Page 105 of Deception

I nod.

“And you love him.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I know it must be hard to hear all of this. And I don’t know what you thought before, or what happened to you. But Alessandro saved your brother, the love of my life, and Giorgio died defending someone he truly believed in. He'd lost everything, Isabella, everything he believed in had been taken away. He couldn't return to his job, to his country. He couldn't do anything. This gave him a second opportunity, a purpose. Even if it was part of a life that we never believed we would lead.”

“But …”

“The Diamantes aren’t who you think.”

I can’t help raising an eyebrow.

“Well…” She smiles sadly. “Okay, maybe they are who you think in some ways, but they're good people. They're a good family. Alessandro leads with a fair hand. Maybe if you explain to him?—”

“No. There’s no way. I betrayed him. And you know what that means to him,” I fumble out.

“I know. Loyalty is everything. But so are love and family.”

We chat through the afternoon, playing ball with Gigi, sharing a light lunch. Ciro and Ero are circling in as the clouds start to gather in the early afternoon.

Our time is up.

“Would you stay? If you could?” Angelica reaches for my hand.

“I don't know. I need time to think…”

But there is no time. They're about to go to war.

Angelica checks over her shoulder to make sure that Ero and Ciro are still out of earshot. She leans in. “There's something else, isn’t there?”

It's a risk.

A huge risk, gambling on her loyalties to me as her dead husband's sister or her loyalty to the family that rescued her and has preserved her and her daughter's lives.

But she’s family.

“I-I’m pregnant,” I whisper. “Withhischild.”

Her eyes widen, but her hand stays firm, gripping mine, anchoring me.

“You’re sure?” she asks calmly.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Our eyes meet for a second. Without a second thought, she pulls me in for a hug.

And before I even have a chance to ask, she whispers, “Your secret's safe with me.”

23

ALESSANDRO

“Alessandro, you need to go to bed. You need rest.”

“I'll rest when this is done,” I grit through my teeth, my eyes bleary.

We've been at this for days, planning. Racking up a body count as we hunt down and raid every den of the Serpent’s Head we can find. I’ve tried to temper the bloodshed, to send a very specific message.

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