“What about their children? She said she was a mother.”
Jerking my chin toward Dante, I give him a silent instruction and thankfully he reads me perfectly. He dips his head and walks out of the room.
Nicola is watching me, waiting for my answer and I know she may not approve, but this is the only one that she will get.
“We’ll find his family and if they want the children, then that will be the end of it.”
“If they don’t?”
Clearing my throat, I continue to focus my gaze on hers as I let out an exhale. “Then they will have no choice but to become wards of the state. Her father probably won’t be available to take them in.”
“That’s kind of sad,” she whispers.
Humming, I lower my face and touch my mouth to her bloody one before I take a step back. “It is, but Nicci, she should have thought about that before she agreed to help kidnap the fiancée of a boss. She knew the consequences if she were to get caught. She was being selfish.”
Holding out my hand, I wait for her to slip her palm in mine and I am not disappointed when she does so immediately. Together, in silence, we walk out to my car.
Once I’ve arranged her in the front seat and buckled her in, I turn to Dante and give him instructions. Rid the house of the bodies and torch the place.
Luckily, it’s in a shit part of town and Vinny’s name is on the deed. He has a rap sheet a mile long. Plant some meth shit to make it look like he was cooking.
The rest of my day and tomorrow is spoken for. I’m going to spend it with Nicola, making sure that she’s okay.
This was a day that could have ended a million different ways. I’m just glad that it didn’t. That she was safe and that she had the ability to show herself just how goddamn strong she is.
Once I sink down into the driver’s seat, I reach into the back and grab ahold of her purse. This purse saved her life, along with the phone inside of it.
Vinny and Taylor were both too fucking stupid to think about tossing her phone. As if I wouldn’t have some kind of tracking on her device.
“Here,” I murmur, handing her the purse.
“This is how you found me, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Your phone, the tracking app I have on it, yeah.”
There’s a moment of silence, then she lets out a sob. Guiding the car away from the house, I decide that I can’t stay in front of the fucking place for one more goddamn second. While Nicola cries next to me in the car, I drive home—to our home.
NICOLA
Benicio saved me. He may not think that he did, but he did. I honestly don’t know what I would have done had he not walked into that house when he did.
I cry the entire way home, not because of the life that I took, but because I love him so much and I’m grateful that I’ll live to see another day at his side.
He pulls the car up to our home and I stay seated until he unfolds from the front seat and walks around the hood to my side of the door.
When he opens the door, his palm waits for my hand. He always waits for me. He’s waited for me to find myself, to grow as a woman.
That doesn’t mean that he’s done so perfectly, or patiently, but he’s still done so.
Silently, my hand in his, he walks ahead of me as we make our way into the house. I’m naked, barefoot and covered in blood.
I’m sure that I’m a sight to see, but I don’t even care. It’s all that I can do to keep my trembling legs from giving out beneath me.
Once we’re inside, Benicio turns to me and wordlessly scoops me up in his arms. Wrapping my own around his neck, I press myself as close to him as possible. He doesn’t stop as he swiftly marches through the house, not until we’re in the master bathroom.
He lowers me to my feet as he reaches for the shower knob. I watch as he turns it on hot, testing it before he jerks his chin as a silent instruction for me to slip into the warm water.
Shrugging off the jacket, it falls to the floor before I step onto the warm tile flooring of the shower.
Staring at the white marble tiles, I watch as they turn red from the blood being washed from my skin.
I don’t even jump when I feel Benicio’s hands wrap around my hips. His lips touch the shell of my ear and I shiver as he breathes against me before he speaks.
“You were the sexiest thing I had ever seen in my life when I walked into that house.”
Spinning around, his hands automatically slide to my ass, gripping my flesh tightly as he stares down at me, his lips turned up into a smirk as he waits for my response, my reaction.
“Why?”
He chuckles, lowering his head so that his lips can rest against mine as he speaks. It’s his favorite thing to do, and I don’t mind it at all because I kind of love it myself. He licks my top lip, then finally speaks.
“Because you were taking control. You were in charge and it was so fucking sexy to see you take back your power.”
Pulling my head away from him slightly, I look up into his dark blue eyes. “Did I ever have power to take back?”
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. “Yeah, which is why your father controlled you and attempted to strip you of it. You’re Nicola Ricci, just your name holds its own power. But, Nicola, you are so fucking strong. I am so proud of you.”
“I killed someone.”
Benicio shakes his head. “You protected yourself. She sentenced herself to death the second she agreed and went through with kidnapping you. She was going to gloat over your murder, passerotta. Sometimes in the famiglia, even in the outside world, it is kill or be killed. I’m glad that you chose to take control of yourself, of your life, and live.”
I shouldn’t feel the sense of pride that fills me, but I do. Benicio and I don’t talk anymore, instead he washes the blood off of my body before he picks me up and makes love to me against the warm shower wall.
Chapter Thirty-One
BENICIO
The knock on the front door comes far too fucking early, as does the text message that announces the fucker at the door.
Groaning, I slide out of bed and grab a new pair of boxer briefs from my drawer, quickly pulling them up before I head toward the front door of the house.
