Bound by Vengeance (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 5)

“No,” he growled. “It’s about your fiancé.”

“I doubt he is still my fiancé,” I muttered. Who would want me after everything that had happened? I was a pariah in our society.

Growl’s frown deepened. “He’s not. You’re right.”

His gaze was starting to unsettle me, which was surprising considering that in the beginning everything about him had unsettled me. Apparently now I needed an additional reason to feel uncomfortable in his presence. “Good,” I said firmly. “I wouldn’t want to marry him anyway.”

Doubt crossed Growl’s face. “Why?” he rumbled. There was something in his voice I couldn’t quite place.

I huffed. “Why? Do you really need to ask?”

Growl remained silent, that same stoic expression on his face.

“He betrayed my father to better his own position. He betrayed my family. He betrayed me. I don’t want a man like that. A man who only looks for his own advantage, who doesn’t care whom he hurts to reach his goals. I don’t want a man I can’t trust. He’s a pig, and I wish I could spit in his face.”

“You will get your chance,” Growl said.

I paused. “What do you mean?”

Growl ignored my question. “What I need to tell you is that Cosimo and your friend are going to marry.”

I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly. “My friend?”

“That Anastasia girl. Falcone told me last night. They announced their engagement yesterday.”

I couldn’t move. If this was a nightmare, I wanted to wake now. “Are you sure?”

Grown nodded. “Cosimo has a position of power now. He needs a wife and an heir.”

I laughed bitterly. “Didn’t take him long to find a new woman to marry.” I hated how the news made me feel. Despite my hate for Cosimo, I felt crushed. Not because I wanted to marry him, but because this made my life as it was now even more of a reality. There was no going back. Change was irrevocable. And Anastasia, how could she do this? I’d always known that Anastasia could be vicious and selfish, but we’d been friends since we could walk. We’d experienced so many things together. Didn’t that mean anything? How could my friend do this? Had Anastasia known about everything? Had she perhaps already known at Falcone’s party? Perhaps that explained why she’d looked so pissed when I had danced with Cosimo.

No, it couldn’t be.

I didn’t want to believe that my friend wouldn’t have warned me. It seemed cruel. Crueler than what Anastasia was capable of. She liked to trash talk and destroy people’s reputation, but this was a different matter.

Maybe Anastasia was a victim. Maybe her parents and Falcone had forced her to marry my former fiancé now that I wasn’t eligible anymore. After all, Anastasia was the same age as me and from a good family. I wanted to believe that. But the look Cosimo and Anastasia had exchanged at the party flashed in my mind. There had been something like familiarity between them. Or was I reading too much into it now that I knew of their engagement. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to think clearly, so I pushed the image away. I wasn’t able to bear the idea of my friend’s horrible betrayal. Not as long as I didn’t know all the facts. There was no sense in driving myself insane going over all the possibilities.

Growl was still watching me. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been lost in my thoughts and I hoped my face hadn’t given away too much of my inner turmoil. “This doesn’t concern me anymore,” I said. “It’s not like I’m still part of their circle.”

“Why would you say that?”

Was he serious? “Oh come on. Even you must realize what’s going on in our society. Even if you don’t care about any of it. There are rules. And I was as good as exiled.”

“Because you’re with me.” Was there hurt in his voice. His constant growl made it even harder to hear the nuances of his emotions.

I pursed my lips. Had I offended him? “With you?” I asked curiously. “You make it sound like we’re a couple when I’m only your gift.”

Growl nodded. “You were. But now that you’re mine, you have the same status that I have.”

“That’s not true,” I said, frustrated at his lack of understanding. Did he really think that any part of the life I’d had before could survive? I had made the best of my fate but that didn’t mean I’d have chosen it.

Growl looked as frustrated as I felt but I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy to explain anything to him. Sometimes his deficiency to grasp human relationships drove me insane.

“Maybe you aren’t as special as you were before,” Growl said, the word special like a curse from his lips. “But you are part of this world.”

I glared at the counter. “I don’t want to be part of this world anymore.”