Savage Mafia King (Vicious Heirs #3)

Chapter Twenty—Isabella

I glance around at Valentina and Giovanni. The way they're looking at me, I can tell this meeting isn't going to be easy. But then, is anything worth doing easy?

Marcus is at my side, his hand in mine. It's his grip that keeps me centered to the real world, a reminder of why I'm doing this. Even though it goes against everything I've been raised to believe, I'm in this with him, and I know he's right in the proposal he's made.

After everything we've been through, it's clear we need to join forces to make this work. After the death of James and some of the Castellanos men, the hit against Marcus was dropped since there was nobody bold enough to take the risk. But it's only a matter of time before it picks up again, and we have to face off against the reality of their threat to our safety.

"So what exactly is she doing here?" Valentina asks at last, breaking the silence. She can barely contain her obvious disdain for me, but I try not to let it get under my skin. God only knows how much she's been through, with what Marcus has told me about her already—losing her family and then her brother getting involved with someone who she's far from a fan of. I can't imagine how hard it's been, to see her cousin do the same thing.

"Isabella is here because I believe that an alliance between our families is the best thing for both of us," Marcus replies, his voice steady and sure. We've already gone over this conversation a million times already, how we're going to convince them, what we're going to do to assure them this is the way forward.

"And why's that?" Giovanni demands. He's sitting next to his sister in their mansion, and I can't help but feel like I've invaded their territory, as though, somehow, I'm at risk, being here on their turf.

I push it aside and grip Marcus's hand a little tighter. I'm here because of him. That's what I need to focus on.

"The Castellanos have made it clear that they're willing to use whatever they have at their disposal to cause us trouble," Marcus explains, his voice taut and careful. "They worked with our own uncle to try and take us down, to try and take our territory and our power from us. And just because James is gone, it doesn't mean that they're not going to try and find another way to get in our way."

He glances over at me. I take a deep breath. My part now.

"And the Castellanos were working in one of my brother's storefronts," I tell them. "We have reason to believe they were trying to throw my brother under the bus and get him killed when they alerted the cops to a deal that was going on at his restaurant. We have a common enemy, and that means working together is the best chance we have of stopping them."

Silence settles heavy over the room. I want to look over at Marcus, but I can't let them see the doubt in my eyes right now. This is a lot to ask. Even after Marcus and I have come together the way we have, it doesn't mean that they're going to be willing to allow another family into their business.

"And what exactly does that look like?" Valentina demands. She doesn't look convinced. I can't say I blame her.

"Cooperation," Marcus replies smoothly. "Sharing information. Working within the bounds of our respective territories to make sure that we don't leave ourselves vulnerable again."

Giovanni leans back in his seat, his arm draped over the back of the couch. In this opulent place, he looks like a damn king, and I feel like I'm groveling on my knees just to get him to consider the offer we're laying out.

"Giovanni, you know as well as I do that you can find allies in... unexpected places," Marcus tells him, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

I'm sure he's talking about Elena. Giovanni doesn't look entirely delighted to have it brought up, but he doesn't protest.

"Yes. But do we want to risk working with other people when we barely even know them?" He snaps it back with a dismissive tone that makes me bristle. I'm not used to biting my tongue in the face of someone doubting me, but I just about manage to hold myself back before I strike back with a sharper tone than I should.

Marcus looks over at me. His eyes are soft, just like they were the evening we hooked up in the bath. Even though it was only a few days ago, I feel like it's burned into my memory like a brand. Because I know something changed that night. We chose each other, once and for all.

And I can tell that he plans to keep choosing me for as long as he can.

"Because I do know Isabella," he murmurs as he tightens his grip on my hand. "I know her, and I trust her completely. She has proved herself to me in every way that matters. She has shown herself to be capable of total loyalty, even when others might have doubted her. I'm not going to lie, there are times when I had my doubts, too, but I can see that I based them on nothing. We can trust her. I know that." He falls silent for a moment, glancing between his cousins, as though daring them to challenge him. "And whether you want to ally with her or not," he goes on, "I love her. And she's going to be part of my life from this moment on. So you can either get on board or get out of my life for good."

I feel a stutter in my breath. Did he really just... did he really just say that? That he loves me? I glance over at him, and he smiles at me, a smile that speaks to the depth of everything that has happened here between us.

Something about what he's just said seems to click with Giovanni, perhaps due to the romance he's had with someone who his family doesn't entirely approve of. He nods.

"If that's what's best for us, Marcus, I trust you," he replies.

Valentina stays silent. She's still eyeing me with some serious doubt, but I suppose that's to be expected. I'll have to prove myself to her in the coming months, and I intend to do anything I can to make that happen.

"Thank you," Marcus replies. "Now, I need a drink. Anyone else?"

He pours us all a generous measure of vodka, and we sip on it together as we discuss the details of this new alliance moving forward, how we'll keep in touch, how we'll ensure information gets passed back and forth as it needs to be, how we'll make certain that the Castellanos don't get another chance to inch so close to either of us. It's tense, but the booze helps take the edge off, and by the time Marcus leads me back outside to the car, I'm starting to feel almost relaxed.

When we climb in together, I pause for a moment, looking over at him as I try to muster the courage to say what I need to say.

"What is it?" he asks me, noticing me staring.

"You... you said you loved me in there."

"Because I do."

Those words just hang in the air between us for a long moment. They mean so damn much to me, and I never, not in a million years, could have imagined that I would have heard them from him. I've never told a man that I love him before, but it feels right that he should be the first. It's like I've been waiting for him.

"I love you, too," I murmur back, a little nervously. "I... I think I've loved you for a long time, actually. I just didn't know how to tell you."

He grins and leans across the seat to drop a kiss on my lips.

"Well, glad you found the words," he teases me lightly and plants another peck on my cheek before he pulls back to take the wheel. "Can I take you home now?"

Home. He's referring, of course, to his apartment. In the last few days, we've been staying there nearly constantly, and I'm not complaining. I know I have to get back to campus and back to reality eventually, but for the time being, all I care about is spending as much time with him as possible.

"Yeah, I guess we've got to make this relationship thing look convincing," I tease him.

He shoots a look at me out of the corner of his eye, but he's grinning. "Yeah," he agrees. "Guess we do."

And with that, we pull away from the mansion and head back to the place that has become our little sanctuary.