Ruthless (The Clans Book 8)

by Elizabeth Knox

  “Yes, in about an hour which is why I need to get to packing. I’ll see you when I get back.” I say, walking past her and head down to the other end of my apartment toward my bedroom. I place my thumbprint on the pad. Because my men come in my apartment so often I wanted an extra layer of security when it comes to my bedroom. Even though I own my apartment, this is the only part that feels like it’s actually my own.

  I spot my suitcase laying open on my bed and forgot I did that much. Before coffee I’m usually a zombie. Though, I’ll be grateful I did something. I head over to my closet when my phone starts to buzz in my pocket. As I retrieve it I see it’s Ion and immediately answer.

  “Didn’t think I’d be hearing from you.”

  Ion chuckles, “I don’t know why. I had to make sure you aren’t getting cold feet. Everyone knows your heading to Seattle.”

  “Yes. I’m packing for the trip now.” I admit. Ion and I have known each other for years. He’s one of the only people who knows just how badly of a procrastinator I am.

  “Are you nervous?” He inquires.

  “I don’t think nervous would be the appropriate word. I hardly know Carla, and I want to get to know her. Honestly, I’m anxious about the result of the trip.”

  “Well, you can’t be anxious before it’s even over. You’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, of course you’re going to say that. Not like anything is riding on this trip going smoothly.” I sarcastically mutter out.

  Ion laughs, “You’re right to be somewhat anxious. I was when Mariana was putting me through hell, but look at us now. We have two kids and we’re happily married. With any luck, you and Carla will head down the same path. Fuck, and just remember Stefan Dalca even nailed down a woman. If he can do it, anyone can.”

  The two of us laugh together at that. Stefan is a risky fucker. “Any words of advice?” I ask, needing to hear something encouraging right now.

  “Yes. Accept her for who she is, whether she’s docile or independent. See her weaknesses and strengths. Accept every flaw and perfection about her. She’s not only going to be your wife, Philippe, but your partner.” Even though he can’t see it I’m nodding. I have to go into this with an open mind and a positive outlook. No matter what happens, Carla and I will do everything we can to make this work. I just hope she’s feeling the same way I am.

  Chapter 2

  Carla

  Tomorrow everything in my life will change. For the better or worse I’m unsure of at this point. I’m hopeful it’ll improve, but who the hell knows. My mother insisted we have a family dinner tonight, after only finding out about my upcoming nuptials last month when my father finally told her. To say she lost her head was an understatement. I think she cursed every possible way in Italian and then prayed to God for forgiveness.

  She hasn’t been talking to me too much over the last month. She was angry with Dad for a while but then shifted her resentment to me. I close my eyes as I sit in the formal living room of my childhood home. It’s like she thinks I had a choice in the matter. In all honesty, she should be proud of me. She should be proud because I didn’t allow my father to best me. Instead I negotiated like a powerful woman would and created the bed I could accept laying in.

  When I think about it, my family only sees a fraction of the woman I am. Lorenzo is really the closest person to me and we barely speak. At least I don’t have to hide my promiscuity from him. If I wanted to go to the bar, dancing at the club or out to a movie he wouldn’t give a fuck. He’d tell me to go and have a good time. My other brothers though, they’d tell me to behave myself. For fucks sake. I’m in my early thirties. I’m perfectly capable of behaving myself. Problem is I don’t want to.

  “Carlotta, get in here and help me!” She calls me by my birth name. It doesn’t suit me. Carla does, though.

  I stand from my seat and look over to my younger brother, Gianni. He has his brow raised as he speaks. “You’d better get in there, girl. She’s gonna cut your head off.”

  “Yeah, well maybe if she did I’d have a better life.”

  “Shoot! Someone’s a bit salty.”

  I ignore my brother and head into the living room. For the first time in ages my mother is actually doing everything herself. She didn’t have the staff do it.

