Page 37 of His Tesoro

I didn’t know much about the Irish Mob. Occasionally they would be mentioned at some Bratva dinner party, but not often.

“You think they’re involved with sex trafficking?”

Matteo sighed and scrubbed his hand down his face. “I don’t know. Their boss, Ronan Finnegan, and I have always had a sort of unspoken agreement. But if he’s teaming up with the Albanians…” He trailed off. “I need to get to the office. You should get some rest.”

“Okay,” I murmured.

He headed to the door, but turned back before leaving. “You did well today, Sofiya. Thank you.”

A smile tugged at my lips as he shut the door behind him. I let out a deep breath, and the pervasive knot in my stomach loosened.

19

MATTEO

Sienna burst into the apartment in a vibrant swirl of energy.

“Where is she? You can’t hide her away anymore!”

I rubbed my hand down my face. It was only eight in the morning and I was exhausted.

“Haven’t seen her this morning,” I said with a shrug.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen her? Did she go somewhere?”

“What? No.”

“Then, didn’t you wake up next to her?”

Shit.

If we were going to convince people this was a real marriage, I needed to be more careful. But this was Sienna, and she was sure to find out eventually. I took a sip of my coffee. It was black and bitter and made me crave something sweet.

“Matteo,” she hissed, voice full of reproach. “What’s going on?”

“This marriage is about the alliance. You know that.”

“But…” Sienna was, for once, at a loss for words. “You are being nice to her, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

A noise down the hall stopped her from responding. Sofiya entered the kitchen using her walker.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to meet you, Sofiya,” Sienna gushed. “My brother has been keeping you all to himself.”

Sofiya blinked and furrowed her brow as she looked between my sister and me, as if trying to understand how we could possibly be related. Sienna and I shared the same dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin, but the resemblance stopped there. Sienna was friendly and extroverted and everything else I wasn’t.

Sofiya’s voice went soft as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Here, come sit down. Do you want coffee?” Sienna asked.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Sofiya sat down on one of the kitchen stools, but her movements were stiff, jerky. There were dark shadows under her eyes. Was she in pain?

Sienna poured her a large cup of coffee. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Both, please.”

“I’m so mad I missed the wedding,” Sienna huffed. “Matteo didn’t think it was safe for me to go. Tell me all about it! Wait, I have to see your ring.”

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