Page 66 of Dance of Madness

“It’s Gabriella,” she says flatly, even though almost everyone but Dom—whoinsistson calling her Gabriella, for some reason—calls her Gabby.

Leo nods. “Indeed. Well…Gabriella…I imagine you’ve got some preconceived notions of me. Things you’ve heard?—”

“You asked me to blow you about seven seconds after you met me when you were visiting Knightsblood for a reunion,” she says flatly.

My eyes instantly rip from my sister to Leo. Next to me, Dom suddenly looks pissed as fuck too, his jaw tightening and his hand clenching to a fist.

“Excuse me?” I snarl coldly.

Leo sighs sadly. “You have mymost sincereapologies, Gabriella. I haven’t had the best relationship with alcohol, and I’m ashamed of my past behavior.” He looks right at me. “I humbly beg forgiveness from both of you. It’s no excuse, but drinking brought out a bad side of me, and I no longer do. Drink, that is.”

Gabby’s lips purse as she fixes Leo with a beady look. “Apology…considered.”

He smiles, dipping his chin.

“Look,” Leo says. “I know it’s an increasingly outdated idea, but a marriage between your family and mine would make us unstoppable. I bring connections, Nero. Total access to Bratva circles. Let’s be honest—it's still hard for Italian families to fully integrate with the Russians.”

I study him, my fingers tapping against the armrest of my chair.

“I bring so much to the table, Nero,” he presses. “Doors you can’t open alone. Opportunities it would be foolish to squander.”

He’s selling this, hard. But gradually I realize I’m not even listening, and not just because I knew before he walked in here that there was no way inhellI was going to trade my sister for any sort of alliance.

No, suddenly, I’m back in that bedroom, pulling back the covers, dragging my fingers along soft, flushed skin. Watching Milena move in her sleep when I touch her. Breathing in the smell of her. Listening to the sound she made when I brought her to the edge and then tipped her over it with just one finger.

“So, what do you say, Nero?” Leo asks, obnoxiously cutting into my daydreams of Milena’s pretty, pink pussy.

“I’ll think about it,” I say flatly.

Gabby chokes on a laugh. “Wait.What!?”

Dom glares daggers at me. I hold up a hand and turn back to Leo.

“I willthinkabout it,” I growl. “Zero promises.”

He smiles widely. “Of course. I appreciate you taking the time to consider it. Look, Nero, I really do bring connections and alliances that your family couldhugelybenefit from. And I truly am a changed man, I promise.”

He clears his throat delicately.

“However, I should add—and I don’t mean this to sound confrontational—that there are other offers out there.”

I tilt my head. “What?”

“For me,” he says smoothly. “Other potential alliances. Other mafia princesses.”

Gabby scoffs. “Go waste one of their afternoons, then.”

Leo stands, as do I. I shake his hand, then I glance at Dom.

“Would you take Gabriella with you?”

Gabby shoots me a look and then subtly flips me off for good measure.

“Come along, princess,” Dom mutters, taking her elbow.

“Don’tprincessme,” she snaps. But she grudgingly allows him to escort her out.

When they’re gone, I turn back to Nero.

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