Prologue Luca

Two Weeks Ago

One lesson my father taught me when he was preparing me to take over as the Don of the Conte Family in Italy was that it was better and easier to ask for what you wanted than to simply take it.

Another tip he gave me was that politeness and charm made it easier to get what you want over threats and brute force. Not that he nor I weren"t willing to kill for what we wanted, but such actions are messy and best avoided if they're not necessary.

The third lesson my father instilled in me was to always honor tradition.

Today, these lessons seem sexist and old-fashioned, but the Mafia is deeply rooted in those antiquated traditions.

I remind myself of these teachings as I stand before Don Niko Leone. He leans against Donovan Ricci's desk while the ladies have a baby shower in Donovan's back yard.

I like Niko and have a good working relationship with him. Killing him for what I want would not only be messy, but problematic. He is the single most powerful Don in New York. Hell, on the entire East Coast of the United States.

Not that I'm afraid of him. I'm powerful in my own right, even if I live an ocean away in Italy. But I"m not interested in waging a war if I can avoid it. Even so, make no mistake, I will get what I want from him one way or the other. And what I want is Niko's sister, Aria Leone.

I am hopeful that Niko will be reasonable, although he"s known to be a hothead, and he doesn"t stick to tradition as much as other Mafia Dons. I hope the latter facet of him will be to my advantage. But the way he crosses his arms and scowls at me suggests that he knows why I"m here and he doesn"t like it.

I start by offering him the respect he deserves. "I appreciate the face-to-face meeting, Don Leone."

"If this is about Aria —"

"I"ve come out of respect to ask for her hand in marriage."

Niko"s brows arch in surprise, and I"m wondering what he thought I was going to ask. Sure, my father bought Niko's sister-in-law, Lucia Fiori, from her father, so I suppose it"s not out of the realm of possibility that I am looking at a similar arrangement.

But Aria isn't a woman a man buys like a side of beef. It's out of respect for her, not Niko, that I'm here asking for her hand.

From the moment I met her, I"ve known she is the one to be the queen of my Family.

It isn"t just that she"s a Mafia princess. It"s not that she"s obscenely beautiful and has a body that has ignited my fantasies. A body I have yet to touch anywhere except in my dreams.

It"s not even that I know she understands our world and will be able to navigate it easily. It"s her vibrant personality, her adventurous spirit. She"s intelligent, although her sheltered life has made her slightly innocent of the world.

"Is she pregnant?" Niko asks.

His question offends me, not so much for me, but for Aria. "I respect you more than that, Don Leone. I have not touched her." Not that I don't want to. Not that I haven"t had opportunities. But it's been clear to me that I need to play my hand right and treat her and her brother with the respect expected by Mafia Dons.

"I appreciate your showing me respect by coming in officially and making your offer?—"

"But I haven"t made my offer yet." I know we need to negotiate the arrangement. I must offer something to him in return for Aria"s hand. To be honest, I feel I've already paid and Niko owes me. Niko has his happy home, as does his best friend, Donovan Ricci, because of my assistance in his war against Tiberius Abate and Giovanni Fiori, both of whom are now dead.

Plus, I would"ve been well within my right to force Lucia to come back to Italy with me. I promised my father that I'd take care of her when he died. Hell, I could"ve forced her to marry me, despite the fact that she had been married to my father.

As creepy as that sounds, my father never consummated the marriage. He and Lucia grew to love each other, but the marriage was completely platonic. My father had been too sick by the time he married her to have more than that.

My decision to let Lucia stay wasn"t completely out of the kindness of my heart because I could see an alliance with Niko and Donovan would be beneficial to my black-market import-export business. But it had been knowing that Lucia had finally found happiness away from that fucking father of hers that persuaded me to let her stay. As such, I have already given more in this relationship with Niko than he"s given me.

Even so, I"m prepared to offer him access to our black market trade into New York. There's no price I won't pay to make Aria Leone mine.

Niko holds up his hand to stop me. "There is nothing that you can offer me that will have me agreeing to your marrying my sister."

Anger simmers in my gut as his words feel disrespectful. He may be the most powerful Don in the eastern United States, but I am equally as powerful, if not more so.

The Mafia was born and bred in Italy. Niko Leone exists because of what my ancestors created. He isn"t the only Don I have ties to in the United States. I know other Dons who would be eager to see Niko taken down a peg or two, or out altogether.

"I believe you owe me more resp?—"

"I don"t owe you shit—" Niko stops himself as if he recognizes his words can be taken as an act of war.

I suck in a breath, holding back the anger. It"s clear that ilSoldato della Morte believes the power and influence he holds means he can say no to me. But he has never met a Don like me, and he will discover that one way or another.

"It"s not that I don"t appreciate what you have done for my family, Don Conte. There are many ways I'm willing to repay you. But handing over my sister to you is not one of them."

I tilt my head, wondering what he possibly sees is wrong with me. Does he have the balls to tell me to my face? "To what do I owe this disdain from you, then?"

"I wouldn"t call it disdain. Not yet, anyway."

"If you"re concerned about how she"ll be treated, you can rest assured that I am fond of Aria."

He lets out a scoff. "I"m sure you are. You don"t think I know how people look at my sister?"

I clench my fists at my side, insulted at the way he would denigrate his sister. "You disrespect Aria with your words. I"m not looking for somebody to fuck, Don Leone. I assure you I can find that other ways?—"

"Then why don"t you?"

