by L A Cotton
He let out a steady breath and clucked his tongue. “I hope so, Nora. I really fucking hope so.”
“Hey Lucii,” I said as I sat down in my Media and Society class.
“Hey, girl.” She smiled, her bright blue eyes twinkling under the strip lighting. “Did you enjoy the holidays?”
“It was okay, I guess. I’d forgotten how much parents fuss.”
“Tell me about it. My mom was constantly trying to feed me.” We shared a chuckle. “I’m relieved to be back. I’d gotten used to the freedom.”
“I feel you,” I grumbled, thinking how suffocating it had been being back at the house. I loved my parents, loved them something fierce, but being back on the Capizola estate, at the cottage… it had made me realize how small our lives had been there. How sheltered.
“I heard about Arianne. I can’t believe she’s married… that’s… wow.”
“Yeah.” I managed a weak smile. “But she’s happy.”
“Must be hard though, losing your best friend freshman year of college.”
“It’s not like that,” I said, even though I could see why Lucii thought that. People were probably expecting to see the baby bump soon.
“Hey, a few of us are heading to Mercutio’s tonight for happy hour. You should totally come.”
“I…” I hesitated. After everything that had happened last semester, my social life had taken a backseat.
“Come on,” she nudged my shoulder, “you know you want to.”
“Yeah.” A tentative smile spread over my lips. “Okay.”
“Yay. It’ll be fun. And there’s always plenty of hot college guys and graduates hanging out.” Her brows waggled suggestively. “I have your number still, so I’ll text you with the details later. You’re living in La Stella now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my God, I would die to live there. Is it awesome? I bet it’s awesome.”
“It’s pretty awesome.” Something inside me twisted. I liked Lucii. We had a couple of classes together and she always made an effort to talk to me, but she didn’t know me. Maybe it was time to rectify that though. My life was going to be different now Arianne was married. I needed to find my own way, I needed to make new friends and make a life for myself.
Because Enzo wasn’t coming for me. He wasn’t going to stride into the room and declare his feelings for me. And I was worth fighting for.
I was worth being the center of someone’s world.
Chapter 9
Enzo
“Tell me what I need to know.” My fist crumpled against the guy’s face, his sticky blood coating my hand. I’d left off the brass knuckles this time. I wanted to feel his bones crunch with every punch.
“I-I don’t know nothing, Marchetti, I swear.”
“That’s what they all say until they’re bleeding out like a pig, crying for their mama,” Gino chuckled darkly. He was leaning against the door, twirling his Tanto blade in his hand.
“Look,” I let out an exasperated sigh, clutching the guy by his collar, “we know you rented Dominic Alejandro a storage unit. Word on the street is that the Mexicans are looking to move into town. So just tell me what you know, and we can all be on our way.”
“It’s… it’s not what you think, man. You’ve got it all wrong. Alejandro doesn’t run with the Mexicans anymore, he’s—”
I rammed my fist into his face again. He wasn’t telling us anything useful. Maybe the fucker didn’t know anything or maybe he was just trying to cover his tracks.
If Gino had his way, I knew there was probably zero chance of this coglioni walking out of here alive. Gino and his guys didn’t leave loose ends. They cleaned up after themselves, always.
I could do it—I could be the one to drive Gino’s blade through the guy’s stomach and watch the life drain from his eyes—but a tiny part of me hesitated.
Death changed you.
I knew that from killing my father in cold blood. Every time your knife or pistol or even hands took a life, it took a part of you. And I knew if I walked this slippery slope with Gino’s crew, there might not be any pieces of me left to return to Verona with.
But I needed this.
I needed to expel all the anger and betrayal swimming in my veins. I needed to feed the darkness swirling around me like a thundercloud.
I knew it was a slippery slope… but right now, I didn’t care.
“Tell. Me. What. I. Need. To. Know.” I punched him again, blood spraying into the air as he spat out a couple of teeth. His body slammed back into the chair, his eyes shuttering. Only this time, they didn’t open again.
