Page 19 of Born a Queen

She placed a hand on Giovanni's arm and gave him a slight squeeze. She turned her gaze to Mateo. "Signore Savino has been nothing but kind to me. Please, as a personal favour, keep the conversation as pleasant as possible."

She held Mateo's gaze, and eventually saw a slight softening in the deep brown depths. She knew it was for her sake alone and her heart stuttered over the meaning of it. The power she could wield with this man… if only she would allow him into her life.

Mateo bowed his head toward her and looked at Giovanni. "I apologize if I come across as short. I’m eager to reunite Raina with her family. Her mother has been beside herself with concern when she found out about the shooting."

"My mother knows?" Raina gasped in dismay.

She hadn't spent a lot of time with Vee in Venezuela but in the short amount of time that they'd spent together Raina had learned how completely and unreservedly protective her mother was of her. It was a disaster, Vee knowing that Raina had been hurt. It threw the entire Italian episode into a more sinister light. If Vee felt that Mateo couldn’t get Raina back, she wouldn’t hesitate to call in favours. To ask her husband to come after the people that had hurt her daughter.

Raina turned to Giovanni. "If my mother knows about the shooting, then that means Sotza is involved. Your son is in grave danger."

Giovanni nodded and patted her hand where it lay on his arm. "I had guessed as much when you showed up in this club demanding to see me. My son is in a safe place, I’m not worried for his safety at the moment. I had hoped we could find a way through this mess that might preserve his life.”

Raina finally realized exactly why Giovanni had decided that she should marry his son. He believed that in making her his daughter-in-law, he was providing his son with immunity from Sotza's wrath. Though Raina didn't know Sotza very well, she knew enough to understand that if someone hurt her, it didn't matter what their relation was. He would kill them as easily as he would kill a stranger, perhaps even easier.

"You’re in luck," Mateo drawled, watching the mini drama from across the table. "Sotza is trusting me with these negotiations. He believes that I will find a way to return Raina to her family, punish those that hurt her and keep the peace between our organizations."

Raina rather thought that was an impossible list to reconcile, but she admired Mateo’s self-confidence. He certainly believed himself capable.

"And how do you suggest punishing the perpetrator of Raina’s injury without going to war?" Giovanni asked.

"You will be required to hand him over to us as a sign of good faith and justice." Mateo said it as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Raina's gaze swiveled back to Giovanni. Giovanni brought his hand down on the table, not hard enough to knock over drinks, but with enough force to emphasize his point. "Of course, you know that I will never hand over my only child. This is a ridiculous suggestion and if you continue to insist on the impossible then these negotiations will end."

Mateo shifted his shoulders slightly, not quite a shrug, but enough to give the impression of carelessness. "You’ll do as you think best. But once Raina is safely away, we will go to war with you and that war will not end until I have your son’s head in the box and on its way back to Venezuela where her mother will gleefully receive it."

"No!" Giovanni snapped. "You will not come into my club, in my city and make such demands. You will show me respect or I will have you all killed and sent back to Venezuela in pieces."

Giovanni moved his arm away from Raina's touch, showing her that he was including her in that last statement. Her mouth went dry and her heart sank.

What was Mateo doing? Why was he setting the older man off, unbalancing him? She had to believe that there was some rhyme or reason to this madness. The Mateo that she knew always had a strategy and she suspected this was no different. She just wished that she was in on it.

Mateo didn't speak again after Giovanni's threat. He let it hang there, as though showing everyone in the room that he was in control and Giovanni was being ruled by his emotions. Clever. Raina thought perhaps Mateo was trying to undermine Giovanni in front of his people. At least half a dozen men stood off to the side pretending not to listen.

As if coming to the same realization, Giovanni looked at Mateo speculatively. His voice was back to its normal tone as he said, "Perhaps we come to another agreement, one that will be mutually beneficial to both of our organizations."

Mateo shook his head. "You have nothing that we’re interested in. Business is good in the Americas and the Butcher wants no more partners." Raina thought that he dropped Sotza's nickname on purpose, especially coming on the heels of Giovanni's chilling threat.

"I’m not suggesting a partnership, more of a merger. A marriage, between our two children, our two houses." Giovanni looked proud of himself for coming up with the solution. He didn't see Mateo stiffen in his seat, his hand twitching against his glass. "Our two organizations are extremely powerful on their own, if we merge then we could be unstoppable. We would have half the world at our fingertips. It is not a thing to be taken lightly."

"No." Mateo said the word with a simple finality. He didn't say anything else.

Giovanni ignored Mateo's denial. "Of course, you’ll need to take my proposal to your boss. I am confident that he will see the sense in it."

"I have no need to take your proposal anywhere. It won’t leave this table. Raina is engaged to another and no amount of negotiating will change this."

Giovanni looked at Raina in surprise. "She told me nothing of this when we spoke last night." His voice was chiding.

Raina gritted her teeth. Was now a good time to speak, set the record straight? Was a woman actually engaged if she had no intention of marrying the man? Perhaps she should get up excuse herself, go to the washroom and slip out. It had worked in the animal clinic; it could work in the nightclub.

There is a slight lift to Mateo's lips. "The young lady is taking her time in reconciling herself to the idea of marriage."

Raina had no choice but to roll her eyes at that. "Sure, it's the marriage I object to," she said sarcastically.

"And who exactly is the lucky groom?" Giovanni asked thoughtfully.

"Me," Mateo said simply.

---