  Like she can sense my presence in the room even though her back is turned to me, she starts speaking. “I know you’re about to say something smart to me about not having the staff here tonight. I figured it was better to keep prying ears away from our dinner tonight.”

  “Oh? It’s nice to know the family is going to battle tonight.” I say clearly so she can hear me from across the room. She whips around and glares with all her might, starting to open her mouth but the doorbell interrupts her.

  “I’ll grab it.” I say, turning and walking from the dining room to the front door. Upon opening it I see not only Salvatore, but Enzo too.

  “Hey, brat.” Enzo chuckles, wrapping his arms around me, he swirls me around like a child.

  “You have no idea just how much I’ve missed you. I’m losing my mind here.” I say lowly, but both Enzo and Sal can hear me.

  “You didn’t have to agree to this,” Sal tries to say but I put a finger up, signaling him to stop.

  “Stop it. You know I didn’t have a choice in the matter. At least I was smart enough to make demands that were met before I accepted.”

  Enzo nods his head, “You’ve always been smart. It’s one of the things I love about you. You’ll never take less than you deserve.”

  I smile, thankful someone has seen what I’ve done here. I glance around, “Where are your wives and the kids?”

  “Ksenia is back home with the baby. She didn’t feel up to travelling and it’s been a bit crazy back home.” Enzo tells me.

  Sal remains quiet, so I ask again. “Where are Aria and Sorina?”

  “I told them to stay home. You can’t blame me. Tonight will be World War III.”

  I shrug my shoulders, not taking any offense. “If it is, you’d better make sure you’re on the winning team.” I say playfully.

  “My boys!” Our mother’s voice comes shrieking from behind me and she shoves me out of the way to get to my brothers. I roll my eyes in frustration and see Gianni come from the living room, looking almost as irritated as I am.

  “Guess I must be chopped liver,” He mutters.

  “At least you’re liver,” I comment back, getting yet another glare from our mother.

  “Is everyone here and ready for dinner? I’m starving.” My father says as he comes down the stairwell. I didn’t even hear his footsteps from the ruckus in front of me.

  “Yes, come, let’s eat!” Mother says to everyone, throwing her hands up in the air, urging everyone to come into the dining room. She lets my father and brothers pass with no problems, but puts her hand out in front of me, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.

  “Now, you know how I feel about this wedding. I hate how you lied to me about your engagement, and I hate how this is a political wedding and not one stemming from love. It is a sin, truly. However, as your mother I need to make sure you’re prepared for your wedding night. You do know what will be expected of you, yes?”

  I blink a couple times before it sinks in. She thinks I don’t know how to fuck. Lord help her. I’m betting she thinks I’m still a virgin. Not that it’s any of her business, but I’ve done my fair share of sinning, if you know what I mean.

  I touch the gold cross that always adorns my neck and close my eyes, playing the part of a good Catholic woman. “Of course, mother. I’ve spoken to Father at church about what is expected of me. Don’t worry, I’m fully prepared and if we’re lucky, the Lord will bless us with a child to solidify this family.” My Dad thought acting classes as a child were a waste of money but from the smile on my mother’s face right now I’m going to say it was money well spent.

  Everyone takes their seats and we pass our plates around the table and fill them with homemade ziti, salad and brea
dsticks. There’s even wine being passed too. Thank God for that, seriously. I grab my wine glass and take a sip of the dark red merlot, reveling in the taste. I’m gonna need a couple glasses to survive the night.

  “So, I’m betting there’s a lot of pressure on Carla here.” Enzo speaks up, looking to my father, who is his stepfather. Mother had Enzo from a prior marriage.

  “Yes, there is.” My dad looks over to me, “She knows not to screw anything up too. There’s a lot riding on this union.” His tone of voice is callous, sounding more business oriented than being a father.

  I take in a deep breath, afraid that would happen.

  “Are you alright, Stefano? You sound like you could kill her if this wedding doesn’t go forward.” Enzo adds, staring right at him. I keep my eyes trained on my father but see the way Sal is balling his hand into a fist across from me.

