“Who?” Caprice asked.
“Rocco,” Nico replied. “I’m worried about him. He’s not comfortable with the Paolo situation. He’s not convinced we should be demanding that Paolo step down.”
Caprice held back a sarcastic chuckle. “Who the fuck cares what Rocco is comfortable with? We haven’t overstepped our bounds. That’s why we’re going to Allenwood, right? To talk to Fausto about this? Besides,” Caprice shrugged, “at the end of the day, Rocco works for the family. He’ll follow orders no matter who is giving them.”
“You need to talk to him,” Nico ordered. “Make him understand.”
Caprice turned her nose up and shook her head. “You do it. You’re his best friend. What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
Nico smirked and sipped his espresso. “It’s in his blood. We always listen to the Italian women we love.”
Fuck! Caprice yelled to herself. She hadn’t expected Rocco to be a problem. Why the hell couldn’t he just sit back and let them make the moves they had carefully planned out. She had enough to worry about. He was going to be pissed off when she broke things off with him, and now this? Could her day get any more fucked up?
“If he loves Paolo so much, why can’t Rocco stay here and work for him?” Caprice suggested. “It’s not like we’re demanding that the old man retires.”
“Apparently, he wants to be in Atlantic City with you.”
Caprice tossed her head from side to side rather quickly. “No,” she stated. “I don’t want him there. He can stay right here in New York with Paolo. Tell him that, Nico. If I have to do it, it won’t be pretty.”
“Why not? I thought the two of you were in love,” Nico teased.
“There’s a difference between love and good dick, Nico,” Caprice answered.
“Too much information,” Nico stated. “You’re telling him.”
“You’re not the Boss yet, big brother,” Caprice laughed. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Just talk to your boyfriend,” Nico told her. “On another note, we’ve never talked about the girl; Keisha or whatever her name is.”
Caprice grinned slyly. “You don’t have to worry about her. That bitch is my own special project.”
“Okay. I’ll let you take care of that. Eat your breakfast. We have a long drive and I’m not stopping.”
Chapter Sixteen
The empty house at the end of a dead end street would have made the perfect trap house. It was partially hidden by massive amounts of overgrown shrubbery. The house had been abandoned a long time ago, and the city had owned it for years until Aries purchased it two years ago. He had hoped to rebuild the four bedroom home and turn it into his own palace in Queens. As of late, he hadn’t had the time. Beef with rival gangs and his mission to become the real life Nino Brown had taken up most of his time and money.
Chasing after Caprice and all his other women was another way Aries wasted his time and money.
But the thrill of the chase wasn’t enough. He needed the conquest. He wasn’t satisfied with being tall, dark, handsome, and able to bed practically any woman he wanted. The thrill was bedding the ones who were out of his league. That required work and a definitive knowledge of the female psyche.
Caprice had picked up on his vibe the moment she met him. He believed she should have been impressed with his obnoxious show of hood wealth or his inflated ego. He thought that if she was impressed and wanted what he had, the easier it would be to conquer her mind and body.
He was wrong, but Caprice let him believe it for a short time. That was why he showed her the house she was sitting in right at that very moment. Aries had went on and on describing in excruciating detail every plan he had for the house, even down to the light switches. He had taken on a new level of anger when, out of boredom and frustration, Caprice had asked him if he was gay.
Aries was adamant that he was straight as a board, but after spending ninety long ass minutes in an empty and dusty house listening to him talk about wallpaper and flooring, Caprice was done with his Queer Eye for the Straight Guy act.
That incident happened almost five months ago, shortly before the incident at her apartment. Caprice laughed at the memory. She should have known Aries would have added her gay accusation to his list of reasons she should die.
“I have to ask, Mrs. Saunders, how long has your son been gay? Or has he not told you yet?”
The dark skinned fifty-ish woman sitting on the dirty floor holding Aries’ two year old son looked up at Caprice with tears in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. Caprice turned her attention to the nineteen year old girl sitting next to her.
“What about you, Athena? Did you know?”
“My brother isn’t gay, bitch!”
Nico walked past the girl and slapped the back of her head so hard that tears sprang into her eyes almost instantly.
“Watch how you talk to my sister.”
“My brother is going to kill you,” the girl wept.
“That’s not exactly the plan, sweetheart,” Nico said with a smirk. “How about you shut up until he gets here? Your mouth is only going to make things worse for you. And stop crying. I haven’t hurt you yet.”
My God, Caprice thought as she watched her brother pace what would be the living room with his gun by his side. He’s actually enjoying this.
