Page 46 of Mafia Boss's Baby Surprise

“Fine. Connect him and put him on speaker.” I don’t know what Cole wants that can’t wait and that he’s willing to risk saying over the phone, even if we’re using a super secure, encrypted line, but I doubt it’s good.

“Di Domenico,” Cole says from the other end of the line.

“Icardi. What is it? I thought we agreed to meet in two days.” Or at least that’s the information his assistant, or whoever, gave Theo when I said I couldn’t make it.

Is he really still pissed that I didn’t rush to meet with him when he wanted it, so he’s going to cancel now? But then his assistant would’ve called. Something else is up.

“We did, and that’s exactly why I want to tell you this myself. Our meeting is canceled. I got a better offer that I can’t refuse.”

“What offer? Marcello Valentino’s offer?” I don’t know who else could offer something irresistible.

“Yes.”

“You do realize Marcello is a liar. All he wants is to get your territory so he can get to me. Even if he doesn’t destroy you right away, he’ll do it later. He’ll squash you like a bug. Whatever he’s offering, he intends to take it back and then some.”

“Ah, that’s what you think. But Marcello is offering his daughter too. She’s going to marry my son. Marcello and I will be family.”

“And you’re telling me all this, why?” It doesn’t make sense to reveal such information to your enemy, especially if he’s planning to side with Marcello.

“Because I don’t like him, but I’ll do what’s best for my family. You know, I have a daughter too. If you were willing to marry her, I would be persuaded to change my mind. I need your decision and everything signed very quickly because Marcello’s offer won’t last forever.”

“I bet he’ll be thrilled to hear you’re talking to me.”

“I’m a free man, and I can talk to whoever I want.”

“Until you marry Marcello. Because that’s what you’ll be doing. You’ll be his little bitch, and you’ll have to do whatever he says.”

“Do you want to marry my daughter or not?” Cole’s voice is strained.

He wants a way out. Marriage is the perfect way to make a powerful alliance. Such ties are rarely broken or betrayed.

Having Cole on my side would be better than him joining Marcello. But am I willing to marry a girl I don’t even know just to get help with stopping Marcello?

No, I don’t.

“Look,” Cole says. “I’ll give you a day to think about it. Your family and mine have coexisted in this area for a very long time. I’d rather not have to go against you, even if we have to face Marcello together. But if you reject my offer, then I have no choice but to strike a deal with Marcello.”

“Why not just hear out my offer first? No marriage. Just a deal. You know I’d never go back on my word. We can still fight Marcello together, and you can get some benefits out of it too.”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that. Alliances break so easily, but family is family.”

“Right.” We don’t have to like our family or we can even hate it, but we’re expected to fight for it and defend each other no matter what.

It’s just how most mafia families around here function. Always loyal to their own.

“I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” Cole says, and then the line goes dead.

“That wentwell,” Theo says, pocketing his phone.

“Actually, it did. Now we know for sure Marcello has a daughter.”

All we had were rumors about a potential daughter, but Marcello kept spreading fake information about her, so we weren’t even sure if she existed. We still don’t know if he has any other children.

“Yeah, but I know you. You don’t want to marry Cole’s daughter, and having him against us too... Marcello will basically be on our doorstep. Do you think the whole thing is a trap for Cole? He lets Marcello into his territory for the wedding. Marcello kills him and his son, and takes over.”

I shake my head. “There’ll be guards at the wedding, and pulling something like that would make absolutely everyone leery of working with Marcello. No one would trust him after that, not even his current allies.”

“Okay, so let’s say it’s not all a big lie and a trap. Why would Marcello want to marry off his daughter to someone as insignificant as Cole’s son? I mean, yeah, it would make it possible for him to get close to you, and the Icardis know us well, so he could use that, but it feels like he’s—”

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