Page 71 of Cruel Heir

“I’m sure you would,” I tell her coldly. “And once upon a time, I might have taken you up on that, and let your husband watch. But thankfully for you, the woman you tried to betray has made me into a better sort of man. Which means I’m going to do what I can to ensure you make it out of this unscathed.”

I look at Antonio. “Take her upstairs to her children. Keep a heavyguard on them. They’ll be under house arrest until it’s decided where they should go.”

Fontana wouldn’t let her go. I know that. Not when she took part in Gaeta’s plots, even if it wasn’t entirely her choice. But all I can hear in this moment is Lucia’s voice, asking me to be better. Better, even, than the father who she once looked up to.

So, I take the first step in doing exactly that.

Annette lets out another sob, followed by a shriek, as several of the men start to escort her away. She looks at her husband, desperate, but Gaeta doesn’t meet her eyes. He doesn’t even look at her.

His furious gaze is entirely for me.

“Rot in hell,” he spits out. “Along with yourbastardofather.”

“Not today.” I smile almost pleasantly at him. “I should be thanking you, really. You’ve given me a way to find common ground with my enemy. A way to keep my family safe, even as you’ve destroyed yours. I appreciate your work on my behalf, Don Gaeta.”

He splutters, starting to curse at me, but I hardly hear it. I hold out my hand, and Antonio gives me a gun, the weight of it settling against my palm. I feel almost preternaturally calm, although I can hear my pulse beating in my ears.

I’ve killed men before, but not like this. I force away the memory of my father’s death as I look evenly at Gaeta.

“On your knees.” There’s no argument in my voice. “Be a man about it. You won’t like how you die if you fight me on this.”

He looks at me, and I see the fear fill his face, the knowledge that there is no escape. That he gambled and lost, and I’m here to collect the debt.

When he sinks down to the rug, his knees hitting it heavily, I feel an odd sense of satisfaction. I’d thought that it would be Fontana here. I had relished the fantasy, nurtured it, and held it tight in the pursuit of my vengeance. But I can see now that I’ve won in all the ways that matter.

I have Fontana’s daughter. Not only as my wife, but as a woman who I love. Who, I think, might feel the same for me in return. Soon enough, I will have my heir. My family’s legacy is returned to me. Andwith this one action, I will give Fontana something that will show that the Leone family does not need to meet their end.

I will prove to him that I’m capable of being every bit as ruthless as my father, but wiser.Better.

I’ll show Fontana that unlike my father, who plotted against others, I will take down those who do that. And I will be someone who he can trust to plotwith.

I never needed all of his power, only the restoration of my family. And now, I have a different means of accomplishing that.

Gaeta lets out a low, desperate moan that’s half plea, half sob as I press the muzzle of the gun to his forehead. It’s a simple motion, to pull the trigger. He knows he has a second to live. Maybe more, maybe less.

The gun is silenced. The noise is muffled, almost anticlimactic. But there’s nothing anticlimactic about the victory I feel when he slumps forward, his blood spreading across the rug.

He crossed me and failed. He tried to cross Fontana as well, and paid. And I have three other well-respected dons who will corroborate that with Fontana.

And I have my future heir.

With that victory—shared blood between our families—and this, I think Don Fontana just might have to hear me out.

“Take his head.” I hand the gun back to Antonio. “Pack it up. And then set up a meeting with Fontana. We go home tomorrow.”

—

I find Lucia in the library, sitting by the window, when I come home.

Home.I would never have called the estate that before. This isn’t where I grew up. It’s just one of the many properties my family owns. I had no sentimental connection to the place—I chose it because it was the furthest one from Fontana, and the one I could most easily get access to. But knowing Lucia is there, knowing that it’s now the place where I intend to buildmyfamily—it all feels different.

She hears the door open and turns to see me. And for a moment, before she can control her reaction, her face lights in a way that tells me everything I need to know about what she’s come to feel for me.

“You’re back early,” she breathes, standing up. She looks utterly beautiful, wearing a slim-cut red dress belted at the waist, her slender feet bare, those diamond earrings I bought her twinkling in her ears in the afternoon light. Her hair falls dark and rich around her shoulders, and my palms itch, thinking of burying my hands in it.

“The job went more smoothly than expected.” I cross the room towards her, meeting her where she stands as I slide my hands into her hair the way I imagined a moment ago and lower my mouth to hers.

Her lips are sweet and soft, and she tastes like mint tea. I slide my tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers, feeling myself harden instantly.

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