Page 27 of Fierce Hearts

"There's a war brewing now, one we need to avert if we can."

The coffee in my hand suddenly felt cold. "What do you mean? What does this have to do with me?"

A sickness was pooling in my stomach, and I prayed my thoughts were wrong.

"The Ference family has been pushing at our territory for some time. Marco was handling it, keeping them at bay. Now they think we're vulnerable after his death."

The Ference family. I knew the name—a newer power in the organized crime landscape, only a few generations old, and they were aggressive and ambitious. Juan Ference had taken his father's small-time operation and expanded it rapidly over the last nine years, his father still calling the shots but letting Juan run majority of things in his place. I'd left just when things had started to get more heated after they'd also moved their operations to Vintmere.

"Did they kill Marco?" I ground my teeth together. It made the most sense, which would mean if he was to ask what I thought he was going to, it'd make it so much worse.

He was quiet for a moment. "No. We thought so at first, but it was another player," he said, his voice heavy now. I almost felt sorry for him. Had Marco's death been by someone small? Someone considered insignificant in our world? Of course that'd upset Ernesto, if his son had died by some simple street thug or even a wronged dealer in our circle.

I shook my head.

Our.It wasn't our circle. It was theirs. I was out.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said carefully, "but I don't see what this has to do with me."

"You're a Savoca." The way he said it made it sound like both a blessing and a curse. "The true heir to your father's legacy."

I pursed my lips, hating where it sounded like this was going. "I walked away from that legacy years ago, Uncle. You know that. I forfeited my place in the family, left Marco in charge."

"And we respected your choice. We let you go to school, become a nurse, play at having a normal life." His voice hardened. "But circumstances have changed. The family needs you now. Marco is dead, and you can end this war before it even begins."

"I can't come back to that life. I won't."

"I'm not asking you to take his place," he said. "I'm asking you to secure our future through a strategic alliance."

I'd not for a second thought it'd be to take his place. I knew better than that. What he was asking was exactly what I'd thought.

"What kind of alliance?" I muttered, already knowing what it was going to be.

"Juan Ference has proposed a solution to our... territorial disputes. A marriage alliance. Between you and him."

My heart thumped loudly in my chest, and my grip tightened on my phone. I wanted to hurl it into the street and scream.

I had never truly been free. I'd been kidding myself all these years, thinking I could walk away. That I wouldn't get yanked back in as soon as I was of use.

But Juan Ference? I knew of him and his reputation. How he abused women. How there was a rumor he'd killed off a fiancée years ago because she tried to leave him. A man like that was not a man I wanted to know. Let alone be wed to.

"You can't be serious."

"I've never been more serious, Sofia. This alliance would end the bloodshed before it begins. It would secure the Savoca family's position for years to come. The territory disputes would be sorted without a single life lost."

"You're talking about my life, about handing me over to a killer, a man believed to have murdered a past partner. There's a reason he's not found a woman." My voice rose, drawing glances from passersby. I lowered it to a harsh whisper. "I have a life, Uncle. A career. Friends. I want no part of it."

"You also have no partner, no serious relationship. I've had you watched, Sofia. There's nothing tying you down."

My heart faltered as a chill swept over me. "You've been spying on me?"

"Keeping tabs. There's a difference."

For how long? How long had he been watching? Since I'd left the family? Or was this a new thing?

"I refuse. Find someone else."

"Sofia, when I said I was asking you, I was being polite," Ernesto said flatly. "You're the only female of the main Savoca line with the right standing. Your cousins don't have the respect that comes with being Antonio Savoca's daughter."

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