Born in Blood Collection Volume 1: Collection of books 1-4

the house was spotless and nothing went wrong. It wasn’t even a big celebration. Only our family, Luca’s family and the families of the respective heads of New York and Chicago were invited. Umberto said it was for safety reasons. The truce was still too fresh to risk a gathering of hundreds of guests.
I wished they’d cancel it altogether. For all I cared, I didn’t have to meet Luca until the day of our wedding. Now, as I hid from the party preparations in my room, Fabiano jumped up and down on my bed, a pout on his face. He was only five and had entirely too much energy. “I want to play!”
“Mother doesn’t want you to race through the house. Everything needs to be perfect for the guests.”
“But they aren’t even here!” Thank God. Luca and the rest of the New York guests wouldn’t arrive till tomorrow. Only one more night until I’d be meeting my future husband, a man who killed with his bare hands. I closed my eyes.
“Are you crying again?” Fabiano hopped off the bed and walked up to me, slipping his hand into mine. His dark blond hair was a mess. I tried to smooth it down but Fabiano jerked his head away.
“What do you mean?” I’d tried to hide my tears from him. Mostly I cried at night when I was protected by darkness.
“Lily says you cry all the time because Luca has bought you.”
I froze. I’d have to tell Liliana to stop saying such things. It would only get me in trouble. “He didn’t buy me.” Liar. Liar.
“Same difference,” Gianna said from the doorway, startling me.
“Shhh. What if Father hears us?”
Gianna shrugged. “He knows that I hate how he sold you like a cow.”
“Gianna,” I warned, nodding toward Fabiano. He peered up at me.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered.
“I’m not leaving for a long time, Fabi.”
He seemed satisfied with my answer, and the worry disappeared from his face and was replaced by his up-to-no good expression. “Catch me!” he screamed and stormed off, pushing Gianna aside as he darted past her.
Gianna tore after him. “I’ll kick your ass, you little monster!”
I rushed into the corridor. Liliana poked her head out of her door, and then she too ran after my brother and sister. Mother would have my head if they smashed another family heirloom. I flew down the stairs. Fabiano was still in the lead. He was fast, but Liliana had almost caught him, while Gianna and I were too slow in the high heels my mother forced us to wear for practice. Fabiano dashed into the corridor leading into the west wing of the house, and the rest of us followed. I wanted to shout at him to stop. Father’s office was in this part of the house. We’d be in so much trouble if he caught us playing around. Fabiano was supposed to act like a man. What five-year-old acted like a man?
We passed Father’s door and relief washed over me, but then three men rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. I parted my lips to shout a warning, but it was too late. Though Fabiano skidded to a halt, Liliana ran into the man in the middle with full force. Most people would have lost their balance. Most people weren’t six foot five and built like a bull.
I jerked to a halt as time seemed to grind to a stop around me. Gianna gasped beside me, but my gaze was frozen on my future husband. He was looking down at the blonde head of my little sister, steadying her with his strong hands. Hands he’d used to crush a man’s throat.
“Liliana,” I said, my voice shrill with fear. I never called my sister by her full name unless she was in trouble or something was seriously wrong. I wished I was better at hiding my terror. Now everyone was staring at me, including Luca. His cold gray eyes scanned me from head to toe, lingering on my hair.
God, he was tall. The men beside him were both over six feet, yet he dwarfed them. His hands were still on Lily’s shoulders. “Liliana, come here,” I said firmly, holding out a hand. I wanted her far away from Luca. She stumbled backward, then flew into my arms, burying her face against my shoulder. Luca raised one black eyebrow.
“That’s Luca Vitiello!” Gianna said helpfully, not even bothering to hide her disgust. Fabiano made a sound like an enraged wildcat, stormed toward Luca, and started pummeling his legs and stomach with his small fists. “Leave Aria alone! You don’t get her!”
My heart stopped right then. The man to Luca’s side took a step forward. The outline of a gun was visible under his vest. He had to be Luca’s bodyguard, though I really couldn’t see why he needed one.
“No, Cesare,” Luca said simply, and the man stilled. Luca caught my brother’s hands in one of his, stopping the assault. I doubted he’d even felt the blows. I pushed Lily toward Gianna, who wrapped a protective arm around her, then I approached Luca. I was scared out of my mind, but I needed to get Fabiano away from him. Maybe New York and Chicago were trying to lay their feud to rest, but alliances could break in a blink. It wouldn’t be the first time. Luca and his men were still the enemy.
“What a warm welcome we get. That’s the infamous hospitality of the Outfit,” said the other man with Luca; he had the same black hair but his eyes were darker. He was a couple of inches shorter than Luca and not as broad, but they were unmistakably brothers.
“Matteo,” Luca said in a low voice that made me shiver. Fabiano was still snarling and struggling like a wild animal, but Luca held him at arm’s length.
“Fabiano,” I said firmly, gripping his upper arm. “It’s enough. That’s not how we treat guests.”
Fabiano froze, then gazed up at me over