Page 145 of Their Princess

A figurative fraying rope stretched between the Don and the Prez, and I waited for that last thread to snap, for guns to come out, and for this little reunion to turn into a blood bath.

“I wouldn’t expect a motorcycle club president to stand on ceremony.” Massimo quirked a brow. “An arranged marriage was the bargain.”

Wilde’s voice lowered a notch. “What about whatyour daughterwants?”

All the eyes in the room flashed in her direction, but she didn’t return the scrutiny. Entering the penthouse had put Adelina back into a box, stuck under Massimo’s thumb. It silenced her into a demeanor that made it seem like her blood boiled beneath her skin, and surprisingly, her face didn’t turn red. Steam didn’t come out of her ears.

She didn’t move a muscle.

Massimo’s daughter was still vicious, even—or especially—toward her father. She rocked back on heels, and I couldn’t figure out what held her back now.

Sas? Graff?

Me?

Noemi and Caterina Parisi walked into the penthouse living room, saving Adelina from answering the question on the table. Mass and Neomi’s eldest daughter turned away from her father with her chin held high. Wearing a warm smile, she joined her mother and sister.

While the mother gathered her daughter up in her arms, welcoming her home, Noemi narrowed her gaze on me, like she knew the sins I’d committed against Adelina.

It’s not possible, I told myself.

Noemi was just a lioness, protecting her cub.

“I’m so happy you’re home,” said Caterina, which made Noemi gather both of them into a single embrace.

Their mother’s glare turned to her husband, and I released the breath I had been holding.

“Moglie.”Wife.No one except Massimo Parisi would dare refer to their partner as “wife” in today’s world. But Mass waited for Neomi as though it were the most normal way to speak to someone he loved.

“Sì,marito?” Neomi rolled the Rs longer than normal, the only sign she had beef with her husband.

Adelina truly was a melding of the two people facing off. She had her mother’s high cheekbones and her father’s eyes. But more than that, she inherited their more subtle qualities too.

Determined.

Strong.

Beautifully brutal.

“Adelina needs a wedding dress,” said Massimo. “Take her shopping.”

“And take one of my guys,” added Wilde.

Noemi turned her glare on Wilde, but he didn’t flinch. He’d probably seen things scarier than Noemi, but what he didn’tunderstand is that she was married to a true psychopath. She had been in the Mafia her whole life. She’d been born to the life and held no romantic delusions about what happened in Massimo’s inner sanctuary. And she’d never strayed, no matter how many times her husband did.

“Why?” she asked Wilde.

“We’ll send Alessio,” said Massimo dismissively.

“The fuck you will,” I snapped. There wasn’t any way I was letting my brother assign a man known as The Wraith to Adelina’s protection detail.

Wilde swiveled to look at me with a question.

My brother narrowed his eyes on me, but Noemi didn’t even look at me. I wasn’t worth the effort. I wasn’t Mafia any longer.

Gathering myself, I said, “I’m happy to go along. I’ve been both Adelina and Caterina’s escorts since I came back from active duty.”

“Adelina is one of us, now,” said Wilde, directing it back to Massimo. “We protect our own. But I’m not sure that’s a job for Rafe anymore.”

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