Valentina POV
"You look beautiful," Renzo murmured against my ear as we stepped into the blinding opulence of the Ricci ballroom. His palm was a solid, grounding weight at the small of my back. "Try to enjoy this, even if the company is questionable."
"I'll do my best." I forced a seamless, practiced smile onto my face, but my eyes were already working the room out of pure survival instinct. I mapped the exits. I scanned the balconies. I calculated the density of a crowd that could turn from a celebratory toast to a firing squad in the span of a single breath.
Carmela Ricci found us within minutes. She swept through the glittering crowd resplendent in emerald silk, a predatory warmth radiating off her like heat off midnight pavement.
"Valentina. You actually came." She took both my han
