Page 24 of Married With Malice

She nods and retreats. My father leaves the window down and we both watch as Daisy rejoins her husband. Big Man Bowie lowers his head and deposits a sweet kiss on her lips. He puts a protective arm around my sister’s shoulders as they walk back into the building.

“Remember, Annalisa, I’m not the only one counting on you.”

My father’s meaning is clear. The minute I sabotage this phony marriage to Luca, he’ll make Daisy pay. Possibly Sabrina too.

All along I’ve been a fool to believe I’d find a way to escape with ease. The confines of the car feel oppressive, like there’s not enough air in here.

“I’ll be on that plane with Luca tomorrow. I promise. Right now I’m going to see my sister.”

Albie Barone, however, has no intention of visiting his youngest daughter. “Tell your mother a car will be sent around for her in an hour. I’ll be spending the night in the city.”

He makes a gesture to one of his men and the backseat door is flung open. I can’t get away from him fast enough.

Once I’m safely through the hospital doors, I turn around and see that the car is already gone. My hands are trembling and I sit down in a plastic lobby chair. I need a minute to calm down before facing my sisters.

Daisy knows nothing of the implied threats against her. Sabrina has no clue that I’ve also bargained for her future.

It’s no secret to my sisters that I’m far from delighted about this union with Luca Connelly. They believe my grudging cooperation comes from a sense of duty to the family. Despite the lonely feeling of bearing the weight alone, I’d never burden them with the hideous truth.

My phone dings with an incoming message. Digging through my gym bag, where I’d haphazardly thrown it earlier, I’m grossed out to see the text is from Luca. He sent a photo of himself in the middle of a busy bar. He’s wearing a hat that saysJUST MARRIEDin sparkly letters and the pic is captioned with X’s and O’s.

He just couldn’t resist ending the night without one more trolling shot.

With a hiss, I thumb away from the text. And immediately I’m greeted with another image of Luca. That fucker actually switched my screen wallpaper to a closeup of his stupid face.

A horrifying suspicion dawns on me. When I click on the InstaFace app, my fear is confirmed. Luca has changed my profile pic to a photo of us standing at the church altar. He’s leaning in for a kiss. My green wig is exceedingly vibrant. My face is tipped up in expectation.

Of course, that kiss never came. Luca bypassed my mouth and brushed my cheek with his lips. Then he said he could see my nipples.

Oh, and he didn’t just change my profile pic. He added a post. In all caps. Because of course he did.

JUST MARRIED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. LUCA DAMIANO CONNELLY, I’M YOURS 4EVA!!!!

Every single social media app is the same. There are hundreds of comments and sincere messages of congratulations.

“Jackass,” I mutter and switch the phone off before returning it to the bottom of my bag. I have no wish to deal with this right now. My new wedding ring gets tossed somewhere in the bag as well.

At least my hands are no longer shaking.

No sooner do I realize this than Big Man Bowie strolls through a set of hospital double doors. He spots me sitting in the lobby and grins.

“Anni, there you are! Daisy said Sabrina’s asking for you.”

I jump to my feet and pick up my bag. “Let’s go.”

As for Luca, he’s getting shoved out of my mind for the rest of the night.

He’s tomorrow’s problem.

5

LUCA

There are rich people and then there are people who can boast about having a seventy million dollar private jet at their disposal.

Albie Barone really likes to travel in style and this is his plane. Lately Richie’s been tossing around the idea of buying a plane of his own. He doesn’t like feeling left out of what all the cool modern mafia bosses are doing. I’ve looked into a jet acquisition and concluded it was a foolish investment.

In the meantime, I’m not complaining about getting the celebrity treatment. Aside from the three member flight crew, it’s just me and Annalisa on board.

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