by Reilly, Cora
Romero grew rigid. “If they knew who you were they wouldn’t be leering.”
“They don’t know, and that’s exactly what we want.” I peered up at them. “Your death glares will scare them off soon enough.”
He chuckled. “I have to do what Luca would do.”
My chest tightened. I sometimes wondered how it would be if Luca wasn’t who he was and if I wasn’t who I was. If we were normal people, if we could stroll these halls together like a normal couple. Tears prickled my eyes because that was never going to happen. Luca had never had the choice to go to college. From the day of his birth, his path had been determined, a path of darkness, full of enemies even among our own.
“Are you okay?” Romero asked, stopping a few steps from our class, letting go of my hand.
I shook my head. “I wish Luca could be here.”
“We are all bound to the path we were destined for.”
A group of boys my age walked past, and one of them turned and grinned at me. Surprise shot through me at his obvious flirting.
“Okay. I don’t like this,” Romero growled.
“Then show them that I’m your girlfriend. Trust me, they will back off if you give them that look. They are full of themselves, but anyone with eyes in their heads can tell that you aren’t a man to be messed with.”
Romero hesitated.
“How would you treat me if I were your girlfriend?”
He frowned.
“Without kissing,” I added quickly, flushing.
“Trust me, Aria, I would never dream of kissing you. You are like my little sister.”
I smiled, because Romero was like a big brother I’d never had.
He moved closer and circled my waist with his arm, his palm resting lightly on my hip. I tensed at the unfamiliar closeness.
Romero regarded me, murmuring, “Is this okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just not used to being this close with anyone but Luca,” I admitted, embarrassed.
He nodded. “I know. Are you ready to go in?”
I took a deep breath and together we strolled into my first class as a college student, and like I’d predicted the guys backed off the moment they saw me with Romero.
I was giddy when we were on our way back home. I couldn’t wait to tell Luca about my day. For the first time I had more to tell him than just about my shopping adventures or the book I’d been reading.
Romero’s phone rang and he picked up after a glance at the screen. “Luca,” he said.
I turned, curious.
Romero nodded. “Will do. Yes, everything went well.”
“What did he want?”
“He is still in the Sphere. He wants me to take you there because he wants to take you to our dojo for training when he’s done.”
My eyes widened. It had been a long time since Luca and I had practiced, but me going to college obviously made him reconsider. It was unusual that Luca had told Romero to take me to the Sphere. I pulled off my wig and smoothed down my hair. It was wilder than usual.
After picking up gym clothes, we headed for the Sphere and Romero parked the car right in front of the entrance. This time he was quick enough to open my door, and I gave him a look before I headed for the entrance. It was only late afternoon so the club wasn’t open yet, but Jorge guarded the door nevertheless. His dark face registered surprise when he saw me, especially dressed in jeans and sneakers. That wasn’t my usual outfit. He didn’t comment though.
We entered the club, went past the cloakroom, then into the main area. Blue and white and black were the dominating colors. The bar counter looked like it had been carved from frozen water, a pale fluorescent blue. “That’s new,” I said, surprised.
“Luca had it renovated recently. To stay at the top, we need to keep our clubs up to date.” My eyes were drawn toward the platforms with poles in the middle. “And pole dancers are a must for that?”
Romero shrugged. “They send the crowd into rapture.”
Luca hadn’t mentioned that he’d renovated his club. I wished he’d share more of his daily life with me. I’d have to talk to him about it, make him see that for us to be partners all the way he had to involve me more, and not shield me from everything Famiglia related. Perhaps him inviting me over was a start.
Romero led me to the back of the Sphere where several private rooms were located and then into a sort of office. I remembered it dimly from the roofie incident. Luca and Matteo both perched on the edge of the desk, deep in conversation. Luca looked my way when I stepped in, his eyes lingering on my hair, and a pleased look passed his face.
“Gianna has been asking about you,” Matteo said by way of greeting. Guilt tightened my stomach over keeping my going to college a secret, but Luca had insisted we involve as few people as possible for as long as possible. She would find out soon, of course, because we usually spent every day together.
“He knows,” Luca said.
“You realize the moment Gianna finds out you are attending college, she’s going to want that too,” Matteo muttered.
I gave a shrug. “Then let her.” Luca sent me a warning glare. I knew he still didn’t trust Gianna, but that was his problem.
“How did it go?” Luca asked as he walked toward me and pulled me against him for a possessive kiss. His eyes were drawn to Romero, not me.
“It went well,” I said. “Romero was the perfect boyfriend.”
Luca chuckled.
“Did Aria at least put out?” Matteo asked with a grin.
Romero laughed.
Luca smirked, then he lowered his dominant gaze to me. Mine, that’s what his eyes said.
Romero joined Luca and me in the gym, but a few other soldiers were there as well when we entered the old warehouse.
Before I joined Luca in the ring, Romero whispered. “Use your speed. Luca will never be able to move as fast as you with your small body.”
I sent him a smile before I climbed into the ring. Luca hadn’t bothered with a shirt this time and was only wearing fighting shorts. My eyes trailed over his six-pack, his pecs, his broad shoulders. Looking at him, I could think of many things I’d rather be doing than fight. Luca’s answering smirk made it clear he knew exactly what I was thinking.
