by Bella J.
I took her hand. “Now, come. If we don’t get back to the house today, Karina will march over here and shove her sharpest heel up my ass.” And I wasn’t kidding. She made me swear not to keep Doe for too long. I swore to God, it seemed like Karina had found the little sister she never had when it came to Doe.
On our way back to the main house, I wanted to turn around so many times, it wasn’t even funny. It felt good to have Doe to myself. To be with her twenty-four-seven without anyone else in the vicinity. Even though our mini escape from reality was for a reason, it did have its perks. But it was time. Not only had I been away from home, I was also away from the family business. It was going to take Lucio and Lorik a good few hours to get me up to speed on everything.
I switched off the engine of the quad, and Karina came rushing out. “About damn time.” She hugged Doe as if she hadn’t seen the woman in years.
“Geez, little sis. Were we gone that long?”
She scowled at me, clearly picking up on my sarcasm. “You left an asshole, and now you came back…still an asshole.”
I grabbed her and pulled her under my arm. “I missed you too.”
She feigned a smile, and then I noticed the slight tick she had in her jaw. I narrowed my eyes. “What is going on?”
“Nothing.”
She answered that one way too fucking quickly.
“What is going on, Karina?”
“I told you—”
“Hello, brother.”
I balked, recognizing the voice. When I turned to the front door, Dante stood there smiling at me. “Before you lose your shit, Layla and Rafe ain’t here.”
For a moment, I balled my fists, angry that I had been so disobeyed. My order was clear. Dante was to steer clear of Boston until this whole Vadik situation had been dealt with. And his place was with his family.
I walked up to him, never taking my disapproving glare off his face. How dared he? How dared any of them disobey me so blatantly? As I stepped up to him, his gaze never leaving my glare, there was only one thing I could say.
“I missed you, brother.”
He smiled. “I missed your stubborn ass too, big bro.”
We were never the hugging type, but the fact that I was really fucking happy to see my brother—even though he went against my direct order. So, I pulled him in for a bro-hug. Double-crossed arms and hand slapping. No funny chest against chest kinda hug. That would have been weird.
“Aah, would you look at that.” Lorik stood behind Dante. “It’s like a scene from a Hallmark movie.”
Dante turned to him. “I can’t explain it, but for some weird fuckin’ reason I actually missed your Albanian ass.”
“Of course, you did.” Lorik winked.
Dante just shook his head, then looked over my shoulder at Doe. “She looks good, brother.”
My chest swelled. “Yeah. She’s changed a lot since you left.”
“And you.”
“What about me?”
“It’s only been two minutes, and I can already see you’re different.”
I frowned. “Different? How?”
“I dunno. You seem…lighter.”
Lorik peeked over Dante’s shoulder. “He does have a sort of airiness to him, doesn’t he?”
“Lorik,” I scowled, “mind your own fucking business.”
“What? I’m just saying. If you had a dance belt to protect your balls, you could easily pull off the whole ballerina thing with all the…light around you.” The smirk on his face begged to be smashed in.
“First,” I started, “in Italian, it’s called a ballerino.”
Lorik seemed enlightened. “Oh, you mean, almost like bambino?”
“No, Lorik. Not like bambino.”
“Bimbo?”
“No! No! Not fucking bimbo. Ballerin—” I paused. “You know what? Fuck it. Let’s just get a drink.”
Lorik grabbed us both around our shoulders. “Man, it feels good to have you two fuckers back under one roof.”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw the smile on Doe’s face as she watched the fucking spectacle that was Lorik. With a knowing look, she silently conveyed to me that she was okay, and I needn’t worry. Karina took her hand, and off they went. Probably to the garden, since Karina knew how much Doe loved it. With winter looming just around the corner, it wouldn’t be long before the garden colors disappeared under a blanket of white.
For the rest of the day, Lorik, Dante, and I spent our time catching up, talking shit, and drinking bourbon. It felt good to see my brother again, but a part of me still argued that his place was with Layla and Rafe. Ultimately, it was his decision.
