Emilia: Part 1 (Trassato Crime Family Book 3)

by Lisa Cardiff

“I don’t know where to start, but here it is. My name isn’t Emmie Tate. It’s Emilia Trassato.”

  His head whipped around. “Are you in trouble with the law?”

  “Two years ago, I ran away from my home in New York. To make a long story short, my father is the head of the Italian mafia.”

  Laughing, he elbowed me in the side. “Like the Godfather? You could’ve told me to mind my own business instead of making up some crazy story.”

  “No. I’m serious. Take your phone out and Google Dominick Trassato. There’s probably some reference to my disappearance.”

  He pulled his phone of the pocket of his faded jeans, studied me for a moment, then tapped on his screen. “You’re telling the truth.” He whistled. “Holy shit, girl. You’re family’s a big deal. You’re a big deal.”

  “Not really. I’m just a girl who wanted a new life far away from all that shit. My father wanted me to marry some guy from Chicago. He’s really powerful.”

  “So you ran because you didn’t want to marry him?”

  I swallowed, weighing my words. “That and other reasons.” A pang shot through my chest. God, when would Sal and Marcello’s betrayal stop hurting? “Anyway, I’ve been running for a long time, and it’s probably time I went home and faced the music.”

  “What will happen if you go home?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.” Memories of the night before I left flooded my mind. “I wish I could find a way to close the door on that part of my life forever.”

  “Emmie,” he threaded his fingers through mine, “will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  I scoffed. “Screw off, Gavin. That’s not even funny. I don’t want a husband. I can get one of those at home.”

  “That’s good news because I don’t want a wife.”

  I frowned. “You’re not making sense.”

  A huge smile split across his ruggedly handsome face. “I’m making tons of sense. Your family can’t force you to marry that guy if you’re already married to me.”

  “What’s in it for you?”

  “My mom’s been nagging me to get married for the last five years, more so now that she’s sick, and she adores you. I adore you.”

  I dropped my gaze and traced the circular patterns on my bedding. Gavin had asked me out to dinner almost every week since I started working here. I knew he wanted more than friendship from me, but even after two years, I couldn’t get over the betrayal of the three most important men in my life. Sal, Marcello, and my father. They all saw me as a paycheck, and I became collateral damage.

  “Then find a nice woman, settle down, and have kids.”

  “I don’t have time for women with my mom so sick and figuring out how to make the ranch profitable.”

  “Something could change. Maybe they’ll find another chemo to try.”

  Gavin’s mouth pulled tight, his eyes dull. “No. She’s done. She refused the last treatment.”

  My eyes widened. “I didn’t know.”

  “She’s worried about both of us and maybe if we married…” He swallowed and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “…we could give her some peace. She’d leave this world thinking she’d have grandchildren one day to take over her legacy, because God knows, my brother will never pull his head out of his ass.”

  His brother Brandon was the black sheep, and in my opinion, he had earned the title. He hadn’t done a single thing to help his mom. He made a mess of everything he touched, and he was an all-around entitled prick.

  “We don’t love each other.”

  “Maybe with time that’ll change, and we’re already friends. That’s a good start.”

  “What if you find someone you want to be with?”

  “Then we’ll deal with it like friends do.” He held out his hand. “What do you think? Do we have a deal?”

  My heart pounded wildly because, goddammit, I wanted to agree to this stupid deal. We didn’t love each other as anything other than friends, but love hadn’t given me anything except trouble. My relationship with Sal had been a lie. Marcello, well, I still didn’t know what I felt for him except that I couldn’t trust him. Maybe friendship was a better foundation for marriage than love anyway.

  I took his hand in mine. “Yes.”

  “We’re going to make my mom so happy.”

  “I hope you’re right, Gavin,” I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me again.

  Five days later, we were married at the courthouse in front of his mom and brother, and I became Mrs. Gavin Lancaster. While I wanted this marriage to be the answer to all of my problems, deep down I suspected it wouldn’t be.

  ***

  I was right to be skeptical. My reprieve came to screeching halt nearly two years later when I came home one day and found Gavin with a bullet in his head. With one press of the trigger, the Trassatos took everything. My peace, my new life, my new family. And it was only a matter of time before they came for me, only this time I’d fight harder because I had nothing left to lose.

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  Acknowledgments

  Thanks much for picking up this book. I had so much fun writing it and weaving all my crazy ideas together with the help of some really great people:

  Amy Bustard for reading this book and brainstorming with me.

  Chris for helping with too many things to count.

  Felicia A. Sullivan for editing this book and giving me valuable, honest opinions.

  Limitless Publishing for being so accommodating.

  And of course, to all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers who took the time to read this book. Your support and feedback make all the time staring at my computer screen worthwhile!

  I’m working as fast as possible to conclude Emilia’s story.

  About The Author

  After spending years practicing law and running a real estate development company with her husband, Lisa decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer and she must confess that inventing characters is so much more fun than writing contracts and legal briefs. A native of Colorado, she lives with her husband and three children in Denver. When she isn’t managing the chaos of raising three children and owning her own business, she can be found reading or writing a book or tinkering in her garden.

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