what do you actually have to offer me, Catrina?”
“Quite a bit, actually. In the business of importing specific substances—”
“Coke, you mean.”
“Exactly. I tend to have the upper hand on you, which is obvious enough by the price I put on the blow in your streets. My contact is a direct line to the product. I don’t pay nearly as much as you do, it doesn’t go through as many hands as yours does, and it’s a purer substance at a cheaper cost. Practically unheard of.”
“True,” Dante mused. “Where is your supplier located?”
“Italy, actually. I never go back now, but it’s one of the few links I’ve kept.”
“Interesting, but not enough for me to believe it’s worth the price of a marriage license, Cat.”
“I wouldn’t think so, either.” Cat stood from the couch, pulling a small four-inch by four-inch leather-bound notebook from her clutch. She tossed it onto Dante’s desk, hoping his interest would be peaked before he even opened it. “I also offer power in the form of connections. That book is filled with them. I’m sure you have your own, but I suggest you take five minutes to consider mine.”
Dante’s jaw clenched, although he didn’t give a book an ounce of his attention. “I don’t think your clients would appreciate being blackmailed by a mafia boss.”
“They’re not all clients. And believe me when I say the ones who are, wouldn’t be surprised by it. It’s practically second nature for people in my profession to use who they know for their own gain, even if it’s a little dirty.”
And for every name on that list that he used, Cat would lose a client. It was the nature of the beast. She was giving up so much for this, but she couldn’t tell Dante Marcello that.
Cat knew things would never be the same for Queen, but she didn’t care. She needed a marriage.
“Power,” Dante murmured.
“I knew you’d like that.”
“How?”
“Because even if we’re different, we’re also the same.”
Dante sighed, eyeing the black book. “Why approach me?”
“I told you last week. I’d heard the oldest Marcello was looking for an arrangement of the marriage sort. At the time, I wasn’t interested. Now I am.”
“Fair enough, but that was quite a while ago, and my feelings have changed on the issue of arranging a marriage for myself.”
“And why is that, Dante?”
“My sister-in-law, my youngest brother’s wife, was obligated to marry a man she didn’t want and who abused her just for living. I couldn’t be the man who forced a woman into a marriage for my own gain.”
Cat blinked, astonished at the level of openness and emotion in his statement. “You think this would be the same thing? I approached you, Dante. I offered the arrangement to you, and no one is forcing me to do any of this.”
Dante’s fingers drummed to his desk. “How much information have you pulled on my family and business?”
“A lot. I needed to know who you were and who they are.”
“So, you know my marriage is compulsory to take over my family.”
“I understand a little about Cosa Nostra, their expectations, and the rules for the men who join and who lead the families. Yes, I’m aware you need a wife. It’s precisely why I suspected this deal would be of interest to both you and me.”
“Not just any particular time, Catrina. Soon. I need one very soon. My seat is not guaranteed without one, and my father is ready to step down. A Commission meeting is coming up and I need to fulfill their requirements or someone else will be chosen for my spot. I can’t allow that to happen.”
Dante nodded at the couch behind Cat. “Sit and we’ll talk more.”
Cat did as he asked. “I have a question for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“What is it about marriage you’re so opposed to?”
Dante’s jade gaze darkened. “What makes you think I’m opposed to it?”
“You’re not the only one whose business requires them to read people.”
“I have little to offer a
“Quite a bit, actually. In the business of importing specific substances—”
“Coke, you mean.”
“Exactly. I tend to have the upper hand on you, which is obvious enough by the price I put on the blow in your streets. My contact is a direct line to the product. I don’t pay nearly as much as you do, it doesn’t go through as many hands as yours does, and it’s a purer substance at a cheaper cost. Practically unheard of.”
“True,” Dante mused. “Where is your supplier located?”
“Italy, actually. I never go back now, but it’s one of the few links I’ve kept.”
“Interesting, but not enough for me to believe it’s worth the price of a marriage license, Cat.”
“I wouldn’t think so, either.” Cat stood from the couch, pulling a small four-inch by four-inch leather-bound notebook from her clutch. She tossed it onto Dante’s desk, hoping his interest would be peaked before he even opened it. “I also offer power in the form of connections. That book is filled with them. I’m sure you have your own, but I suggest you take five minutes to consider mine.”
Dante’s jaw clenched, although he didn’t give a book an ounce of his attention. “I don’t think your clients would appreciate being blackmailed by a mafia boss.”
“They’re not all clients. And believe me when I say the ones who are, wouldn’t be surprised by it. It’s practically second nature for people in my profession to use who they know for their own gain, even if it’s a little dirty.”
And for every name on that list that he used, Cat would lose a client. It was the nature of the beast. She was giving up so much for this, but she couldn’t tell Dante Marcello that.
Cat knew things would never be the same for Queen, but she didn’t care. She needed a marriage.
“Power,” Dante murmured.
“I knew you’d like that.”
“How?”
“Because even if we’re different, we’re also the same.”
Dante sighed, eyeing the black book. “Why approach me?”
“I told you last week. I’d heard the oldest Marcello was looking for an arrangement of the marriage sort. At the time, I wasn’t interested. Now I am.”
“Fair enough, but that was quite a while ago, and my feelings have changed on the issue of arranging a marriage for myself.”
“And why is that, Dante?”
“My sister-in-law, my youngest brother’s wife, was obligated to marry a man she didn’t want and who abused her just for living. I couldn’t be the man who forced a woman into a marriage for my own gain.”
Cat blinked, astonished at the level of openness and emotion in his statement. “You think this would be the same thing? I approached you, Dante. I offered the arrangement to you, and no one is forcing me to do any of this.”
Dante’s fingers drummed to his desk. “How much information have you pulled on my family and business?”
“A lot. I needed to know who you were and who they are.”
“So, you know my marriage is compulsory to take over my family.”
“I understand a little about Cosa Nostra, their expectations, and the rules for the men who join and who lead the families. Yes, I’m aware you need a wife. It’s precisely why I suspected this deal would be of interest to both you and me.”
“Not just any particular time, Catrina. Soon. I need one very soon. My seat is not guaranteed without one, and my father is ready to step down. A Commission meeting is coming up and I need to fulfill their requirements or someone else will be chosen for my spot. I can’t allow that to happen.”
Dante nodded at the couch behind Cat. “Sit and we’ll talk more.”
Cat did as he asked. “I have a question for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“What is it about marriage you’re so opposed to?”
Dante’s jade gaze darkened. “What makes you think I’m opposed to it?”
“You’re not the only one whose business requires them to read people.”
“I have little to offer a
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