By Virtue I Fall (Sins of the Fathers #3)(78)

“If you’ve come to me to talk about this, you obviously aren’t looking to be discouraged.”

He had a point. If I wanted someone to talk sense into me, Arturo was the wrong choice. He was too eager for blood.

“We could make it look like an accident.”

“Nobody will believe that. His family will blame the Outfit and Dante will go looking for possible suspects, and I have a feeling ultimately it’ll be linked to me.”

Not to mention that Anna would probably get suspicious. I doubted she’d be very happy with me if I killed Cliffy. She chose him. She wanted to go through with this wedding. Nobody really forced her. If she’d tell her parents she couldn’t go through with it, they wouldn’t force her. And if someone ever tried to force her, then I’d be the first to put a bullet in Clifford’s head to stop the wedding.

If Anna thought I wasn’t worth the risk, then I sure as fuck wouldn’t force her to pick me.





Santino watched me interact with Clifford like a lion on the prowl. His entire body was bursting with tension and in his eyes the desire to pulverize Clifford was unmistakable.

Clifford and I held hands and smiled into the cameras, playing the happy couple that we weren’t and would probably never be.

“A kiss for the camera?” a journalist called, and before I could react Clifford leaned down and kissed me. It was only a peck on the lips, definitely nothing indecent but longer than I would have liked, and it did things to Santino’s expression that would have alerted everyone of our relationship if anyone had paid attention.

I cleared my throat and smiled back at the camera. Guilt settled in my stomach. I felt as if I’d cheated on Santino, but he and I weren’t… we couldn’t be. Even if what we had now felt like a real thing, like more than just a fling, it didn’t stand a chance against what lay ahead of us. I’d marry Clifford, so if anything I should feel guilty toward him because what Santino and I did was definitely more than an innocent peck on the lips.

Clifford and I held hands the entire time. With only five months until our wedding, we needed to start acting as if we were in love. Neither of our families could use nasty rumors in the press.

Eventually, I pretended I needed to go to the bathroom, but in truth I went looking for Santino whom I found in the lobby, sitting on the stairs and staring down at his phone.

“Shouldn’t you be watching me?” I asked with a teasing smile as I headed toward him.

“Clifford’s bodyguards are there, not to mention your father. I prefer to stay here, away from the madness.”

I stopped beside him, leaning against the handrail.

“Are you mad?”

“Why would I be? Hmm?” he murmured in a deadly voice. “Because you and Cliffy are all lovey-dovey?”

“He took me by surprise. I wouldn’t have kissed him.”

“Why not? You’re engaged and the future dream couple of Chicago.”

“You knew all of this when we started sleeping together,” I said quietly. It was an argument we’d had so often in recent weeks. Things were becoming more strained every day. We fought constantly, and only ever didn’t argue when we had sex.

“Sleeping together. Is that all we’re doing? Because if you think it is, we might as well call it fucking.”

I blinked and my throat became tighter. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us. Though, that wasn’t true. Maybe it was bound to happen, maybe it needed to happen so our eventual goodbye wouldn’t hurt quite as much. “You know there’s more.” I sank down beside him on the step but left a bit of a distance between us in case someone caught us.

Santino grabbed my neck, stunning me. “I know. I know what I want. I know what I feel. And you?”

I swallowed. “I have to marry Clifford. It’s for the Outfit, you know that. Don’t make me doubt my choice.”

He nodded and released me. “Maybe this is about the Outfit, or maybe it’s about something else. If you’re not doubting your choice yet, it’s probably better if you don’t bother now.”

“What do you mean?”

The door to the party swung open and we scooted apart, but not before the person saw us. Luckily it was only Sofia. Her eyes widened with surprise. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

I pushed to my feet. “You’re not. Our conversation is over.” I strolled over to Sofia. I could see in her expression that she worried about me. I gave her a quick smile. “Are you heading to the restroom?”

“Uhhh,” she said, glancing at Santino, obviously still unsure what she saw. Santino and I hadn’t been overly intimate but I guess whatever had passed between us had given us away to Sofia. “Yeah. What about you?”

“I need to go to the restroom too.” We linked arms and headed for the guest bathroom where we both squeezed into the room. Sofia waited for me to close the door before she said, “Okay, how long has this been going on?”

I smiled apologetically, though I felt a bit like crying after my argument with Santino. “Since Paris.”

Sofia blew out her breath. “From the beginning.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh Anna. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It would have been too dangerous over the phone.”