Chapter Two

Continued:

"No. The deal with the Densels is off. You'll marry Niko here. The pair of you match well and Luca can keep an eye on you. But—" A sound somewhere between life and death leaves my throat, and he cuts off my attempt to decline him. "You will not have a second chance," he addresses Bianca. "I am giving you the chance to live. Fucking take it without complaints. Do as you are told; keep my and your sister's secrets silent. Work alongside my son to enable the pair of them to take over as planned, and I'll have no reason to kill you. But step out of line and know I give no mercy." His tone is menacing, and he's stepped five steps closer to emphasise his control. Even for me, it's nerve-wracking, but I never agreed to this.

“I'm not marrying her," I finally interrupt him as he stands close to Bianca. Standing, I fist my hands to prevent myself from grabbing my blade and swinging it at Bianca's back. Looking to Luca and then Emma, I try to assess whether they knew this was the root cause of such a meeting.

"The decision is made," Luca tells me with a slight shake of his head, while Emma's eyes widen as she looks between her sister and me.

Fuck, that must be conflicting for her. We're both of her siblings, so how would that look to her?

"No...No," she stammers quietly as realisation must dawn inside her. Her words are almost inaudible, but we all hear them; Luca turns to her, taking her hands in his. So he knew, and she didn't. I'll be sure to fucking pull him up on this later. A bit of notice to get used to the idea would have been a decent thing for him to do.

"Two weeks, plan the wedding or attend the courthouse; I don't fucking care. But I will be there to ensure you follow through on my demand," Dimitri sighs loudly. "Emma, I know it will be hard, but Bianca must stay here. She's Niko's responsibility now."

I scoff; why must I be in charge of the black-hearted princess?

"Please," Emma sobs, making me grit my teeth. She shouldn't be paying for my mistakes, nor Bianca's.

"Keep your wife in check. If she speaks out, it won't be just her who falls on my knife's edge," Dimitri turns to me.

"This is wrong; I've done nothing to be punished with the likes of her," I argue.

"Don't think of it as a punishment. She's a job, and the reward is pussy, son," Dimitri throws behind him dismissively, leaving the office, prompting me to walk with him as I argue against marrying Bianca.

"I won't fuck her," I lie firmly.

"What a dull marriage you'll have," Dimitri replies with a smile. He knows I'm bluffing, and I wish I wasn't, but Bianca is the type I've run away from for my whole life.

The marriage type. The wife type. The mother of my children type.

I never planned on settling down, never planned to marry, and I sure as fuck don't want to bring another child into this dark world we call the Mafia.

"Tell me to kill her and hide the body; I'd rather do that than do life with her," I hiss towards Dimitri as he opens the front door as if he owned the place. We step outside, and he allows the door to close behind me before pushing me up against the wood.

My back hits the door with a thud, and his hand flexes around my throat. The intent to kill me is evident in his eyes, much as it was that night I begged for my father's life.

"You owe me, kid. A life for a life? Or have you forgotten?"

"I forget nothing, give me the fucking bullet, and I'll land one between my father's eyes. Ask me to take her out, and I'll do that too; just don't expect me to marry when I'm not a fucking heir."

"You'll marry, Niko. Even if I need to keep a gun trained between your eyes on the day. Emma and Luca need this protection. Besides, I'm not sure Emma could cope with losing another member of her family. Would you really want to put her through that?" He asks me.

Ignoring him, I looked everywhere but at his face. He has me by my short and fucking curly's, and he damn well knows it. I feel protective of Emma. She's the only family I've ever had that accepts me for me. She's just as protective, and that bonds us.

She's my sister.

"Fine," I spit, batting his arm off me and pushing him away.

"Remember who you answer to, kid. Get that girl under control. She'll be more to handle than those bimbos you choose to keep."

"I keep no one."

"Fucking six girls on repeat is keeping, Niko. Even if it's more than one."

"Seven now," I throw at him smartly.

"Good luck with that," he chuckles darkly.

To be continued: