by Bree Porter
“Ah, there she is. My scared wife.” Alessandro didn’t sound smug about this. Instead he sounded annoyed. “And here I was, thinking you had grown a bit braver.”
I began to pack away the First Aid Kit. “You should take some Tylenol and get some rest.”
Alessandro opened his mouth to reply but something caught his attention. I turned to see why he had gone silent suddenly but he reached out like a whip and wrapped his hand around my wrist. I gasped and tried to wrench back.
His grip was firm yet light. However, Alessandro hadn’t grabbed me just to hold hands. He was holding up my bruised wrist, fury in his eyes.
“Who did this?”
The expression…the tone…My palms began to sweat. “I tripped.” I spluttered. “Down the stairs. Landed…landed on my wrist.”
His dark eyes flicked to me. “You tripped?” He asked icily. “And landed on your wrist?”
I nodded.
“At the bottom of the stairs, was there someone with five fingers?” Alessandro held up my wrist, showing the clear marks of five fingers. “Who do this to you, Sophia?”
Papa’s terrified expression formed in my mind. Please, Sophia…please, promise me you will keep this a secret.
“If it was important, I would tell you.” I tried to tug my hand back but he didn’t relent.
Alessandro searched my expression. Then very carefully, he unlatched his fingers. I brought my wrist to my chest, clutching it protectively. A dark expression had taken hold of him.
“Was it Oscuro?” He asked.
I shook my head. “No, of course not. Let it go, Alessandro.”
“If someone disrespected you, then they are a few steps towards disrespecting me and my family.” Alessandro leaned closer to me. The smell of him made my head spin. “Who disrespected you, wife?”
“I wasn’t disrespected.” I whispered.
His eyes flared. “So it was Cesare.”
I whipped my head up. “My father would never—“
“You and I both know that’s not true.” I fell quiet. Alessandro accessed me. “Do I need to have a little chat with my father-in-law?”
“No.” I said. “He…he got a bit drunk. It was an accident.”
“And that makes it okay?”
I snapped my eyes up to his. “You still have blood under your nails from killing people and you want to wave the flag on morals?”
Something akin to delight flashed across his face. Alessandro rose, looking like a lion who had spotted a limping gazelle.
“I shouldn’t—“
“Don’t apologise.” He said. “You know it annoys me.”
I fell silent.
Alessandro looked down at me. There seemed to be a dare in his expression. Go on, his eyes seemed to say, say something else. Let me play a bit longer.
It was a physical effort to keep my lips shut.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick.” He said.
I frowned. “Make what quick?”
“Cesare’s death.”
Ice slivered through me. “No, no, you can’t—“ I went to grab Alessandro, but he grabbed my wrists. He held me in place easily. “Please—“ Alessandro got up into my face. “He bruised the skin of a Rocchetti. As soon as he gripped you so hard that the blood beneath your skin burst, he got himself onto my kill list.”
“It was an accident. I—I was stressing him out—“ I was stumbling over the words, losing my sentences in the blubbering.
“Accident or not, he hurt my wife. He needs to be punished.” Alessandro held my wrists slightly tighter, enough to slow me down. “But…if you insist on him being spared, what’s in it for me?”
I slowed. “What?”
“What do I get out of it?” He inquired. “I want him dead but for you I would be willing to spare his life. What can you give me in return?” My mouth dried. “What do you want?” Hunger gripped his expression. “Oh, so many things, Sophia. Things that would make you both weep and scream.” Alessandro grinned at me and I knew the price he would demand would be steep. “I want a kiss.”
“A kiss?” I squeaked. “That’s it?”
“That’s all I want.” He purred. “A kiss from the Bloody Bride.”
I searched his expression. Was he playing with me? Would he take and take from me and still demand my father’s life? What could I do to prevent him from beating me?
“Swear it.” I answered. I nodded to the tattoo on his chest, the one that signalised his alliance. “Swear it on your Omertà vow.”
