20

Eros
I lean back in my leather chair and watch Lycus pace back and forth in front of my desk. “You lost your mind,” he says, shaking his head. “Seriously, bro, you lost your fucking mind.”
I finish my whiskey and swirl the ice. “Maybe.”
“Not only is she an Italian, but she’s fucking Chris Conti’s mob wife.” He stops and stares at me with astonishment. “How the hell did you get yourself involved with this? I always thought you were the responsible one. Maybe a little emotional-”
“I am not emotional,” I growl at him.
“Case in point,” he says and groans. “Seriously, how did this happen?”
“Bad luck,” I admit but inwardly think maybe it was good luck instead.
“You have to cut it off. Give the girl some money, put her on a plane, and fly her out to fucking Barbados. Wash your hands of all this.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Eros, youcannotkeep Chris Conti’s ex-fucking-wife. Do you have any idea how the family’s going to react?”
I lean back and grin at him. “If I recall, you’re the one that encouraged me to get involved with her earlier today.”
He glares and points a finger at me. “Don’t you dare do that. That was before I knew who she was.”
“I’m only saying, I need a wife to make the family happy. You keep telling me that, over and over.”
“Not her,” he says, groaning. “God damn it, Eros. You’re like a brother to me, but this is a terrible idea.”
“Any wife, you said, even an Italian girl so long as she’s going to pump out a bunch of babies. That’s what you said, isn’t it?”
He sinks down into the chair in front of my desk and shakes his head. “You are out of your mind. You can’t be serious right now.”
“If I send her away, Conti’s going to track her down and either take her back or kill her. Doesn’t matter how far she runs, and we both know it. I can’t let that happen.”
“You have so much more to think about than the safety of one random girl.” He holds his hands up when I glare at him. “I’m sure she’s nice, and yeah, she’s very pretty, but come on, Eros. You’re the boss of the Khazan family. You can’t possibly think marrying an Italian mobster’s ex is a smart idea.”
I glance to the side and let silence take over. Lycus is right, of course-when word leaks about Cara, the family is going to explode. Anissa and Sophia are going to use this against me as aggressively as they can, and the few captains that agree with their thinking will fall in line and try to oust me. There will be infighting, and bickering, and backstabbing-
“I made a promise,” I say firmly. “I told her I could keep her safe. I told her I could fix her problem. Instead, I made it worse. What kind of man would I be if I sent her away?”
“A responsible one,” Lycus says miserably. “But you’re not going to do the right thing here.”
“I’m already doing it,” I say and meet his gaze. “Call up Gareth. Get him on the next flight out here.”
“What do you need him for?”
“He has to do all the lawyer bullshit to make my union with Cara legal. And yes, it has to be real.”
He stares up at the ceiling. “We’re going to get killed. Both of us, dead, all because you just had to stir up shit with this Italian girl.”
“This could be good in the long run. The family wants me to settle down and provide an heir and some stability, and perhaps marrying an Italian girl will help calm the war between us and the Pavone Famiglia.”
“You can’t really think that, can you?”
“No,” I say and shrug. “But we’ll sell it to the captains like that.”
“Meaning I’ll sell it.” Lycus stands up. “Bro, sometimes I think you take pleasure in making my life hard. You are a miserable bastard on the best of days, but today you have sunk to a new low.”
“You should not talk to your lord that way,” I say, using the old-school title for my position, and narrow my eyes. “I let you get away with a lot because you’re my friend and I appreciate your honesty, but you need to be careful.”
“Or what, you’ll kill me? Like I’m not already fucked.” He shakes his head and walks to the door. “Intimidate the captains. I’m not buying your shit.”
“Lycus-”
“Relax, I’ll follow orders. I always do. But I’m going to grumble about it first.” He gives me an annoyed look and shakes his head before leaving my office.
I watch him go. Lycus is the most loyal friend I have, and I shouldn’t push my weight around with him like that, but I also have to be careful. If there are cracks forming between me and him over Cara then things with the rest of the family will be worse.
I’m thinking about how I’ll break the news when someone knocks at my door. Before I have a chance to call out, the door slams open, and my sister storms in.
“Tell me it’s true,” she says, eyes shining with excitement.
I grimace, look at my empty glass, and sigh. So much for breaking the news myself. “Tell you what’s true? Also, wait until I let you enter before storming in here, please.”
She ignores me. “You brought a girl home. Tell me you didn’t.”
“Helen-”
“Oh my god.” She laughs, shaking her head. My sister’s tall for a woman, with thick dark hair, dark Khazan eyes, and high cheekbones. She takes after our mother in so many ways, but she has our father’s harsh intensity. “You’ve been like a celibate little monk ever since you took over the family, and now there’s some girl in the house. Who is she? How much are you paying her?”
“Helen,” I say sharply. “Please don’t insinuate that I brought home a hooker.”
“You have to be paying her. Who else would want to get involved with you?” She grins at me and slumps down into the chair. “Okay, okay, I know, I can’t talk to the lord of the family like that.” She rolls her eyes, cutting me off before I can admonish her. “Just tell me her name.”
“Cara,” I say.
She doesn’t laugh, only looks at me curiously. “Does anyone else know she’s here yet?”
I shrug and gesture at the walls. “You know, which means others probably do as well.”
“And you left her alone?” Helen’s eyebrows raise.
“She’s in my room. Not even Sophia or Anissa would stoop so low.”
“Our cousin would stoopmuchlower than you think,” Helen says, scowling back at the door. She dislikes Sophia even more than I do. “But you’re right, at least Aunt Anissa has some shred of respect left for the family.”
I run a hand across my face and push my chair back. “Do me a favor and run interference. I want to give Cara more time to settle in before the onslaught.”
Helen looks confused. “What are you talking about? Just put her in a car and send her away. The others don’t need to meet her.”
“That’s not what this is,” I say and lean forward. “Please, Helen. Keep an open mind.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “What is it then? I figured you were just having an affair, but-” She sits up straight. “Is this serious? Like an actual girlfriend? My god, I thought you were a heartless monster, but do you have emotions? Or wait, this is probably some arranged political thing, isn’t it?”
“Helen.”
“Oh my god, are you in love with her? Jenny said she looked Italian but I didn’t believe her, could she actually be-”
I grimace and stand. Jenny was one of the maids we passed on our way inside. “Yes, she is Italian, and no, it’s not only an affair, and no, I don’t love her. This is closer to an arrangement, as you said. Now, can you please go?”
Her jaw drops to the floor and for a moment, my sister is speechless.
Which is a feat in itself.
“Eros, what the hell is going on?” she finally manages.
I tighten my jaw and stand to my full height.
“I am marrying Cara. You’re going to have a new sister-in-law very soon.”
Helen releases a string of curses in Greek, and I wonder if the rest of the family is going to take the news even half as well.