Page 53 of Alliance

“Even if she’s unhappy.”

Sam scoffs. “They don’t care if she’s happy, Naz. They care about two things only. Money and power, and let me tell you from experience, one leads to the other.”

I wonder if Lana knows that her family has assigned a dollar amount to her worth.

The marriage is an unnecessary part, a silly symbol meant to strengthen their deal. But this could easily be done without hurting her, not that anyone will acknowledge that. Instead, they’ll force her into this marriage, calling on old traditions while Lana is swirling in thoughts of death.

It’s stupid. And I want to kill all of them for it. For putting her through this.

And maybe I’m weak for not killing them right here and now, but where would that get me? There’s no way in hell I’d make it out of this house.

“So what are we going to do about it?” I cross my arms as I meet Sam’s gaze.

There was a war brewing in New Orleans long before I got wrapped up in the Costello business. But now? Now I was choosing a side. Lana’s side.

Sam’s phone buzzes on the table, and he reaches for it, bringing the device to the ear and growling a greeting. The frown on his face only grows as he listens to the caller on the other end. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I can hear a pounding on his door at the same time when Sam is yelling at the voice on the other end. An incessant beating, banging loudly from downstairs.

“Fuck,” he growls, and the change of the tone make my stomach drop.

Whatever’s happening, I can tell it’s not good.

I step back to the window, peeking out of the blinds to look down at the entrance to Sam’s house.

“Police,” I say the word as I look down at the black uniformed officers standing outside his door.

“Shit,” Sam mutters, pulling the phone from his ear and jabbing at the red button to end the call.

“What is it?”

Sam weaves a hand through his hair in frustration.

“My father is dead.”

It’s not until this moment that I realize how entwined I am in the Costello family. Before this, I considered myself nothing more than just an employee. But as Sam readies himself for the police to arrest him, he tells me, “Don’t trust anyone but John. Wait for him to contact you.”

It’s those words that make me realize how deep I am. The understanding that whatever is happening in this family that is tearing them apart, is more than just Lana’s marriage.

There’s no secret that there’s a divide straight down the line between the older and younger Costello children. But the way Sam warns me who not to trust reinforces the idea that something is happening in this family.

Lana is just the tipping point.

Sam is cuffed on the front stop of his home. He holds out his hands for the officers to take him into custody. They take down my name but leave me behind. If I wasn’t connected toLa famigliabefore, I definitely am now.

And I finally have my button, the thing I’ve been working for, but I feel less protected now than I did a year ago.

Sam’s parting words to me are “Protect Lana.”

What was missing from the sentence was how the fuck I was going to do that.

Junior Costello being dead really fuck things up. Not to mention, the charges read while they slapped handcuffs on Sam’s wrists had me believing he was being charged for his father’s murder.

I guessed that leaves Damien a lot of time to take over the family while Sam is busy battling murder charges.

I don’t have a plan now. I leave Sam’s house with more questions than answers. Lana’s wedding is in a few weeks and with Sam behind the bars, what kind of pull do I have to protect her or end this arrangement?

And waiting for John to contact me? How long am I supposed to sit around while some asshole wraps his fingers around her neck? Tortures her to the point of swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills?

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