“Where are they?” I asked Dante as he sat across from me nursing his third glass of bourbon.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Dante swirled the auburn-colored liquid around in his glass. “I told Layla not to tell me where they were going.” He shrugged. “Just in case shit got real.”
I nodded. “Good call, brother. But they have a protection detail?”
“Yes. Lucio figured that all out for us.”
I snorted. Of course, our stubborn, know-it-all cousin was in on this as well.
“Talking about Lucio, where is the little fucker?” Dante took a sip from his drink.
I rubbed circles around the rim of my glass. “He’s out doing a few things for me.”
“What things?” Dante narrowed his eyes at me. I had to tread carefully. If there was anyone who had the ability to see right through me, it was my little brother. A part of me wanted to tell him about Mancuso. About how I jabbed my blade into his skull. I wanted to tell my brother that our archenemy was dead, that our family—our dad—had finally been avenged. But I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk Doe finding out about Mancuso, and that her dad and the man who sold her were one and the same.
“Things that ensure Doe’s safety.”
Dante shifted in his seat. “So, she’s the real deal?”
“If by that you mean my woman, then yes.”
“And Vadik?”
Lorik leaned forward in his seat. “Fucker hasn’t shown his face yet. I’m wondering what his MO is.”
I gulped down the rest of my drink. Talking about the fucker made me nervous. He was out there. And I had something he desperately wanted back. Chances were he would strike any day, and all I could do to keep Doe safe was to get that fucking chip out of her neck without her knowing, and then amp up the ammo around her. Other than that, we were pretty much flying fucking blind.
I stood and refilled my glass, my mind scattered with thoughts of everything that could possibly go wrong. Just the thought of Vadik getting close to Doe ever again had me seeing images of his fucking intestines hanging over the crystal chandelier in my goddamn dining room.
“Any word on Mancuso?” Dante asked, and a memory of Stefano’s dead body popped into my head. I swore to God I almost had a fucking orgasm just thinking about how it felt when my knife sliced through his motherfucking head. Jesus, I was borderline bipolar. Going from wanting to slice someone’s guts out, to coming in my pants while thinking of a dead body. I needed more than just a bottle of bourbon.
“So?” Dante pushed for an answer. “No news on Mancuso?”
“No.” My answer was clipped, the subject not open for discussion.
“I suppose we have bigger things to worry about at the moment.”
I just nodded. Vadik was a “bigger thing.”
“Hey,” Lorik chimed in. “What about we go have a few drinks at Vertigo tonight?”
“No can do.” I placed my drink down on the table next to me. “I’m not leaving Doe tonight.”
“Let her come too, then.”
“I’m going to pretend that the only reason you said that was because you didn’t think that one through before you opened your big fucking mouth.”
Lorik leaned back in his seat. “I’m serious. You can’t keep her hidden for always.
”
“Not always. Just until I’ve buried Vadik six feet underground.”
“Listen, all jokes aside. I think it would be good for her to get out, to do something normal with us. Poor girl walks around these halls knowing she has a giant bullseye on her forehead.”
I cocked a brow. “It’s because of that giant bullseye on her forehead that your idea sucks.”
“I agree with Lorik.” All three of us looked up at Karina standing by the door. “She needs a little normal, Antonio.”
“And you need to keep your nose out my fucking business.” I shot up from my seat, and so did Lorik.
“Hey, man, chill. There’s no need for you to talk to your sister like that. We’re allowed to give our opinion.”
“Not when it comes to Doe.” My glare was fucking concrete.
Dante got up. “I agree with them, brother.”
“What?”
“If you want Doe to live a normal life, normal has to start now. Not when Vadik is dead and buried. That could take years.” Not if I could help it. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to do this. It’s risky. But we have Lucio, and he’s the best at what he does. Plus, we have Vertigo in our pockets. We can have that place scouted and secure within the fucking hour.”
