Corrupt King
Andriani Brothers Book 4
Allegra Bruni
In my family, duty and obedience are part of our DNA.
So when our father announces that my sister is marrying into a powerful Mafia family to secure an alliance, I throw her an engagement party.
That’s where I meet him.
My sister’s future husband.
Luca “Lucky” Andriani.
Tall, dark, and unhinged.
A beautiful villain in a designer suit.
Forbidden in every way.
He looks at me like I’m his even though we’re both engaged to other people.
Makes me crave what I shouldn’t want.
And when he finally touches me?
It’s hot enough to set this city on fire.
But once you start an inferno, it’s impossible to control the burn.
When we ignite a war neither of us saw coming, everyone I love is at risk.
And the dangerous Mafia kingpin I can’t have?
He’s the only one who might be able to save me.
Chapter One
Allegra
“I said no lobster,” I remind the party planner as I look at the sheets of broiled, butterflied tails being expertly prepped by the staff. “The bride is allergic to shellfish.”
“I’m aware of that dietary restriction,” Gabby says, looking down at her tablet and frowning. “It’s marked on the preference sheet. But I have a note here that Mr. Bruni requested lobster tails. Two hundred of them.”
Two hundred lobster tails? That’s one for each guest. And the cost…
I shudder to think how much the private club I rented to host Serafina’s engagement party charges for that many cold-water lobster tails. There’s no way we can afford it. But it’s just like my father to want to put on a show.
He’s over the top, larger than life. He’s an old-school Mafia don, and he rules with an iron fist. He’s also broke, but he’s too proud to acknowledge it. A few bad deals, some money mismanagement from a trusted capo, an investment gone sour, and we’re in desperate straits.
Which is why he’s marrying my twin sister off to Lucky Andriani.
We have something the Andrianis need—territory. And they have something my father needs—money.
Not to mention an understanding from a long time ago between the last Andriani don and my father. With only one Andriani brother left single, Papa decided it was time to call in the practically ancient debt owed him. It was either that or start selling off his prized car collection.
“I didn’t realize my father made additions to the menu.” I force a tight smile for Gabby’s benefit. Appearances are everything in the Bruni family, and I can’t allow her to see how worried I am about the additional cost. “My mistake. Can you please make sure no lobster is served near my sister?”
“Of course.” Gabby is no-nonsense as she checks her list again. “Mr. Bruni also added the Wagyu beef to accompany the lobster. Should one of the filets be served to the bride?”
I swallow down my rising panic. “That would be lovely. Medium rare, please.”
“Should we change the positioning of the raw bar?” Gabby asks next. “It’s currently next to the sweetheart table, but we have time to swap it with the caviar station.”
I wasn’t aware of the caviar or the raw bar. Serafina is going to hate this, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not like she wants to have this engagement party or even this engagement. Like me, she’s doing her duty.
When you’re born a Bruni, obedience is part of your DNA.
“Caviar would be better than the raw bar,” I tell the party planner, making the executive decision.
Seriously. What was Papa thinking? He knows Serafina can’t even bear the smell of seafood after the violent reaction she had to Lobster Newburg as a kid.
“Does the groom have any allergies I should be aware of?”
I blink, focusing on Gabby’s sleek, gray bob which has an uncanny ability to stay completely immobile, even when she moves her head. “I have no idea.”
Because the groom refused to answer any of my texts or calls.
I haven’t met Luca “Lucky” Andriani yet, but I already don’t like him.
I’ve spent the past two months trying to track him down, being dumped into his voicemail after one ring, and getting ghosted in every polite, carefully worded text I’ve sent.
His reputation is as bad as his communication skills.
He’s a deadly enforcer, carved from the same brutal world as my father and brothers, and has a string of women trailing after him that stretches across every avenue and borough of the city.
My beautiful, sweet, kind sister is marrying a violent Mafia fuckboy who hasn’t even bothered to meet her more than once. But I’m not here to think about that.
I’m here in this kitchen, checking notes with Gabby the party planner, to make sure things go smoothly and according to plan when the party gets underway in less than an hour.
I’m here to make my father look good.
I’m here to pretend that I’m happy about Serafina being sold to Lucky Andriani.
Most importantly, I’m here to make sure that my sister has the night she deserves.
One that’s flawless, where she’s the star of the show, and everything is better than she dreamed it would be.
She may not be getting the groom she always wanted, but I’m going to make sure she gets the engagement party of a lifetime.
Even if Papa bankrupts us in the process.
“…flowers and cake,” Gabby finishes, looking at me expectantly.
That’s when I realize I was tuning her out.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
She repeats herself, telling me that the flowers should arrive in ten minutes and the cake delivery is slightly delayed but should still arrive within the next half hour.
“We’re going to be cutting it close, but we’ll still have time before the guests start to arrive,” I agree.
My phone starts to ring. It’s Serafina.
“I’m sorry,” I tell Gabby. “I’ve got to take this. I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for her to respond, I head out of the kitchen, answering my twin’s call.
“What’s up, Fi?” I walk into the dining area, inspecting the tablecloths and place settings as I go.
The room is eerily deserted, but that won’t last long.
Two hundred guests will soon start filling up the chairs, half Bruni and half Andrianis.
It’s going to be a who’s who of the city’s most powerful crime families.
I sincerely hope no one gets shot like they did at my cousin Dante’s engagement party.
“I don’t want to do it,” my sister tells me.
I see a piece of lint on a tablecloth and pick it off as I walk by. “The engagement, or the party?”
“Both.” She makes a frustrated sound. “I don’t want to marry him, and I don’t want to come to this stupid engagement party Papa is forcing me to have.”
I wind my way through more tables, then readjust a curtain. “I completely understand. I wouldn’t want to be forced into marrying some morally bankrupt player who probably has a hairy back and a tiny dick either.”
“Oh my God, do you really think his back is hairy?” my twin asks, sounding horrified. “Did you hear that from someone?”
“No, that’s conjecture on my part. But don’t worry, if his back is hairy, you can always help him wax it as a couple’s sport.”
Serafina laughs. “My life is so depressing.”
“Hey, at least I made you laugh,” I point out.
Then I turn around and slam right into a wall of designer-suit-clad muscle.
I’m wearing heels, and the collision is so sudden and unexpected that I almost fall on my ass.
Big hands shoot out, grasping my waist to steady me, and even though I’m wearing two-inch heels, I have to crane my neck to look up at the man I’ve accidentally crashed into.
“Um, sorry,” I tell him. “I didn’t know anyone else was in here.”
“I could tell,” he drawls, looking distinctly unimpressed.
I have no idea who this man is or why he’s standing in the middle of the tables, but everything about him screams power, money, and sex.
He’s beautiful. Sculpted lips, a sharp jawline stubbled with a perfectly manicured five o’clock shadow, and piercing blue eyes.
He’s also staring at me like I’m an annoying bug he’s about to squish.
“Allegra?” Fi asks in my ear. “Is everything okay?”
“Absolutely,” I tell her brightly. “You’ve got this. We’ve got this. Just get on your dress, hop in the car, and breathe. Gotta go, Fi. I’ll see you when you get here.”
I end the call and thrust out a hand for him to shake. “I’m Allegra Bruni. And you are?”
He takes my hand, the heat of his skin on mine sending a jolt straight to my core.
“Apparently, I’m a morally bankrupt player with a hairy back and a tiny dick.
But I’ll let you in on a secret. My back isn’t hairy, and my cock…
” He pauses and pulls me in, leaning down to speak directly into my ear, so close that I swear his lips graze my skin.
“Let’s just say it’s anything but tiny.”