His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)

His Tesoro: Chapter 1



Alcohol burned a line down my throat as I took another sip of my drink.

This had been a shit day on top of a shit week on top of a shit month.

Another one of our warehouses upstate had been hit. The dead man in the basement twenty floors down had finally confirmed what I long suspected—the Albanians were trying to encroach on my territory.

My hand clenched around my glass.

I’d spent the past thirteen years as head of the Five Families, extending our reach to the north and west of the state. Many had tried to infiltrate my territory—most of them with a desire to bring the skin trade to New York City. The Albanians had been pushing at our borders for the past five years, but their attacks had escalated with the death of their last boss. His idiot son, Arben, had gotten it in his head that he could challenge me.

My office door opened, and in walked my second-in-command, my brother in all but blood—Romeo. He sat down across from me, throwing a folder on my desk.

I eyed it, taking another drink. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes.” Romeo’s usual easygoing expression was absent. Nothing was amusing tonight after losing two of our men in the warehouse fire.

I scrubbed my hand across my face and forced myself to flip the folder open. I stared at the picture inside.

“At least she’s pretty,” he said.

Pretty was an understatement. Piercing blue eyes stared at me, framed by golden blonde curls. Full red lips. Dark brows. Small, straight nose. Pink cheeks. Sofiya Ivanova was the most stunning woman I’d ever set my eyes on. There was a strange stirring in my chest the longer I looked at her.

I pulled my gaze away. “How old is she?”

“Just celebrated her twenty-first birthday.”

“Fuck.” I set down my glass. “She’s practically a child.”

“You don’t have much of a choice, fratello. If we want the Russians on our side, we need this alliance with Rustik.”

Rustik Ivanov was head of the Bratva in Chicago. Tension had been growing between us until war seemed imminent. Then he’d reached out with the offer of a truce. He wanted access to our eastern trade routes to run guns and drugs, and in return, the Russians would support us against the Albanians.

“You really think we should do this?” I asked.

Romeo hesitated and I arched my brow. He wasn’t one to withhold his opinion.

“I think we’re too isolated here,” he finally said. “Russians to the west, the Irish to the east, and now the Albanians. We have a stronghold here in the city, but we need allies. This could be a start.”

“I just don’t know why it has to start with me getting married,” I said, my eyes returning to Sofiya’s picture. The capos had been whispering for years about their still-single Don. I needed heirs to secure my empire, but a wife and children would make me vulnerable.

Romeo leaned back in his chair, eyeing me closely. “I know it’s the anniversary. Sienna tried to find you earlier today.”

I looked out the window. “Don’t start.” I didn’t need his reproach, his judgement for what a coward I was, hiding away. I gestured to the file. “What do we know about her?”

A muscle in Romeo’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t push it. “Not much. Rustik is protective of his two daughters. They completed school at home and are rarely seen. The next page is what he sent over about her.”

I moved the picture to reveal a mostly blank page. It listed Sofiya’s age, height, and hobbies—cooking, baking, and reading.

“I’m sure you could insist on meeting her before the wedding.”

I shut the folder to stop myself from getting distracted by Sofiya’s picture.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It’s not like we’ll be real husband and wife.”

“Oh?”

“We’ll live together, but we won’t be more than roommates.” I’d had my fair share of women throughout the years, but one night was all they got from me. I’d decided long ago that I would never let a woman make me weak.

Romeo raised an eyebrow. “What about heirs?”

I waved my hand. “We have years to figure something out. What’s important now is stopping the Albanians.” The growing tension with the Bratva had demanded too much of our manpower, distracting us from Arben’s threat.

Romeo leaned back in the leather office chair, watching me closely. A slow smile spread across his face as he crossed his arms.

“What?” I asked, scowling.

“Just interested to see how this goes. The unshakeable Matteo Rossi living with his pretty little roommate.”

My irritation grew the longer he smiled. “Fuck off. This is a business decision, nothing more.”

“Whatever you say.” He got up. “I’ll let them know we can set the date.”

“Small wedding,” I said. “Let’s get this done quickly.”

Romeo nodded and then reached for the file.

“Leave it,” I barked.

He just hummed as he left my office.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.