When Nico promised that he was going to ‘kill everyone Aries loved’ Caprice hadn’t been sure he meant it. She only wanted Aries, but for Nico, vengeance didn’t stop with just Aries. When he and Domani walked into Caprice’s apartment that night and saw her bloody, unconscious, and clinging to her life, the pain and anger Nico had felt overshadowed all logical thought.
Had it been up to him, he would have rode through Queens and killed, maimed, and tortured every single person that looked like they might have been affiliated with the Black Diamond Mafia. Only his father’s orders had stopped him from going on a rampage. Tonight, Aries would know exactly how it felt to see his loved ones in pain. He would know exactly what it felt like to hear his sister cry and scream. Domani hadn’t sent Nico to Campania every summer to train with his cousins for a vacation. Mateo and Giovanni had taught him well.
No one fucked with a member of the Bonatelli Family without suffering the severest of consequences. Everyone in the city knew what Aries had done to Caprice. Now they would know what happened when you crossed Nico and Caprice Bonatelli.
“Hey,” Caprice said to her brother and held up her phone. “Just got the text. He’s on his way.”
“So your friend came through, huh?”
Caprice nodded. “It appears that way. I told you he would.”
Caprice was relieved when her phone chirped with the message from Diesel. She wanted him on her side so badly, but who knew what could change his mind once he was out of her presence.
“And you know for sure that he’s coming alone?” Nico questioned.
“Those were the instructions I gave him. Why does it matter anyway?” Caprice asked. “We got Frick and Frack here to help if shit gets ugly, right?”
The stoic expression on Mateo and Giovanni’s faces hadn’t changed when Caprice called them out of their names. They didn’t understand a word of English, to which Caprice was extremely grateful. Her cousins from Italy weren’t that happy about working with a woman, and she had been talking shit about this all day.
“Where’s Rocco?” she asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be here too?”
“Yes, he is,” Nico grumbled. “I don’t know where he is. He dropped them off and said he was coming back tonight.”
“Call him,” Caprice demanded.
“I have…twice.”
“I’ll call him.” But her call went to voicemail. She tried Rocco’s second phone. That one went to voicemail as well. Caprice began to panic. Rocco always answered his phone. In the four years she’d known him, Rocco picked up his phone whenever it rang, even when they were having sex.
“He’s not answering.” Sheer pani
c flooded Caprice’s eyes. She dialed his numbers again with the same result.
Something bad must have happened to him. The only way Rocco wouldn’t answer her call was if he was locked up or dead. Only six people knew what was going down in that house. Four of them were in the room, one was MIA, and the other…
“Diesel!” Caprice shouted into her phone as soon as he answered. “What the fuck have you done?”
“What are you talking about?” Diesel yelled back. “I haven’t done anything. I did what you wanted.”
“Where’s Rocco? What did you do to him? I swear to God, Diesel-”
“Caprice, you’re losin’ it. I don’t know anything about where Rocco is. So now you don’t trust me?”
Caprice hung up without answering. She felt sick to her stomach. Nico was going to flip his shit when he discovered that Diesel had set them up. She had no idea what the cousins would do to her. But at the forefront of her thoughts was Rocco.
She may not have wanted to marry the guy, but she sure as hell didn’t hate him. She didn’t want him hurt in any way. He was her friend and she prayed that he was alright. She prayed that no one from BDM had gotten their hands on him. Maybe he was locked up.
If he was in jail, she could handle that. She could do something about jail. Anything else, Caprice knew she wouldn’t be able to handle. If Diesel had set her up, or set Rocco up, he’d be sharing cemetery space with Aries. She’d see to that.
As Caprice was thinking of what to do, the black phone in her purse began to ring. It was the first time that the phone had rung since Domani gave it to her. Nico turned around and stared at her with a puzzled look on his face.
“Is that the phone Dad gave you?”
Caprice nodded as she fished around in her bag for the phone.
“Why is Dad calling you?”
“How the hell would I know?” she snapped. “I haven’t answered the damn phone yet.”
She finally found the phone wedged under her makeup bag and a tangle of sunglasses and earrings. Mahogany would have been ashamed at the way Caprice haphazardly treated her six month old Birkin bag.
“Hello?”
“Caprice! What the hell is going on over there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad. Where are you?” The background noise on Domani’s end was loud. If Caprice had to guess, she would have bet money that Domani was in some Greek strip club.
“Don’t worry about where I am. What are you and your brother up to? I just got a frantic call from Silvia. The old broad was practically in tears over Rocco. She hasn’t heard from her son in two days, Caprice. What the fuck is going on?”
“Why would you think that me and Nico are up to something because Silvia hasn’t talked to her son? You know she’s crazy, right?”
