Page 127 of Assassin's Obsession

"How are we going to avoid war?" Nerissa asks, her expression hard. "Don Messino keeps the Sicilian Cosa Nostra in the Dark Ages. He's not spreading that garbage here."

There are no made women like Nerissa in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. There are still military leaders who don't think women belong in the military either. More the fool them.

Nerissa's a damn good underboss for Salvatore.

Severu tells the rest of the family my plan for taking out my grandfather while I finish my lunch.

"You're okay with this?" Big Sal asks.

"To protect Candi from the risk of mafia war, I would kill the devil himself."

No one has any more questions after that.

Chapter 34

CANDI

"So, Angelo?" Bianca rounds her eyes like an anime character.

I roll mine. "Yes."

"You know they call him the Angel of Death."

"And they call me a stripper, but he calls me his soul." I peel back the top on the foil container with the lunch Bianca brought for me and take an appreciative sniff.

Cooked wine and mushrooms. Chicken marsala is one of my favorite meals ever and Bianca brings it for me every time we're able to meet like this.

My best friend gasps, warmth filling her blue eyes. "That's so sweet and I can honestly tell you, I never thought I'd say that about Angelo Caruso. He gives me the heebee jeebees."

"Salvatore isn't exactly warm and cuddly."

"But he's hot." Bianca winks. "And he cuddles me plenty."

"Angelo is surprisingly affectionate too. He's always touching me."

"And it doesn’t bother you?" Bianca knows about my reticence with men.

We have a lot in common. I'm sure that's why we bonded so fast when she started working here.

At the time I thought it was because we were close to the same age and in the same place in life. Dancing the pole to support ourselves and trying to finish college part-time.

She was on her own by then because the man who'd stepped in to save her had died. I was supporting the woman who had stepped in to save me.

What I didn't know before last month, when things got real between us, is that we both had asshole mafia men for fathers.And we both had traumatic sexual experiences when we were teens because they didn't protect us.

I consider Bianca as much my sister as Cookie.

I bite into the crusty bread that Bianca brought with lunch. "I'm so not going to miss having to forego carbs so I don't gotoo plus sizefor the stage."

"Nerissa never said that to you!" Bianca takes an angry bite of her own bread.

I grin. "Back then, she never talked to the dancers at all. No, that was Ugo and Gino. Don't tell me they never gave you a hard time about your curves?"

"Gino was too busy trying to get me to work the backrooms. I guess Ugo used up his asshat tendencies on you." There's a knock on the door and Bianca calls, "Come in."

Nina steps through the portal carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

She doesn't smile, but she's careful when she places the tray on the big desk Bianca and I are using as our table for lunch. "Mr. De Luca sent this with his regards."

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