I came around to the passenger side and helped Muse out of the car. She was five months along, and now her belly was noticeable no matter what she wore. She’d wanted to get married when she was still slim in a gown, but that didn’t seem possible anymore. She would show no matter what—but I didn’t mind at all.

The doctor said our baby was healthy.

When he said those words at his office, my throat tightened.

My son or daughter would be here in four months, and as Muse got bigger and rounder, the truth became more and more real.

I was going to be a father.

I took her hand and guided her inside my childhood home, the three-story mansion where my parents still spent their time together. Lars greeted us by the door, and then we stepped inside.

“How are you, man?” I hugged Lars. “You look damn good for a hundred.”

Lars smiled, his hands shaking a bit. “Thanks, Mr. Barsetti. The ladies always like an older man.”

I chuckled and patted him on the back.

“Sapphire, you’re looking beautiful,” Lars said. “Nothing more beautiful than a glowing woman. I remember when Mrs. Barsetti was pregnant with Conway. She’s never looked more radiant.”

“She definitely didn’t look more radiant with Vanessa, that’s for sure,” I teased.

My parents came down the stairs to greet us. My father came first, greeting Sapphire before even looking at me. “Sweetheart, you look nice.” He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “My son has been taking care of you, right?”

“Waits on me hand and foot,” Sapphire said.

It was the truth. I wanted to make sure she was relaxed and happy. The doctor said stress could contribute to a miscarriage, and the idea scared me so much that I’d been doing everything to make sure that didn’t happen. Ironically, I didn’t want to be a father when she became pregnant, but now that her belly was big, I felt like a father without a child.

My mother greeted her next. “So beautiful.” She hugged her for a long time, squeezing her gently. “I can’t wait to meet my grandbaby. I know they’ll be so beautiful, with both of your features.”

“I’m excited too,” Sapphire said. “I can’t wait to see if it’s a boy or girl.”

My parents stared at her, watching her rub her stomach.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, hi?”

“Oh, sorry.” Mom tapped herself on the forehead. “We’re excited to see you too, son.” She hugged me.

I rolled my eyes. “It didn’t seem like it.”

“You know I love you.” She squeezed me. “I’m just so excited about the baby. We’re going to have a new Barsetti around here.”

My father came next, the usual affection gone from his eyes. There was no reason for him to be upset with me, but something was obviously bothering him. He hugged me, but it wasn’t long or deep. “How was the drive?”

“It was okay.” I didn’t ask what was really bothering him, knowing I should do it in private.

“Are you hungry, Sapphire?” Mom asked. “Lars made dinner.”

“I’m always hungry,” Sapphire said. “I used to have a small appetite, but now I can’t seem to stop.”

“Being pregnant is the best,” Mom said with a laugh. “Let’s go into the dining room.”

I turned to follow them, but my father grabbed me by the arm. “I want to talk to you alone in my study.”

We didn’t have private conversations in the study unless some serious shit had hit the fan. “What is it?”

He nodded toward the stairs, refusing to share that information with me while we were out in the open. We headed to the third floor and then stepped inside his study with the two leather couches, the paintings with buttons, and the endless supply of liquor. As per tradition, he poured two glasses of scotch.

My father had asked me to come down for a visit, but he never said why. I knew now he was about to tell me. “Enough with the anticipation.”

My father held the glass between both of his hands but didn’t give an answer. His head was bowed, slightly in defeat. “I wasn’t going to tell you any of this because I thought I could handle the situation on my own. I figured the problem would be gone almost a month ago. But since it’s not going anywhere, I can’t keep it from you. You should know what’s happening…”

I was actually scared, afraid of what my father would say. There was nothing he couldn’t fix, so whatever this was, it was big. “Tell me.”

“Alright.” He set the glass down, not having taken a drink. “It’s gonna be a big pill to swallow. It’s about Vanessa.”

My sister was the most annoying brat on the planet. She infuriated me as much as she demanded my respect. But I loved her so much, would do anything for her, so the second her name was mentioned, I was scared on a whole new level.

“Remember Bones? The man you saw at the Underground?”

Like I’d ever forget seeing my enemy’s son. “Yes…”

“Vanessa is seeing him.”

“Seeing him how…?” There was no way she was dating him. That was preposterous.

“Dating him,” my father said. “Seriously dating him.”

I heard every single word, but my body rejected the sentence. My spitfire sister was sleeping with the son of the man who’d damaged our lives? “Are you sure?” Vanessa was too smart to do something like that. She was too stubborn, like the rest of the Barsettis. “That just doesn’t sound right.”

He nodded. “I’m sure. She told me she loves him…”

My fingers slackened, and I almost dropped my glass. “What?”

