Page 1 of Fierce Hearts

CHAPTER1

SOFIA

Inursed my champagne at the bridal table, watching Leo Donati—one of Ironstone's most feared man—look at Meredith like she hung the moon. His hands, capable of unspeakable violence, cradled her with sweet tenderness as they swayed beneath crystal chandeliers.

It was a sight to see.

Only Meredith could make his stone cold heart melt. I'd not been a fan when they'd first gotten involved, but after seeing them in action, how happy Meredith was, I couldn't help but soften.

Leo may have been a killer, but Meredith was everything to him, and he'd give her the world if she wanted it. It was a love I couldn't argue with.

She deserved all the happiness she could get after everything she'd endured in her life. And Leo was determined to give it to her.

One month. It had taken exactly one month from their engagement for Leo Donati to make Meredith his wife. Then again, when you had his resources and connections, the impossible became merely a phone call away. The Duke Hotel's grand ballroom had been transformed overnight, no expense spared for the woman who'd captured the heart of one of Ironstone's most dangerous man.

He'd really gone all out, and Meredith loved it. Seeing her glowing, a grin plastered on her face, made everything as perfect as it could be in my eyes.

"To the happy couple!" someone shouted, and glasses clinked around me.

Yes, to the couple of the hour indeed.

I drained my glass in one swallow—my fourth? Or was it my fifth? I wasn't paying attention. Tonight was a time for celebration.

And yet, the expensive bubbles couldn't numb the hollow ache beneath my ribs. Not jealousy, not exactly. Leo Donati had never been the object of my desire. But seeing Meredith so complete, so certain, so happy…

Romance was not something I pursued anymore. With my family background, it wasn't easy to make a real connection with someone. Despite the Savoca family moving their operations to another city, it was still a shadow looming over me. I'd cut my ties. Built something legitimate with bloodstained money. The irony wasn't lost on me—using my family's dirty cash to become someone who saved lives instead of taking them, of investing it into legitimate enterprises and stocks.

I flagged over a wandering waiter, helping myself to yet another glass of champagne.

Every once in a while, I got a postcard from my mother, just to remind me she was still okay and safe, although she signed off using an alias. The only connection I still maintained to my family.

I hadn't seen her in years because of the target on her back, her lack of standing in my family despite marrying my father.

How could I ever hope to find something like Meredith when the sins of my family followed me? I'd almost lost Meredith because of it. I'd kept it from her, wanting her to like me for me, and then she'd not taken the revelation well when it had all come to light.

At least our friendship had overcome the deceit. It had been for her safety, but now I knew that protecting her should've been a choice she was given. We'd taken that choice from her, all three of us. Leo, Grayson, and me.

I gulped down the new glass of champagne.

That was the past. Meredith knew everything now, and it meant I finally had someone I could be fully open with. Speak about the things that bothered me from my own past, my own family. Not that it had been brought up, with the wedding preparations and all.

Had I thought about changing my identity, changing my last name? Yes, but for some odd reason, I hadn't. If anyone had ever asked, I'd lied, saying it was my last tie to my heritage. If I'd wanted that, I'd have taken my mother's maiden name. But that also came with a target.

No, I couldn't explain why I'd held onto it. Maybe it was because I felt like changing my last name would have made my family come after me for disowning them. No… it wasn't that either…

"You look lost in thought." Grayson's voice startled me from my mind.

I looked up at him, the familiar flutter in my chest starting up, the one I always tried to ignore. His tux fit him like a second skin, accentuating broad shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. Silver threaded through his dark hair at the temples, giving him a distinguished look that made my mouth go dry. Unlike Leo's cold demeanor, Gray's features held a warmth that crinkled at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. Those green eyes—a perfect match to Meredith's—studied me in a way that made me feel exposed, my skin prickling. The subtle cologne he wore hit my senses, expensive but not overpowering. Damn him for looking so good while I was five champagnes deep.

"Just reflecting on life's little ironies," I replied, raising my empty glass. "Your sister marrying the boogeyman of the criminal underworld. You giving her away with a smile."

He chuckled, a rich sound that traveled straight to my core. "You were against it from the beginning."

"And you punched him in the face when you found out." I arched a brow. Gray really didn't look both ways when it came to his little sister, he just acted and protected. Even against his best friend, the rising head of a mafia family. "Funny how things change. I feel like it wasn't all that long ago that she was dealing with Logan, and now..."

"Now she's where she belongs." Gray's voice held a note of satisfaction, which made me arch my brow higher. "Hard to argue with that kind of devotion." His eyes tracked the couple across the dance floor. "He'd burn this city to ashes for her."

"And that doesn't terrify you?" I asked uneasily.

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