Page 24 of Crowned In Blood
I was both enamored and envious of his ease with me. And I was even more infuriated, that after everything I’d been through, I still found him attractive.
You're a woman. You have eyes. Of course, you'd find him attractive. Admitting that doesn't mean you'll act on it.
I gave myself a small, mental nod. The friend of my enemy was my enemy as well, and that included this man. I turned back to the lake, waiting for him to sober.
He was still chuckling as he said, "Not everyone bends over backwards for me, but I do normally have an easier time. That assistant of yours is a handful."
I imagined Olivia dealing with him and had to suppress a smile. "You might have had an easier time if you were a woman."
His eyebrow arched in question.
"She's gay."
The man looked like he was barely holding back another full-blown laugh. "And what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Well, you're not bending over for me right now, although I promise if you did, I'd make sure it wasextremelypleasurable for you."
I smirked. "That's because I'm simply not interested."
He settled the full weight of his unnerving gaze onto me, searching for something I refused to give. Then he turned serious. "The night we met, I never formally introduced myself. The reason I came here to see you was to make up for that. My name is Marco Torrino."
His name hit me like a ton of bricks. He was the leader of the Torrino Mafia Family, one of the most intricate and feared in this city.
New York had almost twenty-five different families living or working within it, Hispanic, Italian, Irish, Russian, and Japanese, and most were enemies. We were all out to protect our own, and it only took one person to step over that line to start a war.
It's why I'd done my best to sort through and memorize each of the leaders' names, but keeping up with their day-to-day activities, as well as their immediate families’ was a full-time job and time I didn't have.
Fernando didn't keep tabs on other families, only struck deals or threw cash at them, so I had almost no information about the Torrino’s boss, besides his name. But it shocked me to believe it was the carefree man in front of me.
Marco wasn't crazy, foolish, or at ease. He wasdangerous.
I straightened my back and asked in a cold tone, "When did you get back to the country?"
He touched his chest. "I'm honored that you looked into me."
"Of course, it's only natural that I keep an eye on my enemies."
"I'm not your enemy, Catalina," he said, his voice low. "I'm your ally."
I scoffed. "As the head of another family whose borders are near my own, yes, you are. And anyone who was invited by my father that night was someone he believed could be an ally to him. An ally to my father could never be one to me."
"I am not your rival, nor your father's ally." Marco sneered, clenching his fist around the metal railing.
Why does he seem offended? Did I touch a nerve?"Then why were you invited?"
"Likely for the same reason Fernando was." His voice turned hard and flat. "To barter a deal."
Ah, yes, of course. I'm always the trophy, a prize to be fought over, then sold, never a person with value and worth.
I bristled under the heavy reminder of my past, the air suddenly as frigid as Marco's tone. It cut into me like a knife, breaking the glass jar I kept my emotions buried behind.
The truth hurt. It shouldn't have, but it did.
It wasn't as if I'd grown stupid enough to believe my father cared about me, or that if I could go back in time, I would have been able to escape my arranged marriage. But somehow, knowing that if Fernando had said no, my father would have offered me to Marco instead, made me sick.
How many people had my father invited that night for his deal? Was Fernando the first on the list, or did he have an entire roster?
