Page 65 of One Savage Union

He's looking at me like I’m his next meal, and my stomach starts to churn.

Who is this man, and what does he want?

When I decide to turn around and go back upstairs, my father acknowledges my presence.

“Lucia, come to me, child. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

I take in a deep breath and plaster on my best smile. I don’t want to be introduced to the slimy man tossing back a drink next to my father, but I know there’s no telling Matteo Ricci no. I’ve tried to impose my will in different ways over the past three days, but the man doesn’t budge once he gives a directive. Now that I know he can also be violent, I must move carefully.

“Of course,” I say as I walk towards them. When I’m close, my father reaches out and grabs my wrist urgently. He’s holding onto me like I might run at any moment. What is he about to tell me that’s got him so cautious? Who is this man?

“She’s beautiful, Matteo. Like an orchid freshly bloomed in Spring.”

His eyes roam over my body as he speaks. Instinctively, I cross my arms over my chest for protection.

My father laughs. “Yes, it’s her mother’s Ghanaian heritage that makes her such a beauty. If that asshole Fieri hadn’t kidnapped her and forced a marriage, her bride price would have been very high.”

I open my mouth to tell him that I’m not a commodity to be bought or sold, but he squeezes my wrist to the point of pain, and I relent.

There’s something recognizable around his eyes. I can’t put my finger on it, but he looks familiar. He also reeks of tobacco. As he approaches, I almost choke on the stench. When he reaches out and strokes my cheek, I recoil. My father twists my wrist, and I grimace. The stranger chuckles darkly.

“Let her go, Matteo, she won’t run. Where would she go?”

Run, why would I run?

He licks his lips and circles me like prey. “Yes, she will do. My cousin thinks he’s so smart, but I’ve outsmarted him. By the end of the night, I will own his kingdom and his wife. Maybe I’ll make him watch me fuck you until you scream before I kill him.”

I smack his hand away from my face and begin to tremble as I register what he said.

His cousin?

“Who are you?” I whisper, already knowing the answer.

“Oh, Bella, I’m your future.” he holds his hand out for me to shake, but I ignore it. My snub doesn’t stop his sneer or his following announcement.

“I’m Leo Romano, the key to your future.”

I step back and shake my head no. “You will never touch me, and I’d never marry a monster like you, no matter what happens between Rocco and me.”

My father scoffs. “Oh dear, don’t worry, Leo will not fuck or marry you unless he can afford you. I plan to place a very high price on your pretty head, even if your hymen isn’t intact. Don’t you know an alliance with your papa is worth more than gold? Romano barely has enough for the drugs he’s buying off me.”

Leo’s snarl is feral. “Watch how you speak about me, old man. We had a deal.”

My father quickly pulls a gun and points it towards Leo. “Yes, and your end of the bargain is done. I have enough information to overthrow your father, and I have my daughter back. She’s the biggest bargaining piece for complete power that I have. Why should I keep you alive?”

Leo doesn’t flinch at the weapon. Meanwhile I’m shaking like goddamn leaf in the wind. Instead, he smiles.

“Because if I’m not returned to Sicily in exactly one week intact, recordings of all your schemes, including the imminent death of my father, will be released to the commission.”

He walks towards the gun until the barrel is against his head.

“They’d kill you before the next sunset.”

He’s a madman.

I try to back up and out the door during their standoff, but a wall of muscle quickly stops me. Two guards stare down at me and dare me to move.”

My father tilts his head and lightly squeezes the trigger, laughing when the hollow click of an empty chamber sounds. Leo doesn’t react at all.

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