Page 1 of Fragile Union

PROLOGUE

ROMERO

I keep my face straight as I watch the beautiful redhead walk into the room. She radiates calm and composure. She’s surrounded by deadly men and she acts as though it doesn’t affect her. She’s either not bothered, or she’s good at hiding her fear.

I fight to keep my dick calm as she moves toward her aunt with ease, grace, and sexuality.

Fuck. I want her. I’ll have her. In a few months she’ll be my wife.

“You must be Romero,” Denis says. His accent thicker than his sister’s—my sister-in-law—Makenna’s, and that woman’s is hard to understand at the best of times.

Denis thinks he can intimidate me. His arms are crossed over his chest and his legs spread apart, the scowl on his face is something that’ll permanently be there. I’m marrying his daughter and he doesn’t like it. Well fuck that, it’s business, fucking politics. I don’t want to marry Holly, hell no. I’m not the type of guy to settle down and have a family. I’m doing this because I’m getting something out of it. I’m becoming an Underboss. Something I’ve wanted to be since I was a boy.

“Yes,” I reply, meeting his gaze. Nothing and no one intimidates me. If he knew half the shit I’ve done, he’d be the one cowering right now.

Denis glares at me, and I fight the urge to laugh right now. Fucking hell, this is a farce if there ever was one. I’m marrying a woman I know nothing about so I can become an Underboss. For the Irish Mafia. What the fuck was I thinking? I should have told Makenna no, I could work my way up the pecking order once our father is killed.

“Why don’t you three go to my office and talk?” Denis’s father, Seamus Gallagher, suggests.

I rise to my feet. May as well get this over and done with. I follow Denis and Holly into Seamus’s office and wait.

“Romero, this is Holly,” Denis says through gritted teeth as he introduces me to his daughter. My fiancée.

“Hey,” she says softly, a timid smile on her face.

Her accent is thick like her father’s, but her voice is soft and willowy. My cock jumps to attention. Dammit.

“Holly,” I say, rolling her name around my tongue. I let my gaze travel down her body, taking her in. She’s beautiful, her hair is red and falls down her back, her cheeks and nose splattered with freckles, her body is hidden behind an oversized sweater and jeans, but I watched her ass as she walked ahead of me. She’s got curves and I can’t wait to see them.

I’m a lucky bastard, I know that. Holly could have been ugly and I would have been stuck with her, but she’s not.

“I know you’re becoming an Underboss. I get that you’re a made man,” Denis begins and Holly lowers her head, her hair falling to cover her face. I scowl at the movement. “But she is my daughter, she’s to be protected at all times.”

I grit my teeth, I may be a monster, but never to a woman. Ever.

“She gets hurt while she’s here, and we’re going to have a problem.”

I shake my head. “What is it with you Irish?” I ask. “You’re too fucking emotional, always wear your heart on your sleeves.” Seamus was the same when Dante and Makenna were to marry. They show us their weakness. You don't offer your enemy any information which can be used against you.

Stupid. So fucking stupid.

Denis grins at me. “No one is that fucking stupid,” he sneers. “Anyone who’d even go after my daughter would pay with their lives.”

I raise a brow. “You threatening me?”

He shakes his head. “The only reason this shit is going ahead is because Makenna assured me you’re trustworthy, a man who would protect Holly with your dying breath. My sister is never wrong about people.”

Jesus, Makenna has no fucking idea who I am, or what I’ve done. Not even my brothers know about the depraved things my father had me do—that I still do for him. If it keeps Alessio out of the old man’s way, then I’ll do whatever the fuck is needed. For my family.

“We done?” I ask, and Holly raises her head, her teeth clamping down on her lip and her gaze darting between her father and me.

Denis’s jaw clenches and he nods. I throw Holly a wink as she walks ahead of us and opens the door, a lot more relaxed than when she walked in. Denis on the other hand is pissed off, and I can’t help but smirk. I managed to piss him off. Oh fucking well. He shouldn’t have tried to intimidate me. That was never going to happen. But the man had better realize that I’d tear his head off if he continues his shit.

When I take a seat, Dante’s eyes come to me, the question is clear. Did it go okay? I incline my head ever so slightly and he smiles. My older brother has always been the more composed, the more controlled of the three of us. He is also the one that tows the line with our father more than the rest. That was until he married his wife. I never thought I’d see a grown man lose his damn mind over a woman, but that’s exactly what he’s done.

I get it. Makenna’s fucking awesome. Not only is she the boss, she’s also a badass and will kill anyone who even doubts her. It’s what Dante needs. I on the other hand don’t want the constant back chat and arguments. It’s something Holly is going to learn; she is not to disrespect me. I don’t give a fuck if she thinks I’m in the wrong, in front of my men and my bosses, she is not to question me.

But at the same time, I don’t want a woman that’s scared of her own shadow. Her bowing her head while her father and I spoke pissed me off. I have no idea how this union is going to go. I’ve sold my soul to the devil and in return I’ve been given a red-headed sexy fiancée. I shouldn’t complain, but yet, I feel as though I’ve been short changed.

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