Wrapping my hand around the handle, I turn it before pulling the front door open. Ermanno and Gavino both lift their brows at my appearance.
“Yesterday was a long day, I was hoping to take today off,” I grunt, stepping to the side to allow them entrance.
Ermanno doesn’t speak, obviously knowing his place and possibly fucking tired from his recent trip. “When did you get in?” I ask him.
He nods his head once. “About thirty minutes ago. Gavino had me house the girl at the warehouse and we came right over.”
“We need to talk about where we go from here,” Gavino announces.
My gaze flicks from both of them and I jerk my head toward the living room before I head over to the space myself. I don’t bother with pants as I sit down in the chair and wait for my orders.
“Luciana is on her way home,” Gavino announces. “I’ll have security detail on her twenty-four seven plus, thanks to you, my house has beefed up security,” he says dipping his chin toward me as he sinks down on to the couch.
“Good. Hopefully with the fall of this group, that means the threat to her is dead, too.”
“I’m hoping that the man we took could have some insight on that,” he admits.
It’s not a stupid thought. If he’s high enough in the cartel, he could have some intel on the comings and goings of the organization.
“What about the girl?” I ask.
“She’s in the warehouse for now,” Ermanno says.
“What about the future?” I ask, shifting my gaze from Ermanno to Gavino.
Gavino clears his throat, his gaze shifting down to his feet. I wait for him to speak, knowing without a doubt that I probably don’t like what he’s going to say, especially with the way that he’s stalling.
“Was
thinking of putting her to work,” he says.
Shaking my head, I lift my hand and run my fingers through my hair before I rest my forearms against my thighs and lean forward. “No, I can’t agree to that.”
“Could send her to Ireland,” he shrugs
“Vino,” I warn on a growl.
He chuckles, closing his eyes for a moment, then he lifts his gaze to meet my own. “I honestly don’t know what to do with her. She can’t be free. Marrying her off to someone provides no fucking benefit for the famiglia. What exactly do you propose that I do with her now that I have her here?”
I could tell him that he’s the one who brought her, so he has to come up with something and forced prostitution isn’t the answer, but I don’t.
At the end of the day, no matter what I say to him, he is the boss and he can do whatever the fuck he wants to do.
“How old is she?” I ask.
“Eighteen, by a goddamn week,” he hisses.
“Her half-brother?” I ask, speaking of Eagle, the Savage Beast MC member.
Ermanno shakes his head. “He’ll be lucky if he even survives at this point. No way in fuck does he want to deal with some bitch he never knew even existed.”
Arching a brow, I smirk. “Ermanno, do you want the girl?” I ask.
Gavino opens his mouth, but I shake my head once, waiting for Ermanno to answer me. I watch as his face turns a deep shade of pink and he immediately looks at the floor, between his shoes.
“Ermanno?” Gavino asks.
Only then does he lift his head, and he looks between Gavino and me, then back to Gavino. Clearing his throat, he nods his head once.
“She’s a good person. She’s innocent.”
“She’s the daughter of a man who ran the Columbian cartel,” I point out.
“Yeah, and your fiancée is the daughter of a piece of shit boss. Luciana is the daughter of another piece of shit boss. What does that have to do with anything?”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I try not to let his words affect me. Gavino proves that they don’t bother him in the least. He lets out a chuckle.
“He’s got us there, Benny,” he says, shaking his head a couple of times. “Okay, Manno. You want the girl, then she’s yours. Just remember,” he begins.
“Yeah?”
“The minute she proves to be a problem, we won’t hesitate…”
Gavino leaves his words open to interpretation, but there’s no need. We both know what he means, and it would fucking suck if she ended up being not quite as innocent as Ermanno thinks that she is, or wants her to be.
“I take full responsibility for her and her actions,” Ermanno says.
His words are bold, his meaning equally so. He’s allowing himself to be put on the chopping block as well if she fucks up and fucks us over. I’m not sure that I could do that, not even with Nicola who I actually know.
“Hopefully, I’ll never have to hold you to any of this,” Gavino announces. He turns his gaze toward me and dips his chin toward my lap. “Go get some goddamn pants on. We’re going to go and question the girl now.”
“No day off?” I ask, my lips twitching into a smirk.
Gavino shakes his head once. “Bring Nicola with you. She’s part of this all and she needs to learn the business.”
“You’re really taking her being part of the Ricci famiglia in stride. I’m surprised,” I admit.
Gavino shrugs a shoulder. “I actually kind of like it. We’re not traditional and we’re here to shake up the old famiglia rules. What better way than to put a woman in the mix?” he asks, then his lips turn up even more. “Especially a woman who has just proven that she can hold her fucking own at her young age.”
Standing to my feet, I snort. “She was goddamn unshakable,” I say. “She will make you proud, Boss.”
Gavino jerks his chin. “I know that she will. She’s a Ricci and tethered herself to you, after all.”
Shaking my head, I jog toward the bedroom to wake Nicola up and get her moving. Except when I walk into the bedroom, I don’t have to wake her up because she’s already awake and standing in the middle of the room.
