Page 7 of Say I Do

The double doors opened. I didn’t need to turn my head to know who’d just walked in. The air in the room changed subtly. Tension grew taut. We might be about to form an alliance, but until we were married, we were technically rivals.

“What the fuck is this?” Benito Vitale said.

That was my question.Doubt he’s going to like the answer.

My father cleared his throat. “Our alliance. We agreed on a marriage to bridge our families together.”

Benito looked me up and down. “That we did.” His eyes were cold and empty.

My father stepped forward, nothing showing on his face as he met my future husband’s gaze.

“I know it was originally Lorelei, but unfortunate events have prevented that from happening.” He gestured to me like some cash cow. “Harlow, on the other hand, is my youngest son. This joining would still be one that will bring both of our families together. A child born of our bloodlines would have been best. However, adoption later down the line would cement our alliance.”

Fuck that! Who in their right mind would makemeraise a kid?

The smile that graced Benito’s face didn’t reach his eyes. It was just as cold and empty as his gaze. “It’s fine. We can proceed as planned.”

I blinked. I’d heard he was ambitious, but to accept a change so easily was insane. It made me wonder what kind of person Benito was. I stared at my father, hatred burning deep within my soul. I knew out of all my siblings, I was expendable, but this felt deliberate. A way to get rid of me.

The priest started the marriage ceremony. I tuned him out as he spoke about vows and love and bullshit. None of that applied here. A man like Benito couldn’t love, and I had no plans to ever love anyone. That shit was for suckers and dreamers. My dreams had died a long time ago.

“Um.” The priest looked between us as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. “Um, he needs to be able to repeat the words or at least respond.”

My father jerked his head at one of his men to move toward me. I relaxed, waiting patiently. The only sound that echoed around us was the muzzle being undone. It fell away, but what I wanted was for the metal piece to be removed. I tucked my tongue under it slightly, holding it in place.

The chain fell around my face, tangling with my chest-length hair. I grunted, pretending as if I couldn’t get it out of my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, my father nodded for his man to remove it.

A little closer.My heart beat slowly as I waited. The moment his hand was next to my mouth, I let the bar go and snapped my teeth down on his finger. I jerked my head hard as I used every ounce of strength I had. My teeth sank into flesh and scraped over bone. Blood squirted over my tongue, coating it in a familiar coppery tang.

My heart thrashed against my ribcage as his bellows echoed in my ears. He jerked away, severing the last little bit of his finger from his hand. Blood sprayed over the side of my face, bathing me in momentary warmth.

“Ah fuck, my finger!”

“Shut him up,” my father shouted.

All the commotion around me was white noise. Chaos was beautiful and the most soothing thing to my soul. Three fucking days I’d been bound, only given broth and water. They might have thought I was too weak to do anything, but the joke was on them.

I snickered as blood dripped down my chin. I spat the finger out of my mouth. That thing was dirty as hell. It hit Benito square in the chest before rolling onto the floor. His hard gaze shifted slightly. His brows dipped as his mouth turned down in a frown.

Someone’s angry. Get used to it.

I ran my tongue over my lips, collecting the remaining blood coating them. I spat it out, the glob nearly landing on Benito’s suit. He stepped back, his fist balling at his sides.

“Someone has big feelings,” I taunted.

My gaze never wavered from Benito’s. I wordlessly challenged him. Which one of us would survive this farce? If he broke this deal off, then my father couldn’t hold it over my head. As long as I wasn’t the one to walk away, I couldn’t be faulted. I would make his life a living hell, and I was letting him know it. Nothing in this fucking world would make me submit to a man like Benito Vitale.

The cold metal of Benito’s gun pressed to my temple didn’t combat the rage that filled my chest. How in the fuck did I get here? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. In the end, I’d survive like I always did by killing everyone else around me.

“Say I do,” Benito said.

“I do.”

Two little words, and the rest was a blur. I stuffed my gun back into its holster as I stared at him. This was not part of the plan at all.Where the hell is Lorelei?That was what I’d planned for, what I had been prepared to swallow. But this? It was an insult, a slap in the goddamn face.

If I didn’t know my place in this family, I would put a bullet in Denji’s scamming little head.

“Mr. Vitale?”

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