9. Luca

Exiting the bed once Aria is asleep is no easy feat. I'd much rather hold her in my arms, maybe even make love to her in the middle of the night when she is soft and sleepy. But there's too much going on to indulge my urges.

After a night at the port with Bruno reviewing everything that happened yesterday and getting updates on Sabini and his men's whereabouts and activities, I"m walking back into my villa with Bruno close at hand. I want to immediately find Aria, partly to make sure she's still here, but mostly to take her back to bed. My body is still burning with the memory of being inside her, her lips around my cock. But my work isn"t done.

The minute I walk into the door, Roberta comes flying toward me, her words firing off and her arms flailing. Immediately, I tense, wondering what is wrong.

"Ms. Leone isn"t here," she says in Italian. "I had to go to the safe and get her some money."

"Why?" I can"t imagine Roberta helping Aria escape or helping Niko help Aria escape.

Roberta takes a step back, an indication that I"m scaring her. "Mrs. Fontana arrived this morning. She whisked her off, demanding that I give Ms. Leone your credit card. I gave her money instead."

The tension in my chest releases. "Thank you for letting me know." I dismiss her, and she scurries off. I"m not worried about Bianca Fontana doing anything against me. I trust her more than I trust her husband, one of my capos. She's the epitome of a good Mafia wife, and it will be good for Aria to have a female friend while she"s here in Italy. I am grateful, though, that Roberta didn"t give Bianca my credit card. Who the hell knows what sort of thing she would"ve had Aria buy with it.

I head straight to my office with Bruno behind me.

"What is your plan with Don Leone"s sister?" he asks as he closes the door behind him.

Deep down, I'd hoped that Niko would come around and approve of my marrying his sister. But after the call yesterday, I"m doubtful that it will happen. So, there's no reason to wait to claim her legally. "I"m going to marry her. Just a small, private ceremony. In a church."

Bruno arches a brow. He knows I"m not particularly religious, even though I was raised Catholic. My mother had been devout, not that it saved her from a terminal illness when I was just a boy. My father took his faith seriously as well. The irony of the life we lead contrasted with the teachings of the church doesn"t escape me. But I"ve already considered how important tradition was to my father. That included the church. But it's not just my parents I'm thinking of honoring by having a church wedding. I think a woman who saved herself for one man is likely to want an official wedding ceremony.

"You have a problem with that?" I ask Bruno.

He shakes his head with a smirk on his face. "Not at all. Will we be inviting Don Leone and his family?"

"No. This marriage needs to be legitimate and official, but it also needs to be done in the next few days. I need you to go talk to Father Pagano and set it up. Make a big donation to the church, and I"m sure it won"t be a problem." I sit behind my desk.

"Father Pagano is always happy to be of service to you."

"Make the donation, anyway." If there is a God, perhaps this will be a mark in my favor to offset all the negative marks against me.

Bruno gives a single nod. "What about the other thing?"

"I want eyes and ears on Sabini and all his men for the time being. I have a feeling with his man gone missing, he'll play it safe?—"

"I don"t know. He"s gotten pretty brazen."

I nod, acknowledging that Enzo Sabini is dumb enough not to take the hint. But he's got a few smart men around him who'll likely advise holding back or playing it safe. It's time for me to start playing offense. "Sabini thinks he can fuck with my business, so let"s go ahead and fuck with his." Although my Family and the Sabini Family have a long history of rivalry, my father and Enzo"s father had a truce of sorts. In the political arena, it would have been called a treaty. But Enzo broke that, which means I can now take what I want from him.

"Let"s start infiltrating his territories. Be discreet. I don"t want him to see us coming or know that we"re there until his ass is against the wall and I can finally end him and take what's his."

Bruno nods.

Sabini is something I need to deal with, but he's not my only concern at the moment. I also need to consider what Niko"s next steps might be.

"I also need eyes and ears for any ways that Niko Leone might retaliate."

"He's a bit limited on what he can do from New York."

"We're talking about his sister here. I can"t rule out that he'll come to Italy. And of course, mine isn"t the only business he"s connected to here. I don"t want to take any chances. Not until Aria and I are married and this is settled."

Bruno is quiet, but his stare speaks volumes.

"What?" I ask, sitting back in my chair.

"It"s possible that all this is going to cause war."

I arch a brow. "Are you afraid of Niko Leone?"

Bruno"s eyes narrow. "I"d be a fool not to be. His power doesn"t stretch over here, but he"s powerful in the United States."

He"s right. I"m not afraid of Niko, but I"m not so arrogant to think that he can"t find a way to hurt me. "At this point, I have the advantage. Aria is with me. What is that they say in the United States? Possession is nine-tenths of the law?"

Bruno gives a half-shrug. "What if he goes to Sabini for help?"

I let out a laugh. "Niko is not dumb enough to do that. He"ll see Sabini as being as ineffective and stupid as I do. He"s not going to put his sister's life in his hands."

"And what about his sister? I get the feeling that she"s not aware of the world we live in. Do you think she"s going to choose you over her brother?"

"I guess we"ll find out." A good man would give Aria a choice. I"m not a good man. But I also know that if I"m going to have the sort of wife my father spoke about, I need Aria on my side.

She won"t do me any good if I keep her against her will, even as I know that I could absolutely do that. I need to tread carefully and give her the fairytale she wants if I"m going to keep her on my side.

Remembering that she"s with Bianca Fontana, I ask Bruno about Gino, her husband. Bruno rolls his eyes because he feels about Gino the way I do. Gino is about thirty years older than Bianca. The marriage is all about sex for him and money for her. Admittedly, Bianca is a good trophy wife. She understands what being a Mafia wife means, something I hope she can help Aria navigate.

But Gino is one of the old guards of my father's and I don"t completely trust him. Not that he'd betray me because I don"t believe he would. While he might not respect me like he did my father, he was devoted to my father and my father put his trust in me. So, Gino goes along in honor of my father. Still, I"m not convinced that Gino doesn"t take a little on the side, or that his affinity for women and substances hasn"t made him a liability.

"He"s in Rome," Bruno informs me. "He and his men are keeping an eye on Sabini"s men there as well. At least when he"s not off fucking that mistress of his."

"It"s probably time we make a trip to Rome." It"s not something that I want to do right now, but Gino tends to respond better when I deal with him in person than over the phone.

"Anyone else you want to be there?" Bruno asks.

"Bring in all the capos in the region."

Bruno nods. "When do you want to meet?"

I want to put it off. I finally have Aria here, and I want to bury myself in that sweet body of hers again. But this business needs attending to.

"The first thing tomorrow. "

"And what about this wedding? How soon do we need to set that up?"

"I want it done by the end of the week."

Bruno nods and exits my office.

I settle in at my desk to do what I do best, run a lucrative, albeit illegal, business. But Aria isn"t far from my mind. I check my watch and have half a mind to send somebody out to find her and bring her back home.

But I"m a man who tries hard not to give in to urges and impulses.

A lack of control is a sign of weakness, and there"s one thing no one will ever say about me and that is that Luca Conte is weak. I suppose that"s another lesson my father taught me. Patience.

In patience and self-control is where power lies. It"s a power that I wield effectively. Enzo won"t see it coming when I finally take him down. And if Niko is smart, he won"t test me. He'll see what I can offer Aria and him and give his blessing.

But if not, I'm prepared to defend what"s mine. To keep what"s mine. To keep Aria.