Chapter 9

The slaughter may have been a better outcome than the humiliation to be traded as one. The closer I got, the harder it was to tell my feelings apart.

Humiliation. Dread. Suffocation.

They all blended into one, settling deeper with every click, clack sound created by my heels.

Click, clack.

There it was, the grotesque mahogany door. One last touch to my hidden best friend on my thigh and I rolled my shoulders to reveal the men that hid behind the door.

While I had no respect for my father, it was customary to address him first in his home until he allowed my gaze to shift to a man who didn't share my blood.

I swallowed my pride with a nod. "Father."

His lips twitched as his gaze revolted against my presence. I ignored his glare and faced Aldo and Dante as they stood together on the right side of the room. I tipped my head down, and they both returned the gesture.

"Alessandra." My head snapped. I hadn't heard my father's voice speak my name since he'd shipped me to Italy. I was eight. "You've met Massimo Lombardi." His hand extended to my left.

Deterring my attention away from my father, I found Massimo. His eyes fell down and roamed up my body before they settled on my face. He was an extremely difficult man to read, but his dangerous aura clung to him like a veil.

Massimo wore all black, from his dress shoes to the tall coat that hung from his broad shoulders. And his eyes-his eyes preyed over mine violently. It was a shrill warning mixed with thrill, but the longer we stared at one another, the more I recognized their punishment.

He'd found out about my previous engagement; he knew my intentions the night we met, and I felt their danger with his gaze aimed at me.

There were seven made-men in one room, including the two that stood next to Massimo. All waiting for a breach of this unity. Ready if the time came for their guns to be drawn. With blood cravings and happy triggers all around, I fought for composure as I tried to keep my breathing steady.

"Mr. Lombardi." I acknowledged him in a polite manner. Now was the time to ease the demon, not provoke it. I needed Massimo by my side and a ring on my finger to keep the promise until the wedding.

His eyes attentively held mine, gripping each breath I took in depraved pleasure.

"Now that you have met properly." Father dug into the deal made by Massimo and Aldo without his presence as if it had no value. "We should discuss this so-called arrangement."

A slight twitch in Massimo's jaw was the only indication of displeasure he gave. I was sure I was the only one who caught such a detail as Massimo let go of my eyes to face him.

The room chilled as the aura was stifled with a cry, and a shudder ran over my body.

"I wasn't aware a discussion was needed." Silence trembled with an edge as Massimo spoke. "I wouldn't have flown to your city if I had known Aldo's word wasn't one to be honored." Father's face morphed with indignation. "Or is Alessandra not mine?"

His.

Massimo didn't leave any room for miscommunication. Each word he spoke delivered a blow Father couldn't sway or bend. It was clear Franco Zanetti didn't want this union with Miami, but to say so out loud meant discrediting his heir's word.

He had given me to Los Angeles, but it didn't hold the strengths of Miami's arrangement when they had Davina and the evidence to bring New York to the ground. A mistake so severe and unforgiving for someone in Dante's position.

He'd left a witness of a crime breathing, and she did what no one else in our world had done. Get away with it.

New York was exposed.

Aldo had to fix the problem.

I had to follow orders.

And Franco Zanetti had to submit.

"She is."

Massimo's lips curled. He was enjoying this.

"Now, before we leave, I would like a word with my fiancée in private."

Father forced a smile and gestured for Aldo and Dante to follow. With a glance, he dismissed me and said to Massimo, "Safe travels. I heard a storm is forming."

That's it. My father just walked out, and his farewell had no regard for our well-being.

"Grab her belongings, and wait by the car," Massimo instructed his men, and we were left alone.

I faced him and the dangerous pull I felt the night I met him spread over my heart. Cold, dark eyes gazed down on me, and he took a step forward. I was careful not to let my eyes fall. I wouldn't cower under him, but they lured me as his body neared.

Don't speak until you're spoken to, my mind warned me. I wouldn't have listened if it wasn't for my loss of words.

"Your ring," he stated.

Following his movements, I watched as his coat pulled back and his hand retrieved a small box from the inside pocket. Distant and impersonal, he opened the box and offered me the ring to take.

It was beautiful and elegant. At any other moment, I would have gushed about its antique and unique style. The gold band crossed in gentle loops. The small diamonds crossed the openings, leading to a stunning oval diamond set into a gorgeous setting. Its size didn't surprise me. After all, I was to become the boss of Miami's wife, but the detail and refined piece to pick instead of taking a more generic route, did.

"You can pick out a different one." Massimo had taken my silence of appreciation for displeasure.

"No." I looked up at his eyes before they returned to the ring. "It's beautiful. Thank you." I caught the honesty in my voice, amazed that I was being sincere. Vulnerable even. My fists balled.

He noticed, and his hand stretched between our bodies. Palm up, it challenged.