Page 21 of Heartless Sinner

Great. A talk alone with my father. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

I felt oddly cold once I left Vince’s side, like I had been leeching warmth from him and hadn’t even realized it until I stepped away. Papa led me into the bedroom area, where I found my mother asleep, curled up under the blankets.

“Sleeping pills,” Papa explained quietly. “She was too stressed, she thought it was best she get some rest.”

I nodded and sat down on the bed. “This is my choice, Papa, I’m not pregnant and he’s not forcing me into anything.”

“But what could he possibly get in return from you? That is what you should worry about.”

“He’s thirty, Papa. And no wife, no children. One brother is a playboy, and the other is supposedly leaving the family—I don’t know if it’s true, rumors are rumors, but—he’s the oldest, the heir, and with no heir of his own? No family? People will talk soon.” I lowered my voice. “When I went to his house I saw files of women. He was trying to find a wife.”

“And why pick you?”

I bristled. “Has it occurred to you that I might be enough of a woman for a man to want me for who I am, and not for my last name?” I said, leaving out Vince’s agreement to help me avenge Dmitri’s death.

Papa snorted in amusement. “That’s not how it works in our world.”

I stood up. “Well that’s how it worked for Vincent Russo. I impressed him. He sees how smart I am, even if you don’t. I showed him that he wasn’t going to find a smarter woman than me in this whole damn city. That’s why he wants to marry me. I would’ve thought you’d be glad I’m moving us up the social ladder, here. We will never get a better opportunity than this and you know it."

“That doesn’t mean he’s good enough for you,” Papa scoffed.

“He’s better than most of the men you’ve turned away,” I replied. “And no man will ever be good enough for me, admit it! At least now I’m getting us a solid alliance out of the deal. The Russo’s have to be good to us now, and so do all the other families unless they want the full might of the Russo’s coming down on them.”

I gently shook my father’s shoulders. “Papa, please. I have made my choice and it’s a good one for our family. You can’t stop me, so can you please at least accept what good fortune this is for all of us?”

My father examined my face. “Are you in love with him?”

“What?” I spluttered. “No!”

“The Russo boys may be trouble, but they are charming. Handsome. The middle one’s prowess with women is talked about all over town.”

I snorted. Yeah, it sure was.

“They might charm you,” my father went on, his tone laced with bitterness. “But if you think that there’s any heart in that man out there…”

“Trust me,” I said, putting my hands on my hips, “You at least raised me to know not to fall for a mafia man.”

Falling for Vincent Russo, expecting him to actually love me in return, was possibly the stupidest thing I could do. Mafia men weren’t loyal to their wives, at least not when they were as high up the food chain as the Russo’s. Marriages were political, a necessity. He’d have a mistress set up and ready to go within a year of marrying me. And that was ignoring the truth that he might die at any time at the hands of his family’s enemies, or perhaps even from within if there was a traitor, or one of his brothers decided to make a power grab.

Brother turning on brother was horrible, and I shivered at the very thought. But it had happened before.

Even if Vince was decent enough not to humiliate me by having affairs, he could still die at any time, and I would lose everything. No, falling for Vincent Russo wasn’t, couldn’t, be in the cards.

Papa stared at me. I glared back at him. I had never asked him for anything. I had never involved myself in the family business. And he had taken away any chance I’d ever had at getting out of this damn world. Now I was staying in the mafia like he’d always wanted and he was complaining about it? By pairing up with a Russo I had done more for this family than either of my brothers ever had!

After a long, tense moment, Papa sighed. He looked over at my mother. “She’ll be happy to hear of this. She’s wanted to plan a wedding for you for ages.”

I just barely managed to hide my sigh of relief. “Thank you, Papa.” I kissed him on the cheek and then went to tell Vince.

Now that we had my father’s permission, Vince would have to look into my brother’s death. I would get the revenge I wanted. The revenge Dmitri had asked me to seek on his behalf.

But I would also be forever tied to him. There was no backing out now.

Did I truly understand what I had just gotten myself into?

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Chapter Eleven

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