Val’s feelings toward my actions shouldn’t be of concern for me. She was only a woman, not of concern in the eyes of so many of my men, but I valued her opinion, and even more than that, I needed her support, her love.

“There’s still Matteo, and the rest of the Famiglia. Luca has to consider their wishes.”

“Luca knows how to make people see things how he wants them to see them. Luca is the strongest Capo New York has seen in a long time. His men look up to him, but they don’t know his weakness.”

Luca had almost everyone fooled about his invulnerability, about the fact that he didn’t care for anyone. Aria was the exemption though.

“Luca will do anything to stay Capo. It’s in his blood. Ultimately if he has to choose between me and power, he will choose power, believe me.”

I didn’t doubt Luca’s absolute determination to stay in power. He was born to be Capo, just like me. It was in our blood. “Perhaps. But perhaps you are only trying to save yourself and Luca. Perhaps you realize that you being here could mean the end of the Famiglia.”

“No matter what you do to me, Luca won’t give up his territory. Luca won’t bow down to anyone.”

“But he won’t stand back and have you tortured.”

Aria flinched. I smiled coldly. “He won’t. He will attack Chicago and kill every man. He will show strength, not weakness. Luca is the most ruthless man I know, Dante, and I’ve grown up knowing you. Don’t mistake his possessiveness for anything else. I’m his possession, and he will tear down your city and your home to get it back.”

“And I will do the same with New York. You grew up seeing my civilized mask, Aria. Don’t mistake it for my true nature. Luca carries his monster on the outside; I keep mine buried until I need it.”

Aria reached for the door, trying to escape.

“Aria,” I warned. Did she really think she could escape? We were in an area where Aria would be in more danger outside the car than with me.

“I’m going to be sick,” she said, and one look at her face told me she said the truth.

I lifted the locks and Aria stormed out. I followed her and found her bent over behind the car, throwing up.

I held out a tissue. “Here.”

Aria was trembling as she straightened. “Thanks.” Tears stained her face and she looked close to losing consciousness. I hardly ever dealt with women, except for the few times we had to deal with Bratva whores.

Aria met my gaze. “Is this fear or something else?” I asked. I wanted to scare her, but this open terror was more than I’d anticipated.

“Both. I’ve never been more scared of you than I am today.” If she hoped for me to become soft, she would be disappointed. “But that’s not it. I am pregnant.”

A pregnancy test confirmed Aria’s claim. Her pregnancy gave me another advantage over Luca. I should have consulted with Rocco immediately, but given these new circumstances, I was fairly sure he’d have advised me to keep Aria, to blackmail Luca with the unborn child.

Thinking of Val and how worried I was for her because she was so vulnerable being pregnant, I knew without a doubt that Luca would go completely crazy. He’d lose his mind, and he would attack.

Keeping Aria as a captive would only put Val and Anna in danger, because if I targeted his wife and child like that, Luca would do the same with my family. And if Val found out I kept a pregnant woman as bait, she’d definitely not forgive me. I had few morals but not hurting a pregnant woman was definitely one of them. Aria wouldn’t suffer in my territory.

Of course, as I watched Aria head toward the airport to fly back to New York, I knew I was leading her and Luca into a trap. The photos the photographer had taken would confirm Luca’s distrustful nature. He’d eagerly eat up the lie because this fake truth made more sense in his twisted brain than the reality of Aria’s love and faithfulness.

It was a devious plan, but one that could possibly destroy Luca and with him the Famiglia, or at least shake them up so badly that they were vulnerable. It also made me look bad, but would make Val look like another victim and thus didn’t give Luca reason to target her or Anna.

Many of my men would be unhappy with this tactic, would say I should have kept Aria to control Luca. Some might even say I didn’t make the necessary choice for the Outfit. We were at war. Mercy toward a woman, especially Aria Vitiello, would be seen as unnecessary, maybe even weakness. Yet, my conscience had forced me to choose an innocent woman over the Outfit.

I pulled away from the airport and called Rocco, giving him an update on the situation minus Aria’s pregnancy. The photographer would forward the photos to us tonight and then we’d choose the most compromising and send them to several of New York’s magazines and newspapers, hoping they’d make headline in their online presences tomorrow and in their actual prints the day after. It would cause a major scandal, one that would give the conservatives in Luca’s Famiglia ammunition against him. Rocco tried to convince me of a cooperation with a couple of Luca’s uncles who’d approached us before, but I mistrusted those old Vitiello men even more than Luca.

I didn’t need their help.

Now I needed to talk to Val. About trust. About betrayal.

Val was still up when I returned home. My anger had built during the drive to the mansion but when I entered the bedroom and spotted my heavily pregnant wife perching on the edge of the bed, kneading her hands anxiously, it was difficult to hold on to my fury. She pushed slowly to her feet, her eyes swimming with worry. Her red silk nightgown stretched over her belly. “What did you do to Aria?”

For some reason, her worry over Aria kindled my anger anew. I undid my cuffs and headed toward the walk-in closet and not Val.

“You went to a meeting with the wife of the Famiglia Capo without telling me, without protection, Val,” I said. I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it over a chair as Val appeared in the doorway.

“Aria isn’t a danger to me. I’ve known her all my life. We are cousins.”

I shook my head, my fingers steady as I removed my tie and unbuttoned my shirt, despite the emotions shaking me up.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “We are at war.” It wasn’t just anger over her betrayal I felt. I was also worried. She risked too much. This could have been a trap.

Cradling her belly, Val leaned against the doorframe. “You are at war, Dante. The Outfit is. But Aria and I, we aren’t.”

I gritted my teeth at her refusal to accept the sad truth. This war was all-encompassing. “It could have been a trick. Luca could have set her up to it. You risked too much.”

Val raised her brows. “You really think Aria would have led me into a trap so Luca could capture me? And then what?”

“It’s a good thing that we’ll never find out.” Left in my briefs, I moved to walk out but Val stepped in the way.

“Where’s Aria?” Val asked again, touching my bare chest. “What did you do to her?”

Grabbing her shoulders, I gently pushed her out of my way and headed for the bathroom. Of course, Val followed me. “Dante, don’t ignore me now. Tell me what you did to Aria. I deserve to know.”

I slammed my palm down on the sink. “Didn’t I deserve to know that Aria Vitiello was in my territory? That she intended to meet my wife? What did she want here? Why did she want to meet you?”