Alceu

Chapter Four

Giulia

Alceu. That man will be the death of me. Either Salvador is going to find out what the fuck we are planning and kill me, or I’m going to say or do something to piss off the head of the Cammareri Crime Family and he will just end me himself. Either way, the chances of me ending up dead keep going up.

At least now I have options. The devil I know versus the devil I don’t. Just fucking great. My ringing cell phone pulls me from my thoughts as I lie on my bed, trying to figure out the mess that is my life.

“This is Giulia,” I answer, not checking the caller ID.

“My dear,” Salvador purrs down the line.

I don’t reply. He doesn’t expect me to. He waits for long, tense moments before continuing.

“I have spoken to your father. He assures me that all the wedding arrangements are moving forward as planned?”

I hear the question in his voice and know it is finally time for me to speak. “Yes. Everything is being finalized for next Saturday.”

Salvador makes a sound of satisfaction in his throat. “Good. Tell me, Giulia, have you decided what you will wear to our wedding bed?”

Revulsion crawls up my spine as I think of Salvador in the same bed with me, touching me, fucking me. Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it back.

“My mother has suggested that I keep the lingerie from the wedding. My husband should have the honor of taking it off me,” I reply, trying to sound calm.

“Yes,” Salvador agrees, his voice changing slightly. “That will do just fine. I will speak to you tomorrow.”

Just as abruptly as the call started, it ends. Salvador has been doing this for the past two weeks. He calls me up, asks a couple of questions about the wedding, and then hangs up. I don’t know what kind of game he’s playing, but I don’t want any part of it.

Looking around the gilded cage I call a room, I feel the walls start to close in on me. Everything is becoming too real, and the pressure is getting to me. I feel like no matter which way I turn, I’m going to be locked in a pretty little prison for the rest of my life.

I have been schooled on how to be the perfect mafia wife my entire life, but no one has ever asked me what I want to do. I know there’s no escaping this life I was born into, but I don’t want to be just a piece of arm candy. I want to be an equal to my husband. I want to help him run the family business. I want to make my own decisions.

But you can.

The voice in the back of my mind is right. I can decide. Jumping from my bed, I find the discarded business card and hold it tightly in my hand. This is my choice.

Taking a deep breath, I key the number into my phone and wait for someone to answer. It feels like an eternity passes before I hear his voice.

“What?” Alceu growls.

Maybe I have interrupted something important. Fear courses through me at the thought that I have already pissed this man off. My voice won’t work.

“Hello,” he says louder.

Clearing my throat, I speak into the receiver. “Alceu.” Just that one word.

“Giulia,” Alceu replies. “Hold on a second.”

I hear rustling in the background and then footsteps as he moves around.

“Have you made a decision?” he asks after I hear a door close on his side.

“I think so.”

“Well?” He sounds impatient again.

“I have some questions,” I say a little more confidently.

“Such as?”

“What do you expect of me? I mean, do you just want a piece of arm candy or do you actually want a wife?” I put it all out there.

“I want a partner,” he replies instantly. “That is what we will be. This arrangement will benefit both of us. If we can learn to accept and trust each other, I see no reason to end our agreement after Salvador has been taken out.”

“And what about love?” I ask hesitantly.

Alceu chuckles in my ear. “Love is a chemical reaction, the same as lust. I’m not going to fall in love and lay my heart at your feet, if that’s what you are asking for. But with time, you can have something far more valuable.”

“Such as?” I ask.

“My respect,” he replies. “Join me. I will treat you better than Salvador ever will, and you know it’s true. I won’t beat you. I won’t force myself on you. You will have more freedom than you’ve ever had.”

My thoughts race a mile a minute as I run the words he has just spoken through my mind again and again. My decision was made before I called him. I only need some answers.

“On one condition.” I have to try even though I know I am pushing my luck.

“Which is?” he asks dryly.

“I can’t leave my sister here. My father is abusive. My mother will never leave him, but that’s her choice.”

Alceu growls down the line. “After we are married, I will do everything in my power to get your sister out of that house.”

“Then, I agree. I will marry you.”