Dante (6 page)

Dante sucked in a harsh breath. “Clients, huh?”

“It’s a better title than user, and honestly, I don’t manage addicts well. If I find a particular client is becoming too demanding of me or the substances I provide, I drop them without notice or a promise to return. I am successful because of my persona—this innate ability to be a beautiful ghost in their world with no name, no connections to their real lives beyond what I bring to them, and my talent of leaving as quietly as I came. They never have to worry about me staining their reputations, but I do
deliver
.”

“You deal in big names,” Dante said.

“Would you like a few?” Cat asked softly.

“I have more than enough from my sources to know you’re very much sought after in the socialite, high-society, political, and celebrity worlds.”

“Does that intimidate you?”

Dante laughed, the deep sound striking Cat straight in the gut like a sledgehammer. “No, I find it admirable, actually.”

“Because I’m a woman,” Cat assumed.

“No, because you’re successful at all with people who have enough money to have any kind of drug dealer they want on speed dial.”

Cat appreciated the fact Dante didn’t dance around what she truly was beneath her beauty and title. “Yet, they want Queen.”

“They do.” Dante rested back in his chair, the papers in front of him seemingly forgotten. “How did you come about that name, anyway?”

“Queens are untouchable. Someone thought it fit me and it caught on, I suppose.”

“Who?”

“It’s not important,” Cat replied, having no desire to explain the family similar to Dante’s she left behind in Italy.

Thankfully, Dante didn’t push it. Instead, he went in a direction Cat hadn’t expected at all. “Why do you need a husband, Catrina? Seems to me settling down as a wife might hinder your ability to gallivant from state to state like you do, never mind you don’t seem like a woman who wants a man at your side as a partner.”

“You read people well.”

“I have to. I’m intended to be a boss of a major crime family. My success depends on my ability to pick people apart, weed through their bullshit, and cull the weak links before they can hurt me. Answer my question,
regazza
.”

“My reasons for needing—not wanting—a marriage is purely selfish and partly for business security. I want to remain on American soil. This is where my clients are and where I have built the majority of my name. Unfortunately, my dual citizenship makes my standing shaky. Should I be arrested, which is unlikely, or if legal issues arise because of my Queen Pin status, I will be deported, and I won’t be invited back. A marriage would insure my stay here no matter what.”

“That all sounds like business to me. Where’s the selfishness come in?”

“Your last name, of course. Not only would it offer me a great deal of protection, as we’re always amassing enemies in our line of work, but it would also open up a few layers of new clientele in New York on my end. I’ve not touched a lot of New York, you see. There’s enough organized crime here without me causing a ruckus. As a leader’s wife, on the other hand, no one would say a thing.”

Dante didn’t bat an eye. “Funny, when a woman wants to get close to me because of my last name, it’s usually because of the money that comes along with it.”

“I have my own money,
bello
. I certainly don’t need yours.”

“True.”

“And if I’m honest,” Cat continued with a shrug of her delicate shoulders, “I’ve had a few close calls over the last year with the officials. It’s unusual. I need to take a step out of the limelight as the main woman for a while in my trade and let a few other girls I’ve had under my wing fly on their own. So yes, more assurance and protection for me.”

Cat could hear the soft pat-pat-pat of his heel stomping to the hardwood floor beneath his desk. Even if she couldn’t, the way he quieted gave her every indication Dante Marcello might actually be considering Cat’s offer of marriage.

“That’s all fine and great,” Dante said, his gaze snapping back to hers in an instant, “… but what do you actually have to offer me, Catrina?”

“Quite a bit, actually. In the business of importing specific substances—”

“Coke, you mean.”

“Exactly. I tend to have the upper hand on you, which is obvious enough by the price I put on the blow in your streets. My contact is a direct line to the product. I don’t pay nearly as much as you do, it doesn’t go through as many hands as yours does, and it’s a purer substance at a cheaper cost. Practically unheard of.”

“True,” Dante mused. “Where is your supplier located?”

“Italy, actually. I never go back now, but it’s one of the few links I’ve kept.”

“Interesting, but not enough for me to believe it’s worth the price of a marriage license, Cat.”

“I wouldn’t think so, either.” Cat stood from the couch, pulling a small four-inch by four-inch leather-bound notebook from her clutch. She tossed it onto Dante’s desk, hoping his interest would be peaked before he even opened it. “I also offer power in the form of connections. That book is filled with them. I’m sure you have your own, but I suggest you take five minutes to consider mine.”

Dante’s jaw clenched, although he didn’t give a book an ounce of his attention. “I don’t think your clients would appreciate being blackmailed by a mafia boss.”

“They’re not all clients. And believe me when I say the ones who are, wouldn’t be surprised by it. It’s practically second nature for people in my profession to use who they know for their own gain, even if it’s a little dirty.”

