Page 154 of Righteous Enforcer
"She's a child."
"She's eighteen. Same age Eva was when I met her."
“And you weren’t much older. I’m fucking ancient compared to her.”
He laughs. “Your dick not working anymore? I hear there are drugs for that?—”
“Fuck you, Adriano.”
I love my brother, but happiness has made him way too prone to razzing me. I don’t like it.
I don’t see happiness as a goal. Power. Money. Security. Protection. Loyalty. That’s all a man needs. As Don, I bear the weight of every decision, every consequence. I can’t let something sappy like love fog my brain, as it has with my brothers.
“You know, you might grow to love her. She seems like a sweet person.”
"This isn't about love," I remind him. "It's strategy. The Vitales tried to destroy us, and now they’re trying to make peace. Somehow, that means I'm supposed to welcome their daughter into my bed."
"Don't punish her for sins she had no part in."
My gaze shifts back to Isabella.
She catches me watching and holds my stare with unexpected boldness before turning away.
For some fucked up reason, I find that compelling.
"Alessandro." Eva approaches with Mirabella in tow. My niece is the spitting image of Adriano but has Eva's gentle spirit. "Congratulations. She seems lovely."
"She's the enemy's daughter," I reply, but without heat. Eva understands better than most the complexities of family loyalty.
"So was I, once," she reminds me.
I nod, acknowledging her point.
After all, I once threatened to kill Eva myself.
Now she's family.
Not only Adriano’s wife, but the mother of his daughter, with another one on the way.
I scan the room, taking inventory. Valentina and Cristian, inseparable as always.
Luca and Katerina, the same.
Everyone paired off while I've been rebuilding what our father lost.
His death was unexpected, a bomb set by the Bratva, escalating the war between us. I tried diplomacy.
Hell, I even agreed to allow Maksim to marry my sister.
Thank fuck that never happened.
But it’s that experience that makes this situation with the Vitales such a waste.
I’d rather him get on his knees and kiss my ring than tie myself down to his daughter.
"We need you," Don Vitale had said when proposing this alliance. "You need us."
“I’ve heard that before. In fact, it turns out you made the same deal with the Bratva.”
