Chapter 5

CELESTINA 

Today.

A knock sounded, tearing me out of the painful memories. I took a deep breath and willed my voice to be strong. “Come in.”

Aunt Josephine opened the door, but she didn’t enter. Worry tightened her mouth. “Celestina, that was very rude,” she said. She regarded me then averted her gaze, and again it was filled with a hint of guilt. “You should be honored to be given to someone of importance. With your background, it’s a blessing. Your wedding will be a spectacle. It’ll bring honor to your name.” “And yours,” I said quietly.

She stiffened, and I instantly regretted my words. I had no right to criticize her or my uncle. “We braved a lot of unpleasantness because we took you in. You can hardly hold it against us that we are happy to have found such a honorable match for you.” “Has it been decided?” I asked quietly.

She frowned. “As good as. The Grecos insist on Phoenix’s relative for the marriage, naturally,

so Altair suggested you. Phoenix would like a word with you before he makes the offer, which isn’t how it used to be done, but if he insists on your consent, we can hardly refuse him. We invited him and his wife over for dinner.” Her eyes met mine, finally. “You will tell him you are delighted by the honor, Celestina, won’t you? This is your chance to redeem your family and yourself. Maybe your brothers will even be allowed to become Captains if you marry someone like Salvatore Greco.”

My throat closed tightly, and my gaze found the bed again.

“Celestina, you will tell him you agree, won’t you? Your uncle already told Phoenix you would. It

will lead to rumors if you refuse.”

I looked back at my aunt, who looked worried.

“I will agree,” I whispered, because what else was there left to do?

That evening before dinner, Phoenix pulled me aside to talk to me without my aunt and uncle, which displeased them greatly, made plainly clear by the scowls on their faces.

“I’m not going to force you to marry if you refuse,” he said. His presence made me nervous.

“I’ll be twenty this fall. I need to marry.”

“That’s true,” Phoenix conceded. His gray eyes regarded me as if he thought he could pull any

truth out of me with just his watchful gaze, but I had learned to hold on to my secrets. “But you could marry someone else.”

I could, but if I refused to marry Salvatore Greco, I’d be even more of a pariah in our circles. Uncle Altair and Aunt Josephine would be disappointed, and they would have an even harder time finding someone else. And how would I justify my refusal? In our world, you married the man your parents chose for you, no matter how bad the choice. “Who would marry Salvatore Greco in my stead?”

“Most of my cousins are promised or married. I’d have to choose one of the daughters of my

Captains. A few of them will be turning of age this year and aren’t engaged.”

Another girl given to the monsters in Las Vegas. A girl more innocent than me. A girl who

deserved a chance at happiness no matter how small it would be in our world.

Nobody had protected me all those years ago, but I could spare another girl this fate. “I will

marry him. You don’t have to choose anyone else.” My voice didn’t betray my terror. It was firm and determined, and I forced myself to meet Phoenix’s gaze for the first time this evening.

Phoenix stared at me a moment longer, but I could tell he approved of my decision. Duty and

honor were the pillars of our world. Each of us had to do what was expected. It would have made him and the Famiglia look bad if he couldn’t have offered one of his cousins to the D’Angelo. These were the rules we lived by, and his own wife had been given to him for peace. This was how it was done, how it would always be done.

After dinner, it was Caroline who approached me. She smiled kindly and touched my arm while

the men drank their scotch in the smoking lounge and Aunt Josephine got espresso ready for us. “Nobody would blame you if you refused,” Caroline said.

“You married Phoenix. You did what was expected, what honor dictated, and I know the same is expected of me,” I said with a smile.

She frowned. “Yes, but—”

“It’s not like this has ever been my home. Even if I wasn’t the one who broke his oath, I’m

paying for my father’s mistake. I want to move on from it. This is my chance to redeem myself. Las Vegas can be a new start for me.”

Those were the words expected of me, but they fell heavily from my lips because I knew that

my marriage to Salvatore could destroy everything. My reputation and any chance at peace. And beneath these worries, lay a deeper, darker fear—a fear born in the past that haunted my present and would determine my future.