And for every name on that list that he used, Cat would lose a client. It was the nature of the beast. She was giving up so much for this, but she couldn’t tell Dante Marcello that.

Cat knew things would never be the same for Queen, but she didn’t care. She needed a marriage.

“Power,” Dante murmured.

“I knew you’d like that.”

“How?”

“Because even if we’re different, we’re also the same.”

Dante sighed, eyeing the black book. “Why approach me?”

“I told you last week. I’d heard the oldest Marcello was looking for an arrangement of the marriage sort. At the time, I wasn’t interested. Now I am.”

“Fair enough, but that was quite a while ago, and my feelings have changed on the issue of arranging a marriage for myself.”

“And why is that, Dante?”

“My sister-in-law, my youngest brother’s wife, was obligated to marry a man she didn’t want and who abused her just for living. I couldn’t be the man who forced a woman into a marriage for my own gain.”

Cat blinked, astonished at the level of openness and emotion in his statement. “You think this would be the same thing? I approached you, Dante. I offered the arrangement to you, and no one is forcing me to do any of this.”

Dante’s fingers drummed to his desk. “How much information have you pulled on my family and business?”

“A lot. I needed to know who you were and who they are.”

“So, you know my marriage is compulsory to take over my family.”

“I understand a little about Cosa Nostra, their expectations, and the rules for the men who join and who lead the families. Yes, I’m aware you need a wife. It’s precisely why I suspected this deal would be of interest to both you and me.”

“Not just any particular time, Catrina. Soon. I need one very soon. My seat is not guaranteed without one, and my father is ready to step down. A Commission meeting is coming up and I need to fulfill their requirements or someone else will be chosen for my spot. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Dante nodded at the couch behind Cat. “Sit and we’ll talk more.”

Cat did as he asked. “I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“What is it about marriage you’re so opposed to?”

Dante’s jade gaze darkened. “What makes you think I’m opposed to it?”

“You’re not the only one whose business requires them to read people.”

“I have little to offer a woman by way of love or a life. In fact, my entire life is Cosa Nostra, has always been, and will remain so. I have no interest in finding love, settling a woman down into a world she can’t control or be a part of, never mind putting her second for my choices. Because she would be second—always. I think that’s incredibly unfair. What woman would want a future she can’t be certain of?”

“Yes, and because of that, I think we’re a good match, Dante. I don’t want a man to love me. I don’t want anything from him beyond business and mutual gain. I have no interest in settling into the life of a housewife.”

Dante chuckled. “A good match, huh? You’ve made me want to kill you twice now.”

Cat appreciated his honesty. “I have many effects on men. That is only one of them.”

“So I’m learning,” Dante said under his breath.

“It’s pretty simple. People like us, we’re not supposed to feel. We don’t get attached. It ruins us. Together, we’ll be the perfect pair. Together, we have nothing to lose. I can provide you with the proper wife you need, you can give me the last name and protection I need to move forward. What’s the problem?”

“When you put it like that, nothing.”

“The only thing I really ask for is that you treat me as an equal, Dante. In life and business, that’s all. I have things to offer your syndicates in New York to make them agreeable if you mix business with me. I won’t seem diminished standing beside you as I am not the kind of woman who is intimidated by men. Your father is quite infamous in the Cosa Nostra world, yes?”

“He is. What about it?” Dante asked.

“Time for you to start making your name, too. What better way than turning everything your men believe on its top by bringing a woman like me into play.”

“What else?”

“Pardon?” Cat asked, confused.

“What else would you want from this?” 

Chapter Four

Dante surveyed Catrina where she sat on the couch, his keen eye trying to pick up on any hints she was deceitful or there were ulterior motives behind her offer. So far, he had yet to find one.

“I don’t understand what you’re asking,” Catrina said. “I’ve told you everything I want.”

“On a professional level, sure. Not a personal one.”

Catrina coughed, hiding her surprise miserably. “You mean physically or emotionally, that sort of thing?”

“For starters,” Dante answered.

“I don’t want a relationship with you. I have no interest in fucking you.”

Dante doubted her words, considering the way she looked him over. Women could only mask their attraction for so long before their disguises cracked. He wouldn’t deny for a minute that he thought Catrina Danzi was one of the sexiest goddamn women he’d ever had the pleasure of looking at, and if she gave him the chance, he would probably take her to bed no questions asked.

Dante was nothing if not honest.

“I like your bluntness,” Dante told her. Even if she was lying.

“It’s a learned trait. But if you really want to discuss those sorts of things, we can. Having a physical relationship leads to an emotional one, regardless if someone intends for it to or not. I don’t want an attachment to a man I won’t be able to love. I should also add I won’t act as your docile wife and I have no desire for children, so if you’re expecting that, it won’t happen.”

“Well, you need to have sex to make babies, don’t you?”

