Page 18 of One Savage Union

“Look at me, Lucia.” His voice is quiet and surprisingly tender, like he’s coaxing a wild, wounded animal out of a trap. Tethered by fear to his floor, that’s exactly how I feel. He strokes an errant strand of my curly hair behind my ear and levels me with his attention.

“You will marry me because that’s the only way to save your life and the lives of many others. You will sacrifice your freedom to ensure blood doesn’t run down Chicago’s streets. I know you don’t understand any of that now, but you will as you begin to understand Cosa Nostra and your father’s place inside it. You are the key to everything because he who has you has your father in his hand. I can’t let Leonardo have that kind of power. You must trust me because life is over as you know it. The life you were living was always temporary. Your debt as Matteo’s daughter had to come due at some point. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be.”

A part of me acknowledges his words as truth. Although it defies logic, I realize that my previous way of life has ended regardless of who is to blame. Accepting that makes me tremble with the fear of being caught in a cage constructed by my blood.

To cope, I require a release.

So, I kick him.

The thud echoes in the room, muffled but shocking. He stumbles, and I immediately regret my action. I contract my body to make myself smaller but don’t take my eyes off him.

He’s eerily calm, and that scares me more than the rage I thought was sure to come. He reaches into his pocket and takes out a key to unlock the cell. I dart my eyes to the door, tryingto estimate how far I can go before he catches me, but his eyes arrest me.

I’m not going anywhere.

Wordlessly, he drags me out of the cell. I squirm and pull, trying to escape, but it is in vain.

“Please,” I beg, but he only tightens his grip on my elbow as he pulls me behind him.

The rest of what is clearly a basement is still shrouded in darkness, but he navigates the space as if it were daylight. When we reach another door, I’m damn near frantic. He slams open the door and pushes me in. When I enter the small space, a motion light turns on, and I realize it’s a restroom.

How did he know?

Relieved to empty my bladder, I get down to business. I know Rocco’s standing outside the door, and I wish he’d leave to give me some privacy. But I don’t push my luck. I wash my hands and turn the doorknob, but it doesn’t budge. I shake the handle several times and realize I’m locked in.

Fuck! He’s pissed, and I’m trapped.

The door forcefully opens, and Rocco appears. Except this time, he’s discarded his suit jacket and rolled the sleeves of his black dress shirt to his elbows. The ink covering his forearms mesmerizes me. Snaking lines of scripture and symbols curl across his skin, like a story I’ll never be allowed to read. His presence is overwhelming, but I steady myself with a deep breath.

He grabs my hand, pulls me out of the restroom, and walks towards the center of the dark room. Then he pauses and looks at me with the intensity of a five-alarm fire.

“You must learn to obey, or you will die in your rebellion. Your demise is not in line with the Romano family plans. So, I’m going to help you learn some discipline.”

I’m about to snap back when I pause, a spark of an idea forming. I school my features into something resembling submission and murmur, “I don’t understand any of this. You’re…” I trail off, pretending to be too overwhelmed to finish.

His eyes narrow slightly, intrigued. “I’m what?” he prompts, stepping closer.

“You’re…different from what I thought. Why are you doing all this? Is your cousin, the one you say is after me, as bad as you say?” I ask, keeping my tone soft and curious.

He hesitates, and for a moment, I see something unguarded flicker in his eyes. Regret? Pain?

“He’s worse,” he says quietly. “I’ve spent my life cleaning up his messes. I won’t let him destroy you, too.”

I hold his gaze, sensing this might be my only chance to break through his armor. “Why? What has he done?”

Rocco exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. For a split second, he looks exhausted, haunted. “Leo doesn’t just crave power. He craves suffering. When we were teenagers, he lured a girl from our neighborhood—Caterina—into his orbit. She was sweet and bright. Too trusting. He impregnated her and then broke her.” His voice tightens, his fists clenching. “After she had her baby, I found her barely breathing in an abandoned house. She never spoke again after that. She disappeared. I don’t even know if she’s alive.”

A cold chill spreads through me, but I force myself to stay composed. “And you tried to stop him?”

“I did more than try,” he says darkly. “Every time he stepped out of line, I cleaned up after him. Protecting people, he marked. That’s why my uncle trusts me. I am the only one who can control him.”

“Where’s the baby?”

His eyes burn through me. “Enzo adopted Aria-that’s her name. He always had a crush on Caterina, but never made amove to claim her. He blamed himself for her death, knowing she would have been his; Leo would not have dared to touch her. Aria is my goddaughter and the center of our entire world. She’s four now.”

His admission stirs something in me—an understanding, an unsettling attraction to the tortured man before me. Despite everything, there is a code he follows, a line he won’t cross—a protector lurking inside the predator.

“Why keep Leo alive?” I challenge.

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