Page 10 of The Eternal Choice
Cleo clears her throat. “You should go, Lilliana, if you don’t mind. I have to talk to my mate in private.”
As if my reply would make a difference. Hell, there’s nothing to say or do because her mate grabs Cleo by her hips, throws her over his shoulder and rushes in the direction of the stairs. I hear a door slam upstairs and then the moans start.
Okay, weird. Yeah, I definitely need to go. I grab the stash of brownies and walk straight out the door.
CHAPTER FOUR
– ERNESTINO –
“Nario locked him up in the dungeon. He started questioning him when I left to get you,” Leandro states the moment he steps into my office.
I was about to call Lilliana’s father to gather some information and place the phone down to talk to Leandro first. “How the hell can he still make his own decisions when I placed him under Ivano? Please tell me Nario isn’t questioning the prisoner by himself.”
Leandro shrugs. “Ivano had to go home for something, and I had to get you since you were not answering your phone.”
Dammit. I should have answered his call instead of gathering information about the things Lilliana mentioned. I might not be interested in marrying Tony’s daughter, but the fact that she has been married before and killed her previous husbands? Yeah, that kinda snagged my attention.
“Home?” I growl. “This is the first time we’ve managed to capture one of Marshgloom, and our head of security heads home? Not to mention, he leaves our prisoner in the hands of our brother who only cares about his own shit, and wouldn’t think twice about killing someone, and not share crucial details with us.”
“Don’t know, man. It was like he was jolted into awareness, or got some mental memo, and took off after growling ‘home.’ Fucking weird. With Nario questioning the prisoner I thought it was best to get you.”
I rub my temples. “We’re running out of available men. Fuck. I never thought I’d say that. Between keeping our land safe, and working the mine, we don’t have many options left. Well, besides asking the elders to help out. Disrespectful, and not something we should do, no matter what.”
“This war needs to end,” Leandro grimly states.
Fury and regret hit me hard. All of this could have ended two weeks ago with a simple agreement to the contract. Then again, I didn’t expect to find my mate, and who the fuck knows? I could have been dead by now since Naryssa has a track record when it comes to husbands.
“Agreed.” I take my phone in hand again. “Go back to the prisoner and make sure our brother doesn’t kill him or hold back any details he obtained. I need to make a call to check something and then I’ll swing by to kick Ivano’s ass before I head for the dungeon.”
“You got it, boss,” Leandro rumbles and stalks away.
Releasing a deep breath, I hit the call button and wait until I hear Alrigo’s voice.
“Alrigo. I should have contacted you sooner,” I start.
His dark voice cuts me off. “You should have. Especially with the mess you’re wrapped up in. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”
I’m instantly on edge and wonder how the fuck he knows what’s going on between two dragon clans. Shit. He might not be talking about clan business. Maybe Lilliana called him and mentioned the lack of attention I’ve given her. Lack of? I’ve basically ignored her since I met her.
Swallowing down the need to snarl, I calmly ask, “What mess are you referring to?”
“You have more fuck ups than being at war with another clan?” Alrigo growls. “It would have been nice to mention this shit before you mated my daughter.”
Anger gets the better of me. “Then what? You would have kept her from me?”
There’s a rustling sound and then a female voice says, “Okay you two hotheads, there’s enough time to fight during Christmas dinner in a few months. Right now, you two have to get along long enough to swap some details.”
I grit my teeth while there’s more rustling.
“Lilliana called and mentioned the Marshgloom clan. There’s a warning within mafia families about Tony Mattia and his daughter Naryssa. She’s had two arranged marriages, each of them ending with a dead husband. Authorities ruled both as an accident, but it raised questions due to the rapid deaths after marriage and the clearing out bank accounts, along with selling off properties. Normally, I couldn’t give two shits about a human don dying or a female killing a husband for personal gain. Except when my daughter calls me to say Naryssa has her eyes set on you, and the fact your clan is at war with theirs.”
My mind is reeling. Not only about Lilliana calling her parents to help my clan, but the fact a dragon clan has fucked up enough to alert mafia families.
I return his honesty with the truth. “If it weren’t for my accidental run-in with your daughter, who is my fated mate, I probably would have gone through with the suggestion for an arranged marriage. We were in the middle of negotiations and setting up the foster project we had in the past. My brother agreed to Tony’s demand for me to wed his daughter, without my knowledge. I obviously refused when I got wind of it, and we’ve been back to using violence over the past two weeks.
“I’ve heard a new clan leader is chosen through a competition of strength and mental capacity if the current one is killed. Though, if you would have accepted the arranged marriage? I’m sure they would have placed–”
Knowing what he’s about to say, I cut him off by gritting, “Their most skilled members to get a shot at taking over the clan.”
