Code of Silence: Cosa Nostra #2 Read Online Free Page B

proposing was ridiculous!
    Under the table, Vincent stretched his hand out and placed it on Bela’s hand, resting on her lap. Without looking at her and instead using those dark eyes to analyze the faces at the dinner table, he gave her hand a squeeze. She placed her other hand on top of his, clutching it tight.
    Sal spoke up, “Give me a few days to consider your offer.”
    Her eyes bulged at her father, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Aside from that one mention of marriage, she might as well have been invisible to them.
    “Of course,” Dante said. “I’ll give you 48 hours.”
    Pushing his chair back, he stood and left the small dining room, his men following him. Alone with her family, Bela turned to look at her dad. “Tell me you’re not actually considering this.”
    “You’ve always talked about making peace with them,” Sal replied. “Now you want to walk away from an opportunity to do just that?”
    “Yes,” she said. “Especially since making peace means I have to marry Vincent’s brother . You can’t do this to me.”
    “This isn’t about you,” Trey said when her father didn’t respond. “This is about ending a feud that’s lasted a decade.”
    She gave him a betrayed, disbelieving glare. He was in support of this crazy idea? Her own brother? “But—”
    “Gio,” Sal said, looking to the bodyguard on her right. “Take her home.”
    Gio stood on command.
    “Dad, wait,” she pleaded. “Can we just talk about this a minute?”
    “Later,” Sal said. He gave Gio another nod.
    Gio reached for her arm, but she jerked it away. “Come on,” he whispered.
    “No! Dad, you can’t just—”
    “Bela, go home.” Sal’s eyes locked with hers in an unmistakable warning.
    Knowing any attempts to argue would just remain futile, she resigned and stood up, yanking her arm from Gio’s grasp in the process. She shot Vincent a worried look over her shoulder as she left.
     
    In the car, she was quiet while Gio drove her home. Then she planted herself by the front door and waited for her father to come home. Sitting on the steps of the foyer, her body faced the door. This gave her a clear view of the circular driveway outside. She planned to unleash her temper and her tongue the second she saw him again.
    Gio sat a few steps down, angled toward her and using the step between them as a surface to play Solitaire. “You sure you’re not up for a game of Blackjack?” he asked, looking up at her.
    She shook her head, keeping her gaze focused on the door.
    “War, then?”
    This time, she angled her head at him just long enough to give him a dirty look.
    “Right,” he said. “Bad idea.”
    It took two hours of waiting, but finally Sal and Trey entered. Right away, she noticed Vincent wasn’t with them, and it made her worry even more.
    “Where is Vincent?” she asked as she stood from her seat on the staircase.
    “Setting up another meeting,” Sal said.
    “Already?” she asked, the nervous pit in her stomach growing. “You must’ve decided.”
    She looked past him to Trey, and her suspicions were confirmed. It took one glance at the remorseful expression on his face for her to know what decision they had made.
    “No.” She shook her head in denial. “No way.”
    He motioned for her to follow him inside his office. Once he’d shut the door, she turned to him with her arms crossed. “I won’t do it. I’ll run away first.”
    “No, you won’t.”
    “ Yes ,” she said, emphasizing each word. “ I will .”
    “No,” he said, his tone matching hers. “You won’t. Because I know something you don’t want me to know. Something about Vincent.”
    Beads of sweat gathered around her brow and hairline. Still, she struggled to keep her voice steady and convincing. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Yes, you do.” He locked the door and then walked toward her. “And I haven’t done anything about it because it doesn’t worry me. But I bet Trey would feel