“No, Father doesn’t want me to leave Chicago. He wants to keep an eye on me until the wedding.”
“Damn it. I’m going to talk to Luca. We’ll find a way.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I won’t lose you, Lily. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you. I swear it.”
“I know.”
“I’ll call you once I’ve talked to Luca.”
“Okay.” I sounded like a broken record. I hung up and sat cross-legged on my bed. I wasn’t sure how much time passed until Romero called again. I picked up at once. I was oddly calm.
“And?” I said.
Romero released a harsh breath, and I knew everything was over. A bone-deep sadness overcame me. “Your father will go through with this wedding. Aria tried to talk him out of it but he got really mad and accused her of trying to weaken the Outfit. He warned her not to get involved or he’d see that as an attack on the Outfit and advise Dante to cease relationships with us.”
“So there’s nothing to stop this wedding.”
“I can fly over to Chicago tomorrow and get you. I doubt your father’s men could stop me.”
“And then?”
“Then we’d figure something out.”
“Could we return to New York? Would Luca protect us?”
Romero was silent for a long time. “Luca won’t risk war over this. We’d be on our own.”
“Would that mean Luca would hunt us too?”
Romero sighed. “Lily, we could make it. I could keep us both safe.”
I didn’t doubt it, but what kind of life would that be? I’d never see Aria and Gianna again, never see Fabi again, never be able to return to New York or Chicago, and we’d always have to live in fear.
“Can I talk to Aria?”
“Of course. What’s the matter, Lily? I thought you wanted us to run away together.”
“I did. I do. But you love the Famiglia, and you and Luca are like brothers. You’d lose all that if you ran away.”
“You are worth it.”
I wasn’t sure that was true. “Can I talk to Aria now?”
“Sure. We’ll talk later again, okay?”
“Okay,” I said.
Aria’s voice sounded on the other end. “Oh, Lily, this is such a mess. How are you?”
“I feel like I’m falling and there’s nothing to stop my fall,” I admitted.
“We won’t let you fall, Lily. I’ll convince Luca to change his mind. You are my sister. I won’t let you be miserable for the rest of your life. If Luca loves me, he’ll help you.”
“He says he doesn’t want to risk war. Does he think Dante will really start a war if I don’t marry Benito?”
“If you run off to be with Romero, then Father will take that as an attack from the Famiglia and will convince Dante to retaliate. There will be war. Both Luca and Dante have to show strength. Their men expect it from them. Despite years of cooperation, New York and Chicago still don’t like each other.”
“If Romero decides to act on his own and take me away from Chicago, what would Luca do?”
“I don’t know. He’s really determined to avoid war with Chicago. To do that he would have to call Romero a traitor who acted without the permission of his Capo and in order to keep the Outfit happy, he’d have to hunt Romero and…” She trailed off.
“And kill him,” I finished for her. “Could he do it? Could he really kill Romero?”
“I don’t think he would do it,” Aria said. “But he might hand him over to the Outfit.”
“That would also mean Romero’s death.”
“I’ll talk to Luca. If he loves me, he won’t do it. Gianna will talk to Matteo as well. We will help you, Lily, no matter what it takes. I don’t care if it means war.”
“Fabi will soon be part of the Outfit. He might have to fight against Romero, Luca, and Matteo. Many will die, and the Russians might use their chance and kill even more of us.”
“I don’t care if the Russians take over parts of the city. This is all about money. I want us all to be happy.”
“But could we be happy? What if Dante and the Outfit try to assassinate Luca? It’s happened before when New York and Chicago were at war.”
Aria was silent. She loved Luca. “It won’t come to that.”
“You don’t know that.” We were silent.
“Do you want me to give Romero the phone again?” Aria asked after a while.
“Yes.” I could hear her move and then Romero was back on the other end.
“So have you and Aria talked everything through?”
“We did. Aria is going to talk to Luca again.”
“He won’t change his mind. And he’s right to remain firm. He needs to think of the Famiglia,” he said.
“I don’t care about the Famiglia, but I care about you.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll gladly die if it means saving you from Benito Brasci.”
That was exactly what I feared. “Don’t say that. My life isn’t worth more than yours. Marrying him isn’t a death sentence.”
“Do you want to marry him now?” Romero asked tersely. He was so on edge. I wished I could touch him and calm him down.
“Of course not, but I don’t want you to risk your life.”
“There’s no other way, Lily. But don’t worry. I’ve done it before.”
I knew he had, but this was different. We talked a couple more minutes before I promised to call him the next day for detailed plans about my escape.
When I’d hung up, I stared at the white wall across from my bed for a very long time as if it could give me the answers I needed.
The people I loved the most would risk everything to keep me safe, to save me from a loveless marriage, but at what cost?
Romero had sounded as if he didn’t care at all that he might lose everything. I knew he loved the Famiglia, was proud to be a part of it. He loved this life, but he’d have to leave it behind if he helped me escape this marriage. Luca wouldn’t risk war. His people would mutiny. He’d have no choice but to give up Romero and hand him over to the Outfit. Aria might destroy her marriage if she tried to blackmail Luca into helping me. He’d forgiven her once for betraying him, but would he do it again?
Could I risk everyone’s happiness for my own?
Someone hammered against my door and then Father stepped in without warning. I stood immediately. His expression was thunderous. “What did you tell your sister? Why are she and Luca trying to get involved in our family? Did you really think they could make me change my mind about your wedding?”
“They want to help because they’re worried about me.”
“I don’t care!” he roared. “You are going to marry Benito, end of story.”
“I can’t,” I said desperately.
“You can and you will.”
“I’m not a virgin anymore. If you don’t want people to find out you can’t let me marry Benito!” I blurted.
Father stormed toward me, gripped my arms and pushed me against the wall. The back of my head rang from the impact.