“Go to hell.”
“Fiorella,” Raf drones. “Careful now.”
“I won’t do it, and I won’t let you force Elisa.” I stare at the men, backing away.
“She’ll happily do it, and you know that,” Raf says with a sigh. “See reason. We’re giving you a chance to spare her.”
I clench my teeth. My jaw flexes. I look around, trying to imagine some way out of this—but they’re right.
Elisa will do her duty. She might even be happy about it. The chance to marry an important mafia man? One as handsome as Luca?
But I’ve met him, and I know what he’s really like. I know what they’re all like.
I won’t let her get trapped in that hell.
“Fine,” I spit at them. Hate flows through me. But even more than that, a plan slowly starts to form. “I’ll do it. Just stay away from Elisa.”
“I’m glad you saw reason,” Papa says, sinking back into his chair. “The wedding will take place in one month.”
I turn away, keeping my cold fury in check. Raf stays behind as I storm back into the hall. I have to stop and lean against a doorjamb to catch my breath. I’m hyperventilating, and by the time I get myself under control again, the plan’s becoming more than just an idea.
There’s a way out. There’salwaysa way out.
Chapter 6
Fiorella
One Week Later
Elisa sitson top of the workbench in the corner of my little garage space. Her legs kick back and forth as she scrolls absently on her phone. I push myself out from under the Spider and wipe my hands on an old rag.
“Where’d you learn to do all this car stuff anyway?” Elisa asks, frowning at me as she puts her phone down.
“Showing an interest in my hobby all of a sudden?”
She shrugs like she could barely care less. “I’ve seen you do this stuff a million times, but I have no clue where it actually comes from.”
“The guys teach me a little.” I nod toward where my dad’s guys are hard at work breaking down their vehicles. It’s noisy as hell, and they’re speaking a mix of Spanish, English, and Italian. “Mostly I learn from YouTube.”
“Seriously?”
“You’d be surprised at how many random little videos there are teaching you stuff.”
“The internet is a magical place, I guess.” She groans and stretches her back. “So seriously, Fio, why’d you make me come all the way out here? When you texted, you sounded like you had something important to say. Instead, I’m just watching you, like, change the oil or whatever.”
“I’m refinishing the drive shaft.”
“Like I said. Or whatever.”
I lean against the bench right beside her and lower my voice. Someone’s using a grinding saw to tear through metal, and the sound is more than enough to drown me out.
“I’m going to stick around for one year.”
She frowns at me, head tilted. “What do you mean, one year?”
“With that guy.” I refuse to say his name. Not since Papa told me I had to marry him. Since then, he’s just beenthat guy. “One year’s enough time to make sure the alliance is settled. I’ll slowly take money and put it into a bank account only in my name. Then I’m gone.”
Her eyebrows raise. “Are you being serious right now?”
