Page 109 of The Merciless King

“Noted.” I glance away, as if unaffected. But I’m keeping a close fucking eye on the gun in his holster.

Salvatore shakes his head.

“And if you haven’t figured it out already, Gianna doesn’t belong to you,” he says, relaxing back into his seat.

It will be a miracle if I am still breathing by the end of this mission. Because I have clearly lost all sense of survival. I open my mouth and the words fall out before I can stop them. “What if she wants to?”

I turn and meet his eye, but it’s Salvatore who answers while Dante and I stare at one another.

“It’s not her decision.”

“Nor mine,” Dante says roughly and looks away.

We drive through some heavily guarded gates in a rough looking and what appears to be an abandoned warehouse. There are no lights on, but once my eyes adjust and my Marine Corps training kicks in, I spot the Baldassare men in the shadows.

There are dozens of them.

Meaning, the merchandise housed in this location is valuable.

I feel sickened to think this is where Amy has spent her time since being picked off the streets and I know I’ve barely scratched the surface.

The guards exit the vehicle and Salvatore climbs out. I go to follow, but Dante grabs my arms. I almost pull my gun and shoot him, but instead I freeze. Then slowly turn my head.

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“BE CAREFUL, BRAXTON Rossi,” he warns.

“I always am.”

What the hell is this about? I watch as Salvatore circles the vehicle and greets a man.

“My sister is in love with you,” he says, surprising me. “When this deal is done, you should leave. It will only hurt her if you stay.”

“Sounds like things need to change,” I growl, but I don’t know why I’m even bothering. “You could influence your father.”

One minute I hate her and all she stands for—her family stands for—and the next I’m gritting my teeth to stop confessing how I feel about the beautiful Italian.

How could I have fallen in love with her?

I could barely look at her today. Barely touch her. Barely acknowledge her.

It’s time to get this done and move on with my life. Gianna will be nothing more than a distant memory and weakness I will put behind me.

“No one tells Frank Baldassare what to do. She is to marry Leo Baldoni. Walk away, Braxton. Our business relationship with you will be worth far more.”

Motherfucker.

I glance at the front of the cab as my jaw grinds.

“I understand more than you know,” he says and when I look back, he’s gazing out the window once more.

“Tell me one thing, Dante. Does Gianna know about this?” I nod at the dark warehouse outside the car. “Does she know about Leo and the plans that have been made for her life?”

He won’t lie to me.

The heir to the Baldassare mafia might lie about many things, but he has no reason to lie about Gianna.

“She knows about Leo,” he says, meeting my gaze. “This?” He glances outside and then back to me. “Gianna is not involved with the business. No women in the family are.”

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