Page 125 of Marry Me Not
“I see what you mean about him being trigger-happy when your safety is involved,” he said to Fabiana, a subtle Italian accent wrapped around the words.
Fabiana sat down on one of the benches bracketing the table and began to scoot closer to the man.
No way. I caught her by the arm. If we had to bolt it out of here, it would take her ages to get out.
“Stay close to me.” I pulled her back toward the edge of the bench before taking a seat in the chair across from the man.
Dominic chuckled. “You do realize that if I’d wanted to do anything to your wife, I had a considerable amount of time before you arrived.” He looked straight at me then, and the hair on the back of my neck rose.
His eyes… Why were they so familiar?
“Please don’t provoke him,” Fabiana said to him, lifting a coffee cup with her lipstick marked on the rim.
“I know, I know.” He raised a hand. “I simply can’t help it. It’s a character flaw. Cosimo, would you like a coffee?”
A coffee? Had these two been sitting here having fucking coffee while they waited for me to arrive? I was confident Fabiana had just met the guy, so how had they managed to become best friends so quickly?
I eyed the tower of Italian pastries in the center of the table with disdain. “Someone better start talking. Now.”
“Perhaps,” Dominic said, leaning back in his chair, “you would consider setting the gun down. It’s rather difficult to tell a long story when I’m preoccupied with the possibility of being shot before I reach the end.” He opened his jacket. “As you can see, I’m unarmed.”
The arrogance of it set my teeth on edge. He wanted to make a show of how little I frightened him.
I set the gun on the table. He didn’t scare me either. I’d killed plenty of men with my bare hands when the circumstances demanded it.
“Excellent.” He gestured toward the pastries. “So no coffee? A pastry, maybe? They were baked fresh this morning.”
“I don’t want a fucking pastry.”
Amusement flashed in this fucker’s gaze. I was this close to smashing the pastry tray in his face, but now that the shock of all of this had worn off, I kept my anger contained. My usual mask had slipped into place with ease.
“Very well. Let’s begin.” He pressed a linen napkin briefly to his lips, cleared his throat, and straightened in his chair. “People on this side of the world know me as Dominic Bellandi. But in the States, my family goes by a different name.”
My pulse picked up speed.
“Santoro. My mother is Rena Santoro.”
My expression betrayed nothing, but my blood ranhot. I was sitting at a table with one of my father’s killers.
I might’ve snapped right then if it wasn’t for the small hand that wrapped around mine. The touch drew my gaze to Fabiana. She looked at me pleadingly.Hear him out.
“For the last thirty years,” Dominic continued, “Mammahas dreamt of revenge against your family. When I was younger, she convinced me that the only way our family could truly thrive was if yours was destroyed.” He paused, turning the cappuccino cuponce in its saucer. “I’m older now. And I have come to believe that dragging both our families into a prolonged war serves none of us—especially when a diplomatic resolution might still be possible.”
A diplomatic resolution? After they murdered my father? I almost laughed. “Why don’t you start by explaining what this revenge is all about? I have no idea what your family wants from mine.”
“No,” he said. “I imagine you don’t. I assume that particular gap in your knowledge is your mother’s doing. She knows everything I’m about to tell you. She simply chose not to inform you.” He tilted his head. “I don’t suppose that surprises you.”
It didn’t. It made my stomach harden, but it didn’t surprise me. I guess Vita hadn’t been bluffing after all.
“I’ve heard rumors about Vita Ferraro’s ambitions for some time,” Dominic went on.
My gaze narrowed. “Have you?” How? Though if Mother had started buying off capos, leaks were inevitable.
“Given what your mother did to my family, I know she isn’t a woman who follows rules that limit her power.”
“And what, exactly, did she do to your family?”
“She came close to destroying us. Which is why my mother arranged for the bomb to be placed in your family’s penthouse.” His voice stayed even. “She learned you were closing a deal with Alvarez—a deal she badly wanted—and she acted without my knowledge or approval. In the months before, she made contact with your Aunt Lisa, who had fallen out of favor with Vita.Mammaoffered Lisa a new passport, five million dollars, and aflight to Italy. Lisa agreed. She thought there was a microphone hidden in the bonsai tree. She did not know there was a bomb.”
