Page 11 of Little Dove

“One can hope, but in all honesty, I was prepared to gag you and carry you out of there kicking screaming if I had to.” Why bother trying to hide now?

She scowls at me. “So, what, I was never going to get a choice in this?”

“And what choice would you have liked, Amara?” I demand bluntly. “None of them ends in whatever idea you have cooked up in your head. If I didn’t get there when I did, you’d either be on your way back to New York with them, beaten, bruised, andabout to be forced into a marriage you don’t want, or you’d have run and ended up there anyway.”

“Why couldn’t you have told me and helped me escape? Why do I have to go back with you? You have money and connections, clearly, so hiding me shouldn’t be that hard, right? Maybe instead of dragging me back to New York, you could ask me what I want and we figure something else out.”

“What, you think we’ll be able to hide you forever?” I scoff. “Even you’re not that naive, Amara. This isn’t witness protection, or whatever your government calls it. This is the fucking mafia.La famiglia. Once they find you, there is no escape. Can we hide you, sure, but the minute this war is done, another is going to start, because without the allies, they’re trying to align themselves with now, they all have others that will work to avenge them, or find you, once they become aware of you. It would be a waste of time, money, and resources, and there is no guarantee that you’ll be as protected as you are with us. Information leaks, men are bought, and you’ll be sold back to them before any of us can intervene. It’s not a risk we’re willing to take. Especially when all of us can keep that from happening.”

“And just who is ‘all of us’? You make it sound like you have a whole army there.”

“We do. Two of them, to be exact. We have our men, including my father, the Don, the Caruso brothers, my own brothers, and all of our best men. Then there are Nico and his men. Out of the four leaders in New York, Nico is by far the strongest, and largest when it comes to man power and territory. So, no, Amara, I’m afraid you’re not going to get to ride off into the sunset and pretend none of this is happening. You’ve been found, and your life is in more danger than ever.”

5

AMARA

How isthis even happening right now? A part of me wonders if I’m going to suddenly wake up and realize this is all just one giant nightmare. The other part of me is freaking the hell out. My stomach churns at what Lazaro just told me, and just how much my life is about to change.

I said I wanted to leave town, but not like this. Not because of something that has nothing to do with me, but because of who my biological parents are. Or supposedly are, anyway. This could all be a huge mistake, and Lazaro and the rest of them are all wrong.

My brain latches on to that, desperate to make it make sense.

“How do you actually know I’m one of the missing girls?” I ask Lazaro, hating the desperation that leaks into my voice. “I mean, short of a DNA test, this is really all speculation.”

He pulls out his phone. I swear to fuck if he shows me an actual DNA test, I’m going to lose my mind. Instead, he turns the phone around and I see at a picture of a woman who looksstrikingly like me. Hell, if it wasn’t for her eye color, I might think it was me. The woman has dark brown eyes, and her lips are a little fuller than mine, but not by much. We have the same olive-colored skin, dark brown hair, and small nose. I swallow hard. “This is your cousin, Gia.” Then he flips to another picture. “And this is your cousin, Sienna.”

Sienna is another mirror image of myself and Gia, though her face is a little fuller where mine and Gia’s are thin, and her eyes are hazel, instead of brown or green. Her hair color and facial features are much the same.

So much for hoping to be wrong. It’s hard to deny something that’s staring you right in the face.

“Shit,” I mutter, still staring at the picture.

“The De Lucas have some strong genes,” Lazaro says with a wry smile. “All their sons look alike, as do their daughters. You have your mother’s eyes, while Sienna got your uncle’s, and Gia got her mother’s.”

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. How the hell am I supposed to refute any of this now?

“Alright, fine, from all appearances, it looks like what you’re saying is true,” I admit begrudgingly. “But now I have to abandon my life because of it? How is that fair?”

“Life isn’t fair, Amara, and out of the two of us, I’d say you know that far better than I do.” A simple, factual statement, but one that has my entire body going rigid, because it’s finally sinking in just how much information Lazaro has on me; information the people who work with him would have uncovered. His dark eyes hold mine as I stare at him.

Humiliation, panic, betrayal—though that one makes no sense—and finally acceptance, flash through me. I probably shouldn’t be surprised. A little red tape and a ‘sealed’ stamp wouldn’t stop the people that work with Lazaro and his boss. But knowing that they found out what I’ve been through, thetraumatic moments that have shaped me, makes me want to scream. But I swallow it down. No, I won’t let him think that knowing those details gives him any kind of advantage.

I step away from him, my walls going up high and fast. “Life may not be fair, but I’m done being used as a pawn in anyone’s game,” I tell him icily. “Just what is the plan if I go with you to New York, hmm? You say it’s not marriage, but you expect me to, what, sit around and wait? Or do you intend to put me to work in some other way?” I let the insinuation hang between us.

Lazaro’s eyes flash, and his jaw clenches. He looks intimidating, like he’s ready to lose his temper, but the man is nothing if not controlled. Instead, he grits out, “No other man gets to touch you, Amara. That is a fact, and one you need to learn quickly. As for the rest, there is no ‘if’ about it. You’re going to New York with me, where I’ll make sure you’re safe. What you do while you’re there is up to you. I don’t give a fuck if you want to learn to knit or dance around the garden with a bonnet on your head. The only fucking thing I care about is that you’re safe.”

I narrow my eyes at him, my attention caught on the first few words. “I’m afraid that neither of those options appeals to me. And what the hell do you mean, ‘no other man gets to touch me’? That makes it sound like you plan to do the touching yourself, and you don’t want anyone to interfere. Is that what this is all about, Cattaneo? You want to make me your own personal whore? Did you win the draw to come and get me? Oh, I know— is it that whoever got to me first got dibs? You won the race, and I’m the prize?”

The utter fury on his face at my words has me stepping back, ready to run, but I stop myself. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s scaring me.

“Do not call yourself that disgusting word again, Amara,” he hisses as he advances toward me. “You are no one’s whore, leastof all mine. As for the rest, tell me that you and I don’t have chemistry. That you don’t wonder what it will feel like to have me between your thighs, to have my mouth on all the places that’ll make you feel so fucking good. I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you. So, no. No other man is going to touch you because, until we both decide otherwise, you’re mine, Amara. It would be that way no matter who the fuck came to rescue you.”

“Oh, well, then I should count myself lucky, huh?” I holler at him. “The big, bad mafia man is staking his claim. Not only has he decided to make me his personal pet, but he’s going to actually try and make it good for me. All because of some ‘chemistry’ he claims we both feel. You’re a huge Italian man with an accent, so of course we have chemistry. You would have chemistry with any woman between the ages of eighteen and eighty. That doesn’t make it special, and it doesn’t make me want to drop my pants, bend over, and let you have your way. The only thing it makes me want to do is punch you even harder in the balls.”

His eyes narrow further. “Feel free to try it,dolcezza, and see what happens,” he coaxes. The low timbre and sensual promise in his voice have my entire body heating in response.

Damn it! I can’t allow that. I need some space, and fast. Even now, I can feel the growing tension and desire between us. This man is far too potent.

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