Alessandro smirked. “There is that slyness you hide.” He placed a hand on his chest, bringing my wrist with it, and said, “I swear on my honour as a Made Man that Cesare Padovino will not die at my hands, and in exchange, Sophia Rocchetti will give me a kiss.”
My hand was flushed against his, resting on his vow. “Okay.” I murmured. “One kiss and my father will be safe.”
Alessandro released my other wrist. I hung my arm loosely at my side. “Just one.” He crooned. “Unless you’re begging for more. Then I might be convinced to give you another.”
“Please.” I breathed. “It’ll be you who is begging.”
He flashed me a feral grin before leaning down. I tilted my head up, trying to ignore the thundering of my heart, the tightening of my stomach. The ache between my thighs.
Alessandro stopped right in front of my lips, eyes gleaming with a challenge. He opened his mouth to say something but I didn’t give him a chance. I pushed my lips into his, catching them.
He came alive immediately, moving against me.
Everything felt too hot, too much. But I couldn’t stop. The softness of his lips, the roughness of his stubble. His teeth scraped my mouth and I moaned at the surprise jolt of electricity it pulsed down into me. It sent my senses into overdrive, narrowing down on one constant: Alessandro.
I wrapped my arm around his head, digging my fingers into his hair. He groaned into my mouth and shoved me backwards. The fridge caught me. Alessandro released my other hand and I joined it with the other behind his head, trying to hold him as close to me as possible.
He stretched his arms over my head, poising himself above me—
A sharp ringtone cut through the air. The sound it echoed throughout my head.
I pulled away, banging my head on the fridge behind me.
Alessandro swore and dug his phone out of his pocket. His expression was deadly. “Someone better be fucking dead.”
Disbelief wrecked through me. Had I really been making out with Alessandro Rocchetti? Was my body throbbing from heat and need because The Godless? My head felt light, my thighs tingly. I could still feel his lips against mine.
It was like I had ever felt.
Only grief had been intense to me. So intense that my body bore the remnants of my breaking heart, my mourning. But this…this was definitely not grief, and yet just as intense. This was something else…and it was entirely bad.
Alessandro snapped viciously into his phone before shoving it back in his pocket. He regarded me hungrily, then anger flickered over his expression. “I have to go.”
“Duty calls.” I murmured.
“Yeah, duty.” He snapped. He drew back, practically vibrating his rage. “Don’t think this is over, Sophia.” I casted my eyes to the ground. “You got your one kiss, Alessandro.”
Alessandro laughed darkly. “Yes, I suppose I did.” He began to walk away but before he disappeared upstairs, he turned and pinned me with his gaze. “The Anti-Mafia documents are completed and on my desk. I’m sure you can find them, you’ve been in my office plenty of times.”
I snapped my head up to his but he had already disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
You can do this, I thought. You can do this.
After my fifth pep-talk, I swung out of the car, landing on the concrete with more force than necessary. The rain had lightened and a gorgeous sunny Spring day had graced the city. But my nerves stopped me from being able to fully enj
oy it.
In front of me, City Hall loomed. People were rushing in and out under the watchful building. However, they were not in such a rush that they didn’t turn their head as I passed. Oscuro, who was beside me, wasn’t inconspicuous but it wasn’t him they were looking at.
You are a Rocchetti, Alessandro’s voice said in my mind. Hold your head high.
I lifted my chin up and strode into the building.
I had worn my most beloved outfit for this very purpose. My favourite light pink dress, which was sexy in a businesswoman kind of way. Paired with my white heels and matching bag, I felt like something to look at. Something with secrets and gravitas.
I placed a gentle hand on my stomach. Something with lots of secrets.
City Hall was a old yet grand building. Marble floors stretched out, so clean they reflected the golden lights hanging from the high ceilings. Podiums stretched out on either side, breaking up the lobby from the wings coming off it. Behind the front desk, an impressive staircase grew. American flags hung off the walls like lanterns, leading the way.
