Page 75 of Mafia Obsession

“And for yourself?” I ask, straightforwardly.

“It would benefit me to take a wife as I emerge as the sole head of the American Greek Mafia,” he answers casually, not looking at me.

I swallow. “What about a wife for love?”

That gets his attention. Ares studies me. Eyes scanning from my messy bun to my trembling fingers.

“Love isn’t something I factor into decisions,” he says. “It’s unpredictable. And I don’t build anything on unstable ground.”

Something in my throat tightens. Not because of what he said. But how easily he said it.

It saddens me that he actually believes it.

Chapter 28

Lourdes

Ares waits for me in the Land Rover, his hair soft and free of any styling gel to keep it in place. Gold-rimmed shades sit low on his nose, like he uses them to reveal his eyes only when he wants to make a point.

Or a death threat to someone, I assume.

The drive to the boat dock is down a road with olive trees. The apricot scent they leave behind is sweet. But it doesn’t loosen the tightness in my chest.

The sea below glimmers like diamonds under the mid-morning sun.

Ares turns into his private marina. Men dressed in uniforms of white linen pants and short-sleeved shirts are already prepping the boat. One of them is there at the Land Rover to open his door, another to open mine. I catch gold embroidery on the shirt pocket: Zervas.

They walk on eggshells around him, their respectful nods balanced with stiff and nervous movements. I’m sure seeing me, they’re hoping he’ll settle down, get laid regularly, and stop being a bastard.

Considering this is their lives, set in the backdrop of beauty, I don’t pity them. I’m the one who’ll be returning to a dark and cold reality in New York. Until I get out cleanly to be with Sandrine.

I shake all that away, and I take in the boat. It’s sleek, white, and immaculate. Like everything in Ares’s world. It stretches long and low in the water with polished chrome details and cushioned seating at the stern. The lines along the fiberglass skin make it look fast even standing still.

Curious, I step around to see the boat’s name. You can tell a lot about a man by what he chooses.

Ananke

Greek, of course.

“It means destiny. Inevitability,” Ares says in my ear.

Inevitability…

I think about that before I respond. Looking up at him, I ask, “Did you feel it was inevitable that you would lead your family to a stable peace after your brother’s death?”

With a faint blush, he says, “Yes. But that meant my brother had to die.”

I nod and then glance at the yacht docked further down the marina. I smile seeing that name.

Helena.

Pointing, I say, “You said you’re not close with your aunt.”

Ares glances and says, “I’m not. Alexander bought that for her. She visits here with my cousins more than I do. They use her boat to take extended trips around the island, to Crete or Capri.”

“Sounds exciting,” I respond, unsure of what else to say to something that I’ve never nor will I ever experience.

Once again, I feel so out of my element here. It’s one thing to have a fantasy with a dash of hope that it might turn into a reality. But I’m not made forthisworld.