Page 55 of Of Lies and Shadows

The audio clicks off.

“I—” My voice breaks. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.

Rizzo stands, suddenly more imposing than any capo I’ve ever faced. “You need to leave now,” he says firmly. “I’ve already said too much.”

I rise, but I don’t move.

“And Dante? Maybe it’s time to decide if you’re going to keep punishing her for being her father’s pawn…” He meets my eyes. “Or start owning the fact that you’re no better than the men who ruined her.”

I’min an even fouler mood by the time I pull up to the house. Judge Rizzo said a lot without saying anything, but it was enough. Too much.

Death was the real punishment. The code’s sentence for betrayal. And by refusing to grant it, Rizzo all but admitted he knew she wasn’t acting on her own. That she was coerced. Manipulated. A pawn in her father’s game.

And still, she tried to protect my children. Threatened her own family for mine. And I— Ifuckingcoerced her.

I grind my teeth so hard I feel something shift in my jaw.

The moment I step out of the car, my gaze flicks towardthe guest house. The one I exiled Bruno to.

And there he is, shirtless, lifting weights like this is his goddamn vacation home. The way his muscles flex. The way his expression doesn’t shift when he catches me watching.

Something in me snaps, and I start walking.

My feet move before I’ve even decided what I’m going to say or do.

All I know is I need the tension in my fists to land somewhere, and right now, there’s a perfect target standing on my property, looking too relaxed, too familiar.

Too close to her.

I throw the door open without knocking. Bruno looks up but doesn’t flinch. Just sets the dumbbell down and wipes his face with a towel.

“Are you fucking her?” I can’t help but bark. I know it’s irrational because I know for a fact I was her first and probably still her only.

He looks at me silently before shrugging. “What if I am?”

The man wants to die. “You know what it will cost you? You know the code.”

He shrugs again, grabbing a bottle of water. “I know what the code says about wives, but you made it clear what her role is, and it’s in your contract.”

His words are like gasoline on an already raging fire.

I take a step forward, fists clenched. “You think that contract gives you permission to touch her?”

“I think,” he says calmly, slipping on his T-shirt, “that you made it very fucking clear she’s not your wife in anything but name. Your words, not mine.”

“You smug son of a—” I grab him by the collar and slam him against the nearest beam, the wood groaning behind his weight.

My fist rises before I’ve even thought it through, but I stop one inch from his jaw. My hand shakes, knuckles white with the restraint I didn’t know I had.

I want to hit him. God, I do. But I want to understand more. I want to win more.

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t resist. Doesn’t fight back. His calm is infuriating.

“You want her?” I growl. “You want to play protector? Fine. Let’s see how long that lasts when your blood’s decorating my fucking floor.”

“You already bled her,” he spits. “You held a gun to her head and dragged her to an altar. You think I’m the villain here?”

“She spied on me!”

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