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‘The man whose blood runs through my veins was the head of a Sicilian organised crime family.’
She gasped, then stepped back as the import of the words sank in. ‘You’re a member of a Mafia gang?’
‘No, I’m not.’ Again that scathing denial.
‘But your...your father is?’
‘He wasn’t my father. We just share the same DNA,’ he bit out in a harsh tone that spoke of anger, bitterness and harrowing pain.
Maisie’s eyes widened. As if aware of how he’d sounded, Romeo breathed deeply and slid his fingers through his hair. ‘The abbreviated story is that I met him twice. Both times ended...badly. What I didn’t know until yesterday was that he’d kept tabs on me all my life.’
‘Why?’ she demanded.
Romeo shrugged. ‘Since I didn’t know the man, I can only guess it was some sort of power-trip thing to watch whether I failed or succeeded. Or it may have been for other reasons. I care very little about what his motives were.’
Maisie frowned. ‘You talked about him in the past tense...because...’
‘He and his family died in a yacht explosion a year ago.’
The rush of blood from her head made her light-headed. ‘Was it an accident?’ she asked, her lips numb.
His mouth pursed for a few seconds before he answered, ‘Officially. But probably not.’
Her gasp brought his head up. Cursing under his breath, he strode to her and grasped her arms. ‘I’m only going by what my gut tells me, Maisie. I don’t have hard evidence to the contrary.’
‘And your gut tells you he was assassinated?’
He nodded.
A million more questions crowded her brain, but she forced a nod. ‘Go on.’
His hands moved to her shoulders, a firm glide that left a trail of awareness over her skin. ‘I received a letter from his lawyers a month ago, summoning me to Palermo, which I ignored. I received a few more after that. The last one told me he’d left me something I needed to collect in person.’ His mouth twisted. ‘My curiosity got the better of me.’
‘What was it?’
‘His monstrosity of a mansion. Along with his plans for my future.’
Ice slithered down her spine. ‘What plans?’
One hand moved to her neck and cupped her nape. The familiarity of that gesture thawed the ice a little, replacing her terror with a wave of warm awareness.
‘He never had a son...not a legitimate one anyway. I think somewhere along the line he intended to contact me, bring me into the family business. He just never got the chance to. But he told his second in command about it. He was the one who asked the lawyers to contact me.’
‘What does he want from you?’
‘The famiglia is falling apart. They need a new injection of young blood, and an even greater need for an injection of financial support.’
‘You have both.’
‘But I intend to give them neither.’
Maisie stared at his granite-hard face, the deep grooves bracketing his mouth and the dark gold of his eyes, and the pennies finally tumbled into place. ‘But if you don’t intend to... Oh, my God. You think they mean to use Lucca to make you do what they want?’ she rasped in a terror-stricken voice.
His grip tightened and one finger caught her chin and raised her face to his spear-sharp gaze. Her stomach knotted at the savage determination on his face. ‘They will never get their hands on you or our son. You have my word on this, Maisie.’
She shook her head, her insides growing colder by the second. ‘But you can’t guarantee that, can you? Or you wouldn’t be here with six bodyguards in tow.’
‘There’s one way to ensure your safety,’ he said, his gaze raking her face as if he wanted to pull the answer from her even before he’d asked the question.
‘What’s that?’ she murmured.
‘You will marry me. Then you and our son will know the protection of my name.’
SHE WENT HOT, then cold, then colder. Until she felt as brittle as chilled glass. Dumbly, she stared into those burnished gold eyes, sure she’d misheard him.
‘What did you say?’
‘The famiglia isn’t as powerful as it once was, but I’m not willing to dismiss them out of hand, either. Marrying me will grant you and Lucca protection, which you could be vulnerable without.’
‘No way. I can’t... I can’t just marry you! We know next to nothing about each other.’
A look curled through his eyes. ‘Our circumstances aren’t commonplace. Besides, we’ve already done things a little out of sequence, don’t you think?’
She laughed, but the sound was more painful than she wanted it to be. ‘This is far from a quaint little romantic caper.’
He nodded. ‘Sì, which is why I want to ensure I have all the bases covered for your protection.’
‘Oh, God!’
‘Maisie—’
‘No.’ She pulled out of his hold and backed away. ‘This is preposterous. You have to find another way to protect Lucca.’
Golden eyes bored into hers. ‘There’s no other way. There’s an unspoken code, gattina. They may be thugs, but they respect family. Marrying me means you and Lucca become off limits.’
‘But it still won’t be a cast-iron guarantee, will it?’
He shrugged. ‘Nothing in life is guaranteed. I have no intention of involving myself in that life, but there may be resistance. A temporary marriage is our best option.’
The cold pronunciation chilled her to the bone. She kept backing away until her shoulders nudged the window. Unrelenting, he prowled towards her.
‘No way. I can’t do it, Romeo. I just... I can’t just fold up my life and uproot my son to live goodness knows where, looking over my shoulder every day!’
‘Look!’ He reached her, grasped her shoulders and turned her around, directing her gaze to the street, where his men maintained a watchful guard. ‘Is this how you want Lucca to live? Surrounded by men in black carrying guns? Can you honestly say that you’ll experience a moment of peace in the park, knowing that his life could be in danger from unknown elements at each second of the day?’
She shuddered. ‘That’s not fair, Romeo.’
His bitter laugh scoured her skin. ‘Life’s never fair, gattina,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Believe me, I have firsthand experience in just how unfair life can be. That’s why I want this for our son. He will bear my name, legitimately, and my protection.’
‘But you cannot guarantee that, can you? Can’t you just go to the authorities and tell them about this?’
He levelled a deep sigh. ‘Sì, I can. My lawyers have been apprised of what’s going on. But, technically, Lorenzo hasn’t committed a crime yet, just issued veiled threats. Even when he does, the wheels of justice don’t always move fast, Maisie. You of all people should know that.’
Sadly, she knew that all too well. Nevertheless, she couldn’t give what he was suggesting any room to grow. That a part of her wanted to let it grow deeply unnerved her. ‘We