Page 119 of Dangerous King
"Don Edoardo is not in favor of our marriage," Enrico fills his brothers in. I fumble for his hand and hold it. I need to leech off his strength, because God knows, mine is leaking out of me like water through a sieve. I can't sit by and watch this wonderful family get destroyed because of me.
"Let me talk to Don Edoardo," Rizio suggests reasonably. "The bastard probably just wants more money."
"Toni is ready to go against—" Enrico begins, but his father cuts him off with a stern glare.
"Not a word. He's our Don. I don't want to hear it. I will support you, like I will support all my children, but I will not support… what you're suggesting."
I'm confused. What are they talking about?
Enrico glares at him but keeps his thoughts to himself, his lips pressed into a thin line, while Dante looks at his brother curiously. The other two Sartori brothers look just as clueless as I am.
Enrico receives a text and pulls out his phone.
"Stephano thinks he found something on Alaric Bastian. I'm setting up a meeting with him."
"Alaric who?" Mattheo asks.
"The man who took Izzy. He's also known as Ledyanoy Prizrak, The Icy Ghost."
Enrico scrolls through his phone and brings up a picture to show to his brothers. I hold out my hand when the brothers are done scrutinizing it. Mattheo says, "I'm confused, I thought Giovanni took our sister."
"It looks like Giovanni was set up," Enrico presses out, putting the phone into my hand.
I stare at the face in the picture. Because of the shattered screen, it's hard to make out, but something strikes me as oddly familiar about him. He doesn't look particularly memorable, like an ordinary guy. Maybe that's why he seems familiar. Still, his image scratches against the outer edges of my brain, telling me I'm forgetting something important, like seeing a shadow that shouldn't be there.
Later that evening, Cat and I go outside into the park, and she watches me train the dogs. Shadow, who, for a change, is not growling at me, follows the training program of the older dogs with interest.
I give Cat some pointers, and she tries to teach him, while Dexter and the others go through our routine like the champs they are. We go at it for a while, but her heart doesn't seem into it. Halfway through the training, I throw the ball into the woods for the bigger dogs and give them the command to find it, knowing this will occupy them for a bit. Then I turn to Cat, who seems subdued.
"Cat," I walk towards her, after the dogs take off. Instantly, Shadow growls at me. I growl right back, and he hides between her legs.
"Enrico," she scolds me, making me laugh. Finally, something seems normal about tonight.
"Come here." I pull her into my arms. "I don't want you to be worried about this."
"How can I not be? I don't want to be the reason your family has a falling out with the Don."
I tilt her chin up with my thumb. "This is about more than that, Cat. Don Edoardo has been overstepping for a while; it's about time someone stood up to him."
Her beautiful eyes fill with tears. "But… your family."
"Will be stronger for it."
She shakes her head. "I'm not an idiot. I know why Giovanni blackmailed my father. The port is important to your entire organization, not just Giovanni's."
I shake my head in return. "No, that's where you're wrong. The port needs to be shut down. It's only still running because certain people think trading in human lives is acceptable. We have other ways to move our product—ways that don't involve that kind of filth. Giovanni's crew has made a fortune from human trafficking, true, but it's a recent addition to their business. They did without it before and can learn to do without it again. For the rest of us, it's always been a stain on the name of La Famiglia."
Her large, whiskey eyes take me in, as if she's gauging my honesty. "Cat, we might be mafia, and we might operate outside the legal system on a lot of things, but most of us abhor human trafficking. And those men will side with us."
She pulls her lower lip between her teeth and mulls my words over. I can see thebutforming even before she utters it. "But going against your Capo dei Capi…" She shakes her head.
"Cat, listen to me." I take a deep breath, the things I'm about to tell her… I haven't even talked to my father about them yet. Mainly because he doesn't want to hear anything against our Don. I'm betraying confidences, but I feel like Cat deserves to not only know the truth, but to be trusted with it.
Because she's right. We're getting married. And the truth is, I don't want a puppet in a dress or a pretty shadow trailing me through life. I want someone I can trust—really trust. Someone who'll stand in the fire with me, not just smile through the smoke. Someone I can talk to without watching every damn word. Someone who knows the darkness I walk through and still chooses to reach for me. That's what she's offering. Not obedience. Not fear. Something deeper. I love?—
Fuckwhen did that happen?
But I do. I love the way she stands up to me. The way she listens, not just to my orders, but to my silence. I love how she looks at me like I'm more than the monster they all whisper about in dark corners.
