The Rocchetti Queen (The Rocchetti Dynasty Book 3)

by Bree Porter

  But instead I smiled delicately at Papa.

  After all, he had no ill will toward me. It was just business.

  My fear of the Rocchettis only intensified as the knowledge of my engagement began to sink in.

  Even the household staff gave me pitying looks, and Dita made a special effort to make all my favorite foods. There was a sense of them knowing exactly what would happen to me when I was in the care of the Rocchettis.

  The same thing that had happened to any of the other women who had come into contact with those horrible men.

  My engagement became public soon after Papa had told me, leading to hundreds of phone calls from relatives and associates. Though a wedding was something to be celebrated, I could hear the slight terror in their voices. That barb of fear that the Rocchettis so easily struck in people’s hearts.

  Oh, poor little Sophia, I could hear them saying, she’s not going to survive the Rocchettis.

  First her mother, then her sister and now herself.

  When the day came, I sat at the end of my bed, knees pressed together. I felt almost defeated—embarrassingly so.

  I had been ready for hours, waiting on The Godless to make his arrival. Would this be our entire marriage? Me waiting on him, dressed to the nines? I could only hope.

  If I was lucky, we might even become one of those estranged couples. It wasn’t uncommon. Often wives took up residence in the main home, raising the children, while the husbands spent most of their time at their other residences with women more willing than their wives.

  However, that was if I lived that long. Rocchetti women had the strange habit of...disappearing. From Don Piero’s wife to my husband’s mother, the women seemed to...simply disappear.

  One day I might very well be...simply gone.

  The knock at the door startled me.

  “Miss Sophia?” came Dita’s voice. “Mr Rocchetti is here. Time to hurry up.”

  I swallowed so loudly I was certain Dita could hear it on the other side of the door.

  With more bravo than I felt, I slid on my heels, double checked my complexion and then made my way downstairs. No one had to tell me my father and The Godless were in the study. Where else would they be?

  I paused when I reached the wooden doors. Part of me wanted to run away screaming, but what would that get me? I would be caught and named a menace. Which wouldn’t benefit me at all.

  I balled my fist up and knocked.

  “Come in, Sophia.”

  Take a deep breath, Soph, came my sister’s voice. Take a deep breath.

  Slowly, I opened the door and stepped into the study.

  I spotted Alessandro’s dark hair first, before he rose and turned around.

  My breath got knocked out of me as it always did when I saw him.

  Alessandro Rocchetti didn’t smile at me. Only looked to Papa.

  Papa was quick to react. “Alessandro, my daughter, Sophia Padovino. Sophia, come here.”

  I stepped closer, but found my legs unwilling to comply with my mental demand.

  Papa cut his eyes to me, jaw tightening.

  Alessandro didn’t bother to kiss my hand in greeting. I was too far away, anyhow.

  “Miss Padovino,” he said in greeting. Then to Papa, “I wish to have a word with her alone, Cesare.”

  There was no request in his words.

  Papa rose and nodded. “Of course. I will be right outside.” A friendly way of telling him to keep his hands off until after we had been wed.

  I watched helplessly as my father walked past me and closed the door softly behind him, leaving me alone with the creature we called Rocchetti.

  Movement caught my attention and I turned to see Alessandro pouring himself something to drink.

  The silence grew.

  Alessandro took a sip of his drink and turned to me, giving me his full attention. My heart began to beat faster. I felt like the gazelle beneath the hungry lion’s eyes.

  I clasped my hands together in front of me, twisting them fitfully. “I am sorry if you were waiting long. If I had known what time you were coming, I would’ve greeted you.”

  “I had business with your father.”

  “Of course.” I glanced at the drink in his hand. Perhaps I should’ve asked for one? It could only help.

  Alessandro meandered to the photos on the bookshelf. He took a sip as he perused at photos of my sister and I, from infants to young women. He stopped by one of Cat and I at the tender age of nineteen, dressed beautifully and standing in front of a Christmas tree.

  “The Christmas Party,” I said. “That one was taken at the Christmas Party.” Like it wasn’t obvious.

  “My condolences for your sister’s passing.” He didn’t sound that apologetic.

  I smiled tightly. “Thank you. It was a hard loss…but you are no stranger to those, no?”

  Alessandro cut his eyes to me.