The receptionist lifted his head as I approached. “How can I help you, ma’am?”
“I’m here for a meeting with Mayor Salisbury.”
His eyes widened. “Mrs Rocchetti, forgive me, of course.” I hadn’t sounded harsh but he reacted like I had slapped him across the face. “I will ring Mayor Salisbury right away to let him know you’re here. Can I offer you a drink?”
“No, but thank you.”
Oscuro and I made our way to the waiting area. “Poor boy nearly jumped out of his skin.” I said.
“You are a Rocchetti.” Was my bodyguard’s answer.
We had only been sitting down a moment when a familiar looking man came down the stairs. He was dressed in a blue-button down and brown khakis. His tie was so tight I could’ve sworn it was blocking off circulation. Paired with his slicked back grey hair and his arrogant expression, it wasn’t hard to see the politician in Mayor Salisbury. Corruption included.
“Mrs Rocchetti,” he held out his hand. Then remembered himself and just gave me a nod.
“Mayor Salisbury. How lovely to finally meet you.”
He smiled. I could see him wondering if my temper was a little better than the other Rocchetti’s he had to deal with. “You too. Come right this way, please.”
Mayor Salisbury liked to talk. And mixed with my love of talking, we made quite the cocktail. By the time we reached his office, we had almost run out of things to talk about.
“Please make yourself comfortable, Mrs Rocchetti,” he said, pulling out a chair for me. Mayor Salisbury’s office was formed completely of brown wood, it seemed. With the desk and shelves and walls all matching, making me feel as if I could’ve been upside down and not truly know. Breaking up the wood were photos of a preppy family or achievement awards for Bill Salisbury.
“Such a lovely office you have.” I said.
Mayor Salisbury smiled at the compliment. “Thank you. All my predecessors before me had the exact same one.” I could tell.
“How lovely. History…is so important.”
“Indeed.” He gestured to a photo on the wall of him cutting a ribbon. “Have you checked out the Historical Society? You might enjoy some of their work.” When I didn’t look convinced, he added, “Mr Rocchetti is a kind donator to the society. He believes that protecting history is very important.”
“That sounds like my grandfather-in-law.” I smiled. “You must do very good work to have the approval of the Don.”
Mayor Salisbury nodded. “He is a big fan of preserving the speakeasies. Especially the one in Little Italy. I think it was the first club he ever ran.” He paled suddenly, as if realising he had said something he shouldn’t of.
“I’ll be sure to check out the society.” I slipped my bag off my shoulder. Mayor Salisbury manage to pale even more.
“Shall we get to business? I hate to keep you.”
He nodded.
I pulled out the documents required by the government. They were heavy, filled with made up facts and figures. Well, not, made up, but altered. “Everything is there, I promise. I checked it myself.” I hadn’t but Mayor Salisbury looked paler by the minute. If he got any whiter, I might have to call the ambulance.
He took the file from me. “Very good. It’s all there….very good.”
“The only thing left is your signature, my husband tells me.”
The mention of my husband made Salisbury tense. Then he looked around the room like he was seeing it for the first time. His eye’s passed over Oscuro, stoic and still, and then went back to me. Like a switch, Mayor Salisbury changed. He smiled and leaned back in his chair. His nerves seemed to disappear into the air.
I knew his expression well. It was the face of someone who had realised they could get something.
What did Salisbury want? I wanted to get the anti-mafia certificate and avoid the wrath of the Rocchetti’s. If I showed up back home without it, I doubted that would be good for me. .
I smiled at Salisbury, poised and polite. “Is everything okay, Mayor Salisbury?”
Mayor Salisbury smiled at me. His smile felt sticky. “The terms of the…deal between the Rocchetti’s and I fails to fulfil my needs.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I said.
“You understand, don’t you?” He didn’t wait for my answer. “However, the last time I signed this, the times were different and now with the FBI breathing down our necks…”
Oscuro made to step forward. Salisbury stopped breathing.