“Things happen, Dante. I’m just saying children won’t be one of them.”

“Doesn’t matter as I can’t have children.”

Catrina’s shoulders tensed. “I beg your pardon?”

“I can’t have children, which is yet another reason why I feel like a woman would be shortchanged when it came to marrying me. Something else I couldn’t give her that she might want someday.”

“If I asked what the problem is for you, would you be offended?” Catrina asked.

“No, I’ll tell you. It’s just not something I openly share with the rest of the world,” Dante said, sighing. “When I was a little over two-years-old and my mother was pregnant for Giovanni, my father took our family on a trip to Italy. Business for my father, as he wouldn’t take a vacation otherwise. The rules weren’t as strict at the time about ensuring people had the proper vaccinations before traveling. My mother didn’t believe in vaccinations, which was her choice and one she regretted when there was an outbreak of rubella in the villages we were touring.

“I didn’t have my vaccine and was immediately high risk because of my age, but it was too late,” Dante explained, trying to remain unaffected as he told the story. It wasn’t often he did tell it because despite how he tried to move past it, he couldn’t.

“Because they were trying to control the outbreak and the medical facilities where they quarantined the sick were rudimental at best, it became a wait and see situation. My mother, being pregnant, was forced to stay away for the safety of her pregnancy. Rubella can cause termination and even severe disabilities or deformities. My father remained with me. I got better, we came home. That’s it.”

“That can’t be it.”

“It is,” Dante said, lifting a shoulder as if to explain away what was unsaid. “It’s rare for a man to become infertile from rubella, but it happens. Especially when the outbreak is allowed to roam throughout with no treatment to prevent it from infecting the southern region of the body. When my parents got back to the States, they were informed of what might be my possible prospects. When I was old enough, I had testing done and was found to be sterile in the thick of puberty. And again in my early twenties, I got the same results.”

Catrina frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ve known for a long time children wouldn’t be a part of my future. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that’s not something I would ask from you. Ever.”

“And you have no desire for love,” Catrina said.

“No. As I said, why bring a woman into a life where she will have little but me, and I don’t have a great deal to give her back. I’m perfectly fine like this.”

Dante pushed his chair away from the desk, spinning it around so his back faced Catrina. Usually he wouldn’t turn his back to a woman, especially one like Catrina Danzi, but she wanted something from him, which meant she wasn’t liable to hurt him.

The metal, fireproof safe rested on a large stand behind his desk. Dante spun the dial after typing in a ten digit code on the electronic pad. The quiet click of tumblers falling into place sounded before the door popped open. He grabbed a small jewelry box on the top shelf, closing his safe when he was done.

Turning back to face Catrina who hadn’t moved an inch from her spot, Dante placed the jewelry box to the very edge of the front of his desk. She didn’t make a move to touch the box and see what was within.

“Are you Catholic?” Dante asked.

“I am.”

“In good standing?”

“With the church, but God is an entirely different situation.”

Dante let her dark humor soak into him again, laughing loudly.

“For curiosity’s sake, how did you weed your way into my streets as easily as you did?” Dante asked, folding his arms over his chest as he rested back in his chair. “Seems to me a Queen Pin of your caliber wouldn’t be slumming in on the streets to push product. I don’t know how you had the smarts to get that kind of thing done.”

“Simple, your main men aren’t there nearly enough, certainly not as hands-on as they should be. That’s not to say they’re not good at their jobs, because clearly they are if they’re still turning a profit, but they’re missing people like me slipping in. Their soldiers—or yours, if you prefer—might have a little too much free rein on certain things.”

“Thank you,” Dante said. “I’d like for you to tell that to my men at the next tribute meeting as well so they can be aware of their mistakes and correct the issues.”

Catrina’s brow lifted, a smile staring to form. “Oh?”

“Yes, and I’ll be there, of course.”

“Of course,” she echoed.

“There’s a few other things you should be aware of, too.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact this marriage can’t appear to be some kind of sham,” Dante said, gesturing between them. “I need us to appear as a solid, formidable unit in every aspect of public life. Simple as that. We can’t live apart, I’ll need you at my side for a great deal of things, and even if you don’t want to act like a mob wife, there are times you’ll have to wear that mask and do it with a smile.”

“You have extra bedrooms in this condo, don’t you?”

Dante tried not to laugh and failed. “Is that what you’re worried about in all I just said?”

“Well, yes. Unless you mind sleeping on the couch.”

“There’s an empty room at the very end of this hallway. Pick whatever you want inside it, and I will fill it for you, Cat.”

Dante leaned forward and opened the jewelry box to showcase a four-carat square cut diamond set in white gold and encircled in smaller jewels like a tiny crown. Catrina’s eye caught the piece immediately but she stayed silent.

