Marrying the Mob Prince

INDIE

News of my sudden engagement went as well as I’d expected.

Mom and Dad muttered congratulations in a brief phone call. Eliot texted me a link to “Billionaire tyrant bends the knee” accompanied by a single word: WTF. And my sister reacted to the announcement with an unladylike snort, followed by, “Is this a joke?”

I nursed my pounding headache with a mimosa. My sister, Knox, and I had brunch inside a Beacon Hill cafe in a tense silence reserved for hospital waiting rooms and funerals. We sat near a window. Rain peppered the umbrellas and covered the brick sidewalks with a gritty sheen.

Claire sat in front of Knox in an oversized sweater, glowering. “Chinook salmon is an endangered species.”

“Really?” Knox lifted a giant piece of salmon to his mouth. “Fascinating.”

“You might want to consider making more ethical choices.” My sister ignored my foot pressing on hers, her fervent gaze fixed on my fiance. “Next time, order the Atlantic cod.”

A long pause stretched between them, in which Knox’s probing stare seemed to have no effect on my sister. His indignant expression cracked with a smile. “Even if I gave a damn about fish, which I don’t, no amount of commercial fishing is sustainable.”

“But it’s important for the environment!”

He shook his head. “I’d rather eat raw whale than fish pumped with antibiotics.”

“God!” Claire threw up her hands in disgust. “Have you considered, I don’t know, getting a soul?”

He raised a brow but said nothing. I gulped down my cocktail, and a rush of warmth infused my cheeks. Claire stabbed her salad with unnecessary force, cherub mouth pressed into a thin line. It was just like my sister to pick a fight over fish. She was dying to tell him off. She’d texted me earlier with the news that one of Knox’s property management companies had evicted her friend from a low-income apartment building. I’d begged her not to bring it up. A fool’s errand, considering my sister had once organized a protest against single-straw use in her high school’s cafeteria and Knox had helped me dispose of a body and liked his steak extra bloody. Compassion for fish was beyond him.

I wanted my sister to like him. I couldn’t be his only admirer.

I need a drink.

“Can I get another?” I waved over the waitress and pointed at my disappearing mimosa. “Does anyone else want a drink?”

Knox shook his head. Claire gave my engagement ring a sullen glare.

I nudged her foot. “Hey. Did you know that The Spheres have forty thousand plants from fifty different countries?”

She shrugged. “Cool.”

I sighed and pushed my chicken piccata around the plate, exhausted from the effort of making these two talk. Knox seemed to sense my deflated mood. He slung his arm across my back, then kissed the shell of my ear, alleviating my sinking anguish.

“Cheer up, killer.”

Claire frowned. “That’s an unusual pet name.”

Knox winked. “It’s a term of endearment. Because she’s very aggressive with what she wants. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”

Was this his way of being cute?

A flicker of heat dove into my chest. He gently turned my face to him. My chin tingled from his hypnotizing touch as he leaned in, his spiced cologne seductive. His mouth pressed into mine with a firmness that sent spirals of ecstasy through me.

Claire raised her brows, a reluctant smile fighting to take over her frown. “If nothing else, I’m glad that my sister turned the Tyrant into a simp.”

My stomach lurched. “Claire, that’s rude.”

Knox stroked my thigh. “It’s okay, Claire. I know I have my work cut out to win you over. It won’t happen in one afternoon.”

“You’re damned right,” Claire ground out between bites. “My friend got evicted from his home because you need another high-density apartment building to feed the black hole inside you.”Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

Knox’s lip curled.

I kicked her chair. “Claire.”

She shook me off. “The goal of urban development should serve human beings, not corporate landlords or corrupt businessmen!”

A muscle ticked through Knox’s clenched jaw. “I’m not doing this for money.”

Claire crossed her arms and snorted.

“I wasn’t always rich, little Starling. I grew up in a terrible area of Dorchester. You can’t understand the relentless stress of living in the ghetto. Bikers would recruit kids to join street gangs, grooming them into becoming monsters. People can’t thrive if they’re too afraid to check their mailbox because it means walking past the drug addict experiencing a psychotic episode.” His ardent gaze flicked at her face, and she blushed. “You don’t know what that’s like.”

I lightly stroked his forearm under the table.