Even my speed wasn’t enough to outsmart Luca. He seemed to guess my every move, and when I landed on my back for what felt like the hundredth time with him crouching over me, I let out an exasperated sigh. Luca’s eyes were dominant but soft as they looked down at me.
Then I heard one of the teenage boys, who had been doing bench presses, say something along the lines that he wouldn’t mind fighting me either, and my body tensed at Luca’s expression.
He pushed to his feet and pulled me with him.
It was like a switch had been turned as he faced the group of three boys. They were perhaps sixteen or seventeen, and their faces flashed with fear the moment they realized Luca had heard them.
I touched Luca’s wrist lightly. “Luca, they are boys.”
His eyes settled on the boys, ignoring me. “They are my soldiers.”
Romero moved toward the ring and parted the ropes for me. “Come on, Aria.” I let him help me out of the boxing ring.
Luca motioned for the boys to come closer. “Show me your tattoos,” he ordered.
One after the other the boys pulled their shirts over their heads, revealing the Famiglia tattoo over their hearts. They were more muscled than I’d thought.
Luca pointed at the tallest, and the boy didn’t hesitate to climb into the ring even though he looked like he was going to wet himself. He was tall but only reached Luca’s nose.
“He isn’t going to hurt them, right?” I asked Romero, who had his arms crossed over his muscled chest and was watching without mercy.
“They are his soldiers.”
As if that answered my question. “They are boys.”
“They stopped being boys when they were inducted into the Famiglia.”
“You wanted to fight,” Luca
said coldly. “Now fight me, Demetrio.”
The boy hesitated only a second before he attacked. Luca dodged the attack, gripped the boy and flung him into the ropes. Demetrio tried to catch his fall but Luca punched him in the ribs. The boy went to his knees with a pained gasp, yet Luca knew no mercy. He gripped the boy by the throat and punched him in the stomach. Demetrio fell to his knees, wheezing. Luca got behind the boy and wrapped his arm around his throat with a look that sent a shiver down my back. I flinched when he tightened his grip until the boy’s head turned red. Romero gripped my wrist because I had made a move to interfere. Was he going to kill the boy?
Luca stepped back, relaxing his hold and Demetrio fell forward, coughing. For several moments, he lay sprawled out on the floor of the ring, then Luca held out his hand and Demetrio took it. Luca jerked him to his feet and released him. The boy scrambled out of the ring. Luca pointed at the next boy. “Orfeo.”
The boy hung his head and climbed into the ring. I turned around and walked back into the changing room. Luca had to make sure his soldiers respected him, but it was difficult to watch him being like that. These were boys. I wasn’t naïve, I knew boys in our world were raised from a young age to be tough. They had to be to become Made Men, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Luca would be the same way with a son. Father had always been hard on Fabi, and I doubted that had changed since I had moved to New York.
I took a quick shower, always uncomfortable in the changing room because I knew I was blocking it for everyone else as long as I was inside. I pulled my clothes on when the door opened. I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. When I raised my eyes Luca stood across from me, his chest covered in sweat and blood, but his expression had lost the brutality. I stepped up on the wooden bench between us to bring us to eye level.
Luca’s gaze flickered with questions. I traced my fingers from his temple down his cheek to his throat. One second monster, the next loving husband. I would never understand Luca.
He touched my waist. “They needed to be taught a lesson. They are young but it won’t stop them from getting killed.”
I didn’t say anything, and Luca’s brows drew together. “Aria?”
“I can’t stop wondering how you will treat a son one day.”
He became rigid. “I don’t want children.”
My eyes widened. We’d never talked about having kids. I’d just assumed we would have them eventually—after all, Luca needed to produce an heir.
He shook his head. “Right now,” he amended. “Or in the next ten years.”
Ten years? I’d be thirty then, still not old, but I’d thought we might start a family sooner than that. “Oh,” was all I managed.
Luca searched my eyes. “You want children before then?”
“Well, not right away, but perhaps in five years?”
He didn’t say anything, and I decided not to push the matter now. We could still bridge the subject when the time was right.
chapter 11
Seven Months Later, LUCA
“The Outfit has upped their LSD and ecstasy production, and some of their shit makes its way over into our territory. I don’t think that’s by accident,” I muttered as I pointed at the email Durant had sent me. Pittsburgh made up the outer west of our territory, and he had reported the inconsistencies. Romero and Matteo nodded as they stared down at my laptop.
Aria’s phone rang, and I looked over to where she was hunched over her books in the corner of my office in the Sphere. She’d had to switch from going to college to online courses in accounting. Things were simply too tense with the Bratva and the fucking annoying MCs to risk it.
She picked up her mobile and I was about to return my attention to my laptop when her face turned white. I rose slowly.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Lily.”
Romero stiffened at my side at the mention of Aria’s sister, and I slanted him a sharp look before I moved toward Aria, who sat frozen on the sofa. I crouched in front of her and her tear-filled eyes met mine.
“Your mother?” I guessed. Ludevica Scuderi had been fighting a losing battle with cancer for months now.
