Page 64 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
I return to find my uncle has returned to the table. I stare coldly at him as I take my seat.
“What?” he grunts.
I say nothing, just keep staring.
“If you keep on with that, we might have a problem,” he snaps.
“You say that like it’s not the only thing I fucking want.”
“Easy,” my father says. “Let’s all just calm down.”
“You’re lucky, Uncle, but your luck won’t last forever if you keep this up. Remove yourself.”
“Wuh-what?” His face has gone red now.
“Remove yourself from this table or I’ll do it for you.”
He hesitates, looking around for support. There are, of course, men loyal to him at the adjacent tables, but they know better than to intervene.
Slowly, he stands. “I prefer drinking alone, anyway.” He takes a few steps, then stares at me. For a second, he turns into the man I knew growing up, with an empathetic expression on his face. “Everything I do, I do for the Family. For you, nephew. For my brother. Remember that.”
I watch him go, fire in my gut.
“He had no right to talk to her like that,” I growl.
My father sighs. “But you have to remember who he is.”
“You’re wrong. He has to remember who I am.”
CHAPTER 23
SIENA
Idon’t get much sleep that night, tossing and turning as I think about the standoff. That word,civilian, makes me feel small and degraded.
When my alarm goes off, I don’t want to get up. But I don’t have the luxury of sleeping in. I stand and stretch my arms over my head, my eyes aching and every sinew willing me back to bed.
A quick shower and some stern self-talk gets me out the door, heading toward Veronica’s hut. The morning is glorious. The sun bouncing across the waves, shimmering in the palm leaves.
Veronica sounds panicked when I knock. “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“Siena?”
“Can I come in?”
“Uh, one moment. Is it important?”
I squeeze the door handle, a headache pulsing. Yes, it’s important. This whole week-long event is important.
Finally, she says, “Come in.”
I push the door open. She’s in bed, the sheets pulled up around her neck, sweating profusely, her hair sticking to her head. “What is it?”
“The waterfall party is later today. Apart from the vow renewal itself, I’d say it’s the biggest event we’ve got planned. The Bianchis specifically built an artificial waterfall because they wanted romantic pictures next to it, and they thought it would make a good scene for a party.”
“I’m aware of this.”
