Page 2 of The Don

“She isn’t, but she said she’ll do it if it’s what I want.”

“She’s a good girl, Dominic. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how she and Eliza would do considering they’re outsiders.” Dominic lifts his coffee and smirks. “How is Eliza?” Adrian may be my nephew by blood, but with the things he’s done, he’s now number one on the list of people I need to kill. Especially for the vile way he’s treated Eliza.

Dominic sits back in the sofa and crosses his legs. He lowers the coffee cup to balance on his knee. “She’s a wreck.” There’s an intense pounding in my ears. “She asked me to do something.”

“Which is?”

“She’s asked me not to give her back to Adrian.”

My throat dries at the thought of her going back to him. “That’s not going to happen.”

“That’s not the worst of it.” My teeth grind as I stare at Dominic. “She asked me to kill her if we plan to give her back, and she wanted me to promise not to say anything to her sister.” He lifts his coffee and takes another sip.

An unnatural silence blankets the room. There’s only one thing whirling through my thoughts. I need to kill that fucker, Adrian. Slice his throat and watch his blood spill. “Over my dead fucking body will any further harm come to Eliza,” I finally break the quiet.

“Rosa despises him and has asked to be the one to kill him.”

“No,” I say. “She’s not to be anywhere near us when that happens.”

Dominic nods slowly. “I told her.” He leans forward and takes a cannoli, using the saucer from his cup as a plate to catch the flaky casing. “She wants me to teach her to use a gun.”

“Absolutely not.” I shake my head with finality.

“It’s exactly the same thing I said.”

“She’s a bloodthirsty little thing,” I say with a chuckle.

“Only for Adrian’s blood.” He bites and chews the cannoli. “She and Eliza couldn’t be any more different, but Rosa is loyal to a fault.”

“Eliza’s not like Rose?”

“Eliza has been conditioned to hate herself. Rosa is a pillar of loyalty for her sister.” He shakes his head. “Eliza is still asking if the food on her plate is too much.” My hands clench into fists. “Rosa doesn’t want to go on our honeymoon because she’s afraid of leaving Eliza home alone. Or we have to take her with us.” Dominic isn’t impressed with either option, nor am I.

“Bring the girls here, let them both see the house and hopefully Eliza will feel comfortable enough to stay with me while you and Rose enjoy your honeymoon.”

“Uncle, I mean no disrespect, but Rosa—” he cuts his sentence short and shakes his head. “She’s fiercely protective of Eliza.”

“They’ll come here, we’ll have lunch and they’ll both see Eliza has nothing to fear when she’s with me and under my protection.” Dominic understands this isn’t open for negotiation.

“Of course,” Dominic agrees. “I’ll bring the girls tomorrow.”

“Good.” I lean forward and take a cannoli. “Now, give me the numbers for the brothels.”

Eliza will stay with me while they’re on their honeymoon. And no further harm will come to that girl. She’s been through enough with Adrian. Once I find him, I’ll slice his throat and she can begin to heal.

Adrian and his crew held a lot of secrets, some of which are beginning to come to light. But the one secret I most want to know about, a driving factor for me needing to find him, is why he did what he did to Eliza.

For that alone he needs to die.

Chapter one

Eliza

The knock on the door drags me out of the story I’m reading on the tablet Dominic gave me. “Come in,” I say as I place the tablet down and sit up on the bed. My heart beats faster, hoping today isn’t the day Dominic barges into the room, wraps my hair around his hand, and drags me out to return me to Adrian.

My throat constricts as I eagerly look toward the door. I instantly exhale a relieved breath when Rose pops her head in. “Hey, can I come in?”

My body relaxes and I feel the tension fall away from my shoulders. “Yeah, of course.”

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