Ryder's Claim (Mafia Heirs 2)

"You will give Bruno Bernardi the thing he wants most," Papa growls. "An heir to his famiglia. He won't hurt you if you're pregnant, and that child stands to inherit all of this, if it's the first of his grandchildren. Do you understand, Nicoletta? You cannot let me down now. Our future and our lives depend on you. You will make sure you're pregnant as soon as you can. I don't fucking care if you have to whore yourself out for it."

"But Papa, I..."

"I don't want your pathetic excuses," he snarls in response. "I told you enough times, you are just as guilty as I am. If they find out, Nicoletta, what do you think will happen?"

"They'll kill you," I whisper brokenly, feeling the impact of my own words tightening my chest as if a hand with an iron grip holds my heart in its clutches.

"They won't just kill me," he goes on. "It will make you fucking worthless, too. You will die, too. I wouldn't put it past Bernardi to make one of his children kill you."

"I don't want to die." I can already feel tears welling in my eyes and panic rising in my chest. How can Papa do this? How could he go through with this if he knew both our lives were at stake if someone found out what he... what we did? "Please, I don't want to die."

"Then you'd better do what I told you." He picks himself up, glaring at me. "I'll be leaving shortly. And at the villa, I'll be expecting your joyful letter with the news that you will have a baby soon. Do you fucking understand, Nicoletta?"

I nod, unable to say another word. The story he's painted for me isn't pretty, and the worst part is, I know he's right. The moment the truth comes out, my fairy tale life will be over before it even began, and all of Papa's efforts will have been for nothing. Silently, I tell myself he's doing this for us – for me. I tell myself he's not a selfish man, just a man possessed by everything that shines and glitters, by money, by gold, by position, by power. Papa won't stop using me to fit his agenda. And I'll never stop obeying him – I don't trust anyone enough to tell them the truth. Not even Ryder. He would hate me if he knew what we did.

"Swear to me, Nicoletta," Papa goes on. "Swear to me on your life you will do everything in your power to have a child."

"I..." I swallow back a cry. "I swear, Papa. I'll do everything in my power."

12

Ryder

Years ago

Livia is on my mind night and day. I can't get her out of my head, constantly replaying every moment we spent together last night. I kissed her, felt her lips against me and felt her body's heat as it pressed into mine.

I haven't told Father about Livia yet, but I will have to soon enough. We want to be married soon, so we can start a family. But I have a bad premonition about the whole thing, and the fear of Father's reaction makes me feel insecure.

Tonight is the perfect night to bring up Livia to my father. We're having a gathering in the mansion, and everyone who's anyone in the mafia world will be there. I just hope nothing bad happens tonight. We've had our fair share of bullshit this year and I want a quiet night with my family and the woman I want to marry among the guests.

I put on a crisp new suit and slick my hair back, exposing my square jaw and the faint hint of stubble across it. My eyes are glowing and soon, everyone will find out why and who the light behind my gaze is.

I spot her amid the guests instantly, but Livia's always been hard to miss with her silky dark hair and bright glowing eyes. Her skin is tanned and olive-toned, and almost scandalously on display. I worry about telling Father about her in her slinky jade-green silk dress that reveals most of her back and a lot of her cleavage. I feel so many eyes on her as she moves through the crowd. Every man in here is watching her closely, wishing she were their property. But I know Livia only has eyes for me.

Making an excuse to get closer, I wrap my arm around Livia's waist on the balcony when nobody's looking. She has a cigarette holder in her hands and she's elegantly smoking one of her menthol cigarettes.

"You look stunning tonight, Liv," I whisper in her ear.

"Thank you," she smiles seductively, trailing her fingertips over the lapels of my blazer. "You clean up pretty well."

"I'm glad you approve," I smirk. "Are you ready to go speak to Father? He seems to be in a good mood tonight – it's as good a time as any."