Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
But that was always a vague future prospect that I hadn’t allowed myself to fully contemplate. I’d allowed my head to fill with fantasies of romance based on the novels I indulged in secret. I’d hoped that my father’s emotional neglect might extend to my future prospects and that he wouldn’t care about my marital preferences. I would never be allowed a match with someone outside our organization, but I might’ve chosen someone gentler than Dante Torrio.
If his scheme with my father worked, Dante would be the boss. He would rule our crime family with an iron fist, and that would include me.
He’d just committed shocking violence to claim me for himself.
No one else will touch you ever again, little bird. From now on, Dante would personally be the one to keep me in line. I no longer had to fear my father’s men, but my future husband was far more terrifying than even Giorgio, his cruelest guard.
My fingers went numb in Giana’s as she urged me out of the study and back into the hall. My chest grew tighter with every quick step across the burgundy rug.
“I’ll get you out of this, Nora,” she pledged shakily. “I won’t let this happen.”
“No,” I refused, my tongue feeling strangely thick in my mouth. “He can’t have you. I can handle him.”
She clutched my hand more tightly. “I won’t let you do this for me.” Her voice wavered with tears. “He’s a monster, Nora. You can’t marry him.”
My lungs seized. I couldn’t draw in enough air to argue with her. I rushed toward the front door, bursting out into the crisp fall air. It seared my lungs as I gasped in deep gulps of fresh oxygen.
Dizziness swept over me, and I didn’t see the men coming for us until it was too late. Tires screeched as brakes slammed, and the doors on three black SUVs flew open. A dozen men surged toward us, and Giana’s scream ripped into my chest. The fearful sound sharpened my senses, adrenaline spiking to throw everything into sharp relief. Time slowed, and I saw the huge man who made a grab for her: Luca Vitale. I’d memorized his strong, stony features over the years, harboring a foolish crush on the ruggedly handsome man.
There was nothing charming about his ochre eyes now. They were dark with grim determination as his meaty hand closed around Giana’s arm.
“You saved me the trouble of coming in to get you,” he rumbled, tugging her close.
I threw myself at him, shoving at his brick-hard chest. “Let her go!”
He sneered at me, unmoving under my assault. “I’m here for Dante’s bride. Your father is a traitor. He’ll pay for that. Now, get out of my way.”
My heart leapt into my throat, but I managed to force words past it. “She’s not his bride. I am.”
His brows drew together, and he paused his progress in dragging Giana back to the SUV. “But you’re Elenora.”
“Yes,” I seethed, hating him with every fiber of my being. Hating Dante. Hating my father. “I’m Elenora, and I’m supposed to marry that monster, not Giana.”
I couldn’t let Luca take her away from here. He’d clearly learned of my father’s betrayal somehow, and he’d come to destroy those plans by stealing Dante’s bride away. We truly were nothing more than pawns to these awful men.
“If you’re looking for Dante’s fiancée, I’m right here,” I flung at him, shoving his chest once again. He didn’t so much as sway beneath the impact.
His lips pressed together in a grim line, and he released Giana. I didn’t have time to draw in a relieved breath before his hands closed around my waist. The world spun, and my abdomen collided with his muscular shoulder. I shrieked and struggled as he carried me away from my sister.
She screamed my name as Luca hauled me toward the waiting SUV, stealing me from Dante as though I was his property, his prize of war.
My fists beat against Luca’s back, my body refusing to simply surrender to this awful fate. His thick fingers dug into my upper thigh, just beneath my bottom. I cursed him and twisted, unable to shift so much as an inch out of his hold.
Then I was in the car, his strong arms caging me as the door slammed shut like a prison cell. We peeled away from the curb, leaving my sister screaming on the pavement outside our family home.
I looked up into my captor’s light brown eyes, finding no warmth in their caramel depths.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded, voice shaking almost as violently as my hands.
“To get married,” he said coldly. “You’re not Dante’s bride. You’re mine.”
Chapter 2
Nora
“This is insane,” I said before I could think better of it, the accusation breathless and a little too high-pitched. “You can’t just steal me away like I’m an object. I don’t want to marry you.”