Page 45 of Auctioned To Her Dad's Mafia Enemies

The cost is too high.

But how can I go against my brothers for awoman I’ve just met? We’re loyal to blood. We avenge blood. Nothing can comebefore that.

“Aemelia,” I say, and she smiles tightly.

“Like this, he’ll believe you’re violating me.It’s the best chance we have.”

She says ‘we’ and can’t look at her anymore.How easily she has allied herself with us against her own family. Either we’reso terrifying, she’s too fearful to remain defiant, or her father hurt herenough for her to be unfeeling about his life.

Her feet are bare, and I think about Lucaforcing her to kiss his feet, and I want to drop to my knees and plead forforgiveness. Of all the horrors I’ve committed in my life, hurting Aemelia hascut me the deepest.

She perches on the edge of the sofa, and Ikneel beside her, dragging in a long breath. I have to pull myself togetherbefore either Alexis or Luca sees how wrecked I am. Gripping her shoulders, Imeet her wide brown eyes. “Struggle,” I whisper. “Make it real.”

She thrashes against my grip, letting out aragged sob. Her hands hit my face and chest, vicious slaps raining down on me.Tears spill down her cheeks, her expression one of raw, desperate fear as Ipush her back and overpower her. It guts me to see her like this, even if it’san act.

Aemelia chokes on a breath. “Please,” shewhimpers, voice breaking. “Papa, don’t let them hurt me. Please. Please, I’lldo anything.”

I tighten my grip just a fraction, my jawclenching. I need to sell this, even though every instinct in my body isscreaming at me to stop. “You’re running out of time,Lambretti,”I growl. “If you care about your daughter at all, you’ll come for her beforeit’s too late.”

Luca nods once, and the camera clicks off.

Alexis mutters a curse. Even he looks rattled.

The silence that follows is thick andsuffocating.

Aemelia is crying for real now, her frameshaking. I release her immediately, hands hovering as if I could erase whatjust happened by letting her go. I want to pull her close to me, stroke herhair, kiss her sweet lips, and tell her everything will be okay, but I can’teven look at her. I turn away, catching Luca exhaling a ragged breath, rubbinghis hand down his face. Even Alexis is quiet, his usual cocky expressionabsent.

What do I do? What can I do to make thisright?

I force myself to meet Aemelia’s eyes. “I’msorry.”

She wipes her tears with trembling fingers,giving a watery laugh. “It’s okay,” she whispers. “That was the point, right?”

I nod, but the truth is, I feel wrecked. Andby the look in Luca and Alexis’s eyes, I suspect I’m not the only one.

20

LUCA

PLANETARY SHIFTS

Something is shifting. Like a meteor knockinga planet off its axis, AemeliaLambrettihas comeinto our lives and changed our course.

After Antonio helps Aemelia cover herself, heleads her up the stairs. I exchange a look with Alexis, and through silentcommunication alone we decide to follow them.

The video is on my phone, and I shoulddistribute it to Enzo immediately, but somehow, it doesn’t seem as important.

In the bedroom, Antonio strips his sweater andgently pulls it over Aemelia’s head. He encourages her to put her arms into thesleeves, gentle and patient as a father with a small child. The sweater isoversized on her, covering her thighs as she lets the towel fall. Her eyes areglossy and wet, her hair still in disarray. With tender hands I don't recognizeas belonging to my brother, he begins to stroke the knots from her hair, andshe closes her eyes and lets him try to undo the damage we did.

Will it ever be possible?

I recall the first time I saw my father kill aman. It was nothing like those stupid TV cop shows or the movies. The bulletleft my father’s gun and pierced Alberto’s gut, and he bled like a stuck pig,groaning and writhing for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t watch, soinstead, I focused on my father. He was a tough man. Nobody becomes the boss ofa family without being hard as nails, but he wasn’t like that with his kids.Strict but fair, we grew up respecting him more than we feared him, but thatday, I saw a different side of him. Cold. Hard. Ruthless. And once I saw it, Icouldn’t unsee it.

For the rest of his life, I viewed him throughdifferent eyes and faced a truth I wish I hadn’t had to face about someone Iloved. Men, when pushed, are capable of anything. It’s a fact I learned aboutmyself in time, the limits of my conscience easing outwards until I was nolonger restricted by the boundaries I’d grown up with.

We’ve all done things our mama would beashamed of but will always find a way to look past. I, too, look past horrorswhen it suits me but watching my brutal brother pet AemeliaLambrettiis a gear shift. Seeing him touch her with such tenderness is unsettling. Inthe garden of the Venturi estate, there’s a low wall that we all used to walkalong, balancing on the narrow stone. Right now, it feels like I’vemissteppedand am about to tumble off the edge.

Antonio finishes combing through Aemelia’shair and helps her lower herself onto the mattress where she curls up, huggingher knees close. Without a word, I leave the room, descending the stairs. Inthe kitchen, I uncork a bottle of red wine and pour it into four squat glassesthat would be better suited for whiskey. If I had some whiskey, I’d have pouredthat. Aemelia needs this. Pretty sure Antonio needs this, too.

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