  “I would never kill my own daughter.” Dad says, not being convincing at all.

  “Yeah, he’d pay someone to do it.” Gianni adds, laughing his ass off from next to me.

  I whip my hand up and slap him across the face. “Carlotta!” My mother shrieks, looking to Gianni. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Your sister will give me a stroke. I swear!”

  Gianni may have only been trying to be funny, but I seriously doubt it. Our father is capable of doing horrible things. We’re lucky because we don’t see it most of the time. However, I’m not a naïve woman.

  “What is the matter with you, Salvatore?” Father asks my brother, who is obviously clenching his jaw.

  Sal sucks in a breath before he begins speaking, “I’m not a fan of the way you’re using Carla for our families gain. It reminds me too much of what happened to Aria. It sickens me.”

  “I’m not anything like Baptiste, son. If you think that, you can get out of my house right now.”

  Salvatore remains quiet for a moment but stands up abruptly. “You are like him, father. You only go about it in a different way. We’re just lucky here. We’re all so fucking lucky that she’s marrying Philippe.” Sal walks out of the dining room and I get out of my chair and follow him to the front door.

  “Sal.” I mutter.

  He continues to open the door and walks out of it. I continue behind him, shutting the door so no one can overhear our conversation. “Salvatore!” I grumble out.

  He turns back to look at me, anger coursing through him. “I love you, you little bratty shit. I’m letting my anger get the best of me and I’m sorry. This hits me too close to home.” He comes up to me, gives me a hug and kisses me on the cheek before he tears himself away and goes to his car.

  I stand outside and watch him go down our driveway. Jesus. Right now I’m only wondering if my family will recover from this shit.

  Chapter 3

  Carla

  I knew dinner wasn’t going to go well. Call it a gut feeling, but things haven’t been going as well as I’d originally hoped. My mother has had an incredibly hard time dealing with my upcoming marriage. As a little girl I’d dreamed for the day we could plan my wedding together. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the case. I’ve been planning every aspect of this by myself. I don’t know if Philippe will end up helping me with anything, but honestly I hope he does. I can’t bear to have all the pressure solely on me.

  “Whenever you see Salvatore you should remind him you made the decision. I didn’t force this on you.” Dad clearly states as I come back inside our home. His tone tells me he’s trying to convince himself and not me. We all know I didn’t have a choice. Regardless I would’ve been told this marriage was a duty to my family, that there was no way to say no.

  I’ve seen it happen in too many other families. Women want to believe we have the upper hand, but we don’t. We’re caught in the midst of power, and with it comes sacrifice. I want to live in a world where women can progress, but I don’t think I’ll ever see the day where it happens. I’ll be rotted in the ground before there is any real progress.

  “I can’t make Salvatore think any differently. You know that.” Out of all my brothers Salvatore is the most bull headed. Enzo is a close second, however he just tells people to fuck off and does what he pleases.

  My father rolls his eyes at me like I’m a disobedient child. “You need to fix this, Carlotta. Any sort of tension between Salvatore and I needs to be squashed. It’s not good for the family, or for the business.”

  Ah, there it is. It’s not about our family at all. It only matters because Salvatore is his most trusted assassin, taking the higher profile jobs because he’s discreet as hell. He’s better than anyone else who works for the Arcane.

  “Stefano, to be fair this isn’t her fault.” Enzo speaks up, sneaking into the foyer from the dining room.

  Dad turns to his stepson and sucks in a breath. “Lorenzo, you know how much you mean to me but this is none of your concern.”

  Enzo laughs, “Shit, now you’re sounding like mom.”

  Dad glares at Enzo and I swear he’s thinking about throttling him. Dad has done it to other people for less. I have to admit I’m seeing a different side of my father after talks of this marriage came up. And as every day grows closer, he’s becoming even more bitter and serious. Honestly, I miss my father and not the businessman.

