Page 85 of Convenient Mafia Vows

“My dad told me what he overheard, so don’t bother trying to deny it.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. When he didn’t mention it at Moira’s house, I convinced myself that he didn’t hear anything. Why did he tell her? He knows that Caleb is never going to marry her, even if I’m taken out of the equation, so why? What was he thinking?

“What do you want, Olivia?”

“I thought it was obvious. But in case you haven’t quite figured it out, I want Caleb. He’s kidding himself if he thinks that marrying you will achieve anything, whereas a marriage between the Dragonettis and the Murrays…” She smiles, but it doesn’t travel as far as her eyes. “It will make everyone happy.”

“What about Caleb?”

“What, you think you can make him happier than he will be with me?” She furrows her brow. “Oh my God, you do, don’t you?” She sits back in her seat with a twisted smile. “His little plan backfired because you already think that this might be forever.”

Don’t bite. Don’t bite.Don’t bite. If I react, she’s already won.

“What about you?” I try to project more confidence than I feel into my voice. “Will it make you happy?”

“Duh. Caleb Murray and Olivia Dragonetti. What’s not to be happy about? The press will be all over us. We’ll be the most photographed couple in New York City.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

Her eyes narrow. She leans closer and hisses, “Fuck off, Victoria. What do you care whether I’m happy or not?”

“I don’t.” I shrug. “But I do care about Caleb, and if you’re unhappy, he will be too.”

She opens her mouth to speak and closes it again. Her expression hardens. “Here’s the deal. Your brother and your friend in exchange for Caleb.”

I sit back in my seat and glance at the two men watching me closely from the bar. What choice do I have? Olivia and I both know that I’m going to accept her deal, but the real problem is getting her to keep her word.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you. How do I even know that you have Mason and Sienna?”

“You don’t.” She shrugs. “Off you go then, if you don’t believe me. Makes no difference to me if they’re alive or dead.” She gestures to the doorway.

“What’s in it for me?”

“I deliver them back to you alive. I would say they’ll be in one piece, but I can’t guarantee they will be. Sorry.”

Sorry, not sorry.

“You’ll need to do better than that.”

She rolls her eyes, her bottom lip rolling out. “Who told you it was your turn to call the shots?”

“Caleb has offered to set me up for life. Why would I walk away from that just because it’s what you want?”

She tips her head back and laughs, flicking her fine hair over her shoulders. I can’t imagine her and Caleb together. Thinking of them in Caleb’s bed or in the rooftop pool, drinking champagne from each other’s mouths, feels like being punched in the gut, and I force myself to breathe, in through my nose, out through my mouth.

“I knew you could be bought,” she says. “Everyone can.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“Fifty grand.”

I don’t waste a beat. I stand up and go to walk away, the two bodyguards instantly alert.

“Wait,” she snaps, and I turn back around. “A hundred grand.”

I shake my head. “I’ll take my chances with Caleb. He’ll find my brother and Sienna, and then everyone will be happy.” I smile, repeating her words.

“He’ll be too late. They’re safe right now, but I can change that in a moment.” She snaps her fingers to prove the point.

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