My sister blinked, apparently surprised by this insight. “Fine…but how does luxury housing help these people? Why can’t you acknowledge that you’re displacing people who’ve lived here for decades?”

Knox shrugged. “That’s what progress looks like.”

Claire put down her fork, which was lucky, because she looked angry enough to run him through. “I have no idea what my sister sees in you.”

“Claire,” I practically shouted, alarmed by the disgust in her voice. “You’re not giving him a chance.”

“I can’t,” she growled. “I know his type. He’s a controlling douche.”

“And you’re a sanctimonious vegan,” Knox drawled, spreading his arms. “But I’m still willing to have lunch with you and pay for your overpriced tofurkey salad.”

Claire rolled her eyes at him as she shot upright, flinging her purse on her slim shoulder. “I’m done. See you later.”

Knox raised his brow. “Get used to me, little Starling. I’m not going anywhere.”

I pleaded her with my eyes, but Claire hugged me goodbye and stormed off. I watched her go, disappointment rattling in my chest. I slumped into my chair. I hadn’t expected them to get along like gangbusters, but Jesus.

He rubbed my back. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t think this would happen.” I bit my lip as Knox resumed eating. “Honestly, she’s a lovely person. She doesn’t know you like I do.”

“Indie, she has the better measure of me.”

That’s not true.

My insides squirmed. Yes, he’d done terrible things, but he’d also saved my life. This complicated, messy man had somehow stolen my affection. He was capable of good. Every day, the light inside him grew. I wasn’t ready to write him off like my sister.

Knox seemed to be steeling himself for something unpleasant. “Indie, I need to…” He trailed off, his attention wandering over the crowd. His face flushed. “Cainan.”

I whirled around in time to see Cainan’s tall form shoving between two tables as he made a beeline for us. He sank in the seat Claire had vacated with a sigh, tousling his auburn waves. “Knox. Nice to see you again. You, too, Indie. Was that your sister who just left?”

I dug my nails in Knox’s knee.

Cainan gaped at her through the window. I could tell that he didn’t object to fiery blondes. Knox kicked his chair hard, and Cainan turned around.

Cainan gave him a mollifying smile and held up his hands. “I’m only here to impart a message.”

Knox could barely conceal his rage. His eyes had narrowed, his nostrils were flaring. Veins stood out from his corded neck. “What?”

Cainan picked up Claire’s fork and helped himself to her unfinished salad. He chewed, making a satisfied sound that pitted my stomach. He stared at the fork’s tines for a moment, and then he shifted his attention to me. “The members would like me to express our gratitude for the show, and remind you that sharing the article is off limits. If anybody else reads it, we’ll take appropriate measures.”

Shit.

My thoughts snapped to Eliot’s phone call-I still hadn’t resolved that issue. Was he implying that he already knew? My hand shook in Knox’s.

“I’m handling it,” said Knox.

“Good.” A dark grin flashed across Cainan’s pale skin as he sipped from Claire’s water glass. “I read it for the first time yesterday. You have such extraordinary ideas about our club. Everything I do is consensual.”

I drew a steadying breath, restraining myself from grabbing the knife on the table and stabbing his hand. “Right, because the padlocks don’t give off that impression. Silly me for thinking that!”

“The so-called victims you championed for have safe words. Participation is voluntary. They can leave at any time. Shouldn’t be hard to believe, considering you tried to join us.”

“How willing can they be when they’re drugged up? You can’t fool me. You killed Lara! And I still don’t know what happened to Ronnie and Justine.”

“They’re on an island, having a ball. I flew them out in exchange for their silence.” Cainan stopped speaking and smiled at the waitress, who refilled Claire’s water. When she left, he resumed. “Lara’s death was a tragic overdose. She was a raging drug addict. Seems to be a common flaw in girls that suck dick for a living.”

My pulse raced. I didn’t believe him, but ice twisted around my heart. How many more girls had been discarded?

“You’re a monster.”

“Am I? Everybody wanted you dead except me.” Cainan’s gaze centered on Knox as he replied to me. “You’re welcome back whenever you like. You might find more freedom exorcizing those demons at our club.”

An angry vein pulsed in Knox’s neck.

Cainan stood, patting Knox’s shoulder. His crooked smile faltered as he gazed at me, and the tenor of his voice deepened.

“Don’t publish that story.”