Page 11 of Tainted Princess
“I do know it, Francesca. And I told them so. In fact, it was my word that stayed their hand. I swore to them that there was no way a De Marco had turned rat. That there was no way that my Francesca would be the one to throw away all our hard work, generations of effort, for the sake of one federal cock.”
If he expected me to balk and his crude words, he would be disappointed. I maintained my steely glare, sitting tall and proud in my chair at the opposite side of the table from him.
I could feel the eyes of theCapiandSoldatiassessing me, trying to gauge my trustworthiness, but I never took my eyes off Don Carlo. He was the one who would decide my fate today. He was the only one I would answer to.
Fuck the rest of these assholes. They never looked at me twice when I wanted to help them move the Organization forward, and now that they thought I had betrayed them, the stared like a pack of hyenas, waiting to fight over my carcass.
When I showed no signs of rising to my grandfather’s bait, he continued, “but the question still remains of what do to with you. You must be kept within the Family. I am afraid there is not one man in the Commission who would accept cutting you lose.” He spoke as if he had tried. Like he was advocating my removal from the Family to stave off his own humiliation.
I ground my teeth in fury, but kept silent.
“It was eventually decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest for you to marry. Settling you with a member of the Organization is the only way the Commission would spare your life.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
“Don Carlo, I have no desire to tie myself to a man, Made or otherwise.” I was proud of myself for keeping my cool when I was literally boiling with anger.
“I am afraid it is no longer up to you, Francesca. You were given a choice and you choose poorly. Now, the decision will be made for you.”
Uncle Silvio scoffed. “And which sorry prick gets saddled with her dead weight, then? I bet there’s not one man in the Outfit who wants to risk dirtying their family withher.” He turned to sneer at me, and I could see the burst capillaries in his nose as he laughed in my face, the smug bastard. He gestured around the room to the otherCapiand their men. “Who will take her, then? You? Maybe you?” He pointed from one man to another, and they all looked away in discomfort.
Those sorry fucks. They were the same men who would stare at my ass when I walked by, even at my own engagement party, now they look away as though I’m contagious?
I hated them all.
Finally, there was movement from the back of the room as someone stepped forward. “I’ll take her.” I lifted my chin to see who had spoken.
Dino Bertoli, son ofCapoGino, greasy shit that he was. Dino was big and meaty, but not in an attractive way. More like a high school football star who had stopped playing but kept eating like he was still training everyday. He had pockmarked cheeks, crooked teeth, and thanks to the lighting in the room, I could tell he was well on his way to bald and trying to hide it.
I curled my lip in disgust as he ran his tongue over his teeth, staring at me like I was the last slice of pizza.
His father Gino turned to him with a frown on his face. “You have a wife.”
“Yeah, but I could use a new side piece. She’s decent to look at, even if she is a filthy rat. I’d keep her quiet.”
His smirk made me want to vomit, and I made a note to add his wife Anita to my thoughts and prayers list. Who knew what that dirty shit was bringing home to her every night?
I glared at him a moment longer before turning my attention to my grandfather, one eyebrow raised in question. Betrayer or not, I hoped he’d never let a De Marco be disrespected like that.
I was right.
“Sit down, Dino,” Don Carlo admonished sternly. “Marriage was the deal. You can’t provide that, so your input is not required.” Dino fired another dirty look my way before moving back to his seat against the wall. Gino turned from the table and whispered a harsh chastisement, which had Dino crossing his arms like a sullen teenager.
Served him right.
Don Carlo looked around the room once more. “Is there no one who will take her? No one in this room who will do what is needed for the good of the De Marco Family?”
Crickets. Literal crickets. It was fucking embarrassing.
A year ago, these guys would have lined up around the block for a chance to be the man I married. Now they couldn’t get away fast enough.I couldn’t believe that after all my years of training and loyalty and fucking servitude to these smug assholes they were just going to throw me away.
“Face it, Don Carlo,” came the gravelly voice of Carmine Lombardi. “There is no one in the Organization who wants your tainted princess.”
My grandfather looked at me, his eyes full of sorrow, and my heart rate kicked up. If something didn’t happen quickly, I was gonna end up with a bullet in my skull before the night was over.
“Don Carlo.” My head whipped to the side, and I locked eyes with Giuseppe Argenti, one of the Family’s longest standingCapi. “I think I may have a solution to this little…problem.” He smiled as he said it, trying to take the sting away from the word, and I found I was grateful to him for it.
“What solution do you have, Giuseppe?” Silvio pipped up. “You’re married and you have only daughters.”
