Bound By Love (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 6)

“Oh, I suspect it’s exactly as bad as I think it is,” Luca murmured. His eyes fixed on Romero. “Just tell me this: will we be in trouble on Liliana’s wedding night?”

“Lily won’t marry that guy. Isn’t he over fifty? It’s ridiculous,” I said.

“Over fifty and a nasty piece of shit,” Matteo added.

Luca glared at Romero. “Will there be a fucking problem on her wedding night?”

“I slept with Lily,” he said calmly. I cringed at his admittance.

Luca cursed. “Why couldn’t you leave your dick in your pants? Couldn’t you at least have drawn the line at actually fucking her?”

“I don’t regret it,” Romero said. “Now less than ever.”

“This is a fucking mess. Do you realize what happens if Benito Brasci finds out his wife isn’t a virgin? Scuderi will figure out it happened in New York, and we’ll be screwed.”

“I don’t think there will be a problem. I stood beside Brasci at the urinal once. That guy’s cock is tiny. He can’t possibly expect there to be any blood on the sheets with that small sausage. Liliana probably won’t even notice his cock in her,” Matteo joked.

Romero lunged at Matteo.

At Matteo. They faced off, knives pointed at each other.

“Enough!” Luca roared, shoving them apart. “I’m going to put you down like rabid dogs if you don’t get a grip on yourselves right this second.”

“He started it,” Matteo said. He had that gleam in his eyes. That gleam that reminded me of what he was. Of what both Luca and he were. It was easy to forget sometimes when we sat around the dining table like a normal family.

“You provoked him,” I said. “What you said was horrible.”

Matteo rolled his eyes. “My God, I was trying to lighten the mood.”

“You failed,” Luca said coldly. “Now put your knives away. Both of you.”

Romero sheathed his knife and Matteo did the same.

“I shouldn’t have attacked you,” Romero said eventually.

Matteo nodded. “I should keep my mouth shut now and then.”

“But she’s not pregnant, is she?” Luca asked after a moment.

Romero shook his head.

“Then maybe we’ll get out of this unscathed. Brasci might not notice, and there are ways to fake bloodstains on the sheets,” Luca said. He didn’t look my way, though I guessed he was thinking about our wedding night, how he’d bled for me, and now I had kept a secret from him again. I knew he didn’t always tell me everything that happened in the Famiglia, but that was different. He kept secrets to protect me from the horrors of his world. I kept secrets to protect my sisters.

“She won’t marry that man,” Romero said.

Luca raised his eyebrows. “Oh, won’t she? Are you thinking about stopping Scuderi? Maybe kidnap Lily and marry her?”

It was clear that Romero was hell-bent on risking a conflict with Luca. Romero, who had always been loyal, who was Luca’s best soldier. All because of Lily. He must love her.

I touched Luca’s arm. “Luca, please. Can’t you talk to my father?”

“Talk to him and tell him what?” Luca growled, gray eyes hard as they settled on me. “That my best soldier screwed his daughter and wants her for himself? That I broke my oath to protect Liliana, that she’s lost her fucking honor? That will go over fucking well.”

“No, but you could tell him that Gianna and I want our sister in New York with us and ask if he wouldn’t consider marrying her to someone from the Famiglia. You wouldn’t have to tell him to whom right away. It would give us time to figure something out.”

“I can’t get involved. It’s none of my business. And if your father has already promised Liliana to Brasci, he won’t change his mind. It would make him look bad and offend Brasci.”

“But we have to do something!” I begged, my grip tightening.

“I won’t go to war over this!” Luca roared back, shaking off my hands as he stepped back.

I quieted, stunned by his fierce anger. It wasn’t only directed at Romero, but also at me.

“Fuck!” he snarled and stalked back into his office.

I followed Luca. Since I’d started working the books, I’d often worked at Luca’s desk when he’d been out or even when he had been around. I closed the door. Luca sat in his desk chair, and regarded me with a deep frown.

I hesitated in the center of the room as I was again confronted by his fury.

“I thought we’d agreed that you wouldn’t keep secrets from me again. Not after what happened with Gianna. You remember the promise you gave me?”

I did. I moved around the desk and stopped in front of Luca. “I do. I hoped things would solve themselves. I only wanted Lily to be happy. Romero and she are in love. It’s something beautiful. Something I didn’t want to have destroyed.” I eased between his legs and rested my palms against his chest as he leaned back in the chair to scan my face.