  Should’ve kept my mouth shut, should’ve kept my goddamn mouth shut—

  “No, I suppose I am not.” Alessandro took another a sip of his drink before pulling out a small box from his pocket. “Your engagement ring.”

  “Thank you.” I took the velvet box from him and opened it. Inside, a beautiful ring rested. The ring had one large diamond in the middle, with little diamonds decorating the border of it, resembling a flower, almost. The band was golden and gleamed in the study light.

  “It is beautiful.”

  “It is a family heirloom.”

  I smiled at him. “I’ll try to keep it safe then.”

  He did not look amused.

  I quickly looked down and put the ring on. It gleamed beautifully and made me feel much older than I was.

  Alessandro put his glass down on the desk, empty.

  Alessandro surveyed me for a moment. There was something happening behind those near-black eyes of his. Eventually he nodded his head.

  He didn’t give me permission to use his Christian name, only stepped around me and left. I heard Papa and his deep voices outside the study, before the front door clicked shut.

  I clenched my fists.

  Alessandro Rocchetti was terrifying and rude. If I had ever acted or treated anyone the way he just treated me, I would’ve been flayed alive. To be fair, though, if I could kill someone with my bare hands, I might not bother with society’s manners.

  But I wasn’t some colleague he had to bear for the duration of his shift. I was going to be his wife.

  I looked down at the beautiful ring on my finger. One that all the other Rocchetti women had worn.

  Oh, God help me.

  Kingpin’s Poison

  Book 1 in The Tarkhanov Empire

  Release date: 15th November 2020

  The Rocchettis may have found their happy ending, but the same cannot be said about Konstantin Tarkhanov and Elena Falcone.

  This November follow Konstantin and Elena in The Tarkhanov Empire duet as they meet and fall in love...with some obstacles! Cover and blurb to be revealed soon.

  I always get so choked up writing these things but here we go!

  It is crazy and upsetting to think that The Rocchetti Dynasty has come to an end. Writing Sophia and Alessandro has given me so much joy and happiness and carried me through these tumultuous times. From beginning this journey alone and now finishing it surrounded by friends, I have loved every second (well...maybe not every second!) and I cannot wait to continue writing mafia stories for you all.

  My first thank you has to go to my editor, Sheri at Light Hand Proofreading. Without your expertise and constant patience, these books would be still unreadable. Your support and love has meant more than I could ever write down, and I am so excited to continue my writing journey with you at my side.

  To Harim, my BETA reader. Thank you for all your notes and support. Your ability to see into my story and help me better it has been unparalleled. Every day I am grateful that you reached out to me and believed so much in my stories! You truly are the best BETA reader in the entire world.
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br />   To Dar Albert, my cover designer, and AJ Wolf, my formatter/graphic designer...I don’t even know where to start! The art you brought to The Rocchetti Dynasty has managed to pick the words right off the page and let me hold them in my hands! Working with you both was amazing and I can’t wait to do so again.

  To my ARC readers...I love you all so much and thank you! Sue, Tahlia, TJ, Theresa, V, Uzma, Maria, Cynthia, Chloe, Drew, Gurleen, Mihaela, Jen, Chelsea, Tiffany, Marissa, Liz, Vandana, Miriam, Rhonda, Thilras, Mari, Chimere, Madhulika, Asena, Shikha, Zara, Deanna, Alexandra, Emily, SaYa, Literary Temptations, Sya, Sammy and Amy! (Whew, hope that’s everyone!)

  To my author buddies, J.M Stoneback and V Domino, your support and understanding and friendship makes me excited to keep writing. Love you both!

  To Bree Porter’s Bookclub, you all mean so much to me. Reading through your comments and theories brings me so much joy—mainly because sometimes you get really close and I get really worried!

  Of course, to my best friend, Imogen, who has been trying really hard to read my books and her attempts mean more than I can say.

  And to everybody who has picked up my books! Thank you for coming this far in the journey! All the messages, reviews and comments have propeled me into writing this series and planning for more. I wish I could hug every single one of you (six feet apart!) but sadly location is our enemy. There will never be enough words in the English language for me to convey my thanks...but thank you!

  Bye!

  Bree Porter came screaming into the world on Valentine’s Day, so she never had any choice but to be addicted to romance. Now she spends her day swooning over mafia romance and sexy capos, while conveniently ignoring her university assignment deadlines.

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