He nodded again. “I knew she’d been seeing someone for a while, but she never introduced him to us. Your mom talked to her about it a few times and knew Vanessa was intensely in love with someone. I told Vanessa I wanted to meet him, reminded her that she’s old enough to introduce me to a man she loves. And that’s who she introduced me to…Bones.”

I rubbed my temple. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. That fucking asshole? What the hell is she thinking?”

He held up his hand to silence me. “It’s shitty. I agree. I’ve talked to her about it a lot, met with him a lot.”

“You came face-to-face with him?” I asked incredulously. “And he’s still alive?”

My father smirked. “He’s been trying to get my approval. I’ve seen him a few times for dinner and whatnot. He’s assured me he means no harm to us. He genuinely loves Vanessa. And if I don’t accept him, he won’t come between us and Vanessa…he’ll walk away.”

This was the last thing I expected to hear. “You think he meant it?”

He nodded. “Seems like it. He’s talked to me one-on-one. He’s come into my home, handed me a loaded shotgun, and handcuffed himself to a chair to prove himself to me. Now he’s helping out at the winery, trying to get to spend some time with me so I can see who he is…”

I still couldn’t wrap my mind around this. “This has been going on the entire time?”

“I thought I was going to get rid of him in a few days…but he’s still here. He’s like a damn cockroach that just won’t die.” He finally took a drink, immediately clenching his jaw once the booze was down his throat.

“Why haven’t you ordered him to stop seeing her?” That sounded like the best solution. Bones said he would back off if my father didn’t approve. So that was all he had to do.

“Because…” He stared into his glass as he swirled it, the stress written all over his face. No matter what obstacle he faced, he was always fearless. He kept calm under dire situations, and even when bullets were flying, he was in control. But now, the worry was in all his features. “Vanessa asked me to try to accept him. She asked for a real chance. Because she loves him and knows I love her enough that I don’t want to hurt her. So…I guess I’m trying.”

“His father killed my aunt,” I snapped. “No, you don’t have to try, Father.”

He raised his hand again. “I understand how you feel. It’s the way I’ve felt for the past six weeks. I’ve said some very unkind things to Vanessa that I shouldn’t have said…because I resent her for putting us in this situation. I don’t like him, and it’s hard to imagine a time when I’ll ever like him, ever trust him.”

“Then end it,” I said. “Or I’ll kill him for you—for all of us.”

“Not so simple,” he said.

“Father, it is simple. Vanessa deserves someone better. Don’t ever tell her I said this, but she’s fucking incredible. Smart as hell and fierce like a soldier. She deserves a good man.”

“I agree,” he said with a sigh. “But he’s the man she wants…unfortunately.”

“She’ll find someone else. Plenty of fish in the sea.”

He set his glass down. “Their relationship is intense…strong. I can see it between them. It makes me hate him even more, that he won my daughter over so completely. But the worst part is…” He grabbed his glass again and took a deep drink, prolonging the inevitable. He licked his lips when he was finished and set down his glass. “I think he really loves her.”

It was hard to believe a man like that could love someone. He came from a cruel father, and he was at the Underground for a reason. I didn’t want a man of the shadows for my sister.

“I’ve seen them together.” His eyes formed a haze as he thought of a memory. “I’ve seen the way he treats her when no one is watching, the way he lifts her up and makes her feel good about herself. The way he worships the ground she walks on. The way he takes my insults even though it makes him want to kill me. The way Uncle Cane punched him twice and he still didn’t do anything. I don’t think it’s an act…I think it’s real.”

I couldn’t picture this relationship. I couldn’t picture my sister loving a man like that, and I certainly couldn’t picture a man like that loving a Barsetti. It didn’t seem possible. It went against nature. “Even it is, you can still end it. She’ll hate you for a while, but not forever.”

“This is the thing about having children.” He refilled his glass. “I should tell you this since you’ll be a father soon. No matter how old they are…you want them to be happy. And despite my reservations and my hatred for him…which is very intense…I see the way he makes her happy. Because of that reason, I may accept him. I’ll never like him. I’ll never trust him. But…I think I should try to give Vanessa what she wants.”

I couldn’t believe my father actually said those words. Vanessa was his only daughter, and he was far more protective of her than he’d ever been of me.

“So, I think I’m going to try to get to know him better, to stop insulting him, and to see the man Vanessa has fallen in love with. Honestly, I’ve never really tried. I’ve only made him feel as unwelcome as possible. He’s never pretended to be something that he’s not, and he’s very transparent about who he is…which makes me respect him. He also told me that I was hypocritical for not accepting him, considering your uncle and I aren’t exactly the most noble people…and he’s right.”

My relationship with Sapphire wasn’t exactly respectable. I paid for her virginity and practically kept her as a slave. I was afraid to tell my father the truth because of what he would think of me, but he said it would be hypocritical to judge him. Now, I treated Sapphire the way she deserved…but it hadn’t always been that way. “But Vanessa deserves more.”

