Nico (Ruin & Revenge #1)(16)
“You think I worked hard in school and built a business so I could be a marketable commodity?” Her voice rose in pitch even though she knew it would rile him.
“Why the fuck else would you do it?” He leaned back in his seat, his silk shirt straining against his barrel chest, huge stomach hanging over his belt. “You’re a woman. Your only value to me is political. We need this alliance to end the faida and increase the power of la famiglia. Once you marry Tony, his bastard of a cousin won’t be a threat—he’s not gonna be able to whack family and he won’t have the power to challenge Santo anymore. I’d be surprised if he’s still alive when you get back from your honeymoon.”
All those years of trying to prove herself, to gain her father’s approval, to show him she was good as a son, had been for nothing. He had never seen her as anything more than a piece of property to be maintained and traded away. In her heart she had always known it, but to hear the words from his lips made her feel sick inside. She wanted done of this, of him, of their sick, twisted, broken family, of Cosa Nostra rules and codes and culture. She had fought hard for her little piece of independence, and she wouldn’t survive if he took it away.
“I am not marrying Tony Crackers.” She looked over at Dante for help, but he continued to stare out the window. Her bad. Dante had never stood up to their father. Clearly, he wasn’t about to start now. “I have no interest in getting married, and certainly not to a psychopath. The newspapers are now calling him the Butcher. Every time he has a dispute with someone, they wind up not just dead but massacred.”
Her father waved a dismissive hand. “You’ll marry who I tell you to marry, and you’ll do what I tell you to do. We all have to make sacrifices. This is yours. We’ll sit down, have a nice dinner, make the plans … I have invited Don Falzone, don of the Vegas faction of the New York Falzones to be there as a witness to the end of the faida and the marriage promise. The Falzones are the only other family strong enough to challenge us for control of the city, but once he realizes the might of our alliance, he will think twice before trying to push his way into our territory.”
Did his greed have no end? She could read between the lines. Once he took out Don Toscani and Tony, the Falzone family would be next. Well, she refused to be a pawn in his game. “I have a business to run and a life to live away from la famiglia. I’m not getting involved.”
His dark eyes grew cold and hard. “Forget about your little hobby. You’ll be looking after your husband, having his kids, decorating your house, fixing that mop of hair … Doing all the shit the women do to make the men look good. If your business is making money, then Dante will take over.”
Disbelief became anger in a heartbeat. “That’s my business. I set it up. I paid for everything. I made the contacts. I brought in the contracts. No way am I handing it over to Dante. He doesn’t know a damn thing about hacking or security. He can’t even turn on his own damn computer.”
She should have known what was coming, braced herself for the impact, but anger overrode instinct, so when he struck, there was nothing to protect her from his fist.
“Cristo.” He smashed his fist into the side of her head. “How many fucking times do I have to beat you tonight? After all these fucking years, you still don’t know your place. When you started doing work for friends of mine, that business became a Mafia business. Women don’t do Mafia business. Women stay home, shut the fuck up, spread their legs, and do what they’re told.”
Stunned, Mia breathed through the pain, waited until she could see clearly again, until her ears weren’t ringing and her head was no longer fuzzy. “You can’t make me,” she said. “The word ‘yes’ will never leave my lips. Beat me all you want. I’ll never marry into the mob.” She looked over at her brother. “How you could let this happen, Dante?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you do something?”
“I did.” Dante turned slowly to face her. “It was supposed to be Kat.”
“Dio mio.” Her heart sank into her stomach. Sweet, innocent, sunny Kat. “He’d destroy her.”
“But not you.” Guilt flickered across Dante’s face so fast, she wondered if she had seen it. “You’re strong. Smart. A survivor. If anyone could get through this, it’s you.”
He was right. Kat wouldn’t survive a week with Tony Crackers. She was trusting, generous, innocent—an artistic soul who wouldn’t survive the rigors of mob life.
Rev pulled up in front of Vincenzo’s, a well-known Italian restaurant and Mafia hangout at the edge of town and bordering on an industrial estate. The location gave it an air of privacy and kept the tourists away, but the food kept those in the know coming back for more.
Mia’s father turned to look at her, his face dark with warning. “You gonna get out of the limo and meet Toscani’s boy or do I send Rev and Alfio back for Kat?”
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Mia spat out as she opened the door. There had to be a way out, and she would find it, but in the meantime she would keep Kat as far away from this mess as possible. “I hate you.”
Papà snorted a laugh and joined her on the pavement. Alfio joined them and put a hand on her shoulder, a not-so-subtle warning not to run.
“After tonight that’s not gonna be my fucking problem.” Papà grabbed the neck of her dress and tore it, baring her throat and chest down to the crescents of her breasts. “That should help the situation. Tony’ll want to know there’s a woman underneath all those ridiculous clothes. You try to hide it, but we all know it’s there. You got tits, girl. Whether you want ‘em or not.”