Savannah sprang to her feet, snatching my laptop off the desk before I could protest. With a dramatic huff, she flopped down beside me, our shoulders pressing together, her warmth grounding me even as my nerves twisted into knots.
"Let's see what kind of nightmare they're forcing you into," she muttered, fingers flying over the keyboard. The glow of the screen illuminated her face, but the mischief I usually saw in her expression was absent.
The moment Liam Romano's face appeared, my stomach clenched like a fist. Those cold, storm-gray eyes sent a shiver straight down my spine. I imagined them staring down at a man before pulling the trigger, detached and remorseless.
Savannah let out a low whistle. "He's huge."
He was. Towering over everyone in every picture, muscles stretching the expensive fabric of his tailored suits. Even through the screen, he radiated dominance, his presence looming larger than life. Now I understood why people whispered his nickname behind closed doors. The Bull. A force of nature. Unstoppable. Unforgiving.
I tore my gaze away from his face, my fingers gripping the edge of my blanket.
Savannah kept scrolling. "Jeez. He's got a different girl on his arm in every photo."
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. The articles painted him as New York's most eligible bachelor, heir to a vast fortune. But the headlines should have read: Heir to an empire of death and blood.
Savannah scoffed. "God, girls are throwing themselves at him. I guess he's good-looking."
"They can have him," I bit out, my voice hollow. In our world, a handsome face was nothing more than a mask for the monster lurking beneath. The socialites clinging to his arm saw danger and power, thrilling and intoxicating. But I saw what they didn't—ruthlessness, brutality, and an unshakable grip on the city's underworld.
I snapped the laptop shut, my breath coming too fast. "I need to talk to Salvatore."
Salvatore was my father's most trusted soldier, my shadow since childhood. He knew everything about everyone. If there were any answers to be found, he'd have them.
____________________________________________________________________________________
"He became a Made Man at eleven," Salvatore said, dragging a whetstone along the length of his knife. The rhythmic scrape filled the air, blending with the rich scent of tomatoes and oregano. The comforting aroma did nothing to settle the cold dread spreading through my limbs.
I stiffened. "Eleven?" My voice came out thinner than I wanted.
Savannah sat straighter beside me, her usual bravado dimmed. "Because of his father?"
Salvatore let out a humorless chuckle, gold incisor flashing in the dim kitchen light. "You think he got it easy because he's Marcus Romano's son? Kid killed his first man at eleven. That's why they let him in early."
Savannah inhaled sharply. "He's a monster."
Salvatore shrugged, flipping the knife between his fingers with practiced ease. "He's what he needs to be. Ruling over New York ain't for the weak." He gave me a knowing look, his voice light, but his eyes dark. "Or for the faint-hearted."
I forced my hands to stay still in my lap, but my fingers twitched. "What happened?"
Salvatore scratched at the long scar running from his temple to his chin, considering. "Can't say. I don't know all the details."
I clenched my jaw. Even if he did know, he wouldn't tell me.
The cook stirred a pot at the stove, her back turned, as if pretending not to hear the conversation. The air in the kitchen grew thick, suffocating.
Salvatore set the knife down with a soft clink. "He's a good catch. Soon, he'll be the most powerful man on the East Coast. He'll protect you."
A bitter laugh clawed its way up my throat. "And who will protect me from him?"
Silence.
Because we both knew the answer: no one.
Not Salvatore. Not my father. Not God himself.
Once I was married to Liam Romano, I would belong to him. And men like him did whatever they pleased with the things they owned.
My eyes flicked to the knife still glinting on the table, the edge sharpened to lethal perfection.
A shiver wracked through me.
The Devil's shadow had already fallen over me.
And there was no escape.