“No.” One word that signaled that we had reached the end of this discussion. But in typical Karina fashion, she ignored that fucking signal by slamming the door closed and stomped right up to me.
“She needs this. She needs to be treated less like a fucking porcelain doll who can break, and more like a woman who has fucking steel in her spine.” Her eyes narrowed, and she moved even closer to me. “You keeping her away from the world is more about you being afraid than her being in danger.”
I snorted. “And what the fuck do you think I’m afraid of?”
“Losing her.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lorik wanting to come closer, but Dante stopped him. Lorik hadn’t been part of this family long enough to know how my sister and I battled. Karina never backed down, and neither did I. It was fire against fire. But this time Karina’s words hit home.
“Whether it’s my fear or the danger she’s in, the fact of the matter is it’s too fucking risky to have her all out in the open.”
“Is that why you took her out to the beach at night? Thinking the dark can hide her from our enemies?”
I licked my lips, frustration and anger threatening to get the better of me.
“You see, Antonio. There is a part of you that knows we’re right. That knows she needs as much normal as we can give her right now. Otherwise, you never would have taken her to the beach.”
This time Dante stepped up next to her. “We’ll all be there. Lorik, you, me. Lucio and his team. We’ll fucking double security at Vertigo if that’s what it takes.”
“Please, Antonio,” Karina pleaded. “I know you know how strong Doe really is. She can do this. She’s ready.”
But I wasn’t. I wasn’t fucking ready yet. Ironic. I’d spent all this fucking time being who Doe needed me to be. A gentleman. An attentive lover. A love-sick puppy. A ruthless king. I’d been all these things to her in order to make her stronger, and here my family was, telling me Doe was ready, that she was strong enough to face the world—and now I wasn’t the one ready to put her out there.
I narrowed my eyes, retaliation stinging the tip of my tongue. Why? Because I didn’t want to admit they were all right, and I was wrong. I was the leader of this family, and there were a hundred different ways for me to tell all of them to fuck off. But part of being a leader was being able to admit when you were wrong.
I dragged my fingers through my hair, biting my bottom lip. “Fine.”
Karina squealed.
“But,” I pointed a finger at them, going from one to the other, “security will be tripled at Vertigo, and I want all your goddamn eyes on her the entire fucking time. Is that clear?”
Lorik joined in. “Dude, I can’t promise that since my woman’s ass has a way of demanding all my attention.”
“Seriously, Lorik?” Karina glared holes into his forehead.
“What?” He shrugged. Fucking clueless son of a bitch.
Dante didn’t hover. He grabbed his phone, and I heard him talk to Lucio as he walked out of the room. Karina smiled. “We’re all in this together, Antonio. Doe is a part of this family now, and we protect what is ours.” There it was, the mafia in my sister. She might not be as immersed in our family’s way of doing things, but being mafia was in our blood…including hers.
Chapter 10
Doe
“It doesn’t look like me at all.”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back at me was unrecognizable. Beautiful, even.
Karina stepped in behind me. “You look amazing. My brother is going to have a hernia when he sees you. In fact,” she leaned her head to the side, clutching her chin with her fingers, “he might just change his mind and not go through with this when he sees you in this dress.”
Confused, I narrowed my eyes.
She shrugged. “My brother is, well…he’s the possessive type. Especially when it comes to you, it seems.”
I stared back at my reflection. The dark, royal purple dress seemed like it molded to the shape of my body. My curves weren’t as noticeable and flattering like Karina’s, but the low neckline dress made my breasts seem slightly bigger, the tight fabric around my hips accentuating the subtle curve I did have. The black wedged heels gave me a little more height, and my legs seemed shapelier than ever. I didn’t think my body ever looked this good before, this healthy. There were no more bones protruding from my shoulders or chest, and my cheeks didn’t look sunken in anymore.
