Page 36 of The Devil's Deal

He did call a day later. But he wasn’t begging. He had a proposition for me, one I made him think I’d consider, but one I never will.

I don’t make deals with the devil. I burn him to the ground.

I thought about saving him for last so he could see his brothers die, but I realized he doesn’t care about anything but money, so waiting to take him out would only torture me.

Fifteen years is a long time to wait for retribution.

The time has come. And the time is now.

Chapter Twelve

Chiara

I’m finally aloneat the club. It’s peaceful with the music off, the lights dimmed. The place looks so different now. I like to stay here all alone for a little while before going home. Marco and Antonio hate that I close the club by myself, but I’m a big girl.

I’m sure Daddy has his eyes on me anyway. His goons are probably watching from some obscure hole, making sure his commodity is secure.

That’s all I am: an insurance policy for his business.

When he’s done using me, he’ll toss me aside like everyone else in his life. No one means anything to him. I think he lacks a soul. Maybe he’s one of those psychopaths. Or sociopaths. I always confuse the difference.

Even my uncles have more heart than he does, or at least I think so. They’re all crazy sons of bitches, though. No, really, my grandma was a bitch. She was mean, cold, and never offered any of her grandkids a nice word. Maybe that’s why my dad is the way he is. Or maybe he was born with it like Maybelline, just uglier.

I’m not close to anyone from my dad’s side of the family except my cousin, Raquel. We were born weeks apart and are pretty inseparable. Her father, Salvatore, is my father’s advisor. He’s basically the man who wipes my dad’s ass if he asks. Raquel hates him, but not because he’s abusive like mine. Her parents are forcing her into a marriage she wants no part of.

She’s been promised to marry Carlito, one of the soldiers in the family, who’s fourteen years her senior. She has no one to help her out of this predicament.

My cousin is smart, currently a resident at a very prestigious hospital in New York City, and insanely beautiful with long, black hair and deep brown eyes. She constantly talks of running from this life and away from the grabby asshole she’s supposed to marry in six months.

I see Carlito here a lot, with a new girl grinding on his dick every week. Sometimes he pays for two at once. He definitely doesn’t look like a man who wants to get married. I bet he’s even cheating on her, and I doubt that’ll stop after the wedding.

My heart hurts for Raquel. I wish I had money to help her. At least I got away from a future with a man I didn’t want. Not to say this life is any better, with no choices to make of my own. But I’d rather work here and be alone for the rest of my life than marry into the family.

Running this club is the only thing I have, and maybe that’s why I take it so seriously. But even that’s an illusion. It’s notmyclub. It’s my father’s.

I decide to call Raquel to check in on her. She’s been working crazy long hours, but is actually off today because she had a party to attend for Carlito’s family. I wonder if she’s home yet. The parties in our circle run really late.

Reaching into my red handbag, I take out my cell and dial her number. She answers on the first ring.

“Hey,” she whispers, her voice sounding alarmed.

There’s a male and female voice in the background, and worry gnaws at the forefront of my chest.

“Raquel? What’s going on?” I ask with a low tone, my pulse racing in my ears.

“Carlito and my mom are talking about moving the wedding up by three months!” I can hear the tears in her voice. “I can’t marry him, Chiara. I’d rather die.”

“Don’t say that! We’ll find a way. I promise.”

But that’s a lie. There’s nothing I haven’t tried, between speaking to her parents and even my father. He told me to mind my fucking business, while her parents just patted my hand and assured me this is for the best.

Whose best?I’d asked them.Your daughter would rather end her life than marry a man she doesn’t want, but you think that’s what’s best for her?

I’d never spoken to my aunt and uncle that way. But I had to try and get through to them. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. I’m afraid of what Raquel will do if she’s shoved into a corner with no way out.

“I mean it, Chiara. I don’t want to live this way. I’d rather die.”

An ache builds behind my eyes. She’s fucked. We both know it. There’s nothing she can do to get out of this. Her mom wants this even more than her dad.

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