Page 21 of Heartless Union
He looks down at his plate for a moment. It reminds me so much of Lara it’s almost freaky. “Yes, you can depend on me, Rocco.” He meets my gaze. “I want my daughter to be safe. You can count on me. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.”
“Good. But there’s something I need to ask that must remain between us.”
“Go on.”
I steeple my fingers together under my chin. “Will you be my ally or my father’s?”
Nico frowns as he touches his water glass. “I don’t understand.”
“Will you be my ally or my father’s ally?”
He stares at me for a moment before sitting back in his seat. “You’re planning on going against your father.” He looks disappointed by that.
“Yes,” I say point blank. “You should know that before you marry Lara to me. My father isn’t in the best place financially speaking. That’s why he needs your money. But I can change things around once I’m in charge. Lara would be my queen; you don’t need to worry about that. That is, if I know for a fact I can depend on you and your money.”
Nico leans forward, staring at me intently. “I’m marrying my daughter to you because I want her to be protected. Are you going to protect her, Rocco? Or are you going to put her in danger?”
“If my father remains in charge, she will be in danger. And if I’m in charge, she’ll have more power than any other woman in New York City. So, do I have you as an ally?”
After a moment, he sighs. “Yes. You can count on me.”
“Good.”
The first step I needed to take in going after my father was gaining allies.
And I’ve just secured my first one.
The wedding is fast approaching. Too fast for my liking. I’m glad to have an ally in Nico, but I’m not sure I can handle having a woman around all the time.
In my view, women are good for sex and not much else. I see no other reason to be with them.
But Lara is different. She’ll be my wife, and I know she’ll want more than just sex. She’ll want compassion. Love. I’ve never felt any of that, and I don’t plan to.
Nico suggests we all meet as a family before the wedding day. Massimo and Emilio try getting out of it, but I tell them they need to be there. I’m not spending the whole evening with just Gabriella and my father while Lara sits across from me silently.
We meet up at Nico’s house for the dinner.
“Come in, come in,” he says, motioning us inside. Lara is standing a few feet behind him, looking beautiful in a soft pink dress. God, I can’t wait to fuck her. If she doesn’t pass out from fear over me, that is.
Gabriella brushes past me to walk over to Lara and pull her into a hug. Lara looks startled but gently hugs Gabriella back.
“I'm so excited to meet you,” Gabriella says, standing back. “You’re gorgeous. If my brother isn’t already into you, then he’s blind.”
Lara blushes. “Thank you.”
“That’s enough, Gabriella,” I say, gently moving her away from Lara. “You’re going to scare my fiancée.”
Gabriella makes a face. “Are you scared, Lara?”
She shakes her head no.
“See?” Gabriella flashes me a smug smile. “Lara and I are going to become best friends. I can already tell.” She links her arm through Lara’s. “Let’s sit next to each other.” They head off toward the kitchen.
Father approaches me. “You need to keep Gabriella more in line.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that girl thinks she can overrule what you say. You don’t want her influencing your wife. You don’t want to look like a pussy in front of anyone, do you?”