Chapter 12

Luca's skin took on a sickly green tint. "You don't un—"

"What thehellwere you thinking? How the fuck did you even meet her?"

The Romanos were famously insular. Gabriele kept a tight leash on his people, and they rarely ventured outside their family-controlled joints.

"We met at a bar. We didn't talk long, but we hit it off and exchanged numbers." Luca spoke fast, like he was afraid I would attack if he stopped. "She doesn't have as many eyes on her now that she's widowed, but I swear, I didn't know who she was until after we slept together. She told me her father was in construction."

A vein throbbed in my temple. "Heisin construction."

Along with nightclubs, restaurants, and a dozen other fronts for his dirty business.

If it'd been anyone other than Romano, I would've undercut Francis's threat by paying them off or striking a mutually beneficial deal.

But unlike some businessmen who were short-sighted enough to entangle themselves in the underworld, I didn't fuck with the mafia. Once you got in, the only way to get out was in a casket, and I would rather set myself on fire than willingly put myself in a position where I had to answer to someone else.

Francis wanted what my last name could bring him. Romano? He'd want every last dollar and drop of blood, evenafterhe slit my brother's throat.

"I know it seems bad, but you don't understand," Luca said, his expression tortured. "I love her."

A terrible calm descended upon me. "You love her."

"Yes." His face softened. "She's incredible. Beautiful, smart—"

"You love her, yet you've been fucking everything that moves for the pasttwo weeks."

"Ididn't." Luca turned bright red. "It was an act to maintain my reputation, you know? I had to leave for a bit because her cousin ran away and her uncle was cracking down on the whole family, but we were careful."

I had never been closer to murdering a family member.

"Apparently, not carefulenough," I snarled, earning myself another flinch.

I took a deep breath and waited for the explosive rage to pass before I sat, slowly and deliberately, so I didn't reach across the desk and strangle my only brother. "Do you want to know how I got those photos, Luca?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head.

"Francis Lau walked into my office two weeks ago and tossed them on my desk. Coincidentally, he'd been in town earlier and saw you with Maria. He recognized the both of you and had you tailed. Once he got what he needed, he came over to cut a deal." A thin smile touched my lips. "Care to guess what the terms of the deal are?"

Luca shook his head again.

"I marry his daughter, and he'll keep the evidence to himself. If I don't, he'll send the photos to Romano, and you'll die."

I had an excellent private security force. They were well-trained, professional, and morally flexible enough to deal with intruders in a way that dissuaded future intruders from crossing me.

However, there was a difference between security and punishment and war with the fucking mafia.

Luca's eyes widened.

"Shit." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Dante, I—"

"Don't say another word. Here's what youwilldo." I pinned him with a hard stare. "You will cut off all contact with Maria, effective immediately. I don't give a shit if she's your one true soulmate and you never find love again after her. From this moment on, she doesn't exist to you. You will not see, speak, or otherwise communicate with her. If you do, I will freeze every damn account you have and blacklist any person who assists you financially."

Our grandfather had been aware of Luca's wild spending habits and left me full control of the company and family finances in his will. Being blacklisted by me meant being blacklisted by everyone in our social circle, and even Luca's idiot friends weren't stupid enough to risk that.

"I'm also cutting your monthly allowance in half until you prove you're capable of making better choices."

"What?" Luca exploded. "You can't—"

"Interrupt me again, and it'll be cut to zero," I said icily. He fell silent, his expression mutinous. "You willearnthe remaining half of the money by taking a job at one of our stores, where you'll be treated like any other employee. No special perks, no drinking or fucking on the job, and no leaving for lunch and rolling back in two hours later. If you slack off, you will be cut off completely. Understand?"