SALVATORE

“This was too risky and you know it, Cosimo. One day you will get yourself killed,” I said as Cosimo and I settled at a table in the Sugar Trap. I knew he was starting to grow tired of my lectures, but as long as he acted impulsively, he’d have to listen to them.

Cosimo threw his feet up on the table, watching the stripper sway her hips, her tits bouncing up

and down. The Sugar Trap was deserted, except for the women preparing for the evening.

“When that happens, you are there to rule over the D’Angelo.”

I frowned. He was taking this too lightly. He was the born Capo. Nobody could scare people

into submission as easily and fast as Cosimo. I didn’t want to become Capo. That was Cosimo’s birthright, not mine.

“Don’t give me that look, Salvatore. I know you would have handled things differently.”

“Anyone would have handled things differently.”

“It worked. Phoenix got his drugs, and he agreed to give this union a chance. And I bet Caroline

played a part in the matter. She wants her brother back. She is a woman. They want peace and love. They like to meddle.”

“You aren’t an expert where women are concerned. When was the last time you talked more

than two sentences to a woman?”

Cosimo swung his legs off the table and got up then pointed at the stripper. “I want to fuck. Get

your ass into the changing room. I’ll be there in two minutes. You better be naked.” The woman nodded and hurried backstage. Cosimo raised one dark eyebrow. “See? Four sentences.”

I sighed and rose to my feet. “That wasn’t talking, that was commanding. A monologue, at

best. For it to be an actual conversation, she has to say something in return.”

Cosimo grinned. “Why would I want to hear what she has to say? I prefer her mouth filled with

my cock.” He pointed at another stripper who entered our club. “Why don’t you take that one? In a few months, you’ll be a married man. No more stripper pussies for you then.” He laughed at his own joke, knowing Made Men could do whatever they wanted, and clapped my shoulder. “Come on, relax a bit before you have to meet with Phoenix tomorrow.”

He had a point. I met the woman’s gaze and motioned her toward me. I’d fucked her before. “C.J.,” I said, and her eyes widened. They were always surprised that I remembered their names, but I never forgot a name or anything else.

“Yes, Mr. Greco?” She licked her lips because she thought it was what turned me on. I found

it more distracting than anything else. If I didn’t already intend on fucking her, I wouldn’t have called her over. There was no sense in trying to turn me on further. Cosimo had already headed backstage. I grabbed her wrist, led her to the restrooms, and fucked her up against the stall. She moaned, but I knew it was fake. She was wet around my cock, but she definitely hadn’t come. Her body didn’t exhibit the telltale signs of orgasm. As a whore, she was used to faking it to make her customers happy, but I fucking hated it. I gripped her harder, narrowing my eyes, and fucked her faster. “You know what happens to people who lie to me?”

Fear flashed across her face. I reached between us, flicked her clit, and eventually she had to

surrender to me—as they always did—and she came. I followed a few moments later, pulled out of her, threw the condom into the toilet, and left her standing there.

Phoenix and I decided to meet in Nashville. It was neutral ground, which was the best option for a second meeting considering we’d both be alone. Phoenix sized me up as I walked over to him in the deserted parking lot of an abandoned cinema complex.

I held out my hand for him to shake. He took it and to my surprise he didn’t try to squeeze my

hand into dust like some people did when they wanted to intimidate. Maybe he knew it didn’t have that effect on me.

“We meet again,” he said with narrowed eyes. “Last time we didn’t get to talk in private. You

were the one who threatened my wife.”

“I didn’t threaten her,” I objected. “I found a weakness in your safety measures, and Cosimo

pointed it out to you to stop you from killing him.”

Phoenix’s gaze hardened. “You won’t threaten my wife ever again.”

Maybe the average person was afraid of him, but I regarded him coolly, my pulse as calm as

always. “Scare tactics don’t work with me. I don’t have the disposition for them to have an effect on me. I have no intention of threatening your wife in the future. I think a truce between the Famiglia and the D’Angelo is the logical solution to our problem with the Outfit, and for truce to work, we will have to agree not to threaten or kill each other for the time being.”

