Page 31 of A Beautiful Crime

I’ll remember to thank him the next time I’m at prayer during Mass.

Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing the youngest Fiore with an arrogance that led him to believe he could be the ruination of his papa. And because of this arrogance you gifted him it finally led his sister to me, where she rightfully belongs. A-fucking-men.

“That may be how you rule things, Savio,” I begin with humor in my tone, “but that is not how I rule.”

Savio loosens the tie around his neck and looks up at his son as if to say, who does this fucker think he is.

He would be a smart man to never say that to my face nor within ear range.

If I wasn’t disrespecting him so blatantly and consistently tonight I would have his eyes plucked from their sockets for showing disrespect to me.

But even I know how to choose my battles and this is a battle not worth fighting.

For Carina, though?

For Carina I’ll fight with my best men and lead on my stead with a sword and shield ready.

“If my condition is not met, Savio, I will not marry your daughter. Therefore our partnership will forever cease to exist,” I tell him calmly but my tone is grave.

He thinks he has the winning bargaining chip with Carina, and although that is true he doesn’t know my obsession about her. No one does except for three of my most trusted men, Rico, Pietro and Gino.

But because of this bargaining chip he has he thinks he has power.

No one has power over me except for her.

And by his swallow followed by the fisting of his hand on top of his desk he knows this as well.

You think people would learn to understand that you simply can’t win against the Devil.

“Don Fiore,” Luca says warily, as he should.

I sit back relaxed waiting for his decision even though it’s predictable.

Savio sighs, white flags of surrender waving in his eyes, “Si. This condition can be met.”

I grin like the cat who ate the canary.

“Excellente.” I sound rejoiced. Praise Jesus, hallelujah.

Who knew the Devil could be a devoted fan to God himself?

Luca clears his throat. “If that is all-”

I hold up my hand to silence him and he begrudgingly follows my command. “She will be leaving with me tonight.”

“Tonight?” Savio cries in horror. He then looks at me as if I have gone mad. I can assure you, I most certainly have not. “No, this can not be, Constantine. Dio mio, have you no shame? No respect?”

I raise my brow as I stare at him coolly and my voice is as cool as a fall breeze, “Shame is not in my vocabulary. As for respect, respect is for those who have earned it. And have you earned it, Savio?”

He’s silently fuming. The man known for his composure is tearing apart at the seams before me. It makes me a cruel sadistic man to take pleasure in it but I carry no shame.

“You come in my home unannounced,” he begins in a quiet voice that is laced with fury, “disrespect my traditions, order me around like one of your soldiers, and not only do I concede to your condition but you have to twist my arm and ask for more?”

I place my head in my hand, my thumb running along my jaw as I pretend to consider what he’s saying. After a moment I glance back at Pietro with a brow raised and he suppresses a grin. I then shrug at both Savio and Luca. “Si, that’s correct.”

While I’m expecting to receive another outcry from Savio it’s his son who demands in a temper that’s not as controlled as his papa, “You will respect my papa as he is Don Fiore, The Don of-”

“And I am The Devil of the East Coast,” I silence him. “To think that either of you come close to the amount of power I have is ludicrous. For you to believe it makes you both insane.” I level Luca with a cutting stare, and his eyes are daggers at mine. I then rise from the chair and Pietro moves closer behind me the same time Savio backs away from me and Luca takes a menacing step forward. I lean on the desk and stare Savio straight in theeyes. “You are Don Fiore, si, but you are not my Don. You came to me with an offer, not the other way around. You should just be happy that I have accepted it. You should be kissing your daughter’s feet and worshipping the ground she walks upon, because if not for her, Savio, there would be no business between us. Capisce?”

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