Page 46 of The Devil Can Be Kind

I pursed my lips at his backhanded comment.

Before I could respond, two waitresses entered carrying plates of food and poured us both some wine. I didn’t miss the flirty smile one of them flashed Marco as she filled his glass, or how she pivoted her hips to show off her cleavage. He shot her a charming smile in return.

I bristled at the sight but couldn’t exactly place why it had annoyed me so much.

I bit back the crappy comment I had on the tip of my tongue the moment they left and focused on eating the creamy pasta dish instead. It tasted absolutely divine and was a welcome distraction from the awkward tension in the room.

After a few minutes, I decided to break the silence. There was something I did,in fact,want to talk to him about.

“I’ve actually been thinking about that. I think it’s probably best for me to change my name now that I’m, well…not part of my family anymore.” I couldn’t deny the pain I still felt saying the words aloud. “I thought it might be safer.”

While the decision made sense, it didn’t take the pain away from my suggestion.

He looked at me quietly a moment. “I agree. I’ll have someone come by the house in the next couple of days to help with the paperwork.”

“I don’t know what I’m changing it to yet.” I admitted.

“Does it matter?” His dark eyes burned into mine.

“Of course, it matters. It’s going to be a fresh start.” I fidgeted nervously, looking down at my food to break his unflinching gaze.

“In which case, I would suggest you change it to La Torre.” He suggested.

I immediately began choking on the food in my mouth.

“W-what kind of suggestion is that?” I asked incredulously, clearing my throat with a gulp of wine. “You can’t be serious.”

My stomach knotted both from anxiety and something else—something that felt oddly like anticipation, but primarily like fear.

He shrugged and lounged back in his seat. “The name La Torre is respected and more importantly, it isfeared. It would provide you simultaneously with opportunity as well as protection by way of association.”

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to piece together my argument despite his sound rationale.

“Or it could put an evenbiggertarget on my back,” I pointed out. “First of all, your family are not going to take kindly to aManninousing their name. Secondly, changing it to a rival family’s would only give myrealfamily more reason to hate me.”

“What I say goes in my family, whether they like it or not. I’m it’s head and they obey me. End of story. As to your second point—your family abandoned you. If you want to join another family, then that’s on them.” He took another swig of his glass. “At least my family protects its own,” He added quietly.

I sighed, “The answer is no, Marco.”

His fist clenched, and I could tell he was unhappy with my rejection.

The silence resumed to a painful degree, and I could feel his anger lingering in the air up until the waitresses flittered back into the room, collecting our plates. A decedent cheesecake left in their place.

“How long have you been a Don for anyway?” I grappled to say something.Anythingto stifle the discomfort in the room.

“Seven years.”

Around the same time my family went into hiding.It was a strange coincidence.

“And no, it’s not a coincidence,” He answered my internal thought, completely freaking me out.

“What do you mean it’s not a coincidence?” I asked, confused.

He seemed to contemplate answering my question for a few moments.

When he did finally speak, his voice remained slow and measured. “Seven years ago, my family was in negotiations with the Manninos over a narcotics deal. It would have united our families logistically speaking and established a new country-wide line guaranteeing an expansion of profits. Your father decided that instead of honoring that deal, he was going to make another deal…a deal with the DEA.” Marco’s face remained cold and calculated. Unfeeling.

I knew Marco was telling the truth.

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