Page 52 of A Ruthless Arrangement
I clench my jaw, not wanting to admit that they were right. And as soon as I admit what happened, then they’ll know it for sure. But they need to know. It’s part of their job. “Lorenzo called me. Threatened Amy, although he pretended he didn’t. Bloody bastard,” I grumble.
Both of the men swear. “What the bloody hell is wrong with that prick?” Liam huffs. “Who twisted his knickers into a bunch? Mother of Jesus. She’s completely innocent in all of this and he knows it.”
Jack frowns, leaning against the railing. “What do you want to do, boss? Say the word and we’ll arrange a hit, whatever you want.”
The thought is tempting, but I know it’s not as simple as that. Lorenzo De Matteis is a powerful man, and it wouldn’t be easy to kill him. Even if I was successful, I’d have hell to pay. His connections would seek revenge, his people would wage war on me, and even my own ally and the leader of the Nameless would turn against me. They might be fighting, but Alessandro and Lorenzo were still brothers. Italians bicker all the time, but at the end of the day, they’re still family. Even if they’rebickeringhasa lot of bloodshed. It’s vital for me to remain apart of my mafia organization. I don’t want to make them my enemies, too.
I sigh and shake my head. “No, no hits. Not on De Matteis, at least. Not yet. I’ll have a chat with Alessandro about things, see what he says. Until then, Amy’s protection is the priority. Watch Steffoff. If he gets too close, bring him to me. Especially near the wedding. I don’t want him within a kilometer of her on the wedding day.”
Jack and Liam share a look, and then both grin. Jack nods. “Of course, boss. No problem. So…the wedding is happening soon, then?”
“As soon as I can manage it.” I nod, gripping the railing with both my hands and look out over the water. “Part of Lorenzo’s threat was stopping the wedding so I couldn’t get the docks. It seems like he’s threatening Amy, that he’ll kill her before the wedding can happen.” I’m pretty sure that O’Neil, the dock owner, would give me access to the docks anyway, but it’s about more than just the docks now. Amy is far more important.
Liam scoffs and scrunches his nose up in disgust. “Pathetic. He’d really harm an innocent young woman just because? Is there no honor in the Italian?”
I give a mirthless chuckle. “It’s not because he’s Italian, Liam. Think about it, would we be any different? If a rival was getting married, and we could stop them getting more powerful and connected because of that marriage, wouldn’t we do the same damn thing and kill the girl? We’re not any better.”
Both Jack and Liam get solemn expressions on their faces at this. Liam sighs. “You’re right. We wouldn’t think twice about it, not unless it was a pregnant woman or an old granny. Or a child.” He furrows his brow, as if he’s rethinking some of his life choices. A regular part of life in our industry, even if you grow numb and detached from your emotions. “It’d just be business.”
“Precisely.” I inhale as I look out over the water. “Just business. Which is why we need to work to make Amynot‘just business’. We need to make it so that there’s no reason or appeal for anyone to kill her.”
Jack and Liam nod. There’s silence for a moment before Jack speaks up. “And how do we do that? Especially when she’s going to beyourwife.”
I clench my jaw, gripping the metal railing of the yacht until my knuckles go white. “I don’t know. That’s my problem.”
Liam slaps me on the back. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll get to thinkin’ and something will inevitably come to us. She’ll be safe.”
I look over at him, feeling the weight of Amy’s life sitting on my shoulders, making my chest tighten with worry. “And what do we do in the meantime? Just let her sit in danger as we put our thinking caps on?” I shake my head in disgust. “Fuck no. I won’t be as helpless as that.”
Jack and Liam share a look before stepping closer. “I like the sounds of that,” Jack says lowly. “What do you have in mind, boss?”
My hands tighten further on the railing. “If Lorenzo wants to play, well, then I hope he’s ready. I’m not going to lay down while he threatens my girl. He’s going to pay for so much asconsideringpunishing her to get to me.”
Both Liam and Jack start grinning. “Sounds like a good time,” Liam chuckles. “Where do we start?”
I feel a swell of anger and determination in my chest. “We start with Steffoff. You know what to do.”
25
Amy
Watching the water calms me. It always has, ever since I was a little girl. The band of anxiety that was constricting around my chest, feeling like it was squeezing the life out of me, slowly relaxes and lets me breathe. I find peace in the water and the steady hum of the boat’s engine, since it’s not overly loud. In fact, I’m surrounded by the most calm and quiet since first arriving at my grandparents, even before knowing about Alasdair’s existence.
He’s brought lots of chaos into my life in the short while I’ve known him. But it’s felt like he sees me and understands me in ways I’m not sure anyone else does. Even Lily only gets me because she’s very similar, both in how our brains work and in our personalities, although she’s far more feisty and carefree than I am. But Alasdair…we’re totally different. Different backgrounds, different cultures, different personalities, different everything, really. But he’s made an effort to understand me and it’s worked.
Maybe I’ve been too harsh on him. I know I struggle with my emotions blinding me when I get overstimulated like this. Imight still be right, but just overreacted. It’s a difficult situation, because I want to understand what happened and what I did wrong, but right now I’m not sure how much capacity I actually have to handle the truth. That’s why I left.
I’m torn. Is this just a tricky situation? Is he just playing social games with me? I so badly want to believe he isn’t manipulating me, but it’s hard when I have so much experience with people doing exactly that. Since he does seem to truly see me in ways no one else has bothered to before, I don’t want to automatically think he’s taking advantage of me. But I know that he’s a criminal, a leader of the mafia. It’d be foolish of me to rule that out just because he’s been nice.
I slowly make my way to the back of the boat again, taking a deep breath and steadying myself. It’s time to have a hard conversation with Alasdair. But when I turn the corner, he isn’t there anymore. I sigh.Just my luck.
Maybe he needs a minute. Maybe it’s a good idea for me to take another one, too, and ensure I’m ready before I seek him out. I hop up on one of the barstools to nibble on some of the snacks that were laid out for us, and my eyes catch some light near the veggie tray. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I grab the phone that’s sitting with its screen unlocked. I’m pretty sure this is Alasdair’s phone, so I guess I gotta find him to return it. No use in putting off the inevitable.
But something on the screen of the phone catches my attention. A text thread is up, and the contact name saysMarjorie.My eyes scan the conversation before I can help it. This woman is saying that she doesn’t like our engagement, even though Alasdair is assuring her it’s just business. She seems almost…jealous.And Alasdair is catering to her, reassuring her that I mean nothing to him.
It makes my heart sink. I should’ve trusted my instincts, should’ve known better than to trust a man like him.I’m justtrying to earn her trust, she needs some coddling to cooperate.His words make bile sting the back of my throat and my eyes burn with tears. He thinks I needcoddling.Like I’m a child. And here I was thinking that he understood me.
I’m an idiot, that’s the only explanation for such moronic thinking.