“I agree.” His eyes moved down. “But…this is what she wants.”

My father was taking this exceptionally well, but I couldn’t picture myself doing the same thing. I didn’t trust Bones. I didn’t want him anywhere near my sister or my fiancée. “I don’t think I can be as calm about it.”

“I felt the same way in the beginning. It’s taken time to be this civil.”

“Don’t expect me to be civil.”

He held his glass between his hands. “I figured you wouldn’t be. Doesn’t make a difference to me. Just don’t hit him.”

“Why?” There wasn’t a good enough reason for me to keep my hands to myself.

“It won’t solve anything. And every time he takes a hit without reacting, his power grows. He proves that he’s the man he claims to be. Don’t give him the opportunity to prove himself in any way. Your uncle almost broke his hand against his face. It’s like a slab of concrete.”

I remembered exactly how he looked, all muscle, tattoos, and a solid bone structure. He had a tight jaw, a stern expression, and shoulders so broad he looked like an ox. He was a large man, the kind that could break a man’s skull with a single fist. His size was accompanied by handsome features, looks he must have inherited from his mother. He was the kind of man who could get laid instantly. I’d seen the way the waitress looked at him that night, like she was waiting for him to invite her back to his place once her shift was over. “Then what’s the plan?”

“I’m going to try. But we need to be prepared if things go to shit.”

I nodded in agreement. “What is the likelihood he would do something?”

He dragged his finger around the rim of his glass as he considered my question. “It’s hard to say. He’s already been seeing Vanessa for a while. He could have attacked us much sooner with the element of surprise. Doesn’t make sense for him to go through all of this just to hurt us. A lot more time and effort than necessary. And like I said before…I think their relationship is real. So he may never do anything, but we should always be prepared for the off chance we’re wrong. I always have a gun on me whenever he’s around. You should do the same. Your mother has one too. I hate being armed in my own home, hate increasing security around the house and preparing for war when I’d dedicated my life to peace…but I don’t see any way around it.”

I resented Vanessa for doing this to us, for bringing a criminal into our lives like this. She could have any other guy she wanted, but she had to pick the worst possible person. “What do you know about him? What does he do?”

“He’s a hitman.”

I remembered reading that in his file. He owned a business with a few men. Other than drinking too much and spending money on whores, there was nothing else interesting about him. He did his job then went home. “Anything else?”

“No. He’s been honest about everything I’ve uncovered about him. But he did tell me his mother was a prostitute after his father died. She was killed by one of her clients when he was just a boy. He had a vendetta against us ever since…and dropped it after he fell in love with Vanessa. I don’t see why he would tell me that unless it was the truth. Part of me believes him. Part of me thinks letting it go and accepting him would bring us all peace. But another part of me…will never stop hating him for what his father did to us.” He bowed his head and turned silent, his finger still moving around the rim of the glass.

I would never look at the man as anything but an enemy. I would always have my guard up, even if she married him and five years had passed. I would never allow him around my wife and children without being present. He would never be welcome in this family. I might be stubborn like my father, but I didn’t care. “I’ll never stop hating him either.”

I arrived at the small villa after dinner. Father gave me the address, and I didn’t feel intrusive slamming my fist against the solid wood of the door. Sapphire was at my parents’ house, watching TV in the living room with a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. My parents adored her, thought the world of her. They never cared she modeled lingerie or came from humble beginnings. I loved her—and that was enough for them to love her too.

The door opened, and I came face-to-face with him.

Bones.

When I’d seen him at the Underground, he’d been wearing some kind of disguise. But now he was exactly as I remembered from the pictures in his file, his gray t-shirt hugging his muscular frame and stretching across the shoulders. Ink was all over his arms, sleeves of tattoos with midnight-black coloring. He was my height, and his crystal blue eyes were the only thing about him that wasn’t innately dark. With fair skin he must have been inherited from his mother, he was distinctly different from the Barsettis.

He stared at me, his guard up just as high as mine. He knew exactly who I was, and now I knew he recognized me in the Underground. He didn’t try to kill me that night—for unknown reasons.

“You want to talk to Vanessa now? Or would you like to punch me first?” He tilted his head slightly, regarding me with subtle hostility.

“Punch you?” I asked. “I usually stick a knife in the throat of my enemies.” My father told me to keep my eyes peeled and my hands to myself, but when I was face-to-face with Bones, it was impossible to be diplomatic. He didn’t deserve my sister.

“You wanna do that, then?” he asked, dead serious. “I’m sure I could handle it.”

My father was right. He had a natural ability to turn threats into signs of power.

“My father told me not to kill you—yet.”

He smiled. “That was nice of him. Can never tell how much he hates me.”

“I’ll be the messenger, then. He hates you a lot.”

