Book 1
Gia Salvatore does not like to feel tied down. Tired of answering to her controlling father, she ran away the night of her high school graduation and moved in with a secret older boyfriend, glad to cut ties with her toxic family.
But four...
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Gia and the Don sat in the backseat of a limousine in a tense and awkward silence. She was aware that this was the first time they'd been alone together since her graduation night, the night he had threatened to disown her if she didn't go through with the arranged marriage.
"Was it the boy," her father said, breaking the silence as the limo pulled out of the seedy motel parking lot.
His tone was an infamous one. Curious, but agitated he even had to ask. Don Salvatore believed information should be immediately volunteered to him, on assumption he could benefit from it later.
"Or am I going to have to waste valuable resources to find out on my own," he asked when Gia didn't respond.
Gia knew this was a veiled threat. Using "valuable resources" meant he would seek repayment later for his efforts but she doubted her debt would be as great as someone else
"That depends," Gia ventured.
His eyebrow raised up slightly but he didn't look up from his drink, watching the ice cubes shake with the vehicle's movements.
She knew she was on delicate ground. She wanted to assert herself and show him how independent and capable she had become but she couldn't push back too hard or she'd risk being left out in the cold.
"Are you going to tell me how you knew where I was," she continued, holding her chin up definitely.
She knew he would never divulge the answer to her. How the mob learned it's secrets was confidential only to those made men who had been initiated into the Family.
Gia was blood, not Family.
"I have eyes everywhere," he said calmly, taking a steady sip from his tumbler. He watched her closely over the rim. "You of all people should know this."
She tried not to show her anger at the small smile he hid behind his glass.
Yes, she knew. All to well.
"You look just like your mother," he said matter of factly, finishing the alcohol in one quick sip.
Gia didn't think there was anything he could say that would challenge her newly discovered valor but she was wrong.
Though he had said it as a general statement of fact, she knew he was covertly complimenting her. Her father had always gushed how beautiful her mother was, moreso after her death. Gia had only ever seen the Don cry once her entire life and that was the night of her mother's passing. He broke down and sobbed like a child in her arms only to never speak of it again.
She may question his love for her but she would never question his love for her mother. It was the one thing they had in common between them.
Another tense silence returned at the mention of Gloria. They both knew she wouldn't want them at odds. She would tell the Don to respect his daughter's path and trust she had important lessons to learn without him to protect her. She would tell Gia to listen to her father because he had the family's best interest at heart.
