By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(56)

I poured myself a small glass of Bourbon before I made my way upstairs. When I stepped into the bedroom, Cressida was still in the bathroom. I went into our walk-in closet and got out of my wedding suit, throwing it over an armchair there before I grabbed a black shirt and black cargo pants.

“You have a new scar!” Cressida exclaimed as she sauntered in, wearing a sexy white negligee. Her hair was down and she was wearing heels.

I followed her gaze toward the stab wound that was still tender but no longer bandaged. Not saying anything, I pulled up my cargo pants. I hadn’t seen reason to reveal the events of Las Vegas with Cressida. Showing any kind of weakness in front of my wife seemed like a bad idea.

“What are you doing?” Cressida asked, confused.

“Getting dressed. I have business to attend to.”

Her eyes widened with incredulity. “It’s our wedding night!”

I put on the shirt and raised an eyebrow. “I never wanted this marriage. I told you what to expect if you married me. This is a marriage on paper. Don’t expect any emotional attachment.”

“We have to consummate our wedding. It’s tradition!” Her voice became increasingly shrill. I walked out into the hallway but she rushed after me.

“We consummated it in advance. That should do,” I said. I had absolutely no desire to touch her right now.

Down in the armory, I grabbed two gun holsters, and my favorite knives and guns. Cressida caught up with me. Her heels had obviously slowed her down. She scanned my attire. “Where are you going?”

“Business.”

“A husband should fuck his wife!”

“Maybe I’ll do it when I return in the morning.”

I grabbed my car keys and headed into the lobby. Cressida let out an enraged cry and one of her heels hit the mirror beside my head, making it splinter.

“You’re lucky I don’t have time for your bullshit right now,” I growled and left.

No virgin blood would be spilled today, only Falcone blood.





I put on pajamas but I couldn’t fall asleep. My thoughts revolved around Amo. He would be sharing his wedding night with Cressida now.

I had spent a week begging Dad to let me attend this wedding, arguing I needed to see Amo get married to close this chapter of my life. You needed to face your fears, that was what Dad always said, and it was something I had internalized too. Now I wasn’t so sure it had improved my emotional state. It definitely didn’t feel as if a chapter had been closed.

But maybe my presence had showed our goodwill to maintain peace, which felt so terribly fragile.

Nevio had been absolutely furious but Dad had insisted he stay in Vegas. It would have only crushed what was left of our truce if he’d come. His anger had been potent, and I was still worried he’d do something stupid. While Nevio respected Dad, his boisterous nature often made him forget reason and Dad’s orders.

I brushed the finger where a ring would have been if I’d accepted Amo’s proposal.

It had been my choice, the only reasonable choice at the time, to let go of Amo, but right now it felt as if something had been ripped from me that I didn’t want to lose.

Voices sounded in the living area of our suite. I finally got up and went there. Fabiano, Nino and Dad were talking in hushed voices. Adamo sat on the sofa, his arms stretched out on the backrest. He was the only one who didn’t look completely tense. He’d enjoyed his time in New York and was friendly with many Famiglia soldiers. If more of us made the effort he had made, things would be far less tense between the families.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Dad slanted me a look. “Nothing.”

I pursed my lips. I could tell that wasn’t true. He always said women were treated like the weaker sex because they acted like it, but his protectiveness sometimes made it difficult to act out of my comfort zone.

“Nino has a sort of premonition,” Adamo said with a chuckle. His curly hair was all over the place.

“What kind of premonition?” I asked.

“There’s nothing clairvoyant about my observations.”

“I won’t flee New York in the middle of the night like a fucking coward because you’re overly cautious.”

“And you’re being arrogant and prideful.”

“I know Luca. He always prides himself for his goddamn honor. He would never use a wedding night to attack. That would be deeply dishonorable.”

Dad obviously thought there was nothing wrong with using a wedding for nefarious purposes.

“Aria was her usual nice, excited self. No alarm bells there. But Luca doesn’t tell her everything. Maybe he wants to give you a taste of your own medicine,” Fabiano said with a shrug. Dad sent him a warning look I didn’t understand. “Luca can adept if he thinks it’s necessary. Recent events might have made him reevaluate his values.”

Dad’s lips curled. “Let him attack if he thinks himself so clever.”

“You’re letting your rage overshadow reason,” Nino muttered. “But there’s more on the line than our lives.”

Dad glanced at me, obviously still unwilling to listen to reason. “I have to admit Luca would get my respect if he really lured us here under the false pretense of peace, only to attack. That would mark a new low for him, one I’ll gladly return.”