“She’s dying. It won’t be long.” Aria swallowed, fighting for composure.
“We’ll be flying over immediately,” I said, then turned to Romero. “Get everything ready. I’ll need you to come with us. Someone has to guard Gianna while I keep an eye on Aria.”
Matteo cocked one dark eyebrow.
“You have to stay here to handle business, and we both know you’ll end up killing Scuderi if you meet him.”
“If he hurts Gianna…”
I held up a hand. “He won’t. I will make sure of it, don’t worry.”
Gianna and her father were at each other’s throats the moment they met. I could tell that Scuderi would have hit her if I wasn’t there. But even their constant fights didn’t worry me as much as the looks Romero gave Liliana whenever he thought nobody was paying attention. He was like her constant shadow throughout the days leading up to her mother’s death, and even at the funeral. If I hadn’t been busy consoling Aria, maybe I would have realized where his attention would lead.
ARIA
Lily spent the summer with us in New York after Mother’s death, and I was happy having her around, especially since she lost that forlorn air after a while. She returned to being the life-affirming sister I knew. I should have known Romero was the reason for it, but I had ignored all the signs, hoping I was wrong, until reality slapped me in the face one day during our holidays in our mansion in the Hamptons.
Luca and I had been on our way to have lunch in a small bistro close by when he’d gotten a call because of a Bratva incident and had to leave for the city without me. I headed back to the mansion to ask my sister if she wanted to join me for lunch instead. “Lily, I—” I froze when I spotted Romero on top of Lily on the couch, his hand shoved up her shirt. Romero jerked back, his arms draped in front of his groin area, but I had seen the bulge.
I closed the door, glad that Luca wasn’t here to see it.
Lily quickly tried to smooth down her hair, but there was nothing she could do about her swollen lips. “This isn’t how it looks,” she said.
I raised my eyebrows then glared at Romero. He had the decency to look guilty, as he should. “That’s why I didn’t want you alone with her, Romero. I knew this would happen!”
“You make it sound like I had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t only Romero’s doing,” Lily muttered, but I could only look at Romero. He was a man. One girl more or less didn’t mean anything, but for Lily to be caught with a man before marriage would be her ruin. He knew it.
“Why are you back anyway? Shouldn’t you be having lunch with your husband?” Lily asked.
I couldn’t believe her. Didn’t she realize what kind of situation she was in? What kind of situation I was in because I’d caught them? “Are you blaming me for this? Luca got a call that there was trouble in one of the clubs. Something with one of the Russian underbosses, so he dropped me off in the driveway and headed straight to New York. You’re lucky he didn’t come in.”
“If you tell Luca…,” Romero began, as if I didn’t know what would happen if Luca found out Romero had touched the daughter of the Outfit’s Consigliere, as if I didn’t know what would happen to Romero because he’d gone against Luca’s direct orders.
“I won’t tell him,” I said angrily. “I know what he’ll have to do if I do.”
Romero helped Lily up, and the look they shared tore at my heart because I knew they couldn’t be together. Romero met my gaze. “He’s your husband. You owe him the truth.”
My insides turned because he was right, but he also knew I couldn’t tell Luca. He knew I couldn’t condemn both him and Lily. And more than that, I couldn’t baggage Luca like that. His family and the Bratva were still giving him enough trouble; he didn’t need the weight of having to decide what to do with Romero. Luca liked Romero, he valued him as his best soldier. If he found
out what Romero had done, he’d be faced with a decision I didn’t want to burden him with.
Even as I warned them to stay away from each other, I knew it was too late for that—but I had to hope things would miraculously solve themselves.
A few weeks later, after Father had called Lily back to Chicago, things really took a turn for the worse.
Shouting drew my eyes up from the folders with the Pergola’s forged earnings from the last months. Luca jumped out of his chair and stormed out of the office. I followed close behind him.
Romero was pummeling one of the other soldiers.
“Hey! What’s going on here?” Luca growled. He gripped Romero’s arms and pulled them behind his back. “Romero, what the hell are you doing? Calm the fuck down.”
Matteo knelt beside the injured soldier, who was bleeding from a wound on his head and from his nose. My fingers on the folders with the forged books tightened. If Romero was this rattled, it could only mean one thing: Lily.
Matteo helped the soldier up and sent him off, but I barely paid them attention.
I walked up to Romero. “Did something happen with Lily?”
“You can let me go now,” he told Luca, who released him, then turned his narrowed eyes on me.
“Why would Romero know if something was wrong with Lily?” Luca asked carefully.
I didn’t say anything, keeping my eyes on Romero, but Luca’s eyes remained on me. “Your father has arranged a marriage with Benito Brasci for her,” Romero murmured.
I gasped. “What? He never mentioned that he was looking for a husband for her!” I glanced at Luca. “Or did he mention anything to you?”
Luca’s expression was stone. “No, he hasn’t. But right now I’m more concerned about the fact that Romero knows about this before anyone else, and that he almost kills one of my men because of it.”
“Lily and I have been seeing each other during the summer,” Romero said, and my stomach did a flip. Now that he’d admitted to it, Luca would realize I’d been in on it.