Sold To the Grizzly Don (Alcee and Bruno) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

The thought of having her fiancé fight her battles felt icky.

She shook her head at Tank and then dialed out.

“Mercurio, what do you

want?”

“We want to see you. Our family wants to see you and Antero.”

“No.”

“Why not?” he seemed genuinely perplexed.

“Why?”

“To reconnect and fix the issues we have.”

“There is no fixing the issues we have, Mercurio. You and the boys made your choices when you blindly followed Dad’s lead and made me an outcast of your family.”

“You are a Mariani.”

“Not for long. By the weekend, Torq and I will be married, and my name will be changed.”

“So soon?”

“What is the rush?”

“The burning desire to rid myself the name of Mariani is a big motivator,”

“It is a good name.”

“It is tainted by a man who called me a whore.”

“Alcee, you’re being difficult.”

“I am not. Here is the thing, Mercurio, I don’t trust any of you. You do not want to do right by me. You u want to put a blanket over the bruises of our relationship in order to secure a better standing with Torq. I’m not letting you use me.”

“This isn’t true, Alcee.”

“Isn’t it? If it weren’t for you wanting an alliance, a treaty wouldn’t even reach out to me.”

y with Toro

Torq since Dad made it clear to the entire world he was siding against him, you

“You’re wrong, little sister. We love you. We always loved you.”

“No. You saw me as a tool to make money for the family.”

“What makes you special you didn’t need to?” Mercurio asked bluntly. “I needed to whore myself out to my wife’s family for cash. Michelo and Falco both did as well. We made it work. You would have made it work with Torq.”

“And there it is.” She saw Tank’s look of disgust and knew it mirrored her own. “Let me guess, you want Torq to pay you the bride fee?”

“No. I don’t want his money. I want my sister in my

life.”

“Why?”

“Because we were wrong. I admit, in the past we were all in agreement that you should be held to the same standards and requirements we were

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Chapter 116

in marriage. We all had arrangements which brought money into the family, and we all felt you should have done the same.

“You married your cousin.”

distant cousin and I love my wife very much. My marriage was a blessing, and I have no regrets.”

“Good for you.”

“I love my sister as well.”

“If what you’ve done to me over the years constitutes y

your love, Mercurio, I’m not interested. Dad put a hit on me. A hit! If I wasn’t with Torq right now. If I weren’t his fiancée, would we even be having this conversation or would Antero and I be dead?”

“You would not be dead. The minute he took the intel on the hit, we walked. The four of us walked. Mama walked. We all knew he’d gone too far. It was one thing for you to be stubborn and refusing to comply with the family rules. It was another for him to order me to execute you and my nephew, Never, in a million years would I do such a thing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Which is why I think it is terribly important for us to meet, hash things out, begin to repair the damages done. Over time, we can be a family again.”

“A family? I was never part of the family, I was the girl who was a commodity, the mistake Dad never wanted, and the embarrassment Mama never acknowledged. I was smart, not pretty. I talked too much and was too opinionated”

admit we made mistakes. You forget, we were boys too when you were born. We loved you from the moment Mama brought you home.”

“Your love comes with a cost I will not pay.”

“Mama is sick.”

“You said this before.”

*She drinks too much,” Mercurio said quietly. “She complains of beadaches, but we know it’s guilt and heartache from losing you. If something happens to her and you don’t get to make amends before she is gone, you will regret it.”

“Will 1?” she said sharply. “Emotional manipulation doesn’t look good on you Don Mariani,”

“Don’t call me that, Alcee. You never have to call me that. You are my sister, the principessa of our family. Please. Come. Sit with will tell the boys to stay away, though Michela is anxious to see you.”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Why are you so insistent on keeping this going?”

h me and Mama. I

“Why are you so blind to the truth?” She quipped back. “You, Michela, Falco, Alfio, and Mama all turned your backs on me. Yes, it was at his bidding, but you did it. You were grown men, capable of standing up to him. You had Panfilo at your side. All of you could have put a stop to his reign of terror years ago and instead you didn’t. I find it suspicious of you and convenient for you that you would be so desperate to reconnect with me now when I suddenly have the Don of the Lozano family backing me.”

“The timing is suspicious to you, but you must know the hit likely wouldn’t have come out if not for your relationship. It was the straw which broke the camel’s back”

“I don’t believe you, Mercurio. If you wish to conduct business with Torq, you’ll need to arrange it with him through the proper channels. I am not invested in my fiance’s business and will not counsel him one way or the other.”

“don’t want to use you to get to Torq.”

“Good, because it wouldn’t happen.” She gave a sigh, “I am at work. My guard is telling me it’s time to wrap up this call. I wish you enormous success in your new role, Don Mariani,”

“Alcee,” he protested. “Please let us sit down and talk.”

Chapter 116

“Goodbye,” she hung up the phone frustratedly.

“I think it might be best to meet with him.” Tank said quietly.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think they’ll give up so easily. You’re right. You are an into the Lozano family,”

“Can you find out what is going with my mother? Find her medical charts. I’m curious if her illness is real or self–inflicted.”

“I can do that for you.”

As Tank gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Alcee found herself wondering if things weren’t going to get much worse before they were better.