Karina had done my hair, the dark curls hanging down my left shoulder with feathered strands framing my face. My makeup wasn’t too much, just a little smokiness around my eyes, light blush, and a shimmering pink lip gloss. The necklace Antonio gave me also hung proudly around my neck, the green and red hues complimented by the dark purple dress.
“Oh, well.” Karina turned on her heel and grabbed her purse. “Antonio will just have to get over it. You look beautiful, and we’re about to show the world just how gorgeous you are.”
Nervous energy filled my stomach, the claws of doubt digging into my lungs. What if I screwed up? What if I embarrassed myself, or even worse, Antonio? This would be the first time I stepped outside into the world, mingling and socializing with normal people. The only kind of parties I’ve ever been to was the kind where I was passed from one man to the other, used repeatedly until I would eventually pass out from exhaustion. Water would then be tossed on my face, and the torture would start all over again.
It has been so long since I thought about that part of my life, the memories made me want to hurl right there on the spot. Karina noticed.
“Doe, don’t be nervous.” She walked up to me and took my hand. “My brother has taken every security measure known to man for you to have this night. Believe me, it took a lot to persuade him to allow this in the first place. There’s not a chance in hell anything will go wrong tonight.”
I nervously played with my thumbs, looking down at the floor. “I’m not worried about something happening to me. In fact, my safety is the last thing I’m worried about.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
My gaze skimmed across the room, embarrassment rushing with a wave of heat to my cheeks. “What if I screw up?”
She frowned. “Screw up?”
“Yes. What if I end up doing something to embarrass all of you?”
A warm smile spread across her face. “Doe, you won’t embarrass us. Besides, I’ll be there with you every step of the way. I promise.”
The kindness coating her words, and the way she stared at me with compassion, it set me at ease a little. Made me feel a bit less nervous.
She slipped in next to me and took my elbow. “Now, come on. I can’t wait to see my brother’s jaw hit the floor when he
sees how beautiful you look.”
I smiled, feeling shy and nervous as I absentmindedly reached for the thick strands of hair hanging down my shoulder, wrapping the ends around my fingers.
We walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. First, we saw Lorik pulling on his leather jacket. Dante was there, too, grabbing his car keys. And then, as we took the final step, I saw Antonio. He was pacing, nervously pulling his hand through his hair.
The second he turned to face me, our gazes locked, and for a moment it felt like the entire world disappeared around us.
His gaze drifted down as if he was soaking up the sight of me, and then his eyes were on mine again. Antonio always looked handsome, wearing his trademark black suit and white dress shirt. The five o’clock shadow he had this morning was gone, his face cleanly shaven around his chiseled jaw. Smooth. Enticing.
“Doe,” he started then took a breath. “Doe, you look…wow.”
My cheeks flushed, the heat spreading down my face and neck.
“See.” Karina nudged me. “I told you his jaw was going to hit the floor. Now you,” she pointed at Antonio, “while we wait for the go-ahead from Lucio, you can spend the time complimenting her and telling her gorgeous she looks. ’Kay?” Antonio shot her an unamused look, and she smiled brightly. “You’re welcome.”
The sarcasm in her voice wasn’t lost on us. But when Antonio’s gaze swept back to me, my heart skipped a beat. It was one of those moments you dreamed about as a little girl. The moment when you looked into the eyes of the boy you liked and saw he liked you back just by the way he stared at you. As if he saw you for the first time. Noticed that you were a girl for the first time. It was the kind of moment I never thought I’d have. But here it was…that moment, and it was everything I had dreamed it would be.
I stroked my palms down the front of my dress. “Do you like—”
His lips were on mine before I could I finish the question. A kiss so soft, so gentle, yet utterly disarming and powerful. With that single kiss, he stole my breath and forced life back into me at the same time. And the entire time I felt his lips on mine, all I could do was pray that this would never end. That whatever it was that pulsed between us like a lifeforce would never end. I survived years of abuse, torment, rape, and pain. But I knew I would never survive him. I would never survive Antonio Valenti.