When the dust settled, I spotted Cal standing next to his bike. His black leather jacket glistening in the sun. He held out a helmet. “Ready?”
“We’re riding all the way to New York?”
A sly smile crept across his face, “We’re taking the scenic way up the coast. Vinny can survive without us for a few more weeks.” He straddled the bike and held out his arm for me.
I climbed on the bike behind him, wrapping my legs around his thighs and my arms around his waist, pressing against his back as close as I could.
The summer would end with us back in New York, facing an uncertain future but for a little while longer, it didn’t matter. A cool crisp breeze blew through my hair as we sped off down the long driveway. I watched the lake disappear and the sky turn to a sharp blue when we cleared the tree line.
By the time we return to New York, Autumn will paint the trees with breathtaking hues of red and yellow. Autumn will turn to Winter, and my stomach will round. The wintery cold will kiss our faces and the trees will be barren, but my heart will always be alive with Cal by my side.
Epilogue
Angelo
My hands splayed on the cold concrete floor as I planked my body, legs and arms straight. I bent my elbows, lowering myself so my nose grazed the grimy floor and extended my arms to raise myself back up. Each time I rose my eyes focused on a picture of Mia Bella, one of the few belongings the guards permitted me to keep. My muscles tightened and screamed with each push-up until my arms couldn’t bear the weight any longer. I pushed myself up one last time and rose, massaging the dull aching throb under the raised scar on my chest.
It’s been 3 months, 2 weeks, 4 days and 18 hours since a bullet snickered through the air and tore into my flesh. I must have passed out because I woke to a monotonous high pitch beep piercing my ears. A sharp pain stung my chest and cold steel squeezed tight around my wrist from the handcuffs trapping me to a hospital bed.
Now I spend my days pacing a six by eight jail cell. The other prisoners, even the guards pass me by with their heads hung down, avoiding eye contact. They knew just by my name not to fuck with me. Pissing me off was the quickest way to sign their death warrants. Since the Judge denied me bail while I await trial on a long list of RICO charges, I have to bide my time in this dank run down prison. Not even these bars will stop me from exacting revenge. It may have been Lorenzo who pulled the trigger, but it was my Mia Bella who put this whole mess into motion.
I would have given her everything, but she threw it away with such indifference, to chase after Cal Carracci. He wasn’t even a Made-man. I would not sit by and let the Carracci’s move in on my territory.
Cal was not the only heir to the throne. There’s a reason my father, Matteo Deluca, is the Underboss of the Bianchi family; to secure my place as Don as Carmine Bianchi’s eldest grandson.
The thought of my Mia Bella fucking Cal Carracci caused my muscles to tense even more. I worked the white t-shirt down my sweaty chest and slipped my arms into the standard issued gray polyester uniform. The heavy door slamming shut echoed through the corridor. I tore Mia Bella’s picture off the wall and passed it through the metal bars as footsteps passed by my cell.
When it’s least expected, Cal Carracci’s day of reckoning will come and I will claim my heir, growing inside of her.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank you for taking the time to enter the world of the Carracci and Deluca men. This was my debut novel, and I had so much fun writing it for you. I hope you enjoyed Brie’s story. The Vendetta Series is only just beginning. Whose team will you be on Cal Carracci or Angelo Deluca?
Thank you, J. Lynn Lombard, for your support and encouragement. I admire your strength and love your stories. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have had the courage to follow through on this. I appreciate all your advice, helping me steer through the crazy, exciting and sometimes maddening world of writing.
Thank you to Nyxie Marrs, for keeping me on track when I got lazy and bouncing ideas around.
Thank you to Sarah, Michelle and Sherry for Beta reading. You girls rock! #DoubleDThrusting
Thank you to Bite Me Graphic Designs for the awesome cover design and marketing products.
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Resurrection (The Vendetta Series Book 1) Page 16