woman my wife is.”

She stared up at me in shock. “A… but… your what?”

“My. Wife.” She visibly paled, but at least she remained silent. “And I won’t tolerate another word against her. Understood?”

Mother still had some self-preservation left because she nodded. Although I wasn’t fooled into thinking this would be the last I heard on the topic. She was too power-starved for that.

I turned around and headed out of there when her words stopped me. “You’ll see the error of your ways, Giovanni.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder. “No, Mother. You will if you don’t stop your games.”

THIRTY

LIANA

The next days in Boston were spent adjusting to my new life. I studied the layout of the city, learning the quickest route to escape should the need arise. Certain habits were hard to kick.

Although, so far there was nothing to run from.

My days were filled with running a business, updates from José on the search for The Mistress, and dreaded but necessary visits to Dr. Freud’s office. My nights were spent writhing under Giovanni’s strong body, moaning his name. But waking up in the morning to the view of the Atlantic Ocean was what broke my heart. It reminded me of my promise to Amara, and it gutted me that I hadn’t been successful in keeping it.

But I couldn’t dwell on all that. Instead, I took an extra minute to come to terms with meeting Giovanni’s family.For some reason I couldn’t grasp, he insisted that we pull that Band-Aid off and assured me they’d accept me.

Sad, really, since I’d grown up with the perception that my twin and I were the equivalent of mafia royalty and anyone would be lucky to have us.

And here I was now, worrying about such trivial things as meeting a family. I’d never worried much about customs, but he and his brother seemed so normal. I feared the rest of their family would be too, and they wouldn’t accept me. All my sins were bound to come haunting and take away the light that Giovanni had started to make me see.

Needing an extra minute to get my scrambled thoughts together, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror before exiting the bedroom, following the chatter of voices and laughter.

Earlier, I’d felt like a fraud in the soft pink dress that’d come with the boxes and boxes of clothes Giovanni’s men had delivered when we got to the city. The color and shape of it made me look like an innocent, vulnerable young woman. So I opted for a little black Chanel dress, feeling more confident and like myself in it.