Vanessa ducked underneath his arm and squeezed past him in the doorway. “So glad you two are getting along…” She moved up to me, her arms crossed over her chest. “What are you doing here?”

“You know exactly why I’m here.” My eyes flicked to Bones again.

“To kill him?” she asked incredulously. “When you brought Sapphire around, I became her best friend. It didn’t matter whether she was a good person or not. You loved her, so I had to love her. I accepted her without an interrogation.”

My eyes turned back to her. “Are you suggesting these situations are the same? This man is a murderer, Vanessa. He kills people for cash. His family—”

She raised her hand. “I’ve had this exact conversation with Mom and Dad, like, fifty times. I’m not doing it again.”

I looked at Bones, the hatred in my eyes. “Disappear.” I wanted to speak to my sister alone, not have that gargoyle watch everything.

To my surprise, he shut the front door and walked away.

Vanessa stepped farther into the cool air in the front yard, approaching the truck parked in the gravel. “So, Father told you today?”

“A few hours ago.” I slid my hands into my pockets and followed her. “I’ve gotta be honest. I’m pretty shocked.”

When we were away from the house so we couldn’t be overheard, she turned to me. “I know he’s not ideal. But I never wanted to love him. It just happened. And now that it’s happened…I never want to love anyone else.”

My father wasn’t kidding. Their relationship was intense.

“I know you’re probably never going to like him, Con. That’s fine. I’m not going to try to persuade you to change your mind. But I hope one day you’ll have an open mind. Because of Sapphire’s past, I was kidnapped by Knuckles. I’ve never been able to sleep well since that night. Bones makes me feel safe, makes me feel like nothing could ever hurt me. I’ve never held Sapphire accountable for that night or ever blamed her for what happened. I love her, as my sister and my friend. She’s family as far as I’m concerned. But if I can do that, I don’t see why you can’t do this for me.”

My sister had always been better with words than I was, and she’d made an astounding point. Because of Sapphire, Vanessa had been shot. Now she would carry a scar for the rest of her life. At the time, she’d acted so brave, but of course, it bothered her. Nightmares followed her every night. I didn’t know what to say because she made such a fair argument.

She watched me as she waited for me to say something. “Don’t say it’s different because it’s not. I would do anything for Sapphire because you love her. You know how I am, loud and opinionated. But the second it was clear that Sapphire was the only woman you wanted, I was supportive and loyal. I made her feel like family more than anyone else. I became her friend when she had no one else. She could have been a total bitch, and I still would have treated her the same way.” She stared at me with her hard gaze. “I love this man with all my heart.”

I took a deep breath when she confessed her feelings, hearing the sincerity ring like a bell.

“I don’t want anyone else. I’ll never want anyone else. Mama and Father are trying to accept him. I’d appreciate it if you would do the same. I don’t expect it to happen overnight, and Griffin is very patient. But I’ve always been there for you when it mattered—and I’ve been there for Sapphire. When Knuckles offered to make the exchange of me for Sapphire, I told you not to do it. I was willing to die for the woman you love. You owe me this, Con. Big-time.”

I clenched my jaw, having no argument against that at all. My sister had paid her dues, had been unflinchingly loyal to me. I would give this to her in a heartbeat under any other circumstance. “I don’t trust him, Vanessa. I don’t trust him not to kill our family.”

“Trust is something earned, not given. I would never ask you to trust someone you didn’t know, Con. You never have to trust him if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to like him. I’m just asking for acceptance right now. The rest of that stuff will come later…when you’re ready.”

I’d never anticipated my love for Sapphire would come back and bite me in the ass. “Can you really be with a man your entire family hates? I just talked to Father, and he despises him more than anyone else on the planet. You’re smarter than this, Vanessa. Find a better man and don’t put your family through this.”

“I tried to forget about him, Con. I broke up with him when he told me he loved me. I dated someone else. I did everything…it didn’t work. I knew I loved him so much I was willing to do anything to make it work. As slim as the odds are, I want you guys to learn to like and accept him. He’s willing to be a punching bag to make it happen. If it doesn’t work, at least I tried. I had to try before I gave up.” She took a deep breath, her chest rising. “But I don’t want to give up. The way I love him…is the way you love Sapphire. Just keep that in mind when you talk to him.”

“But how do you know he’s the right man to love? How do you know this isn’t a plot to hurt all of us?”

Her eyes watered slightly, like the question offended her. “Because he would die for me, Con. Would a man die for me if he didn’t love me with all his heart?”

I kept my hands in my pockets and stared at her, feeling the chilly air surround me and enter my lungs. I saw a different side to my sister, a vulnerable side she never let me see. Her beating heart was on her sleeve, visible for the whole world. All of her cards were on the table, and even though she had a shitty hand, she wasn’t ashamed.

“Please try,” she whispered. “For me.”