“Okay, Enzo, he’s done for now.” Gino approached me, laying a firm hand on my shoulder. “Go get cleaned up and get a drink. I’ll handle it from here—”
“You don’t need to do that, I can—”
“I said go. You’ve done enough, kid.”
I bristled, baring my teeth. Gino noticed, smirking. “You’ve still got a lot to learn about the world, Lorenzo. Take it from me, give too much of yourself too early, and you’ll never get that shit back.” Something passed over his mangled face. “Now go. I’ll meet you at DiMarco’s later.”
DiMarco’s had become our hangout the last few nights. The liquor flowed as freely as the pussy, and Zander was all too willing to indulge Gino and his men… and now, that invitation extended to myself.
I stormed away and grabbed a towel, wiping the blood off my hands. Then I snatched my jacket off the rack and shucked into it, before shouldering the door and spilling out into the dark alley.
My cell phone vibrated again, and this time, I dug it out of my pocket and checked the screen. It was hardly a surprise to see Nicco’s name.
* * *
Call me.
* * *
Tsking, I texted him back.
* * *
You need to relax. I’m fine. Everything is fine. I’ll call when the job is done.
* * *
My cell started blaring away, my best friend’s name lighting up the screen. I hit decline and stuffed it back in my pocket. I didn’t want to hear his concerns. I was here and Nicco was back in Verona, and right now, that’s the way it needed to be.
My father had killed his mom in cold blood. He’d let Nicco and Alessia and Uncle Toni believe Aunt Lucia left because she couldn’t hack being the boss’ wife. That wasn’t something I could just forget, and knowing Nicco the way I knew Nicco, it wasn’t something he could just forget either.
Time and space would be good, for both of us.
Pulling out a smoke, I lit it up and dragged in a deep lungful, relishing the familiar burn. The motel was a stone’s throw away from DiMarco’s. I figured Gino picked it, so it was easier to fall into bed after a long night of top shelf liquor, high-end pussy, and shooting the shit. But I wondered if he had an ulterior motive.
Zander DiMarco was a showboater. He liked to flash his cash and his relationship with the Family. He was a friend to anyone who entered his bar as long as their wallet was fat, and their tastes expensive. Men wanted to be like Zander DiMarco, to soak up a good time. And when the good times rolled, people got complacent. They started talking about things they shouldn’t.
I took off down the street toward the motel. My knuckles burned but I relished the sting. Pain reminded me I was alive, and for a little while, it abated the beast living inside me. I’d tear up the whole of Providence if it led me to whoever thought they could move in on Marchetti territory. Because nothing… nothing was more important to me than the Family. And after the shitshow with that traitorous son of a bitch I once called father, I needed to prove it more than ever.
If not to my Uncle Toni and the rest of the family… then to myself.
Gino and the guys met me at DiMarco’s a little after eight. Guys crowded the stage, all looking to get a feel of the stripper working the pole. She was a hot little thing, legs for miles and curves in all the right places. But I wasn’t feeling it, not tonight.
Not since
Matteo had texted me earlier to say he’d bumped into Nora.
I hadn’t replied. It wasn’t like I had anything to say. Nora was nobody to me. Nothing. Yet, my fucking head hadn’t quite got the memo because ever since seeing her name on my screen, I’d been grinding my teeth together like a junkie tweaking for their next hit.
My tight fist rubbed back and forth over my jean-clad thigh as I tried to focus on anything but her.
But it was fucking futile.
Nora Abato was under my skin, no matter how much I tried to claw her out.
“Yo, E,” Marc said. “You look tense, my man. Why don’t you grab a girl and head to one of the private rooms for a dance?” The sleazy fucker grinned.
“Nah, not tonight.”
“That’s not what you were saying the other night when you disappeared with Sherri,” Dixon added, clapping me on the shoulder.