I turned my head, “It’s okay, Oscuro.” He settled back against the wall with a grunt. Salisbury kept his eyes on him. “I understand completely, Mayor. You are a businessman and have a business to protect. However…I don’t think the Rocchetti’s will share my sentiments. You see, they too, have a business to protect.” I smiled sweetly and plucked his pen from the desk. “And I think my family’s way of protecting their businesses is a little bloodier than yours.”
Salisbury’s jaw twitched. He didn’t move to take the pen. “I will make a deal with the Rocchetti’s themselves, not you.”
“I am the Rocchetti you are a dealing with, Mayor Salisbury.” I kept my tone light, my smile bright. Clearly taking a harsher route wasn’t working. “I don’t want to fight with you. And I know you also don’t want to fight with me.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“I’m glad.”
Mayor Salisbury regarded me. I knew that look in his eyes. He was seeing a beautiful woman, a charming but stupid wife. A pawn. “Tell your husband and his family that I want to renegotiate the terms of our agreement. And I am willing to do so right now…with their spokesperson.”
Did he think I could easier to bargain with? I bargained everyday. I make deals with my face to be passive, with my smile to not falter. I shake hands with my instincts when they warn me of things and I deal with my grief personally.
I smiled prettily at Mayor Salisbury. “What is you would like, sir?”
He glanced around. Of course, I thought, he doesn’t know. He got drunk on the idea that the new Rocchetti would be less effective than the other ones he dealt with. “The Historical Society.” He blurted out. “I want you, Mrs Rocchetti, to become a patron. It won’t be hard work. You just need to attend a few meetings and help me host a few functions.” A gleam had taken form in his eye. “If your husband doesn’t mind sharing you, of course.”
Pawn. Pawn. Pawn. “Historical Society patron, I will be.” I passed him the pen. “Now, sign, sir.”
The high of his won made him scribble his signature onto the paper. He nodded when he was done. “I will send this today. The Circuit should be legitimised by the end of the week.”
“Splendid.” I rose from my seat. “It’s been lovely, but I have to go. Walk me out?”
“Of course.” Salisbury jumped from his seat and led me back the way we came. Oscuro followed like a ominous shadow.
; “I look forward to seeing you at the Historical Society meetings, Mrs Rocchetti.” The Mayor said as we said goodbye.
I smiled. “And I look forward to being apart of them.”
“It’s Alessandro.” Oscuro passed me his phone.
The sounds of the city rushed past as we stepped outside of City Hall and back into the warm Spring Day. My eyes ran over the street as they always did now but there was no Dodge Charger.
“Thank you, Oscuro.” I pressed the phone to my ear. “I have my own phone. The one you bought me.”
“I know.” Came Alessandro’s hard voice. Don’t think about the kiss, don’t think about the kiss. “Did you get the certificate?”
I stepped down the stairs, trying to avoid disturbing the flock of birds. “I did.”
“Did Salisbury make a move for power?”
I frowned. “You knew he would try? And yet you sent me in there anyways? Unequipped?” Alessandro laughed harshly on the other end of the line. “You are many things, wife, but you are not unequipped.” The tone of his voice made me feel like he was alluding to other things. “What did he ask for? No, wait, let me guess. A patron for one of his ridiculous clubs?”
I was glad he couldn’t see me, his mocking was making me blush. “The Historical Society.”
On the phone, I heard grunts of laughter. More than one person was in the same room with Alessandro. Even Oscuro cracked a smile.
“How predictable. A pity, actually. We were hoping your pretty face might make him feel a bit more creative, but alas.” Alessandro chuckled again. I was tempted to hang up. “Though, this might be good for you. So you’re not stuck in the house all day, doing nothing.”
“I do not do nothing.” I couldn’t keep out the sharpness in my tone.
Oscuro turned his head to me. I ignored his warning look.
“Ah, but you want to do more. And what a better way to do more than by looking after Chicago’s history?” He mused.