“I don’t care if the broad is bat shit crazy, Caprice!” Domani yelled. “You and your brother are always up to something and Rocco does whatever you say, like some lovesick puppy.”
“Well, this time you’re wrong,” Caprice said. “Nico and I aren’t up to anything, and I just talked to Rocco last night. So stop trippin’.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Dad,” Caprice huffed into the phone. “Nothing is going on! In fact, I’m about to go shopping in Manhattan before we leave for Atlantic City in the morning.”
Domani sighed loudly into the phone. He didn’t believe a word that was coming out of her mouth, but being six thousand miles away didn’t allow him the opportunity or privilege to do anything about it.
“Next time you talk to the boy, tell I said he has to check in with his mother every fuckin’ day! She’ll lose what’s left of her mind if he doesn’t and she knows I’m not there to protect her boy.”
“Whatever. I don’t have time for this, Daddy. There’s an after hours sale going on at Saks and I’m missing it!”
“Fine. Do your shopping. Tomorrow, when you meet up with Pamela, be on your best behavior. Pamela’s good people. Show her some respect.”
“Goodbye Daddy. I’ll call you next week.”
“What did he say?” Nico asked as soon as Caprice lowered the phone from her ear.
“Rocco’s mom called him. She hasn’t heard from him in two days. She panicked.”
“Kind of like you’re doing now.”
“I’m not panicking. I have a legitimate reason to be concerned, don’t you think?”
“Not anymore,” Nico stated. He nodded at the door.
The crunch of tires on gravel was very distinct. Caprice peeked out of the window. Aries’ black BMW was pulling to a slow stop. She watched as the driver’s door opened. Aries stepped out of the car and lowered his sunglasses over his eyes. He stared at the house suspiciously before leaning back into the car. He looked as if he was talking to someone. When the passenger side door opened, the blood in Caprice’s veins ran ice cold.
“What the fuck?” she muttered, unable to believe she was seeing what her brain was telling her she was seeing.
With one hand on her gun and her trigger finger itching to fire, Caprice threw open the front door. She and Nico, followed by the cousins, stopped dead in their tracks on the dilapidated old porch.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Her question wasn’t directed at Aries, but to the man standing next to him.
Paolo’s sinister grin as he stood next to Aries made Caprice take a step back. Aries brought his hand from behind his back. He was holding a big black AK 47 in front of him as he smiled at Caprice and winked.
“Hey baby. I heard you wanted to see me.”
TO BE CONTINUED
####
Afterword
Thank you for reading Love and War. To be honest, this was a challenging book for me to write.
Caprice Bonatelli is young, inexperienced, and only has one thing on her mind…to be as powerful as her father. She is an example of extreme daddy issues. I like her. She is devoted to those she loves, even if she just became a part of their lives.
The original outline for this series had Domani and Nico being killed early in the first book, shortly after Caprice joins the family business, but after giving it some long thought, I didn’t want to continue along that storyline. As I was developing Caprice’s character, I knew that there was no way that she would be able to survive without her father and brother.
I hope you found the Love and War story interesting and compelling. I can’t wait to hear what you think about Caprice, Nico, and the complete cast of characters throughout the series. The Bonatelli Family story is a story that I can return to over and over again. They have so much history and so much can and will happen to them. I hope you stick around for it all.
BTW - If you enjoyed Love and War, it would please me to no end if you did me a HUGE favor. Go back to http://www.amazon.com and leave an honest review. Authors live and die by their reviews. It will just take a few seconds but those few seconds really helps us in a big way. Thank you!
About the Author
I am not your average romance author. Whether it be contemporary romance or urban romance, my stories are about relationships. Not just the relationships between lovers, but between family and friends because those matter too.
I believe that not every romance book has to be that “Hollywood, hot pink, Roman candle fireworks” kind of love or that every urban fiction book has to be just about Black people. I write what I enjoy reading. I write real life romance because I know that not everything is “happily ever after”. My characters are an eclectic mix of sassy females and alpha males who love with every inch of their heart and soul. It’s the perfect recipe for exciting, emotional, passionate, and dramatic romance.
I write what I know…or what I’ve heard about firsthand.
Remember...
“Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes be just an illusion.”
Dream big & Love hard,
JC
Contact Information
Jackie Chanel is known to talk too muc
h and she loves to talk to readers!
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Email: [email protected]
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Copyright Information
Love & War: A Caprice Bonatelli Novel
Copyright 2013 by Jackie Chanel
Published by SBR Publications
Cover Art by Junnita Jackson
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales or, is entirely coincidental.
No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writer permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Any inquiries can be made to:
www.jackiechanel.com or
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Prelude
I
II
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Love and War Page 13