"Because I want Aria." I take a slight step forward, showing authority. I am no doormat that he will walk over. "I will have her. It"s a good match, Niko. We are well-suited. And I know that she wants to be with me."

Niko straightens from where he"s been leaning against the desk, asserting his own authority. "Aria doesn"t know what she wants. She"s too young?—"

"She is nearly as old as your wife."

"That may be, but she"s immature. Unworldly."

I stare at him, wondering where he"s coming up with this? Yes, there's an innocence that comes from a sheltered life, but I can't say she is immature. "Didn"t you have her living in Europe? Clearly, she"s aware of the world."

"Not all of it."

"She'll never grow into the woman that she can be if you don"t loosen your apron strings. At some point, she"s going to do her own thing. You won't be able to control her forever."

"By her own thing, are you saying she wants to go from one gilded cage to another? Control of one man to another? If Aria has a passion she wants to pursue, I will support that."

My phone rings, and I inwardly curse at being interrupted. I glance at the caller ID in case it"s something important. It"s Bruno, my underboss.

I give a nod to Niko. "This is not over yet, Don Leone. But I have to take this call."

"As far as I"m concerned, this discussion is over."

I leave Niko, exiting Donovan"s office and finding a quiet place in the foyer where I pick up my call from Bruno. It"s late in Italy, so it must be important.

"Bruno."

"You need to get home soon, Boss," Bruno says to me in Italian. "Sabini thinks that when the cat's away, the mice can play."

Sabini has been a thorn in the Conte Family"s side for generations, but Enzo Sabini has taken it to a new level, one that is going to get him killed if he continues to fuck with me.

"You can"t handle it?" When I"m gone, Bruno has as much authority as I do, although admittedly, he may not be as ruthless at wielding it.

"You don"t want them to think you"re hiding or weak."

My jaw tightens. "I"ll be home soon. I"ll let you know when I"m on the plane."

When I return to Donovan"s office, Niko is there with Donovan and the Bratva leader, Liam Rostova. It"s odd to see him there, except for the fact that Liam was once Niko"s consigliere.

"What have I missed?" I ask as I enter the office. Up until a moment ago, I've been friendly with the group.

Niko sneers at me. Donovan rolls his eyes, telling me he's aware of the situation and apparently thinks like I do. Niko is obsessively protective of Aria.

"We're toasting to Liam getting his shit straight with Kate," Donovan announces, handing me a drink.

"Hear, hear," Niko says.

"Congratulations." I join in, but I keep my eyes on Niko.

"How long are you in the U.S.?" Liam asks me.

"Not long. I have to return to Italy."

Donovan frowns. "I hope these visits aren't about checking on Lucy because as you can see, she's just fine."

I nod to him. "Lucia is very happy. I have no reason to check on her. Besides, she's a fierce woman who can take care of herself."

"Damn right." Donovan downs a shot.

"So, why are you here?" Niko's shrewd eyes narrow in on me. I wonder what he's getting at since I told him earlier. Or perhaps he's curious about my other activities in the United States.

"Business."

"What business?" Niko's hackles rise. Does he worry I'm working with a rival Family?

I set my glass down. "It's not one that concerns you, Don Leone. I value our alliance." I turn to Liam, shaking his hand. "Congratulations again. When love can blossom and grow, it's a lovely thing."

Then I shake Donovan's hand. "As always, it's a pleasure to see you and Lucia." Finally, I give my attention to Niko. "Arrivederci, Don Leone." I want to tell him again that this issue isn't over, but I don't want to ruin the celebration.

When I leave the office, I see Aria waiting for me. I give a quick shake of my head, not wanting to cause a commotion during a baby shower. I give her a signal to meet me outside and make my way out the door.

A few minutes later, she joins me by my car where my driver is waiting.

"I have to return to Italy," I say to her.

She pouts, and it's adorable. "Is my brother still being a dick?"

I nod, wondering if she's caught on to my plans for her. I haven't told her I want to marry her. The most we've done is discuss her coming to visit me in Italy. "Don't fret, Mio Angelo." I wonder if her Italian lessons have taught her my little pet name for her, my angel.

"When will you be back?"

"I'm sorry. I will be awhile." Being in touch with her will be a challenge. If Niko hasn't already blocked me from her phone, it will happen soon. An idea comes to me. "I think you should practice your Italian." I use my phone to research bookstores in Manhattan. I find one in the quaint East Village. "You should visit this store for more language books."

She arches a brow at me in confusion. "Why?"

"As I said, you need to learn more Italian." I lean forward and kiss her on the cheek. "Ciao, Mio Angelo."

I have my driver take me from Donovan's in New Jersey to the East Village of Manhattan. I'm lucky the bookstore is still open. Going in, I find the language section. I slip a piece of paper between two books on the Italian language.

I exit the shop and tell my driver to take me to Teterboro Airport where my plane is waiting. On the flight back, I"m on the phone dealing with business even though it"s the middle of the night in Italy.

When I land in Rome, I imagine that Niko thinks he has gotten rid of me. But he has not.

While my father advised me to do business as politely and respectfully as possible, he also told me never to be afraid of being ruthless and lethal if necessary. That's a lesson I've had much practice in, and I won't be afraid to follow it to make Aria mine.