Chapter 2

The door of my room swung open and Riccardo walked in with long strides.

His eyes settled on me, and his voice carried the same soothing note it always did.

"Valeria, those rumors going around outside — don't take them to heart."

I braced myself against the bed and sat up a little, my eyes full of scorn.

"Don't take them to heart? Do you mean you leaving me on the ground in the middle of a firefight, or you and Loredana all over the gossip pages?"

Riccardo sat down on the edge of the bed, stroked my face tenderly, then leaned over and tucked the blanket around me.

"It happened too fast, and there were too many pairs of eyes on that lot. I had no choice but to take Loredana out first.

"I got Luciano's agreement signed. You saved the family again, Valeria. I know what it cost you."

Luciano Sorrentino was the other party in the deal, and his family sat at the head of the Seven Families. He was the Godfather. Riccardo was one Don among seven.

Riccardo paused, and his voice went gentle.

"Once you're well, I'll go to my mother the same day and ask her to set a date for our wedding."

The warmth of his palm closed around me, and somewhere under it a chill spread through me.

The same as always.

The last time, I'd gone alone into a rival compound and nearly died bringing the intelligence back.

Riccardo had held me and promised me a proposal the whole city would talk about.

Then, inside of two weeks, Donna Camilla proposed a marriage alliance to bring another faction in, and he never said another word about our engagement.

Another time, I took a killing blow meant for him and went into shock on the spot from the blood loss.

When I woke, he was at my bedside, pain all over his face, swearing that as long as he lived he would never let me bleed again.

But every time the family hit a negotiation nobody else could survive, the most dangerous job still landed in my hands.

Hurt me, then hand me something sweet. I'd sat through that routine more times than I could count.

"Enough. I don't want to listen to another one of your lies."

I reached up and shoved Riccardo away from me.

The movement pulled at the wound, and blood came seeping through the gauze.

Riccardo's face tightened and he hit the call button at the head of the bed at once.

The door opened, and the face that came through it was one I'd never seen before.

I looked up at Riccardo and demanded an answer.

"Where's Dr. Marchetti?"

The words had barely left me when the door opened a second time.

Loredana hurried in, her eyes faintly red, her voice full of careful apology.

"Valeria, please don't be angry with Riccardo.

"My heart's been racing at night and I can't sleep through it. We tried a dozen different treatments and nothing worked, so Riccardo had your doctor transferred over to look after me."

My eyes went coldly to her right hand.

The emerald ring she was wearing was the mark of the Donna Ferrante.

"Why is that ring on your hand?"

Loredana gave a small flinch and looked to Riccardo for rescue.

Riccardo turned his head and patted the back of her hand to settle her.

Then he explained.

"I lent it to her to get through one family dinner. I'll take it back afterward."

The sight of it went into me like a blade.

I had stared at that ring more times than I could count and told him softly how much I loved it.

Every time, Riccardo had smiled and refused, and then said it with real weight.

"Baby, that ring doesn't go on your hand until the day we're married.

"It isn't jewelry. It's the whole family saying you belong to it."

Back then, I believed him.

And now the ring had turned up on Loredana's hand.

Riccardo's promises were checks that were never going to clear.

I demanded an answer.

"My doctor gets taken off my case. The ring that says who I am is on her hand. So in your eyes, my gunshot wounds don't measure up to the palpitations she puts on for you. Is that right?

"I'm giving you two choices. Announce the engagement and put every rumor down, or go on protecting her. You decide."

Riccardo stood wedged between the two of us, distress on his face, and for a long moment he couldn't produce a single word.

While we were locked there, a steady set of footsteps came to the door.

One of Riccardo's men stepped in and bowed his head, keeping his voice low.

"Don Ferrante. Donna Camilla has sent word. She asks that you and Miss Loredana return to the estate at once."

Riccardo was silent a long time, and in the end he turned his head to me and softened his voice.

"Valeria, don't go imagining things. I've never thought of Loredana as anything but a sister, and you're the only woman I'll ever marry.

"Be good and rest here. When I've finished with the estate, I'll come and take you home."

Then he gave me one long look, and left with Loredana.

The room held nothing but the sound of the machines.

I opened the message thread with Luciano and sent it one word at a time.

"The deal stands. But I'm requesting a change of partner."