Page 125 of Married with Mayhem

I’m not stupid enough to believe that’s the end of the drama.

And of course it’s not.

“Now on to some unfortunate business,” Cass says. “I think it makes sense to deal with everything at once, don’t you?”

I cross my arms, scowling, tired of them, ready to run out of here, jump in the Impala and crash through the ranch gates on my way out. “Whatever you say.”

He points his fork at me. “There’s still the matter of your grandfather’s outstanding loan. Now that he’s gone, bless his soul, it’s time to reckon all old accounts. To be honest, I have no use for a pizzeria but I’m really tired of carrying the debt on my books so we need to find a different solution.”

During his speech I started tensing up, thinking he’d demand ownership of Gino’s. But no, this has all the hallmarks of a simple humiliation ritual. He intends to extract something meaningful but not ruinous.

The bottom line is he’s pissed that his plans for turning Sabrina into a Tempesta bride were thwarted but doesn’t want to risk anything drastic enough to offend Vittorio Messina.

If that’s the way it has to be then I’ll pay a price, as long as Sabrina is kept out of the fight.

“Why don’t you just tell me what the hell you want?” I say.

He acts like he’s carefully considering the question. “I’m pretty sure your car will cover the balance.”

The car.Yeah, I should have seen that coming. My car is far more than a car. There’s a ton of sentimental value attached. My grandfather was so proud to hand the keys over to me and made me promise to take care of it.

If Gino is watching somehow, I hope he can forgive what I’m about to do. Digging the keys out of my back pocket, I swiftly remove two from the keychain and I toss them both on the table.

“Done. Are we square now?”

For the first time, there’s a crack in their united armor. Julian’s head turns to give his father a skeptical frown.

“Maybe,” my uncle says and sprinkles some grated cheese over his tortellini. “You can fly out in the morning, Monte. You shouldn’t be neglecting that cute little bride of yours any longer. For tonight, eat up and relax. There’s tiramisu for dessert.”

How was I ever dumb enough to look up to this psycho?

The rest of them dig into their plates with enthusiasm but my appetite has gone missing. I pick at my food with silent frustration and wait for dinner to be over so I can continue my quest to find a phone. It’s clear that no one will help me locate the landline extension so I’ll have to think of something else.

Twilight is settling when I walk out into the yard. My car has already been moved. Just as well. Seeing it one last time would only have hurt.

A squad of mafia subordinates eyeball me with suspicion. I ignore them and keep walking toward the horse stables where I’m hoping to find the one Tempesta who might have a heart.

Fort is there, brushing down the sorrel he’d been riding. He looks up at the sound of my footsteps. “The staff here is worthless,” he says, shaking his head with disgust. “Can’t even rub down a horse properly.”

“That’s terrible,” I say. “Can I borrow your phone?”

Fort doesn’t answer right away. He keeps brushing the horse for a few more strokes before sighing and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He opens the screen and hands it over. “You should probably make it quick if you don’t want to cause trouble.”

“Thanks.”

I don’t want to risk giving any of them direct access to Sabrina. And Luca doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this when he’s doing his best to keep his family away from the mafia. Nico is the only one I can call.

My brother answers right away, his “Hello” sounding cautious and perplexed at the unfamiliar number.

“It’s me,” I say. “Lost my phone and I’ll need to make this short.”

“Finally! What the fuck happened?”

“Never mind. I’ll get you caught up when I’m out of here. For now I need you to call Sabrina and tell her everything is fine and I’ll be on my way back to her tomorrow.”

“She’s here,” he says.

“Where? New York?”

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