Page 16 of Desperate Decisions

“Should I assume Bianca has no idea you’re here?”

“I definitely told her I wasn’t flying back until tomorrow night.”

“All right, I guess that gives me a nice tight timeline to figure out what the fuck is going on.”

Part of me hated having Marco know all of this. While I was pretty sure I could trust him, there was always a risk that he would sell me out to gain favor with Bianca. We’d known each other for a solid twenty years, and over that time we’d become allies, and I liked to think we were friends too, but guarantees didn’t exist in this life. I was only willing to take the risk because I had no other choice.

“Gianna, can you take Amara to the nest and explain life at the compound?”

“Absolutely I can.” Gianna tugged my disgruntled mate away and into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“On a scale of one to ten, how terrified are you right now?” Marco asked.

“Eleven. I wish I knew how Bianca would react.”

“You and me both.”

“I’m half tempted to drag Amara back to Italy and stay with one of my cousins just to avoid telling Bianca. This is a huge fuckup.”

“It is,” Marco agreed. “But I’m going to hope one mistake isn’t going to override twenty years of loyal service. Bianca would be an idiot if she killed you over this.”

I hoped she wouldn’t, for a multitude of reasons. “If she does, will you take care of Amara for me?”

Marco gave me a long look. “Of course I will. I don’t imagine she’ll want me to, but I’ll do whatever I can.”

At least that was one small worry assuaged. Any mate of mine deserved more than a rundown one-bedroom apartment.

I pulled out my phone and emailed one of my legal contacts.

Draw up a will for me naming Amara Pesci as the sole beneficiary to my accounts. Get it to me by tonight.

-E

A minute later the response came through.

Already started.

Marco and I sat at Amara’s kitchen table. “What has Bianca’s mood been like while I’ve been gone?”

“Bit more of a raging bitch than usual. Either she’s been pissed you’re gone or something else crawled up her ass the day you left. The Romanos have still been refusing all contact for negotiation. I think she’s about ready to storm their compound and steal that omega just to prove a point.”

“Shit.”

The Romanos were third in line for consolidated power in the city, not formally allied with either the Rossis or the Gallos. Whoever got them on their side would have a huge advantage. It was only a matter of time before blood started spilling as each side looked across the river to carve out new territory.

I didn’t blame the Romano don for not wanting to hand over his granddaughter. For all the shit the Rossis had done to grab power, cruelty toward their partner wasn’t known to be one of them. Bianca’s reputation for doing her own wet work and harshly punishing even those in her own organization had spread too far for even a mafia leader to be happy to hand over a family member to secure an alliance.

“I’m half tempted to see if the Romanos will meet with me just so I can improve Bianca’s mood before I take Amara home.”

“Good fucking luck with that. Santo has been blocked on every attempt. You could always sweep in and eat Bianca out. She’s usually in a better mood after that.”

I couldn’t stop the visible wave of revulsion that hit me at the idea.

Marco barked a laugh. "Welcome to my fucking world. I’ve been thanking every saint in existence that Bianca’s obsessed with Santo lately so she hasn’t asked me into her bed. It used to not be so bad…”

“I get it. You know I feel the same way about it. Always chafed at being ordered, but Bianca’s no slouch in the sack. She could make it fun when she had the inclination to.”

“It’s weird as hell having a mate now and hoping the day never comes that I have to do it again. I’m not sure what would happen if she ordered me.”

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