Page 4 of Till Death Do Us Part

His answer surprised me.

“Her fire wasn’t near as hot as yours.”

I took a step back. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

He shook his head. “I can smell your arousal, Mia. You want a man who knows what he wants and takes it.”

“You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Before I could say more, the rumble of voices caused both of us to turn.

“What the hell is happening?” Rocco yelled. My brother Dante was at his side.

“Aléjandro is leaving,” I answered.

I supposed I should be happy my husband wasn’t screwing some waitress from the reception. However, as our eyes met, Rocco’s stare sent a cold chill over my flesh, the exact opposite of the effect Aléjandro’s had.

“We’ll show him out,” Dante said. “Come on, Rocco.”

Instead of watching them leave, I hurried toward my room, dreading my husband’s return.

ChapterOne

Mia

Two months later~

The priest preached that death was a part of life. While I supposed that was true for everyone, it was never as true as it was for those of us born and raised in the famiglia. As the only daughter to the capo, I’d been immersed in it all my life. The reality that life would end was an ingrained truth that surrounded each and every one of us day and night.

One day, death would come for those we loved as well as those we loathed. I was no different. One day it would come for me.

The night both my brothers arrived at Rocco’s and my door, I sensed the presence of death, a heavy dark cloud descending around us. It was as if the gates of hell were personified in my eldest brother’s stare. At that moment, I didn’t know, nor could I fathom, the changes that had occurred in the Luciano famiglia. I just knew that seeing Dario and Dante unexpectedly upon my doorstep filled me with trepidation. It was the knowledge that long ago, my eldest brother had taken over many of our father’s duties—being the grim reaper was only one of them.

“Mia, let us in,” Dario said. “We have news we need to talk to you about.”

For a moment, I froze in place. If I refused them entry, would I also silence their news? That hesitation was barely a blip on the radar of time. I wasn’t even certain my brothers noticed. I was in no position to stop their entrance nor their news.

Dario’s dark stare swirled with emotions he’d never show. He couldn’t, not as a male or as next in line to become capo and run our famiglia.

I took a step back, bidding Dario and Dante entrance.

My brothers and I had never been especially close. The seven- and five-year age differences were probably a factor. Our father’s strict belief in the distinction between male and female roles was another. By the time I was old enough to be interested in the lives of my brothers, Dario was a teenager and a made man and Dante was on his way. They had little to no interest in their childish sister.

Dario’s impending news filled the space between us in a dense fog.

“Rocco?” My husband’s name was barely audible as I forced it from my lips.

They both nodded.

Tears filled my eyes, and my knees grew weak as I surrendered to the news.

My husband was gone.

The news was a blow to my world. Even being the capo’s daughter, my identity was intertwined with my husband’s.

Dario reached for my arm and led me to a sofa in the front room.

I’d been concerned when Rocco hadn’t returned home last night. However, his absences weren’t unusual. He oversaw the whores at Emerald Club, the famiglia’s private club. Sometimes his work would keep him at the club at all hours. Recently, he’d taken a trip to New York, one that I didn’t know about until he returned. Rarely was I ever told the particulars of his business, only that it was always in service to my father.

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