Page 54 of Ruthless Sinner
“D
ead man walking,” Salvatore whispers in my ear.
I swing my fist back to punch him in the gut. “That’s not funny.” My brother makes a sound of discomfort upon impact, then whispers that if Saverio doesn’t kill me, he will. “I dare you to try, Sally. I’ll put you down so fast, you won?—”
“Mr. Terlizzi,” interrupts a fresh-faced, smiling young woman, “Mr. Castiglione will see you now.”
We rise from our places on the couch and follow her through the office. “We should have gotten into this line of work,” Luciano mumbles under his breath as we pass a series of offices with impossibly clear glass walls—several people mill about, talking to each other in hushed tones and giving us questioning looks. The entire space exudes an air of luxury and opulence, with every fixture and feature crafted from the finest materials, and every employee looks polished to perfection. It’s clear that no expense was spared in creating this pristine work paradise.
The receptionist escorts us through the office, pausing briefly in front of a large wooden door. Etched in perfect sans serif font across a shining gold plate is the name Saverio Castiglione. She knocks three times, waits a beat, and then lets herself in. “Your guests, Mr. Castiglione.”
Saverio rises gracefully from his plush office chair, a million-dollar smile lighting up his face. Considering the full glass wall behind him that has a view of the city, he has every reason to be smiling. “Thank you, Trisha. Gentlemen, would you like anything to drink? Water, coffee, tea, something harder?” His voice betrays a hint of amusement.
“No, we’re fine,” I answer for all of us.
Saverio nods in approval. “If you insist. Please, have a seat wherever.”
Trisha quietly excuses herself while I take the seat in front of her boss’ desk, and my brothers stand behind me. As soon as the door clicks shut, the polite chit-chat vanishes, leaving only tense silence in its wake.
“What do you want, Dante? You know I don’t prefer to mix business with pleasure.”
Saverio Castiglione is his father’s second son, but his older brother was brutally murdered in a gangland-style slaying when Saverio was sixteen. Up until that point, he had his own dreams and aspirations. He didn’t have to go into the family business, so he set his sights on something more ambitious: real estate. Where my father made it almost mandatory that every male in the family had to follow in his footsteps, it wasn’t until Saverio’s older brother was murdered that he was forced to learn what it meant to take over the family business. But Saverio never gave up his dream.
This palatial office is the hub of the Castiglione family fortune. Saverio worked tirelessly throughout his twenties to create two thriving empires: a real estate development company with over twenty employees on the payroll and upholding his father’s legacy as the most powerful Italian family in the Midwest. But his real estate company is his baby.
“I’m here to discuss your sister.”
Saverio purposefully misinterprets me. “Daniela?” He tilts his head. “Are you looking to arrange another marriage between our families?”
If I thought I could get away with arranging for Salvatore or Luciano to marry Daniela so I didn’t have to marry Lucrezia, I’d consider it. But I don’t think either of my brothers wants to tie themselves to a Castiglione, and Saverio wouldn’t accept anything less than a man in power for Lucrezia’s hand. “Unfortunately, no. However, I did want to discuss the arrangement my father made with you regarding?—”
“—you and Lucrezia,” he finishes for me. Saverio’s face tightens, his lips becoming a thin line of disappointment. “I thought you would be around sooner, to be quite honest. After the incident at your home a few weeks back, I had a feeling you were having second thoughts about your nuptials.”
I’ve been having second thoughts since my father made the arrangement. “Your sister is quite beautiful, but she is very young.”
“We were her age once. Did we not grow up?” Saverio raises an eyebrow.
He isn’t going to make this easy on me, and I understand. I’ll play his little games if that gets me out of this alive. “We did, yes. But no one is asking you to marry someone half your age.”
“No,” Saverio replies curtly. “No one tells me what to do.”
The Castiglione family patriarch passed away a couple of years ago. Saverio has been in charge ever since, and he’s made it his mission to strengthen the areas where he felt his father was weak. Marrying off his many brothers and sisters to create strong alliances was one of those places. “Then you can sympathize with my plight. I am the head of my family, and?—”
Saverio cuts me off. “Your family falls under my branch, does it not?”
Tension grows in the corners of my jaw. “It does. My father swore his allegiance to your father decades ago. I know the chain of command.”
“Then why are you here, Dante?” All joy drains from his face, and he looks every inch the hardened soldier we’ve all come to hear stories about.
“I can’t marry your sister.” In retrospect, I chose to corner Saverio while he was at work so he wouldn’t be tempted to pull out a gun and shoot me on the spot. Still, I press my hand to my stomach and feel up the bulletproof vest, just in case.
The expression on his face confirms that I made the right decision. His fingers twitch, and I can’t tell if he’s considering looking for a gun or beating the shit out of me. “You can, and you will. We have a contract in place.”
“A contract predicated on your sister’s virginity.” I hate to pull this card, but I am running out of options. Saverio is making it clear that he has no intention of letting me out of this arrangement simply because I don’t wish to marry Lucrezia.
“Watch yourself, Terlizzi.” Saverio’s face darkens with anger. “That’s my sixteen-year-old sister you’re talking about.”
Sixteen or thirty-six, it wouldn’t matter. I am not in search of a virgin bride, but if that’s the only excuse I can use to get out of this cursed marriage, so be it. “Your sister had relations with four of your father’s men. It is a known fact.”