Page 61 of The Don

But Giulio squeezes my knee again. “With all respect, that’s none of your business,” he says.

Zoe mouths, “Oh my God,” to me.

I frown in her direction. “It was nice knowing you,” I whisper.

Giulio keeps squeezing my knee in rhythmic, reassuring presses of his hand. “We’re here to relay Salvo’s offer, not explain the developments in his territory to you.”

“Is it still his territory?” the man asks. Everyone in the room visibly stiffens, and the quiet that descends on us feels deadly.

Giulio loves his guns, and he has reached for them for far less disrespect to Sal. So I can only guess that the reason he hasn’t pulled the pistol from the holster under his arm is out of respect for whoever this man is. Or fear. It could definitely also be fear.

“Yes,” Giulio grinds out through a clenched jaw, speaking for the other men in the room.

I watch as the man’s eyes scan the room. He skips over Zoe and I — which is rude, but I’m not going to complain. I’ve learned my lesson. But I do watch as he takes stock of Sal’s men silently, slowly, before coming to some decision.

He shakes out his hand and looks at the watch on his wrist. “I will let Salvatore know my answer at the meeting.”

“But—” Zoe starts. Alfonso quiets her before she can make the same mistake I did.

Still, that one word was enough to grab his attention, and he looks at Zoe and I with the same kind of focus he gave the men. I don’t like it. He comes to another decision, and just like the first, he doesn’t bother to share.

“I have to go,” he says, standing abruptly. “I have other business to attend to.”

Once again, all the men stand, and Tommaso steps forward to usher him out.

“Wait,” Giulio says.

“Babe, shh,” I whisper.

The man looks at me briefly, and I think healmostsmiles, but like a really far-off almost.

Giulio walks past him to the front door. There’s a black gift box on the table by the door. He opens it and shows the man what’s inside. I crane my neck, but it’s hard to see from the couch.

“Is that…?” the man starts, moving his hand to touch it but stopping. Staring.

“Yes. Salvo told me to tell you that if you agree to the deal, then you know what to do with this.”

Up until now, the man has been calm, cool, and collected, but whatever’s in that box has affected him enough that he stands there, staring at it, his hand still poised to touch it but frozen. It’s as if he takes all the air out of the room, and we sit or stand in silence, hanging on a small ledge, waiting to see what he will do next.

Because so much relies on this one man, apparently.

“I will consider it,” he says in a rough voice. He takes the box from Giulio’s hand carefully, staring down at its contents for a few seconds more before closing the lid slowly. And with that, he sweeps out of the room with Tommaso on his heels.

“Yo, what the fuck was all that?” Zoe breathes.

“Is it too early for a glass of wine?” I ask nervously.

“Everything will be okay,” Giulio says. I want to believe him, and so I decide that I will, just like I’ve decided to stay right here by his side.

Lord, I hope I know what I’m getting myself into.

23SHAE

I knowI’m dreaming immediately because when Salvatore smiles at me, the fear in my stomach doesn’t disappear in a wave of naïve affection and lust. It gets worse, and that’s never happened before. For better or worse, from the moment I met Salvatore, he’s always been able to chase away my anxieties and most of my common sense.

I wake up with a start, but I don’t move — can’t move.

“I’m here, bella,” Salvatore whispers against my forehead, hugging me close to his chest.

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