Chapter 15

I threw myself into his arms.

Cole held me tight, his voice thick with guilt. "It's over. It's over. This is on me. I got here too late."

I was still shaking, still scared.

But I felt safe, for the first time.

That was the moment I knew. I'd fallen for Cole. For real, this time.

Once the shooting stopped, Cole didn't go easy on Rio.

"I left her in your hands. You used her life as a bargaining chip."

He aimed his gun at Rio's left hand and pulled the trigger.

A loud gunshot echoed in the room. Blood streamed from his left hand, but he didn't make a sound past that.

"You're lucky this time," Cole said, his voice cold. "Next time, you won't need a bullet from me. You'll pack your things and walk out of this family yourself."

"Understood." Rio dropped to one knee, his right hand clamped over the wound, no argument in him at all.

In the medical wing, Marco cursed under his breath while he cleaned the wound, pressing the alcohol-soaked cotton hard into the wound.

"Feel that? Good. You deserve it."

Rio lay face down on the cot, his back wound split open and bleeding, jaw locked shut. He didn't make a sound.

"No," he said, hoarse. "I don't regret it. Not for someone I love."

"She has to be connected to my fiancée. Nothing else explains how she acted."

"Given the same choice again, I'd do it the same way."

Marco pressed harder, and Rio grunted through his teeth.

"Then you've made yourself an enemy for life. You know Cole's already decided to announce the engagement to the whole family? She's about to become our Donna."

Rio's back went rigid, but nothing else changed. "That's got nothing to do with me. I only care about my fiancée."

Footsteps came from outside.

Someone announced that in three days, the family would hold a formal engagement ceremony at headquarters. All core family members, regardless of rank, were expected to attend.

It was tradition. Once a Don claimed a wife, the family had to know, and so did everyone else in the business. Afterward, anyone stupid enough to cross the family's woman was declaring war on the whole family.

Rio's wound wasn't healed yet, so he stayed behind in the recovery room, one wall away from the main hall.

Three days later.

The microphone carried through the wall clean enough to hear every word.

The announcer's voice was formal, weighted.

"Everyone, you've been called here today for a matter of great importance."

"Our Don, Cole Marchetti, has formally petitioned the Commission to take Nina Walsh as his wife. From this day forward, she stands as the family's Donna, with the same standing and protection as the Don himself."