Somewhere in the house, I could still hear the telltale sounds of a brutal fight. Grunts, screams, shots. I shivered. The men gathered in this room all looked like they’d come for blood. The dead man I’d just noticed in the corner and upstairs in Talia’s bedroom didn’t seem to be enough.

Heavy steps thundered down the staircase, and a few seconds later Growl stalked in. His hands and forearms were covered in blood. I wasn’t sure if it was his own, but I doubted it.

Falcone looked his way. “All clear, Growl?” he asked with mild curiosity, as if he knew the answer already, and I supposed he did. All the stories I’d heard in whispered voices flashed through my mind.

Growl was invincible.

The man in front of me tonight had little to do with the man I’d seen at Falcone’s party. Back then Growl had been in disguise. While other people had to put on masks, the elegant suit and cleaned-up appearance had been his, but beneath it, the same monster had been lying in wake.

Now there was no mistaking who or what he truly was: the best soldier in the ranks of the Las Vegas Camorra, and a monster. That was what people always said behind his back, and now I saw it too. He was a fighting machine without emotions, a brutal hand of Benedetto Falcone.

“All clear,” Growl said in that deep rumble.

My eyes darted to the long scar around his throat. His vocal cords must have been badly injured for him to lose his normal voice. Growl shouldn’t have survived a wound like that, but somehow he had, and perhaps it had turned him into the monster he was now. Or perhaps he’d only survived because he was a monster.

Falcone turned away from his soldier and Growl backed away, fading into the background. I wasn’t sure how he managed to do it; a man with his size and aura shouldn’t have been able to blend into his surroundings that easily, to make you forget he was even there. It probably was one of the skills that made him such a feared fighter.

Falcone stepped closer to Father, forcing him to tilt his head back.

“I hear you’ve been busy these last few months,” Falcone began in a pleasant drawl that made the hairs at the back of my neck rise. His grin was nasty and malicious. It promised punishment.

Father swallowed, but he didn’t say anything. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“How much of my money have you kept for yourself, Brando?” Falcone asked, still in that horribly pleasant voice.

My stomach constricted. I couldn’t believe Father had stolen from his boss. He wouldn’t have been that stupid. Everybody knew what happened to people who messed with Falcone.

Falcone’s smile widened and he gave a small nod toward one of his men, who immediately went outside and returned a few moments later with Cosimo at his heels, as usual impeccably dressed. What was he doing here?

Perhaps he would vouch for Father. I tried to catch Cosimo’s gaze, but his was firmly focused on Falcone.

Father blanched at the sight of my future husband, and I knew my hope was in vain. Father opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he closed it and remained silent.

I shifted forward, trying to catch Cosimo’s eyes again, but his gaze didn’t once seek me out. Why was he ignoring me? We were practically engaged; our engagement party was set for New Year’s. Shouldn’t he take care of me?

He was looking at Father with an expression that made my stomach turn. This was going to end badly.

“Why don’t you tell me again what you told me a few days ago?” Falcone said to Cosimo, never taking his eyes off Father.

“After we’d come to an agreement about the engagement to his daughter, Brando came to me and asked me if I wanted to earn some extra money. He told me about the deal he had with the Bratva, and that he was taking money from you.”

Mother’s arm around my shoulders jerked, her eyes shock-wide. Talia must have felt it, too, because she raised her eyebrows at me. Scared as she was, she looked much younger, and I wanted to protect her, but I didn’t know how.

Father didn’t say anything. I wanted to shake him, wanted to make him deny Cosimo’s outrageous claims. With every second that he didn’t, my hopes for a merciful ending to this evening disappeared.

I tried to catch Cosimo’s gaze one last time, still hoping, and when he finally looked my way, my heart sank. There was no emotion in his eyes. He would not be my knight in shining armor today. He’d made his decision. He’d chosen his career, and not me.

Falcone turned toward my mother with a shark-like expression. Mother stiffened but she kept her head high. She was a proud woman; it was one of the things I admired most about her. I worried Falcone might enjoy breaking her. He was that type.

He advanced on Mother, and finally Father sprang into action. “She doesn’t know anything. My family wasn’t involved in any of this. They are innocent.” His voice rang with fear and alarm. Seeing his terror, hearing it, petrified me to no end. This wasn’t a game.

Talia looked at me for help again. God, how I wished I knew how to help her, how to help my family, but I was useless.

Falcone stopped right in front of my mother, closer than was socially acceptable. Mother didn’t flinch back, though most people would have under his stare. I hoped for the same strength if Falcone confronted me. He reached for her throat, and for a crazy moment I thought he was going to strangle her. Father made a move to get up, but Falcone’s man pushed him back down.

Falcone curled his fingers around Mother’s golden necklace. “But they’re reaping the rewards of your betrayal, aren’t they?”

Father shook his head. “I didn’t buy the necklace with that money…” He trailed off, a pained expression on his face. That was a guilty plea if I’d ever heard one. I wanted to cry. Father had really stolen from the mob. That meant his death, and maybe ours as well. Falcone wasn’t known for his kindness. Tears of fear prickled my eyes as I considered what lay ahead. These could be our last minutes in this life.

“No?” Falcone said with fake curiosity. He ripped the necklace off Mother’s throat. She gasped and flinched, releasing me as one hand flew up to touch her skin. When she pulled her fingers away, they were bloody. The gold chain had cut her.

Then he pointed at Talia’s earrings. Talia took a step back. “And those?” He reached for one earring.

“Leave her alone,” I said before I could stop myself. Father and Mother stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. Falcone slowly turned to me, eyes narrowing. He stepped back from Talia and stalked toward me. It took every ounce of my courage to stand my ground when all I wanted to do was to run as fast as my feet could carry me.

I wasn’t wearing any flashy jewelry he could hold against me, or my father, but I knew that wouldn’t protect me.

His cruel eyes seemed to pierce me to the very core. I tried not to show my revulsion and fear. I wasn’t sure I was succeeding. I had no experience in facing true evil.

“You are a brave one, aren’t you?” Falcone said. I had a feeling it wasn’t meant as a compliment. I waited for him to do something to me, to punish me for my insolence, but he merely eyed me before he turned on his heel and walked back to Father. For some reason his leniency worried me. It made me think that maybe he had something worse in mind for me later. This wasn’t over.

“I wonder if you actually believed you’d get away with this, Brando?” Falcone asked. He touched Father’s shoulder in a mock friendly gesture.