Page 64 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

Esidor chuckled. “It’s perfect, don’t you think? My dad offered her to them years ago when she was only young, and that was what started all of this. In a way, I like to think I’d be fulfilling one of his greatest wishes…to see his only daughter married off to the most influential family in the city. Plus, those Levov dogs wouldn’t be able to get rid of the Pesci name too easily that way…not when we become family.”

There was no questioning how Ari and the others didn’t like that idea while they stood behind Damien, faces set hard like stone.

“In that case, you’re bargaining with the wrong person,” Damien returned, giving Esidor an unwavering expression. “The Levovs might be our associates, but I don’t speak for them.”

“No? How unfortunate…we won’t have a deal if you can’t meet all of my demands. I don’t care who pays up or who agrees to the deal. Hell, I don’t even care what you do with her after the fact…I will ensure that one of you marries my sister,” the kingpin insisted, voice slowly losing his carefree air.

“You and your father have both tried this before…what makes you think any of us want your sister?” Ari asked from behind Damien, gun not moving away from Esidor.

“If you want Sky still breathing by the end of this discussion, then I’m sure that’s enough incentive for one of you sad sacks to buck up and take her as your wife.”

“How do you know we don’t all have wives then?” Ari questioned, doubling down despite how it was beginning to irritate their target.

Despite the tension in his grasp on me, Esidor chuckled. “Don’t worry…I’m well aware of at least two Levovs still in need of little wives. I’ve already done my research. Besides, even if it wasn’t the case, I’m sure you’d find a way.”

It was true. As far as I knew, both Lukyan and Kir were unmarried, and if necessary to secure the deal, one of them would be able to marry her with ease. If they somehow allowed Esidor to orchestrate the situation, that is.

Ari forced out an irritated breath. “We already have one associate from a forced marriage…we aren’t looking to make room for another.”

At the obvious dry humor in his words, the kingpin’s fingers flexed against my shoulder. “That doesn’t sound like my problem.”

“And your inability to marry your sister off isn’t mine either,” Damien interjected, sounding more impatient as time went on. “We’ll clear your name, fix your reputation, and pay you off, but we won’t accept your sister. It’s an unnecessary addition. You can find someone else to marry her off to.”

Of course, Esidor didn’t like that.

He let go of a low, bitter laugh at first, tapping the gun against the back of my head again. “It seems you’ve either become deaf or incredibly braindead within the time we’ve beentalking…We don’t have a deal until someone marries my sister. Otherwise, this one here will be staying with me.”

My heart clenched at the thought, and at the same time, I caught how Damien’s jaw tightened with visible anger.

“You sound confident for someone surrounded by a record number of rifles…this place is surrounded inside and out. Regardless, you aren’t going anywhere.”

I could hear the smug grin in his words. “I’m confident knowing I have the one you care about in my grasp…if you want her alive, you wouldn’t dare give anyone the command to shoot me.”

Watching that confliction move through Damien’s gaze made me ache, and I knew he was struggling to reach a solid solution.

He was stuck in a tough position, given how he indeed couldn’t speak for the Levovs, and he wasn’t going to give in to Esidor’s demands so easily. If he did, they’d be letting him walk all over both families, and that was no way to maintain their current control.

After a moment of tense silence, Esidor sighed. “Well? What now, hm?”

“You know where I stand,” Damien said, not showing even a glimpse of weakness despite seemingly not knowing his next move.

Esidor went quiet, and his hand moved to the back of my neck, gripping those icy fingers against my skin and making me tense up. “By the way this is going, I’m beginning to wonder if I want any of you having my sister…so dismissive…so ungrateful for the opportunity I’m placing at your feet.”

Damien’s brows furrowed all the while the kingpin continued, his tone turning less coherent than it had been.

“Most men would be jumping at the chance to find themselves married to a beautiful Italian woman…but you thankless bastards think little of her without even knowing Aria. You think you’ll be able to do better, but I promise, you won’t,” he continued, fingers gripping me harder fractionally all the while he ranted. “At this rate, none of you deserve her.”

There was no mistaking how passionate he was becoming the longer the confrontation went on. His growing anger gleaned through his every word.

“Not once…not twice, but three times, you have rejected my family’s generous offer. A beautiful young woman in exchange for notoriety, money, and influence. Despite having more than the lion’s share, you can’t even spare some for another man who's not all that different from you!”

As Esidor raved, eventually loosening his grip on me at the same time I felt the gun pull away from my head slightly, I looked over at Damien, who was focused solely on me. As far as I could tell, he wasn’t even listening by then.

Instead, we held that eye contact, and I could only think about getting out of there. Of leaving and going home where we wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Where we could be together and discover more of what we could be.

I just wanted to be with him. To feel the security and adoration he wanted to give me more than anything.

At that moment, I could see that same want in his eyes, and that was when it set in.

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