Page 141 of Dirty Mafia Sinner
“You’re a romantic,” Mema says, looking at me like she’s seconds away from swooning. “If you love someone, set them free. If they love you, they’ll come back.”
Even PopPop eyes me with a hopeful gleam.
They’ll sing my praises when Riley calls—because she will call, right? And if her grandparents are convincing enough, she’s bound to talk to me.
But as for setting her free and waiting for love to bring her back?
Fuck that.
A knock interrupts my misery.
“What now?” I snarl.
My office door opens, and Tommaso appears. “An envelope for you was just delivered.” He closes the distance between us, and then comes around the desk to stand next to me.
“By who?”
“Some kid. The men tried to grab him, but he tossed it into the driveway and took off on his moped.”
I pick it up.Sandrois scribbled on it in familiar, practically illegible handwriting. When I get my hands on my soon-to-be-dead twin …
Scowling, I tear it open and read:
Asshole,
Congratulations on your failed engagement. Guess if I’m attending the wedding, I better give you what you wantbefore you kill me. And what you want, brother, is probably indulging in pistachio treats by now.
Renzo
I toss the letter onto my desk. The room seems brighter, and my chest lighter.
“Time to bring my girl back home,” I tell Tommaso.
Willingly, I hope.
If not, so be it.
CHAPTER 33
RILEY
Chasing extremes leads nowhere.
If I’d listened to logic, I wouldn’t be hiding in an apartment dating back to Roman times and cursing a man who redefines extreme.
An engaged man.
Did he think I’d be okay with that? Or was he hoping I’d never find out?
“Stronzo,” I mutter, walking over to look out the kitchen window while making a note to look up the definition—though I hope it means asshole.
Luna is on the street below, clinging to a handsome man in a suit like a koala to a tall tree. He struggles to peel her off, glancing around, clearly uncomfortable with her affection. But then she whispers something in his ear, and suddenly he’s kissing her, his reservations carried away on the breeze.
I grin. Dante Lucchese doesn’t stand a chance.
My heart pinches.
But I’ve learned a crucial lesson. At my weakest and most vulnerable, I sought refuge in the shadow of Alessandro’s power. Now, at my strongest and most grounded—having fully recognized and embracing the darker sides that make me whoI am—I stand with my feet firmly planted. Heartbroken or not, I’ll never be the shattered woman I was back in New York. It took a kidnapping to set me free, a lying mafioso to show me what unconditional love really is, and the turmoil of the last few months to come to terms with myself.
