Alessia POV
Every eye in Luigi's Tailors bored into me-tailor frozen, Colin still on his knees, mirrors multiplying Damien Cobb's serpentine smile. His "apology" hung in the thick cigar haze, a velvet noose. Refuse, and I'd be gutted for disrespect. Accept, and swallow the humiliation of my whispers turned to dust.
I met those charming eyes, pulse hammering at my throat. "A Don's words weigh more than gold, Mr. Cobb. I accept your... apology."
The word tasted like bile. Satisfaction gleamed in his gaze. He stepped closer, brushing invisible dust from my shoulder like a patronizing uncle. His breath ghosted my ear, voice a lethal murmur only for me: "You and your father-both with eyes that won't yield. Pity your chin's so delicate."
Ice flooded my veins. That jab at my "sissy" softness-too close to the truth hidden under bindings. He pulled back, victory etched in his sword brows, and strode out, Luca trailing. The bell chimed like a death knell.
Colin scrambled up, face ashen. "Christ, Alessandro. You stood up to him."
We fled to his Buick, rain-slick streets blurring. He pounded the wheel. "How dare he? We're heirs-Commission rules mean nothing?"
I stared out at Chicago's gray sprawl, voice flat. "Rules are for sheep, Colin. Cobb's the lion. Might makes right. Learn it fast, or die."
Silence fell, heavy as our shared shame. An alliance forged in mud.
That night, in the cramped office above The Gilded Cage, whiskey fumes mingled with ledger dust under the yellow lamp. Mr. Peters slid a dossier across. "Cobb's cracks, miss. His cousin botched a Detroit deal-angered a key Capo. Damien wanted him cut loose, but his mother insisted. Family pact at stake. He bent, hating every second."
My lips curved. "A wedge. Keep ears open."
We turned to Falcone's poison-a Capo dying at a "peace" banquet. Angela's marriage tied us there; fear knifed my gut for her safety. Tension coiled-
A thunderous knock rattled the back door. Alley shadows framed a stone-faced brute, Clarence Cobb's Enforcer, Lincoln idling like a hearse.
"Harrington," he growled. "The old man wants you. Now."