  I walk toward the closet next to the front door and open it, grabbing one of my small cross body black purses. I need to get the hell out of here so fucking bad. If I stay in this house a moment longer I think I’ll end up slowly suffocating to death.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Dad hisses out.

  I turn in enough time to see Enzo’s expression shift to pure disgust. “Wherever the fuck she wants to go. She isn’t a damn child.”

  Dad opens his mouth and starts to snap back at my brother, but I don’t stick around to see what happens. Instead I dig into my purse, yank out the keys to my Ferrari Spider and head out the front door. Thankfully it’s not raining hard and there’s only a slight drizzle coming down right now.

  I unlock my car and get in the driver’s seat, turn it on and revel in the sound of my baby coming to life. This is the only type of spider I’ll deal with. I squash everything else. I pick up my phone, thanking God I put it in my purse before dinner. Luckily, I’m one of those women who always prepare for the worst case scenario. Had a feeling tonight would go to shit.

  I dial my friend Nicola, who is someone I met when she came into my restaurant a few weeks back with her girlfriend Phoebe. They’re both drop dead gorgeous, and I mean insanely beautiful. They could easily be New York Fashion Week runway models.

  I start driving down the driveway when Nicola answers. “Hey Speedy. How’d your dinner go?”

  “Take a glance at your watch and then think about it.” I retort, speeding up at hearing her nickname for me as I turn down the side street that’ll take me toward the interstate.

  “Alright. Point taken, no need to get all sassy.”

  “Sorry. I’m irritated as hell. Wanna go party for a bit?”

  “Phoebe and I are already out in town. We’re right around the corner from your new apartment. The club just opened up last week. You know the place, right?” She asks.

  “Yeah, you’re talking about Bloom. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be there.”

  ***

  I get there in about thirteen minutes with the way I drive and end up parking my Ferrari in my assigned parking spot in the garage the apartment building owns. As a present of sort my father rented out a luxury apartment for Philippe and I to stay in when he got here. I didn’t mind the idea of getting some time away from my family, however the idea of being alone with Philippe when we haven’t spoken since the day we both signed the contracts makes me a bit anxious. As if I need another reason to be on edge already.

  I take the elevator downstairs and walk out through the front of the apartment building, make a left down the block and go next door to Bloom. There’s a bright pink carpet that matches the neon sign, along with ropes and a very good-looking bouncer. He’s
dressed in a full suit, not letting certain people pass.

  I walk up to him in my purple dress and give him a once over. Everyone in these parts knows who I am, and who my family is. You say the name Moretti around here and you’re guaranteed to get whatever the hell you want.

  “Miss Moretti, good to see you.” Like I said, everyone knows who I am. He grabs the rope and allows me to pass, getting nasty looks from people who have no doubt been waiting hours to get in. Bloom is one of those clubs where it’s constantly busy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one in the morning or three in the afternoon. There’s always bound to be a line out the door to gain entry.

  I make my way past the bouncer and descend into the club. It’s easy to spot Phoebe or Nicola because they’re always in a VIP booth, and I mean every single time. I don’t know how these two have their money, but I’ve never pried into that part of their lives. Though I can’t blame them for enjoying the finer things in life.

  Bloom is unlike any other club I’ve been to before. While the interior is strictly black and textures like velvet, all the lights are different shades of pink and purple. The floors that span up to the second and third level are see through so everyone can see anything going on in this place.

  I’ve been in Bloom once before and know exactly where the VIP booths are. They’re to the left or right and are up a stairwell where they can overlook the main part of the club. Another bouncer stands at the bottom of the stairs and looks me over. He’s seen me before because he had worked at another club I often frequented in the past.. “Miss Moretti, good to see you again.”

  “You as well. Is Nicola in her usual spot?” I call it her usual spot because Nicola has a habit of wanting to be in the center of everything. She’s also the type of woman who enjoys having eyes glued to her. In simpler terms, she’s an attention whore but I love her to death.