Chapter 5
FIVE
Marchello
While I admired Lissia’s strength, it also frustrated me. I never knew what her unpredictability would mean for our future.
My father looked up from his desk. “You’ve fallen for a wild card. A woman who cannot possibly be tamed, and a Gallanti of all things.”
“She’s more than a Gallanti to me.”
He was right. I had fallen for a wild card. Lissia had the potential to blow up everything my family worked for with one impulsive tantrum. But there was no going back.
“Dad, I know how you feel about relationships.” I flipped through the files from the dealership that needed the attention I hadn’t given them since we found out about Gian.
“Women are complicated,” he said.
“I realize I have proven you right. Women are distractions.” Especially the woman I’ve chosen. “I can do better. I can make this work now that you’ve eliminated Gian.”
“Chello.” He rested his chin on his fingers. “You didn’t let me finish.”
“Sorry.” I took a breath. Now that he was back, I was second and he had the floor.
“This is the woman you’ve chosen, and you have my blessing.”
“What?”
“Lissia is one of us.” He set the pen he had been holding down on his desk.
“She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I hate seeing her suffer, but I’m grateful for what you did to Gian. How could he hurt his daughter like that?”
“Gian was a threat to all of us.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t take him out when you told me to.”
“Things were complicated for you.” He ran his hand along his jaw. “But now it’s time to get serious. There’s no more room for error.”
“Understood.”
“I have to finish the job I started and rid my territory of trafficking. Shutting down what Gian brought here will be essential to our business.”
“We will.” My stomach twisted and acidic bile rose in my throat when I thought about what Gian and Collins wanted to do to my beautifully spirited girl.
I will kill Collins.
“I have to go back underground,” he said. It’s the only way to maintain control.”
“But you just got back. You know what happened to Miguel, and the cartel can’t expect you to leave your territory again. That doesn’t benefit them.”
“The cartel trusts you and Milo to handle things while I hunt the people who thought it was a good idea to run such an operation through my territory. If I don’t, others will come and move whatever they want through here. We will lose control.”
“We can stop them together.”
“No.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “I don’t want to leave you and Milo, but if I don’t do it now, we’ll never get these people under control. I have to make an example of them, and I need you and your brother here to run the business while I’m gone.”
I couldn’t argue with him. Not because I couldn’t win, but because he was right. Milo and I had to show that our family was in charge. We had taken care of Gian and exposed a sex trafficking ring, and if an Accetti didn’t handle the problem, we would look weak. So who better to take care of such a job than the notorious assassin and the head of the family?
My father’s fearless persona and ruthless tendencies made him a legend. Collins had no idea what wrath he had unleashed by taking on our family.
“Besides.” He smirked. “I like being out in the trenches. It makes me feel young again.”
“Ah, you’re only fifty. You’re not that old.”
He was stronger, smarter, and in better shape than men half his age. He’d risen from the ditches and gained power because he wasn’t afraid to take charge and do what had to be done. Being the head of the organization and in control of all the other families wouldn’t stop him from getting out there and finishing what he started.
“Tell that to your brother.” He ran his hand through his hair. “He insists on calling me the old man.”
“It’s a sign of respect,” Milo said from the doorway. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t allow me to get away with it.”
“Eavesdropping?” I asked.
“I already knew Dad was leaving. He told me this morning. I even put the best team of men in place to go with him.” Milo waved me off. “I think you were occupied in your bedroom, which must be nice. The rest of us are too busy around here to get some.”
I hadn’t touched Lissia this morning. Our heated encounter last night had exhausted her. She had tossed and turned all night, but when I finally calmed her down, she passed out in my arms and didn’t move for hours. I left her sound asleep once I pried my arm out from under her. She didn’t even stir when I showered and then left the room.
“I’m not going to justify that with a response.” I shoved the files from the dealership at him. “I’ve been working on those for over an hour.”
“It’s about time.” Milo flipped me the finger. “Glad to see you taking some interest.”
“That’s enough.” Our father stood from his chair. “We have business to discuss before I leave.”
“When are you going?” I asked.
“Tonight.” He gazed out the large window that faced the stream running through the wooded lot of the property. “The sooner I go, the faster I can return.”
That made sense, but I didn’t expect him to leave so soon. We just got him back.
“There’s something I need to do before you go, but it might not be easy.” I looked at Milo, then back to my father. “I need both of you here when I do it.”
“What do you want to do?” Milo asked. “Name it and I’ll make it happen.”
“I want to get married.”
I had to secure our future by making Lissia my wife, but I couldn’t demand that Lissia marry me. If I did, she could go off and do something dangerous, especially when she was grieving. I had to be careful with my approach.
But would it be enough?
* * *
Lissia emerged from the bathroom, fresh from the shower. A trail of strawberry aroma followed her. One of my T-shirts engulfed her body, and she probably had on a pair of tiny shorts underneath, but I couldn’t see them because the shirt stopped at her mid-thighs.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“I needed that sleep.” She pushed her hair from her face. “I was exhausted. I didn’t even feel you get out of bed.”
“Every day will get a little easier.”
When my mother died, it took months before I could wake up without seeing her car explode in front of my eyes. They were long, excruciating months, but eventually, I didn’t start my day with that memory. I hoped that Lissia could find a way to make peace with her father’s death and his betrayal.
She stretched on her toes and kissed my cheek. “Did you meet with your dad? You must be so happy that he’s back.”
“He’s leaving.”
“What? When?”
“Tonight.” I took her hand and led her to the sitting area. “He needs to handle this sex trafficking ring that has set up shop in our territory.”