I shirked him off, barely able to remember the blonde I’d dragged into the restrooms and forced to her knees.
“Fuck you, coglioni.”
“Leave the kid alone,” Gino said, waving his guys off.
“Come on, boss, we’re just goof—”
“Basta!” He slammed his hand down on the table. “Go grab a girl each and get the fuck out of here. Me and Enzo need to have a chat.”
“Yeah, boss.” Marc shot me an apologetic look. “Whatever you say.” They left us alone and Gino ordered another round of drinks.
“You know, Enzo, I was a lot like you once.” He relaxed back in the booth, his hard gaze fixed right on my face. “Full of anger and itching for a fight…”
“That’s not—”
His hand cut through the air, silencing me. Gino arched a brow. “I get it. What went down with Vincenzo, that was some fucked up shit. But you’ve got to know, it’s not on you.”
“I should have known.” I jammed my fingers into my hair and tugged the ends, the pit in my stomach carving deeper and deeper.
“The sins of our fathers do not lie on our shoulders. You need to remember that, kid.” He smirked.
“Less of the kid, old man.” I shot back around a wolfish grin of my own.
“Toni told me to take you under my wing, to let you work off some steam, but I won’t let you lose yourself, Enzo. Just so we’re clear, that’s not gonna happen on my watch.” His eyes bored into me as if he could see the very depths of my dark, twisted soul.
“I don’t know how to let it go.”
“You find a way, son. Drink it out of you, fuck it out of you, fight it out of you… you do what you need to do, and then you shake it off and lay that shit to rest, you hear me?”
With a reluctant nod, I downed the rest of my drink and stared out at the club. The rest of the guys were huddled over at the bar, chatting to a busty blonde. Gino and his guys didn’t have roots. They didn’t have women waiting at home or families wondering where they were and what they were doing. They lived for one thing and one thing only.
The Family.
They found honor and purpose in carrying out Uncle Toni’s orders. They drank, fucked, and killed… much like my father had done.
Fuck.
He was infecting my every thought. No matter where my mind went, it all came back to him.
My jaw clenched as I itched for something—someone—to take my anger out on. Gino reached across the table, grabbing my wrist. “You need to let it go, son. That shit will eat you up until there’s nothing left.” He let out a steady breath. “Vincenzo was a traitor, and you took care of him.”
My eyes shuttered as the lingering memory of the gunshot went off in my head. It was a sound I couldn’t escape; every bang of a door or exhaust backfiring, I was back in that room, standing over my father’s dead body.
My fist clenched against my thigh again and I ground out, “I need another drink.”
“Sure thing. Then you grab the nearest piece of ass and go fuck some of that anger out of you. Best medicine there is.” Gino nodded around a smug smile, as if he had all the fucking answers.
He’d done a lot of fucked up shit in his time. You didn’t become the Family’s number one enforcer without getting your hands bloody and your soul dirty. But I doubted that he’d killed the man who had given him life.
The waitress brought over another tray of drinks. “Courtesy of Zander,” she purred, running a hand over my shoulder. Her thick lashes fluttered in my direction and Gino gave me another nod.
“Thanks,” I said thickly, before removing her hand.
Gino tsked under his breath and the girl sauntered away with dejection in her eyes. “If you’re not going hit that, then don’t mind if I do.” He let out a hearty laugh, clambering from the booth.
“No way she’ll want a shriveled dick like yours, old man.”
“You’d be surprised what this shriveled dick can do.” He winked, taking off after the waitress.
I leaned back against the booth, letting out a heavy sigh. A bar like this was usually my kind of place. Good liquor and even better pussy. But everything was off.
My cell phone vibrated, and I dug it out of my pocket, half-expecting another text from Nicco.
It wasn’t Nicco though.
It was Matteo.
* * *
Hope you’re staying out of trouble.
