Ruthless Games

LILY

I’m notsomeone who grew up imagining their perfect wedding day. The girls I knew in school would gossip about it all the time, spinning magical fairytales of the stunning white dress, the music, the flowers. But I never thought much about it. It seemed too far away.

A dream that would present itself to me, in time.

But it turns out, I did have hopes, after all. I assumed my family and friends would be gathered to celebrate us, that I would walk down the aisle full of joy, eager to start my life with my new husband—the man I would love completely. Trust him with my life. Vow with all my heart to honor until the day I died.

It couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because here I am, on my wedding day, standing beside the man set to be my husband. But there are no excited friends supporting me, just two nameless thugs here to bear witness in a windowless office. No flowers, or gorgeous white dress, just the plain black shift I was allowed to grab from my closet on the way to City Hall.

And as for my husband, the one I’ve vowing to join with in holy matrimony?

He’s the man who wants me dead.

“Do you swear you enter into this union freely?” The officiant shoots me an anxious look. He can tell that there’s nothing normal about the ceremony.

I give a weak nod.

“You, uh, need to say it,” he adds, glancing at the man beside me: feared mob boss, Nero Barretti. He could end the registrar with a single word, and the man knows it.

“Yes,” I whisper. “It’s fine.” It’s not like I have any other choice. Marry the man who hates me, or die at the end of his gun.

“Can we get on with this?” Nero demands roughly. The official tugs at his collar nervously, and gets back to the vows, reading them so fast, I can barely make them out.

“I do.” Nero says curtly, when he’s done.

“I do.” I echo.

And just like that, it’s over. I sign the paperwork they put in front of me and let Nero usher me back out to the car. I slide in the backseat after him, and sit there, numb, watching New York city blocks blur past.

I can’t believe it. It’s done.

I’m no longer Lily Fordham. I’m Lily Barretti now, permanently connected to one of the biggest criminal organizations on the east coast.

I’m Nero’s wife.

“I guess we should toast.” Nero’s voice is full of scorn. He pops the cork on a bottle of champagne, and drinks straight from it before offering it to me with a sneer. “Darling,” he says, and the sarcasm in his tone makes me wince.

Celebrate? Ha. There’s nothing to celebrate here.

“No thanks.”

He shrugs and takes another gulp. “I guess that the honeymoon is over before it even began.”

I can’t stand his flippant tone—or the wrath that’s still seething behind his gaze.

“So, is this how it’s going to be?” I demand. “You kept me alive just to torment me with this shame of a forced marriage? I’d rather be dead than have to spend the rest of my life with you!”

Nero’s smirk turns to steel. “What did you expect after talking to the FBI?”

“I’ve told you, I didn’t tell them anything!” I protest. “They wanted to cut a deal, make me turn informant against you, but I didn’t accept. I would never have betrayed you like that.”

“Oh really?” Nero snorts. “You’re your father’s daughter. Betrayal runs in your blood.”

I exhale. There’s no escaping the past between us, no matter what I do, it all comes back to that. Ten years ago, I was in love with Nero, when my father cut a deal with the Feds to testify against Roman Barretti. It got him sent to prison and struck a major blow to his empire, and meanwhile we were whisked off into Witness Protection so fast, I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.

I never saw Nero again—until last month, when he found me by accident in my new life. He would have killed me, in retribution for my father’s old betrayal, but I managed to negotiate a deal with him, instead: I would help him infiltrate the high society world he needed in order to secure a big real estate deal. The ploy worked: I helped him get close to the politician he needed to make his plans happen, but before the deal was done, the Feds came knocking. They offered me a deal to turn against Nero. And when he found out I’d been talking to them…