“Unshakable?” she asks.
“You hear it all?” I ask.
“Ermanno is going to take this woman as his wife?”
Nodding my head slowly, I take a step toward her. “He is. Hopefully it’s not a huge fucking mistake, allowing all of this.”
“It’s not,” she whispers.
Wrapping my hand around her hip, I jerk her torso toward me, my eyes focused solely on hers. “How do you know?” I ask.
Her lips tip up into a small smile, her eyes full of mischief. “The daughter of a tyrant. She’s either just as awful as him or the complete opposite. I have hope that she’s opposite.”
“Like you?” I ask
Without a word, she rises to her toes and touches her mouth to mine before she takes a step back and makes her way to the bathroom to get ready to leave. Maybe she’s right. I hope that she is, for Ermanno and the Ricci famiglia’s sake.
NICOLA
Dressed in my perfect armor, I’m wearing a bright red skintight knee-length skirt, black designer high heels and a cream bodysuit that is dangerously low cut.
My only jewelry is my engagement ring and my hair is down and pin straight. My makeup is, of course, perfect.
“Ready to see this girl?” Benicio asks.
Smoothing down my skirt, my eyes take in my surroundings. We’re in the middle of an industrial area and in front of me is a big metal building.
I already know, from my own home where we have a metal shed, that this is where people usually go to die.
“I think so,” I say.
I’m not ready to see anyone else die, I need at least a couple of weeks before blood is shed in front of me again. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.
Glancing over at Ermanno, I cringe at the way he shifts from side to side in obvious nervousness at what’s to come.
“Let’s do this,” Gavino says as he clears his throat. Together the three of us follow behind him and make our way into the quiet metal building.
The warehouse is dimly lit as we file inside behind Gavino. But there is one thing that shines like a fucking beacon and that is the woman who is tied to a chair in the middle of the big open, empty space.
Her dark hair is a messy mass of soft waves around her face and shoulders, falling down her back and ending around her elbows.
She’s young, there’s no denying it, but when my eyes find hers, I know that she’s seen far too much for her young age. She reminds me of myself, immediately.
“Valentina Ramos,” Gavino announces as he clears his throat and makes his way toward her.
I watch as she narrows her eyes on him, then juts her chin in the air and looks down her nose at the boss. I almost giggle, wondering if she has any clue who he is, then I decide that she wouldn’t care anyway. She’s the daughter of a boss, herself. I get that. I get her.
“Do you have any information that you can give us that will save your life?” he asks.
Gavino is bluffing, I know that he is, but I can’t help the twinge of panic that still runs through me at his words.
Gavino is a man who always sticks to his word, though he’s not like the old school bosses, he is still very much a boss and I’ve heard he can be totally ruthless.
Valentina presses her lips together staying silent. Gavin lets out an exhale and shifts his gaze from her to Ermanno, but doesn’t say anything right away. The room is bathed in silence while we all wait to see what he’s going to say next.
He tilts his head to the side, his gaze sliding back to meet Valentina’s. “They’re all dead, girl. Your father was killed by his own flesh and blood. Your brothers the same. You’re all alone, Valentina. Nobody will come and save you from me.”
I watch as her shoulders slump slightly and then she shakes her head a couple of times. “What do you want to know?” she whispers.
“Is
there still a hit out on my wife?” Gavino asks.
Valentina physically jerks back slightly and her lips part in surprise. I watch as she shifts her gaze from Gavino to Ermanno, then back to Gavino.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t privy to much when it came to my family,” she admits.
Her voice is soft, light, and sweet. Ermanno dips his chin, then turns to look in my direction, but his gaze is focused on Benicio and not me.
“Gavino?” I ask.
He doesn’t look anywhere but at Valentina as he responds to me. “Yes, Nicola?”
“Can I talk to her alone? Girl-to-girl?”
I try to keep my voice strong and unwavering, but I’m not sure how well I’ve pulled it off. That is, until I feel Benny’s fingers squeeze my hip before he releases me and takes a step back. Gavino turns his gaze toward me, dipping his chin then begins to walk toward me.
“Yell if you need anyone, we’ll be right outside,” Gavino announces.
I stay frozen in my spot as all of the men that once filled the room file completely out, leaving me alone with Valentina Ramos.
Once we’re completely alone, that is when I slowly make my way toward her, standing exactly where Gavino stood just moments ago.
“I’m Nicola Ricci,” I say introducing myself. She stays silent, her eyes taking me in and trying not only to figure me out but also size me up. “My father was the boss of the Ricci famiglia before Gavino killed him and sent my now fiancé to take over.”
Her lips part as she stares at me, her eyes widening with each word that I say. “I’ve been in your position. The one of the unknown, scared about what would happen to me. I assume that’s how you’re feeling. Also, you don’t want to betray your family, but they aren’t here and you’re left swinging.”
“They’ll find me,” she whispers.
Shaking my head, I press my lips together before I speak. “Will they?” I ask. “Aren’t they dead?”
Becoming his Possession: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel Page 24