* * *
Rolling my eyes, I texted him back a quick reply and stuffed my cell phone in my pocket. I knew my cousins meant well, they always did, but this wasn’t something a couple of texts and a few nights away from Verona was going to fix.
Downing my drink, I ran a hand over my jaw and stood, making my way to the restrooms. Gino was working his magic on the waitress, whispering into her ear as if she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Dirty old dog.
With a chuckle, I shouldered the door leading to the restrooms. But the sound of gentle sobs caught my attention, and I went left down the hall inside of the right.
“Hello?” I called, knocking on the door to the female bathroom.
“I, uh… I’ll just be a minute.”
I heard the faucet run, followed by the whirr of the hand dryer. I should have moved on, doubled back around and gone into the men’s bathroom like I’d planned to. But curiosity got the better of me.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open and emerald eyes stared up at me. “Can I help you?”
“You were crying,” I stated, backing up to give her room to step out into the hall.
“No, I wasn’t.” She steeled her expression and rolled out her shoulders.
My eyes narrowed. The faint mascara tracks down her cheeks weren’t fooling me. But there was something else, a bruise blossoming along her cheek.
“Who did this to you?” I demanded, reaching for her.
“No one.” She jerked back, letting her red hair fall around her face like a shield. “Excuse me, but I have to get back to work.”
“You work here?” Anger zipped up my spine. If DiMarco was letting guys put their hands on his girls… fuck, I thought that shit had been dealt with last summer after he and Nicco got into it.
“I-I really have to go.” She slipped around me and hurried down the hall.
“Fuck.” My fist collided with the wall. I might have been a cold bastard, but I didn’t tolerate violence toward women. Back when we were kids, I’d seen how much it had messed with Nicco’s head watching his old man lose his temper one too many times with Aunt Lucia. He was a reformed man now, but it didn’t change history.
I liked my women submissive, sure. But they were always more than willing to accommodate my rough touch.
My dick twitched behind my jeans, and I shook my head with mild laughter. At least one of us still had our priorities straight.
Because although I’d put space between me and Verona, there were some things you couldn’t escape.
Chapter 10
Nora
“What do you think?” Lucii yelled over the music.
“It’s… loud.” I grinned, slurping down my sugary cockt
ail. I was three drinks in and feeling all kinds of sexy. “Thanks for pushing me to come tonight.”
“Anytime. We single girls have to stick together.” She ran her tongue over her teeth. “My roommate Allie is already planning her wedding to her new beau. I swear, everyone around me is either going steady or already picking out furniture.”
“Tell me about it,” I murmured, swaying my hips to the beat.
“Shit, sorry.” Lucii grimaced. “I didn’t mean to rub salt in the wound.”
“Relax, it’s fine. Ari is happy, that’s all that matters.”
“God, of course. But married… wow.” She downed the rest of her drink and placed the glass on the nearest table. “It’s freshman year of college. I want to live a little first. Sow my wild oats and experiment.”
“Experiment?” A deep voice said. “Sign me up.”
We both turned to greet the two guys staring at us with hunger in their eyes.
“I’m Isaac and this is my friend Nate.”
“Lucii and that’s Nora.”
Isaac gave me a long, lingering look, letting his eyes fall down my body and back up. “Nice to meet you.” The corner of his mouth tipped. He was tall, dark and handsome but looked far too preppy for my tastes.
“Can we get you girls a drink? Our friend Luca is at the bar.”
“Luca?” I blurted because what were the chances?
But sure enough, when Isaac pointed at the bar, my new neighbor was standing there with his back to us.
“Wait a second. You’re boo bees Nora?” A grin split Isaac’s face and heat exploded in my cheeks.
“He told you about that?”
“About what?” Lucii asked, brows bunched with confusion.
“Luca, he’s uh… he’s my neighbor.”
“He lives at La Stella too?”
“Sure does,” I mumbled, suddenly feeling very overdressed in the skintight little black dress and chunky heeled boots.