End Game (35 page)

My forehead creases. Annoying bird. How many annoying birds can there be? I can only think of Iago, in Disney’s
Aladdin.
And he hated crackers.

Laughing at that, I walk into the kitchen and find a box of saltine crackers, with another note inside.

The game goes on and on, for nearly half an hour. He’s never put this much effort into a game. Every note has a sweet message that makes my heart melt a little bit, and I tuck them all into my pocket. I’ll want to remember this.

Congrats! That was your last clue! Come into the office to claim your prize.

Curious, I tuck the note inside my pocket and scurry around the corner, now positively beaming. In my office, I see my man dressed to the nines. Joe stands in an impeccable black suit, his hair groomed perfectly, his shirt ironed without a single crease in sight, his shoes shined, his chin shaved to that stubbly length that I love.

And he holds out a box.

A small, black one.

Oh my God.

He opens it and a ring sparkles in the light. My throat closes suddenly when he drops to one knee and plucks the ring from the box. The smile on his face trembles a little bit. He’s confident, but not sure. Not completely.

“I love you, Marisa and I want you to be mine forever. Will you—?”

“Yes,” I burst out, crying. “Yes, goddamn it.”

His face cracks into a wide smile as he takes my hand, slowly slipping the ring onto my finger. Oh my God.
Oh my God.

“I can’t—I can’t believe it.”

He stands up to catch me in his arms, and I hold my hand out as if it belongs to an alien.

“Believe it, sweetheart,” he says huskily.

He hugs me so tightly that I feel my ribs cracking. I’m so happy that it wouldn’t matter if I died right now.

I’d have everything I want.

Then my eyes pass over a small detail. A small photo sitting on my desk that escaped my purge reminds me of the man I once admired. My dad.

“What’s wrong?” The confidence in his voice shakes slightly.

“I love you and I’m excited for our future, I just—I don’t want it to be—I don’t want any part of what you do for a living.” I look at his face, which looks worried. “I gave up too much of myself for my family. I won’t do it again.”

He smiles. “Babe, I don’t
want
you to be a part of it. You won’t ever be involved.”

Soft fingers curl around my jaw. “I mean it. The only reason you were involved is because we had business with the casino. That’s over for good. I promise.”

My eyes burn as he kisses me, and then he pulls away, frowning.

“I made reservations at a place with our friends and family, you know, if you said yes. Maybe I should cancel it.”

“What?” My voice echoes loudly. “No, I want to go!” I lift my face and press my lips against his, loving the way my skin heats when he brushes the hair from my neck. He stuns me with a deep kiss, until my back touches the wall.

“Well, then,” he says, smiling. “Let’s get you ready.”

* * *

A smattering of applause greets us when we approach the table reserved for us. Everyone’s there—all of Joe’s friends and work associates and their wives, even Jack, who still gives me a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. The few friends I have, cousins, and even my mother made an appearance, but I only have eyes for my little sister.

My face burns as they cheer for us and I turn into Joe’s arms, laughing at him. “That’s a lot of people.”

He rubs my back, beaming at them all. “C’mon. Let’s say hello.”

I grip his hand like a vice and he winces as he leads me to the table. Jack bows his head to me. “Congratulations, Joey. You too, hon.”

I smile thinly. I haven’t forgotten how after I sold Worlds Casino, Jack demanded a cut. I gave him enough to cover my Dad’s debts, and then I made it quite clear that if he wanted more, he’d have to go through my lawyer. I could have kept the casino beyond his reach, but I just didn’t want to do it anymore. All it did was remind me of my dad’s legacy, of how corrupt he let it become. I didn’t want any part of it.

Vincent leans over the table and shakes my hand. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Me too,” says his wife. “You guys are so cute together.” She gives me a friendly smile. “Welcome to the family.”

The family. Not just Joe’s family, but the Vittorio family, too. I’ve accepted it because it’s a part of him. I never got to choose my own family, but I’m choosing this one. I choose him.

I thank her and move along the table, accepting congratulations from everyone. It makes my head spin. Then my sister gets up from the table and wraps her arms around me, and then to my surprise, Joe.

He returns her embrace with a look of slight shock, and to my astonishment Jessica bursts into tears.

“I never really thanked you for saving my life.”

Joe whispers reassuring words into her ear and she cries in earnest. I love him for how sweet he is with my sister. He’s patient with her in a way that I never was.  Sometimes, he looks at us with such a pained expression. He misses her. Janice.

“I love you both. I’m really happy for you.”

He beams at her and she finally detaches herself from Joe’s neck to sit down at the table with her face buried in her hands.

Poor Jessica. She never really recovered from the fire. I lean forward and grab her hand, and she looks up. “I’m so sorry for everything. I was always—I was such a b—brat!”

I laugh at that. “Jess, you’ll be my maid of honor?”

She lunges at me and wraps her arms around my neck, now positively howling.

Thoughts of another man inevitably creep into my head when she finally calms down and we eat food. It’s right there, between us, and yet we never talk about it. Him.

I can’t even think of his name. His name is like the whisper of a dark spell—or a curse. Like Voldemort in
Harry Potter
. Too evil to say out loud.

That’s what it feels like, anyway.

Joe looks at me from across the table with a sympathetic smile. He lets me rant and rave about it. Often, he’d hold me at night when all I could do was cry about my brother.

But the truth is, Jessica and I are better than ever. Without him, we’re happier. We’re thriving. It’s like he’s been poisoning me all these years, slipping it into my coffee, and now that he’s gone, I’m free. I’m happy.

Across the table, I see Joe laughing hard at a joke Vince said down the table. His bright eyes momentarily catch mine, and I feel lighter. He looks just like the man in the photograph, the ones that he proudly displays all over our home. Suddenly, he gives me a wink and I’m filled with that hot, giddy feeling. He mouths something to me:
Love you, babe.

Me too.

# # #

High Stakes (Vittorio Crime Family #1)

There are a million reasons why I should stay away from Vincent Cesare.

This was supposed to be temporary. I was supposed to deal for his illegal card games and get some quick cash. That was it. I wasn’t supposed to fall for him.

Little by little, I see the monster grinning at me through the cracks in his pretty suit. He won't tell me what he does, and I'm not sure I want to know. The darkness in his eyes terrifies me. He's seduced me into his web of lies with his charm, and now I'm trapped in his life. He's taken control over me without me even realizing...or resisting.

I'm in way over my head.

He promised that nothing would ever happen to me. The Vittorio family wants me dead and there's only one person I can turn to. But what scares me is what I'll have to do.

I'll need to become his.

Double Blind (Vittorio Crime Family #2)

I
’
m in so deep that I can
’
t see the way out.

The boss of the Rizzo family needs me. I need to get closer to Carmine Lucchesi, a captain in his family. I need
 
to steal information from him. He
’
s a sweet man, but underneath
 
there
’
s something damaged
,
something
 
deranged.

The boss wants me to leave Vincent,
 
the man I love. End the engagement. I'm with Carmine until he says so. Until I get what he needs.

Or he
’
ll kill Vincent. He
’
ll kill my mother, and Vincent
’
s mother, and everyone I've ever cared about.

I don
’
t have a choice. I need to end it with him, even though I love him. Even though it just might kill me.

Author
’
s note: This book concludes Vince and Adriana
’
s story, but more novels will follow that take place in the same world!

If you enjoyed this story, please remember to leave a review on Amazon! You might enjoy these other works by Vanessa Waltz:

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—
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’
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