Page 53 of Lies like Rubies, Part One

By then, Sofia and the blonde woman had returned. “Ana, please, join us!” Costa called. The two women made their way over, so similar in coloring and bearing that they could be sisters. Sofia’s eyes caught mine, then flicked away. “Dante, it’s my pleasure to introduce my daughter, Ana.”

I took her hand in mine and lifted it to my lips. Her eyes danced with amusement when I let her hand go. When I turned to Sofia, her eyes stormed, the color of an ocean during a thunderstorm. It lasted for a split second before she smoothed her face back into bland politeness. Jealousy? Ice thawed in my chest as we stared at each other for a hair longer than courtesy permitted. When I kissed my kitten’s hand, I squeezed it, the need to reassure her, to wipe out the hurt in her eyes, overwhelming my desire to poke at her with cruelty.

Other than a long, slow blink, she didn’t respond, pulling her hand out of mine with the gorgeous and utterly fake smile I’d seen her put on for company so many times. Fury shot through me. That she could be so apathetic and controlled after what we’d done in her parents’ bathroom enraged me. I wanted her wild and loose, not this automaton her family seemed to expect.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Dante.ZioGio, I’m so happy to see you in my family home again. Please, let me refill your drink.” Sofia collected glasses from Costa and his son, then walked to her father’s bar cart to refill them, snagging the bottle from Lorenzo. I didn’t bother to hide my admiration of her figure from her family.

Her brother arrived and greeted everyone else in the room before approaching his sister. She was the youngest and female, less important than their guests, hosts, and even Lorenzo.

Sofia poured liquor and added ice to glasses, ignoring Luca’s arm around her waist. He kissed her hard on her temple. Laughing, she looked up at him, clear-eyed and affectionate, presenting her cheek for a kiss. Envy wormed its way through my chest. Had I heard Sofia laugh yet? Surely not, because the sweetness of it went straight to my cock.

Surprised by how difficult it was to wrench my eyes from her, I turned back to Gio and Tony, who were quietly reacquainting themselves with each other’s families. We pretended that Sergio’s shot across my bow didn’t put the two men directly into conflict with one another. No doubt, each of their intelligence-gathering operations had already briefed them. Still yet, pretending they were ordinary men getting to know each other as the ice thawed on their long cold war was essential to maintaining the veneer of civility.

Gio’s wife passed away two years ago. The Russos attended the funeral, and it was the last time the two men had spoken in person until tonight. I narrowed my eyes. Sergio had also been in Yorkfield two years ago. Luca was Tony’s right-hand man. Lorenzo was third in command, not a blood relation, but Tony was surprisingly progressive in his attitude toward his head of security.

“Lorenzo’s like a son to me,” Tony said curtly when Gio questioned the succession. “Luca is my heir, but Lorenzo’s the man who holds my life in his hands every day. I trust him entirely.”

Lorenzo couldn’t hide his grimace at those words, his eyes flicking toward Sofia and back again. He exchanged a long look with Tony, and took a breath to speak, only for Sofia to interrupt with drinks. She quickly handed each man their glass with their whiskey prepared how they liked it—neat, with a splash of water—or even, the horror, with a lone ice cube.

She handed me a glass of whiskey, neat, with an apologetic smile. “I don’t know how you take it,” she admitted. I dragged her to me with one hand on her hip until she sat on the arm of my chair.

“Neat,” I said, tracing my fingers over her hip, tamping down on the possessive instinct to claim her right then and there. That would serve neither of us, although I idly wondered why her family let me maul her in front of them with so much on the line. “Did you say you saw Sergio Accardi recently, Lorenzo?”

She gasped, and I squeezed her hip, confident she’d play her role with no preparation from me.

Sofia bit her lip and looked at her father, as if fearful. “Sergio’s back in town? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oh, sweet kitten, yes. Turn those years of training and preparation on your father. I’ll drive that wedge deep until you’ve got no one to turn to but me.

Gio Costa shook his head sadly. “It’s only rumors, of course. Surely, he wouldn’t come to Yorkfield and not call on the mother of his child.”

“He shouldn’t have left so easily before,” Tony said. “A real man would’ve stayed and accepted responsibility for his child and married my daughter.”

Every muscle in Sofia’s body tensed, and then she forced herself to relax. The control she wielded over her emotions astounded me. The Russos wasted her talents.

Gio laughed. “Your sons-in-law are rather persuasive, I understand.” Gio eyed Sofia up and down, tracing his eyes along the hemline of her skirt. She must have felt my muscles clench in anger because she stood, collecting glasses and moving away from the conversation.

“His presence is not a rumor,” I said. “Sergio fled Italy after stealing a million euro from me. I’m here to collect on that.”

Apparently, neither Lorenzo nor Sofia had shared the reason for my arrival in Yorkfield, even with Tony Russo.

“A million euro,” Gio breathed, smiling and lifting his glass, as if in a toast. “The audacity to steal a million dollars from the boogeyman. Incredible.”

Not enough to bring an empire down, not mine, not theirs, but certainly enough money to get the attention of everyone in the room.

I looked at Gio sharply.The audacity.No, Sergio was a fucking fool. He’d stolen my money and come back to Yorkfield, where he couldn’t even convince the mother of his child to stay by his side. And then he fucking set my clubs on fire when I claimed her.

“It’s odd that he skipped town rather than marry Sofia. I understand she sits on a considerable fortune.”

Gio froze. I met his eye, smiling cruelly as he realized I was about to divulge the reason for Sergio’s interest, for the Costa’s rapprochement with the entire goddamned world.

As if an invisible string connected us, Sofia made her way back to our conversation from across the room, the scent of her rose perfume like an illicit drug, dragging my attention to her as she handed Gio another whiskey. Regret tightened in my stomach for a moment for what I was about to do to her family, and do to her.

“What fortune?” Sofia murmured, taking her place beside me, where she fucking belonged. My obsession with this woman boded well for no one, least of all her.

“The port, kitten.”

She hummed and smiled, playing her role as her family’s peacemaker to perfection. “What about it, Dante?”

---