Chapter 2

At seven the next morning, I entered the Moretti family's law office in Las Vegas.

Luca was already there.

He wore a black suit. Two lawyers and a retired judge waited behind him. The table held a prenuptial agreement, a marriage license application, and a signed agreement that required Luca to cooperate with an uncontested divorce whenever I asked.

He pushed the exit agreement toward me.

"You can accept Moretti protection without marrying me. Vincent and the Falcones will not touch you. You do not need to become my wife to get away from him."

"I did not come here because I need a man to hide behind."

I opened the prenuptial agreement. Luca asked for no part of Caruso Atlantic. He did not transfer Moretti debt to me. One section required separate consent for decisions involving our homes, careers, children, and family businesses.

Vincent had spent ten years telling me that love required obedience. Luca gave me my choices back in a few pages.

I signed my full name at the bottom. The signature read Elena Caruso.

"I came here to choose a new husband."

Vale was my mother's last name. Caruso was the name on my birth certificate.

Ten years earlier, I had left the Caruso family for Vincent. My family controlled major ports and shipping companies along the East Coast. I hid my identity and helped Vincent rise from a disgraced heir to the head of the Russo family.

Luca studied my signature.

"You finally wrote your real name again."

We obtained the marriage license and returned to the office. The retired judge performed a brief civil ceremony.

There were no flowers or rings. Two lawyers signed as witnesses.

The judge asked if I was entering the marriage of my own free will.

I looked at Luca.

"Yes, I am doing this by choice."

At nine forty, I arrived at Belladonna Casino in my wedding dress.

Vincent stood on the front steps in a white tuxedo. His eyes moved over me, and pride replaced the irritation on his face.

"I knew you would come."

He lowered my veil and called the photographer over. The camera flashed as his phone rang.

Bianca's name filled the screen.

"The judge arrived early," she said through the speaker. "You are not going to leave me waiting in a white dress, are you?"

Vincent checked his watch.

"Give me twenty minutes."

He turned toward his car.

Marco, his closest lieutenant, stepped after him.

"The ceremony is about to start."

"Keep the guests busy," Vincent said. "Elena will wait."

I called his name.

"This is supposed to be our wedding. Are you really leaving?"

"The civil ceremony with Bianca is business. Do not make a scene over family strategy."

"You can stay here, or you can go to her. Which one are you choosing?"

The guests on the steps watched him. So did the Russo elders.

Vincent hesitated for a few seconds, then opened the car door.

"I will not give up the Falcone alliance because you are upset."

I gave him a calm nod.

"Then you should go to her."

Relief crossed his face.

"The wedding will begin on time after you leave," I said. "When you return, another groom will be standing at the altar."

The men around him laughed.

Vincent laughed with them.

"No man in Las Vegas would steal a woman from the Russo Don."

His car pulled away.

The wedding planner hurried over with a pale face.

"Should I delay the ceremony?"

"The band will play on time. The press will stay. Open the chapel doors at ten."

"Mr. Russo is not here."

My phone vibrated.

Luca had sent one message telling me that he had arrived.

I lifted my skirt and walked toward the service exit behind the hotel.

Luca stood beside a black armored sedan. He had changed into a formal black suit. He held out his hand but did not touch me.

"You still have time to leave. Get in the car, and I will take you out of Las Vegas."

"I am not running away."

"Then tell me what you want."

I placed my hand in his.

"Vincent paid for the flowers, the guests, and the chapel. I want to use all of it and finish my wedding."

Luca closed his fingers around mine and pressed a quiet kiss to the back of my hand.

"Then we are going to get married, Mrs. Moretti."