Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

anyone to find out, which is why I’m here. I’m asking you to force my parents
into silence. They know and they’re eager to spread the news.”
Luca regarded me, and some of the brutality slipped away. “You don’t want
your son to become Underboss.”
“Daniele is my son too.”
Luca stared off to the side for a couple of heartbeats. “Keeping this kind of
news a secret is difficult.”
“Nobody knows except for my parents, my brother, and Mansueto. Mansueto
won’t tell anyone because he fears Cassio’s reaction, but my parents will. My
father is terrified of you. If you talk to him, he’ll keep his silence.”
A dark smile curled his lips. “You want me to threaten your parents?”
“It’s enough if you threaten my father. My mother will do as he says. She’s
obedient.”
“A trait you didn’t inherit, obviously.”
I flushed, unsure if it was praise or not. “I do what I think is right.”
Luca stood, towering over me. “Your husband told me he killed Andrea
because he was a rat. Now I find out he killed the man who fucked his wife.
Cassio lied to me about one of my soldiers. I need to talk to him.”
The ground opened up under me as I realized what it meant. Cassio had lied
to his Capo. That could be construed as betrayal.
I stumbled to my feet and staggered toward Luca, grabbing his arm. I didn’t
care if his expression brought grown men to their knees, if he was one of the
most feared men in the States, only rivaled in his cruelness by the monsters in
Vegas. Luca wouldn’t kill his pregnant cousin, but he might kill the father of an
unborn child. “He was broken up over Gaia, out of his mind from pain and
anger. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
Luca’s expression didn’t change. Maybe my words only made things worse?
If Luca thought Cassio acted on impulse, spurred on by his emotions, he might
remove him even faster.
Bile traveled up my throat. “Andrea might have been a rat anyway. I don’t
know.”
Luca pulled his arm out of my grip. “I’ll talk to Cassio and he’ll explain
everything to me.”
I stared up at him. “You won’t kill the father of my unborn baby.” It was
meant as a question but somehow it came out as a threat, and for a moment I
wanted to laugh at the insanity of the situation.
“A man would be dead for threatening me.”
“I’m not a man.”
Luca took out his phone. “I’m going to call Cassio now and you’re returning
home with your bodyguard.” He pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello, Cassio, I
need you to come over.” Cassio said something on the other end, and Luca’s
answering smile made my blood run cold.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Your husband is already here.
Your bodyguard called him the second you entered this suite.”