We spent our first anniversary at home because Anna was still small and the last few months had been tiring. But Zita had prepared a three-course dinner for us and took care of watching Anna while Dante and I enjoyed the meal. We sat next to each other and talked about Anna and our plans to spend a few weeks in Tuscany in the summer.
It was a relaxed and intimate evening. I was actually glad we didn’t go to a fancy restaurant for dinner.
When we were in public, Dante always had to keep his mask up. He was no longer the same man as when we were alone. His outward appearance reminded me too much of the reserved man from the beginning of our marriage. I preferred his warmer, more approachable side, the one he hid so carefully and showed only to people he trusted.
“I like it very much,” I said after finishing a delicious piece of fig tart tatin, a fine French dessert with a heavenly flavor.
Dante tilted his head with a small smile. “The dessert or your gift?”
I laughed, twisting my arm to see the emeralds on my bracelet catch the candlelight. “Both. But I was actually referring to our party.”
Dante ran his thumb over my knuckles, visibly surprised. “I thought you would have expected a bigger party for the occasion.”
“No,” I said firmly. “I think this is a concept for the future, even when Anna is older and no longer needs us nearby. I like that it will be just us, without prying eyes.”
Understanding took over Dante’s expression and he gave me a kiss on the hand. “I must admit that I prefer not to share your breathtaking view in this dress.”
A smirk broke free on my face. I leaned toward him. “Are you becoming a flatterer?”
“No, flatterer, just the honest truth,” he said quietly and with a look in his eyes that I felt straight between my legs.
I swallowed. “Well, I don’t like to share you with all those women looking at you open-mouthed, either.”
Dante chuckled. “Now you’re exaggerating.”
I shot him a look. “I have eyes and so do you. Power and money are the embodiment of sex-appeal, and you combine them with a six pack. It’s ridiculous.”
Dante stood up, holding out his hand in silent order.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve had too much to drink . Let’s go to bed.”
I stood up with a mocking smile. “I’m not tired.”
It was a lie, of course. Anna had kept us awake the last few nights.
Dante placed a warm kiss on my throat. “You will not sleep .”
His fingers joined mine as he led me upstairs.
I would never tire of Dante’s body on top of mine, of him making love to me. Those were the moments when I felt most connected to him and could sense how much he wanted to tell me but couldn’t.
Afterwards, we headed to Anna’s nursery. Zita was having a hard time calming down and I just wanted to be with my baby . I cradled her to my chest, kissing her chubby cheeks.
Dante looked at me with a tender expression that I would never tire of seeing.
I placed a kiss on Anna’s forehead. I just couldn’t stop loving her.
“I love you,” Dante said softly, almost hesitantly.
I smiled. “Did you hear that, Anna? Your daddy loves you.”
Dante touched my cheek, drawing my attention to him, and shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, although it’s true. I love you, Val.”
I inhaled sharply, staring at him in shock. I had resigned myself to the fact that Dante could not say those words. It had hurt at times, but it was something I could not expect.
Regret painted itself on Dante’s face as he bent down, his gaze penetrating mine almost desperately. “Didn’t you know ? I tried to prove it. Obviously I didn’t do a good job.”
I tried to recover, swallowing hard. “No. You showed your feelings and I knew you loved me, but to hear the actual words…” A few embarrassed tears slid down my cheeks. Anna blinked sleepily at us.
Dante looked as if I had mortally wounded him.
He grabbed my head and pulled me to him for a rough kiss. “I promise to tell you often from now on. But even if I don’t always express my emotions out loud, you should know that I love Anna and you more than anything else. You are my future.”
“And your present,” I said with a small, mocking smile.
“My everything,” he croaked, and I couldn’t imagine ever being happier than in that moment.
About three years later I rubbed my temples, trying to ignore the hints of a throbbing headache in the back of my head. Since I had declared war on the Family a few months earlier, after Liliana had run off with Luca Romero’s soldier and they had killed one of my men, I had not slept more than a few hours a night. I wanted to be a father to Anna who seemed to be growing every day, but to have time for my baby during the day, I had to work at night.
Soon I would have another baby to take care of, not to mention the fact that Valentina needed my support in raising two small children. I had no illusions about our future relationship with the Family. After all that had happened, peace was out of the question. This war would soon become bloodier and more brutal, and I had to make sure my family was safe.
My phone flashed with a message from Enzo.
I quickly scrolled through it and paused, then read it again.
I think Aria is in town. She is at the restaurant.
A few seconds later a picture followed. It was taken from a bad angle and obviously half-hidden, but I recognized Aria’s face right away. Not even her dark wig could distract from her extraordinary features.
“What’s wrong?” asked Rocco carefully.
I pondered what to say to him. Aria was his daughter, and her appearance here in wartime Chicago had been a major shock. She was Luca’s weakness, his greatest weakness of all.
Should I take her? She and Val were together in the bathroom. Val is out again, but I think they might meet again.
Why had Aria contacted Val? More importantly, would Val tell me? I really hoped she would. She was my wife. Her loyalty had to be to me, not to her cousin, no matter how close they had been.
YES.
