“I wonder,” Roy said with a slight shrug.
I pushed back my frustration and continued. “You can make this hard for me, but we both know who would benefit from the Valentino family tearing itself to pieces.”
Roy nodded once and his smile faded. “The Healy family.”
“That’s right,” I said and stared into his eyes. “You really want those Irish fucks to start taking territory from us?”
“Of course not,” he said hotly. “I’ve been fighting them for a year now. I’ve lost more than a few good soldiers to those bastards.”
“If we start fighting among ourselves, the Healys will jump at the chance. We need to settle this and settle it now, before the family fractures and our enemies take advantage.” I stood up and walked to the side table. I poured a measure of whiskey and brought to him. He took it, swirled it, and sipped.
I wished I’d poisoned the fucking glass.
“I agree with you,” Roy said as I took my seat again. “There’s a reason I came here instead of going behind your back to the other Capos, despite what you may think.”
“Then what do you want in exchange for your support?” I asked.
He laughed softly. “Your father would’ve been more political about this, you know.”
“I’m not my father.” My hands clenched into fists. “He had the luxury of time and peace. I’m at war.”
“Your father never saw peace once in his life,” Roy said, shaking his head. “Your father loved war more than anything in the world. Even when the family was quiet, he still found excuses to cause mayhem.”
“I’m aware,” I said. “Which is why we’re here. I want to be a different Don. I want to be the Don this family needs.”
Roy nodded slowly. “I’ll admit that I see the world changing. You’ve been popular in the family for a long time and your father entrusted with you a lot of responsibility. You’ve been efficient and talented. But you’re still young.”
“No younger than my father was when he took over,” I said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Roy said. “If you want to control the family, I mean really control it, then you need to show that you’ve got solid backing.”
I nodded and sipped my drink. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. “What do you want, Roy?”
“I want you to marry my niece,” he said carefully, not taking his eyes off me.
I leaned back in my chair and didn’t speak. I knew better than to open my mouth right away. My first thought was, fuck you, stupid asshole, and my second thought was, I’m not marrying some second-rate Paganini trash, but let those two ideas pass. I shouldn’t judge the girl already based on her family, and I needed to keep my head.
“Why?” I asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Because it’ll accomplish two things,” he said. “First, it’ll bring you and me together. I’ll have more power in this family and it’ll guarantee the Paganini side remains deep at the heart of the Valentino organization. And second, it’ll show that you’ve got my blessing, and that’ll mean a lot.”
I nodded slowly. He was right, marrying one of his relatives would send a strong signal to the rest of the family that Roy had my back. It would clinch my control and allow me to focus on fighting and ending the damn war with the Healy family.
But I didn’t know this girl. I didn’t want to marry a stranger, even if it would be good for my political career. Roy wasn’t exactly a handsome man and it didn’t seem likely that anyone related to him would be remotely attractive.
And yet I knew it was the right thing to do. My days as a bachelor were over—it was time to take over the business and to become the man I always wanted to be.
Some sacrifices had to be made.
“I’ll meet her,” I said. “But I won’t promise to marry her.”
Roy grinned at me. “That’s good. You’ll be happy, don’t worry, Don Valentino. There’s a reason I brought you my niece and not my own daughters.” Roy struggled to his feet. “They’re nice girls, I love my daughters like I love my own soul, but I’ve got eyes, I know what they look like. Got too much of their father in them.” He gestured toward the door and I didn’t move.
“She’s here?” I asked, frowning. “Right now?”
“Bea put her in the game room,” Roy said. “That okay with you? Meeting your future wife for the first time’s a big deal. You’d have a right to be nervous.”
I finished my whiskey, which made Roy grin, and stood up. I glared at him, annoyed to have to jump through this goddamn hoop to make this bastard loyal. He should’ve fallen into line from the start, but this was the mafia. I couldn’t simply take over without proving myself, despite everything I had already done for this family, all the men I killed, the drugs I sold, the deals I made, none of it mattered.
I was the Don and I had to act like it.
“Lead the way,” I said.
Roy took me out into the hall. I knew this house like I knew my own body, but it felt strange to me all of a sudden. Maybe because I owned it, and I could change it at will. Yet I kept it the same, and the quiet, brooding wealth of it seemed oppressive.
I stepped past him when we reached the door to the game room. “Stay here,” I said. “I won’t be long.”
“Take all the time you need, Don Valentino,” Roy said and leaned up against the wall with a huff. “She’s your problem now.”
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The game room was relatively modest by my father’s standards. Two pool tables, a bar on the right side of the room, and a big screen TV hanging above a working fireplace. The carpet was green and lush, and the walls were covered in