Phoenix regarded me for several seconds, a sneer on his face. “Are any of you Greco brothers

sane?”

“What is your definition of sanity?” I asked. “Society regards neither you nor I as sane. We

are psychopaths because we enjoy killing. Or are you trying to tell me you feel guilty when you torture and kill?”

Phoenix shrugged. “Maybe we are psychopaths, but you and Cosimo make most psychopaths look

sane.”

I knew Cosimo and I were the result of the same catalyst. Animals adapted to their environment

if they wanted to survive. It was an evolution process that sometimes happened on a small scale within a single being. Cosimo had turned toward his emotions, had let them loose, and as a result had barely any control over his rage.

My body had survived by getting rid of emotions altogether. I preferred my adaption to his. It

made life more predictable.

Augusto hadn’t been born when Cosimo and I became the men we were today, and Saverio had

been only three years old, too young to understand or remember. They didn’t share Cosimo’s and my dispositions. “I’m perfectly capable to act accordingly based on society’s standards if I want.”

“And you want to marry for truce?”

“It is the only reason why I would consider marrying,” I said honestly. “Marriage really

serves no other purpose. I don’t need companionship. I have that in my brothers and Simone. And I don’t need marriage to fulfill my sexual drive. There are enough women in Las Vegas for that.”

Phoenix let out a dark laugh. “I believe you.”

“I got the impression that you were in favor of a marriage between our families.”

“I’m not in favor, but as you said, it is the logical choice. I have to think of the Famiglia and

my own family. I don’t want you crazy Greco fuckers on my back. I prefer you making Villondo’s life hell. I have my hands full with the Bratva. I don’t want to deal with him. That you’re going to kill

Caballero in the most brutal way anyone could come up with is an added bonus.”

“Then it’s settled. Given your family’s background, your Captains and Underbosses are in

favor of the union, I presume.”

“They follow my judgment, but arranged marriages are very popular in the Famiglia, of

course.”

Arranged marriages were still popular even among the D’Angelos. “Have you chosen a

woman for me yet?”

Phoenix’s mouth tightened. “It won’t come as a surprise if I tell you that most of my Underbosses

and Captains aren’t eager to send one of their daughters to the D’Angelo. The name Greco has a certain reputation.”

“I’m perfectly capable of fulfilling my duties as a husband. I can provide protection, father

children, and money isn’t a problem either.”

Phoenix grimaced. “I don’t give a fuck about that. What I want to know is if I will have to attack

Vegas to save one of my cousins from you and your brothers.”

“You won’t have reason to save anyone, and even if you tried, Las Vegas is too strong for you. But I assure you, my wife won’t suffer violence.” I paused. “And must I remind you that it’s your family who upholds the tradition of bloody sheets and not ours? That forces any husband’s hand on the wedding night.”

“Some traditions can’t be overruled.”

“The question remains: Do you have someone in mind?”

Phoenix nodded. “One of my cousins is of marrying age. Her guardians suggested her for the

union. She won’t be sad to leave the Famiglia.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Guardians? What is wrong with the girl?”

“Nothing. She’s more than capable of becoming a wife, but her father, my Uncle, was a traitor,

and many people won’t let her forget it. She grew up with our Aunt Josephine.”

“A traitor’s daughter for us. Some people might consider that an insult.”

“Will your brother Cosimo be one of them?”

It was always hard to say with Cosimo, but he didn’t give a fuck about family history. “Cosimo

judges people by their own actions, not by their parents’ wrongdoings. And she is still your cousin.” He reached for his back pocket, and I lifted my hand to my holster.

Tension shot through Phoenix’s body. “Phone.” He pulled out his cell, and after a moment he

turned it to me. On the screen was an image of a young woman with dark brown eyes and almost black hair but her naturally olive skin was rather pale, which suggested she didn’t leave the house very often. “This is my cousin, Celestina Romano. Nineteen. An honorable woman.” The last was said with a hint of warning.

“She will do,” I said.

Phoenix put his phone back into his back pocket. He nodded once then sighed. “Then it’s settled.”