Page 20 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

“Nonno,” I greeted him in a low voice. I didn’t want to startle him.

His head turned my way and a smile spread across his face. You could see his soul through his dark eyes and just like I remembered from my mother, it was a gentle one. He might have run the mafia, but he kept his humanity.

“Ah, Cassio. Sit with me,” he offered. I took the seat next to him, my body making him appear even more frail.

Comfortable silence filled the space between us, mixing with the sounds of the sea in the distance and the breeze in the trees.

“I want to see you married, Nipote.”Grandson. His voice was firm. “Before my time on this earth is over, I want to see you and Luca happily married.”

I laughed. Not because it was far-fetched, but because both of us wanted it too. Luca might not have accepted it yet. I had the moment I saw Áine two years ago. But it was a delicate matter.

Nonno narrowed his eyes on me. “Marriage and love are not laughable matters, Cassio.”

I looked away, unsure if I could promise him something I couldn’t control. I was fully aware the manipulation I had in the works could backfire.

“I’m working on it, Nonno,” I admitted. “There is a woman, but it is not that simple.”

He met my eyes, searching out the truth in them. I held his gaze. In some aspects, his eyes were as dark as mine, but I knew without a doubt I had Benito’s eye color.

“Who is she?” he asked.

“A girl I rescued a long time ago,” I told him. “Benito had her tortured.” Nonno slammed his foot down, the strength surprising me. I hoped we’d get at least a few more years from him. He was approaching his late eighties, but his health was good. Mediterranean sun and diet, he’d say. “We crossed paths. She’s the one,” I added. I didn’t want to waste my breath on Benito or Marco.

Suddenly, he grinned, a wrinkled smile evidence of his long life and reaching out, patted my hand. “It took me one second to realize your Nonna was mine too.”

His eyes traveled over to the sea again and I knew he was thinking of her. “Bene,” he murmured as if everything was settled to his wishes. “We will have a wedding.”

And that concluded that topic.

* * *

“Cassio,are you sure you know what you are doing?” Nico’s question was valid, considering he knew my plans. It had been a week since my conversation with Nonno, and Nico just got married. It didn’t prevent him from questioning me on his wedding day though. That man always kept his reason. Except around Bianca. “If Callahan gets a whiff of your deceit, he’ll go into full attack mode.”

He was right; of course he was right. I hated lying but the options were limited. Therefore, I intended to use Margaret Callahan as a decoy bride, set her up to fail, and then force Callahan to give me Áine. If it didn’t work, I’d steal her. Easy, right?

Back to my friend’s question though. Did I know what I was doing?

Well, not exactly. It wasn’t as if I schemed to set a trap for my future bride very often. Or ever!

My eyes traveled over the view of the vast Chesapeake Bay. The sun reflected over the flat surface of the water, smooth as a glass. It glittered across, the shadows of lights dancing on the surface.

The house was a security nightmare, but the views were amazing. No wonder Nico’s wife was in love with her house. Though it didn’t take a genius to know she and her twin girls wouldn’t be staying here. Nico and I were currently in a small room that was set up as an office, but from the looks of it, it was barely used. Nico had hacked into Jack’s system and sent me all the wedding plans that would be happening in the near future.

Luciano kicked off a trend three years ago when he married. It just took a bit for the rest of us to follow. After all, we were in our forties, hardly as young and green as we used to be.

My attention returned to my friend. It was Nico’s wedding day. He trapped himself a wife successfully. That made two married men in our group now, three with Vasili. Maybe I should ask Nico to help me out? I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been planning this for a while. Though he held his cards close, making me wonder what he was hiding. Not that Nico’s love life was any of my business, just as mine was none of his.

“Yeah, I know what I’m doing,” I finally answered him. “Just like you know what you are doing with Bianca Carter.”

“Morrelli,” he corrected me in an agitated voice. “Bianca Morrelli.”

I chuckled. Nico had it bad for the dark-haired woman. At first impression, I thought Nico got himself a meek little woman, but it took Bianca all of fifteen minutes to dissuade me of that impression. Yeah, she was soft, but also fierce. I was certain she’d give Nico a run for his money. She wouldn’t take any shit from him. And whether Nico wanted to admit it or not, he was crazy about his new wife.

“My bad, Bianca Morrelli,” I retorted, chuckling. He gave me a dark expression. It was kind of comical seeing the cold, calculating Wolf being rattled by a mere woman. A short and soft homemaker at that. Nothing against homemakers, but you wouldn’t think Nico would be brought to his knees by one. Made me like Bianca even more.

“Stop being an ass, and tell me you have everything set up for Las Vegas,” Nico grumbled. “Margaret Callahan has already started arranging wild parties, including a visit to a running Chippendales review, so getting that one sidetracked shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Margaret has been known for her wild ways and wild parties. I didn’t care for either, but her and Áine were close so I’d accept her, as long as she didn't drag my future wife into her clusterfucks. And my soon-to-be bride would certainly not attend Chippendales. That party would be canceled at the last minute, due tounforeseenevents.

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