Page 97 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
“Interesting? This is a clusterfuck.”
“Both can be true at the same time. Now it’s clear what both sides are getting out of this alliance.”
“Messero’s done pretty damn well for himself,” I mutter. A wife, control of another clan, and a long-term deal with us, brokered by Garzolo. “Fuck him. We should call off our deal. This is the kind of information they should have coughed up when we met.”
“Sounds like we still have five years left to deal with Garzolo. They would have told us eventually. Probably when the indictment goes out. Any sense of the potential timing on that?”
“No idea. I’ll talk to Orrin, see if he’s got anything. It might be imminent for all we know.”
“The balance of power has shifted. Our deal ensures we have a line to Messero, who’s now on track to become the most significant player in New York in five years.”
I fucking hate the sound of that. “If Gemma doesn’t marry him, his succession might fall through.”
There’s a drawn-out pause. “Is that what she’s thinking? Does she want to call off the wedding?”
I rub my forehead. “No. She’s confused, and she doesn’t fully understand her brother’s position in all of this. I think if Vince told her not to marry Rafaele, she’d try to get herself out of it, but if her brother actually doesn’t want the gig, and her father gets put behind bars with no clear successor, her family will fall into chaos. She doesn’t know what to do.”
And frankly, I don’t either. It’s like we’ve lit a spotlight on a corner of a chessboard, and most of the pieces are invisible.
“I’ll ask Vale to get in contact with Vince. See what she can find out,” Dem says.
“Good idea.”
“So Gemma told you all of this?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“It was a shock to her and Cleo. Gemma thought she’s marrying Rafaele to protect her family from some unknown threat. Garzolo misled her. When she realized he’s doing it for his own benefit, she was upset. She needed someone to talk to.”
There’s another long pause. “And out of everyone, she chose to talk to you?”
Apprehension slips inside my veins at the suspicion in his tone. “She did.”
“Ras, did something happen between you two?”
I should tell him the truth.
I want her.
I feel something for her.
She’s got a rope wrapped around my heart, and when she tugs on it, I can’t do anything but follow.
I can’t say any of those things.
The situation has gotten complicated, but one thing is clear. She’s still engaged to a man Dem does not want me making into our enemy.
He’ll tell me to keep my fucking distance. He’s my don, and I’ll have to obey him.
So I lie. Fuck, I can’t remember the last time I lied to him. “Nothing happened.”
“All right,” he says, and from the way he says it, I can tell that he believes me. “Good work with all of this. If you hear more rumblings about the FBI and Garzolo, I want you to get out of there. We don’t know what timeline we’re working with, and there’s no need for us to get involved in any mess. It sounds like if Garzolo is taken out of commission, Messero will be capable of holding up their end of the deal, which is all we care about. In fact, I’m not sure if there’s any reason for you to stay there any longer.”
Ice spreads through my lungs.
No fucking way. I can’t leave now. “Let me stay and find out more. What if Messero is implicated in all of this? He might think he has the FBI in his pocket, but it wouldn’t be the first time a don has overplayed his hand.”