I looked up at Rocco. He was frowning at me, worried. He was no longer talking about his daughters.
They were dead to him. It was hard for me to understand him.
I could not imagine hating Anna the way he seemed to despise his daughters. Of course, Anna would be bound by certain rules like the rest of us, and I hoped he would not break them, that he would not put me in the position of having to force her to submit.
Rocco was my counselor and he was still Aria’s father.
Keeping his appearance from him could have caused a ruckus if word got out after all. I was not sure what Aria was planning, so it was not unlikely that she would draw unwanted attention to herself very quickly. Her face was too well known in Chicago.
“Enzo just told me about a possible Aria sighting in Chicago.”
Rocco stiffened in his chair, his eyes wide. “Luca would never allow her to leave his territory.”
“True,” I said. Luca was very bossy when it came to his wife, and every other aspect of his life as well. “I think she might have acted on her own initiative.”
Rocco stared at me for a couple of moments, his mouth tight. “What about Gianna? I can’t imagine Aria coming up with this nonsense on her own. It must have been Gianna’s idea. She always made trouble.”
I said nothing. Marrying Aria to Luke was supposed to bring peace, but in the long run, the bond had led to so many unfortunate events that had plunged us into a more brutal war than before. “I still have no detailed information.”
“Did Enzo capture her?”
“I don’t think so. He hasn’t reported to my order yet. I need to know what she is up to and if she is contacting anyone. You know how long we have been looking for the traitor among our people. Maybe he will lead us directly to him.”
Rocco nodded. “Capturing the mule is our top priority.”
“Will you be able to advise me in this without your emotions getting in the way? I have to be very strategic about this. Revenge takes time and should not be forced.”
Rocco smiled weakly. “Don’t worry. My only concern is the Outfit. Aria is a pawn, nothing more.”
I tilted my head. He looked confident, but I wondered if he wasn’t hiding his true feelings. Certainly he wished to take revenge for the embarrassment his daughters had caused him in his eyes.
“Very well.”
“Once we have her in our hands, Luca will completely lose his mind. He is obsessed with her. My daughters have a talent for driving men crazy. He will do anything we ask, risk anything, give us anything if we hurt her.”
I leaned against the backrest, trying to predict how Luca might react.
What would I have done if Valentina had been in his hands? Just the thought of it made me furious. I would have done anything to protect Val, to get her back. Would I have given in to Luca’s demands? Would I have trusted him to keep his end of the bargain? I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t trust Luca at all. The only other option would have been an attack and trying to free Val with pure brutality. That would have been dangerous and, considering that it would happen in Luca’s territory, it was unlikely to succeed.
But Luca was even less in control than I was. The moment I told him I had Aria, he would have been driven by emotion, fury and love in equal measure, and would have gathered an army to attack Chicago. He would have left a trail of blood. I could not see how he would have come out weaker if I had failed to kill him, but until then he would have killed hundreds of my men. And even if I had killed Aria, that would not have destroyed the Family, it would only have made Luke completely unpredictable, unbalanced and far more dangerous than he was now. If I was honest, those strategic thoughts were not the only reason I was hesitant to keep Aria as a prisoner. Hurting an innocent woman went against my beliefs, and not only that, part of me actually felt an ounce of obligation in protecting Aria from harm. I had pushed her into the arms of a monster to silence the Golden Couple enthusiasts and avoid marrying close after Carla’s death.
Although Luca had treated her well, I did not know it at the time. I sacrificed an innocent girl for my own selfish reasons. The ‘idea of doing it again, of holding Aria captive, disgusted me. Those were not considerations I should have taken into account as Chief. Only the Outfit should have been my concern.
“You plan to capture her and blackmail Luke with her welfare and life, I suppose?” said Rocco when I was silent for too long.
“I will definitely capture her. What I will do with her once I have her, that is still uncertain. I don’t want anything to be known about this .”
“We have to figure out what to do with Aria. Luca is a dangerous opponent, especially when provoked.”
“He is, that’s why I don’t think keeping Aria captive is the most promising plan.”
Rocco opened his mouth as if to protest, but I raised my hand. He probably would have voiced valid objections, but it didn’t matter. I considered alternative options. I could not simply let her go. The Outfit needed to profit from her mistake, otherwise my men would mutiny.
“We need to create a rift between them, to destroy them from within. If Luke’s marriage falls apart, the people in the Family who were against a bond with an Outfit woman will rise up.”
Rocco squinted thoughtfully, then nodded.
“Emotional warfare is an option. Luca is insanely jealous when it comes to Aria. He may think it’s love, but it’s pure property. He would defend his territory at any cost, the East and Aria both. If he thought Aria was not as angelic as he thinks of her, if he felt betrayed by her, he could become an easy target.”
“You want to stage an affair? With whom?”
“Have you ever seen Luca’s expression when someone brought up the rumor about the Golden Couple?”
“No.”
“Dante, Luca hates you. You are his enemy, another predator who wants his prey. It would dismantle any semblance of humanity he has set up. The very idea that you could touch what he considers his would destroy him. This could be our first step toward victory.”
It could be, or it could tip this war completely out of control. Only time may tell.