“Doesn’t he have people to do that for him? I didn’t know the head don went off and took care of everything.”
We sat together on the loveseat. She curled against my side and rested her head on my shoulder.
“He does have people for this sort of thing, but he feels he should handle this situation personally, and he trusts Milo and me to hold it together here while he’s gone.”
“Even with me around?”
“As long as you behave and don’t do anything erratic, we should be fine.”
“I can’t make any promises.”
“We’ve come full circle.” I kissed the top of her head. “But there is the matter of keeping you safe.”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” She curled tighter against me. “I probably should have said it last night, but I was so tired and…”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait. I have to discuss something with you.”
Now wasn’t the time for her to confess whatever absurd thing she had done. As a matter of fact, what could she possibly have done? She hadn’t been out of my sight in days.
“Is it so important that you don’t want to hear what I have to say?”
“I always want to hear what you have to say, but time is of the essence, and this has to do with keeping you safe from any and all threats.”
“I trust you can do that.”
“I know how I can do it better,” I said. “But you need to hear me out on this. I don’t want you to overreact, because it’s going to sound abrupt, but really, it isn’t anything you haven’t already agreed to.”
“You mean you’ve already made up your mind and you expect me to go along with it?” She waved her hand in the air. “Does it involve me going back to a safe house or to the penthouse? I really like it here, but if that will make things easier for you, I’ll go.”
“No, we can stay here, but I appreciate your willingness to compromise.” Maybe this wasn’t going to be as tough as I thought.
“What do we have to do?” she asked.
“Get married.”
“We are getting married.” She pointed to the ostentatious rock I had placed on her finger last week. “You asked, and I said yes.”
“We didn’t really get to celebrate you saying yes, did we?”
“Well, your father’s timing could have been a little better.” She shrugged. “Ricardo and I haven’t had a chance to start planning, but we will now that the funeral is over. I’m ready to make wedding planning my full-time job. I hope your bank account can handle it.”
“I know you want the wedding of your dreams, and I’ll give you that, but we have to get married today.”
“Today?” She laughed. “Stop being silly. Not even I could pull that off.”
I gazed into her eyes.
“Oh my God, you’re serious.” She hopped off the loveseat and crossed the room. “No!”
“I asked you not to overreact.”
“We’re not doing some shotgun mafia wedding!” She stomped back and forth in front of the window. “This isn’t an arranged marriage.”
“Lissia, princess?—”
“Don’t princess me! We’re not doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Fighting over when we’re getting married.”
“I don’t want to fight.” I got up and held her arm to stop her from pacing. “We went over this when I proposed. If you’re my wife, people will back off.”
“Your father already took care of that when he… My father is no longer a threat.”
“Your father wasn’t the only threat,” I said. “Collins practically offered a bounty for you. And there are a few stupid people who might ignore who I am and what I could do to them if they try to come for you. If you’re my wife, that ups the consequences. If anyone comes for an Accetti, they know what will happen.”
“Marchello, there is too much to consider. We buried my father only yesterday.” She shook her head. “Your dad is leaving again, and you have to focus on your business. Now is not the time to be making rash decisions.”
“I can’t focus if I don’t know you’re safe.” I ran my hand along my jaw. “I can’t have the distractions I had last time. A new enemy could emerge at any time, so I need you with me on this. You’ve already accepted my proposal. I don’t see what the problem is.”
She turned away from me and gazed out the window. I knew this would be a hard sell, but I would make her my wife today. She needed to understand. I had given in to her impulses and excused her behavior too many times. This decision was for her own good.
“I don’t want to force you into this,” I said.
“But you will if you have to.”
Don’t make me force you.
She sucked in a breath. “Don’t you see how wrong this is?”
“I think it’s the most right thing I’ve ever done.”
“Because you don’t think you’re ever wrong.” Her voice was low and almost defeated. “It’s always me that screws up.”
I didn’t want this version of her. I wanted her fire and determination, but I also wanted her to pour all of her passion into us. I wanted her to see we were stronger together than we could ever be apart.
“Come and sit with me.” I guided her back to the loveseat and coerced her into my lap.
She plopped down on me but didn’t look at me.
I said, “I’m sorry about everything that has transpired these past few days. The fight with your dad, the way the two of you left things, his death. It’s all taken a toll on you.”
I tensed when I thought about my father pulling the trigger on Thanksgiving. Not because it wasn’t warranted, but because my family would always be a reminder to her that he was murdered.
How could I expect her to be comfortable with taking my last name?
“Since hooking up with me, we’ve had one shitty thing after another happen to us,” I said. “If I could take away your pain, I would.”
“That’s not your responsibility.”
“You’re my responsibility.” I wrapped my arms around her. “Please, don’t fight me on this. I can’t do my job if I don’t do everything in my power to protect you.”
Her silence was more jarring than her sassy mouth. Who would have thought there would ever come a time when I would prefer her argumentative side? I certainly didn’t.
“Sweetheart,” I said. “I know this is not the wedding of your dreams, but I promise you, I’ll give you all of that and more. I’ll take you to Italy and have one of your favorite designers make you the most spectacular and expensive dress.”
I caressed her cheek, but she still didn’t make eye contact with me.
“I love you more than anything else in this world. If I could give you six months to plan a wedding, I would. We both know that’s a luxury we don’t have right now, but it doesn’t mean we won’t.”
“Marchello, you’re not being fair.”
“Will you marry me today?”
She gazed down at her engagement ring and then into my eyes. I silently willed her to give me this one thing, but in true Lissia fashion…
“I don’t want it to be like this,” she said.