Page 1 of Arranged

Chapter 1

Santino

I tap my fingers on the leather beside my thigh and rub my chin, preparing myself for what I’m about to walk into.

Leo Carfano called a meeting with me, and as the head of the Carfano family, the most powerful of the four remaining families, he’s someone who leaves no room for any response other than yes.

The last time I made the drive to the Carfano building, I was with my father. I was the only one of the two of us to make it out of there alive, and for good reason. My father shouldn’t have gone against Leo. It got him a bullet in the brain from their enforcer.

We were supposed to merge the Carfano and Antonucci families last year with a marriage between myself and Leo’s sister, Katarina, but that didn’t happen. And it was never going to happen so long as the Carfano’s enforcer had anything to say about it. Dante Salerno is not a man I’d ever cross or be the one that stands between him and his girl. He probably contemplated killing me every which way to Sunday from the moment he thought I was going to be the man Katarina was going to marry.

After my father was killed, my grandfather officially stepped down as the head of the family, passing that title to me. Since I’ve taken over, the Carfanos and Antonuccis have been civil, with no bad blood harbored between us.

“You can wait out here,” I tell my driver, Vince, when we pull up outside the Carfano building.

“Are you sure, Boss?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” He nods, and I climb out of the back of the town car, looking up at the black building that holds not just my future, but my family’s.

I’m prepared for the same deal as last time.

I’m prepared to marry the girl I can’t close my damn eyes without seeing.

I’m let through at security with a simple nod and directed towards the elevators where another guard swipes a card to allow me access. He punches in a code and scans his fingerprint before hitting the button for the third floor and stepping back into the lobby like a robot.

Jesus, his job must be mind-numbingly boring.

The doors close and I stare at my stony reflection in the shiny metal, keeping my mask I shuttered into place the moment I stepped out of the car. I know they know I’m here. I know they can see me in their security footage, and I refuse to show any emotion that they could misread into thinking I’m a weak pissant who will do whatever they want or say without negotiation.

I know they’re in trouble. I’ve heard the rumblings about the sabotage to their trucks over the last couple months, and I know they’re at the point of needing me if they called a meeting.

I hold the cards.

I have something they need, and if they want me to help them, then they’re going to give me what I want in return.

Who I want in return.

The elevator doors slide open and I take long strides towards the conference room occupied by a table of Carfanos. I’m sure it’s meant to intimidate me, and if we were meeting in the basement like last time, I might be, but here in their glass castle, I find I’m not intimidated in the least. They may hold more power than me, but I know they need me, which gives me all thepower I need to push open the glass door and step into the room like I own the fucking place. Like I’m one of them.

“Santino,” Leo greets, standing to shake my hand.

“Leo,” I reply in the same curt tone, gripping his hand firmly.

“Thanks for meeting us today.”

“Of course.” I nod, then give a nod to the other men sitting around the table.

Luca is Leo’s brother and underboss. Nico is Leo’s cousin and right-hand-man. Basically, his second underboss. Vinny is Nico’s brother, who runs Atlantic City and their casino, The Aces, along with Leo’s other brother, Alec, who is absent today. Then there’s Stefano, Marco, and Gabriel. They’re Leo’s cousins and the family’s maincaposin their ranks. Stefano is also the best hacker in the city, if not the entire eastern seaboard. His talents are well-known amongst all the organizations in the city.

“Have a seat.” Leo gestures to the chair opposite his at the other end of the table. The chairs on either side of me are empty while they sit as a united front before me. It’s a glaring message as to how they view me. I’m opposite them. I’m separate from them.

Well, not for fucking long if I get what I want.

Seven pairs of eyes are on me, but I wait for Leo to speak first. “I asked you here because I wanted to discuss a business deal with you.”

“You need my trucks,” I state flatly, and his eyes don’t give away a single emotion or ounce of surprise that I already know this. “How many have you lost now?”

“Enough that we’re having this meeting.”

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