“Do not be so surprised that I already have something for you. It’s an heirloom and it belonged to my mother’s mother. I’ve had it in my possession ever since my grandmother died a decade ago as she left it to me. Wearing this will help with the initial disrespect you’re sure to receive for being a woman in a man’s territory at tribute from my men.”

“I think I can handle them. I unsettle men, remember? Not the other way around.”

“Like I said, wearing this will help. I’ll accept your offer, Cat.”

Catrina smirked. “I thought you would.”

“High horses don’t look good when a beautiful woman is riding one. Don’t be so smug just yet.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you still need to meet my mother,” Dante said. “This coming Sunday seems like the perfect time. Our family always has a large dinner with several guests. My brothers still stay over occasionally the night before, but I’ve been too busy with work, so I don’t think that would be a good time to try and fit it in. I can meet you after church, however, and take you to dinner with me, if you’d like.”

“I think I could do that,” Cat replied, smiling. “No church for me?”

“One thing at a time, Cat. And privacy is important for my family. I’d like to introduce you first. Get what I mean?”

“Sure.”

Their conversation continued well into the night. Longer than Dante realized because he found it easy to talk to this beautiful, intelligent woman. Shortly after Dante escorted Catrina out of his condo and locked his front door, he called a familiar number. It was late—too late, really—but Dante didn’t care.

“
Ciao
, son,” Antony’s tired, grumbling voice greeted. “For the record, this is an unacceptable time for you to call.”

“I accepted her offer.”

Antony fell silent. Dante knew his father wouldn’t ask who he was talking about. He hadn’t even fully discussed Catrina’s offer with his brothers after her show the week before in Gio’s club. But he immediately talked to his father.

Sure, things weren’t perfect with Antony, but he was the only man who would give Dante an unbiased, honest opinion.

“I hoped you would,” Antony finally murmured. “She seems like a good fit.”

“Maybe. We’ll see. She will be coming to dinner Sunday evening, and I’ll formally announce it then.”

“Is she coming to church?”

“No, I figured we could do that next Sunday.”

Antony hummed on his end. “I’ll prepare your mother.”

Dante wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. He had only been slightly kidding with Catrina earlier. Antony didn’t sound like he was joking at all.

• • •

“
Mamma
, I would like you to meet Catrina Danzi. My fiancée.”

Cecelia said nothing and did nothing at her son’s introduction. She simply stared at Catrina with a sort of disregard that Dante had rarely ever witnessed from her before. His mother was not a rude woman—pleasantry and politeness were her middle name. Cecelia Marcello was proper in every aspect.

Yet, there his mother stood, watching the woman at Dante’s side like she smelled something bad. He didn’t know what to make of that.

The room was too quiet for Dante’s liking. His brothers milled around the kitchen island, observing the scene in silence. Jordyn and Kim continued chopping vegetables, their gazes down on their work. Antony sat at the table with Johnathan in his lap, holding a teether for his grandson to chew on.

“
Tesoro
?” Antony asked.

Cecelia’s lips drew a thin line, fighting to fall into a frown. Still, she stayed quiet.

“Our family and guests will be coming soon to eat, Cecelia,” Antony added quieter.

The unspoken words were loud and clear. Whatever issue Dante’s mother was having with this introduction, she needed to fix it and fast before the rest of the people showed up.

Dante didn’t have a clue what his mother’s problem was. God knew when Lucian and Giovanni brought their respective partners home, she took to them like a moth to a flame. Instantly, she was in love and happy with Jordyn and Kim. She took no issue with the fact their relationships with her sons had come about because of dangerous, or even improper circumstance. She didn’t care that there had been little dating before they were married. She just … adored them. Took the two women in with a joyful grace and open arms.

Why wasn’t she doing that for Catrina?

Catrina’s fingers woven with Dante’s tightened briefly, as if she could sense his discomfort. She remained quiet at his side, waiting for the matriarch of the Marcellos to speak first. Dante had to give his new companion credit for her nerves. Cat didn’t blink a lash to show she was upset over Cecelia’s clear shunning.

It wasn’t as if Dante needed his mother’s permission to marry Catrina, but her acceptance of his choices would be appreciated. Being Italian for their family meant more than large dinners, loud gatherings, and Sundays spent sitting in a pew. They were close and always had been. The last thing Dante wanted his marriage to do was pull those tight knots his family was made of apart, especially because of his mother’s disapproval.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice. He needed to marry and soon. Catrina was the one person who would make that happen for him. She needed something and so did he. Neither of them coerced the other into the arrangement. It was all business and would remain that way for as long as they needed it to.

“Hello,” Cecelia finally said, her voice strained with forced civility.

Catrina smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you,” Cecelia replied tightly, her stony expression unwavering.

The tension in the room only seemed to skyrocket as the two women watched one another.

Catrina examined the food preparations spread across the counters and asked, “Would you like another pair of hands to help?”