Lorenzo Beretta

by Abigail Davies

  “Signed the warrant that you demanded he sign.” I slowly leaned back in my seat, the chair wood creaking at the move. “You were the one who okayed the raid.” The cool metal of my gun slipped across my fingertips, and I gripped the handle, placing my finger on the trigger. “You’ve approved them every step of the way.” I paused, finally lifting my mask off my face and showing him all of my rage. “You knew they had someone undercover.” I pushed my chair back, my signal for Christian and Mateo, and they stepped forward. “It was your idea.” I extended my arm, showing everyone at the table what I held in my hand. Not one of them said a word, knowing what Piero had done was the ultimate death wish. We had rules we lived by, both inside our own organizations and The Enterprise, and Piero had disregarded all of that.

  “You’re not the only one with friends in high places.” I squeezed the trigger, one shot blasting out as the bullet ripped through Piero’s head. Two more shots fired off behind me, taking out Piero’s men in one fell swoop.

  Their bodies slumped, bright red blood staining the table and the people closest to them. I glanced down, seeing several droplets of blood that had made their way to my shirt. I cursed. Aida would be pissed if I turned up to dinner with blood on me.

  “Take that as a warning,” I told the rest of the table. “The Enterprise was made to keep the peace, to share information, so we’re all safe against the law.” I stowed my gun away in its holster. “The new boss of the Pozzi family will be his nephew, Gio. He’ll be at the next meeting.” I grinned as the shock registered on their faces. I’d been working behind the scenes for days, putting things in place as I waited for final confirmation of what I already knew.

  “We haven’t taken a vote!” Alessandro shouted, swiping at the blood on his face.

  I huffed out a breath. I’d had my fun, and now I wanted to leave. “All those in favor of Gio Pozzi becoming head of the Pozzi family, raise your hands.” Stefano and Neri raised their hands just as I did. “Votes counted and verified.” I stepped away from the table. “Until next month.” I nodded, pleased as fuck with myself. I’d made it known that I wasn’t to be messed with. I just hoped they actually listened because I was done with second chances. They worked when I was captain, but now that I was the boss, I couldn’t take the risk.

  Making mistakes was all well and good as long as you learned from them. And that was what I’d done from the moment I’d become boss. I’d made mistakes, but they were ones that I’d never repeat. They made me stronger, more capable of becoming the boss my family needed.

  No one spoke as we exited the meeting place and got into the SUV. I’d already known someone had their hands in what happened with the FBI, and after Mateo’s contact confirmed it today with the evidence I needed, I hadn’t wasted a single second calling the impromptu meeting. The longer Piero was out there, the more damage he would have done. At least with Gio at the helm of their family, I’d have some sense of control over him.

  My dad had built his legacy, but it was time for me to build mine. I wasn’t walking in his shadow anymore. I wasn’t only Luca Beretta’s son. I was Lorenzo Beretta, the Mafia boss you didn’t dare fuckin’ cross.

  I glanced down at the few red spots on my shirt as we pulled into the gates, cursing at the sight of Aida’s dad’s delivery truck already being here. “Fuck.” If she saw the evidence of what I’d just done on my shirt, she’d kill me. She’d spoken nonstop about the meal with both of our families, and now here I was, about to enter with another Mafia boss’s blood on my shirt. I darted out of the SUV, ran across the stones, and straight through the front door, hoping I could make it by unseen.

  “Uncle Lorenzo!”

  My eyes widened, my body freezing at the bottom of the stairs. I should have known Vida would have caught me. “Hey, princess.” I turned and smiled at her, trying to keep my body pointed toward the stairs. “I’ll be back down in a minute. I just need to get changed.”

  She stepped forward, her head tilted to one side as Christian and Mateo walked in the front door with matching grins on their faces. “But you’re already dressed.” Her little face screwed up in confusion. “Why do you need to get dressed again?”

  “Well…” I cleared my throat, feeling like I was being interrogated. Not even my Uncle Antonio had made me feel like that when I was a kid, and he grilled me on whether I’d understood how to electrocute someone or not. “I…erm….”

  Noemi appeared behind Vida, planting her hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Lorenzo,” she greeted, and I begged her to distract Vida, but instead, she asked, “Where you heading?”

  What was with this family and asking questions?

  “I’m going to—”

  “Lorenzo?” I breathed a sigh of relief as Aida appeared. “What are you doing?” She walked toward me, meeting me at the bottom of the stairs. “Where—”

  “Something smells amazing,” I said, interrupting her and turning my body. “I wouldn’t want to stain my white shirt with the pasta sauce.” I had no idea if that was what we were having, but I hoped she’d read into what I was saying. “I’m going to go get changed.” I hooked my thumb toward the stairs, widening my eyes at her.

  “What?” She laughed and shook her head. “You…” Her gaze flicked down, her attention zooming in on the blood splatter. She glanced back up at me, lowering her voice so only I could hear her. “You couldn’t leave it until after we’d had dinner?” she ground out.

  “It couldn’t wait.” I tried to communicate with her silently. She knew we were looking into what had happened when we got raided, and she was there when I’d received the call to confirm my suspicions.

  “Fine.” She narrowed her eyes at me, then flicked her attention to Vida and Noemi. “Shall we go make wishes while we wait for Uncle Lorenzo?”

  “Yes!“ Vida jumped up and down, grasping Noemi’s hand and pulling her toward the door. “The fountain outside is magic,” she told her. “Last time I made a wish that Auntie Aida would fall in love with Uncle Lorenzo.” She turned back to face me, her huge grin flashing my way. “And it came true!”

  My stomach dipped at her words, my attention snapping toward Aida, but she was walking away with her head down. I wasn’t sure what to do, what to say, so I turned, heading upstairs and preparing for the first joint family meal since we’d married.

  CHAPTER 18

  AIDA

  I rolled over as the sound of the shower drifted into the bedroom. A strip of sun shone through the curtains, hitting the partly open bathroom door. I stared at it, wondering whether I should roll back over and get more sleep or whether to get up.

  We’d slipped into a routine the last couple of months with me going to college and Lorenzo making his mark in the city as boss. I’d accompanied him to countless events where he made friends with politicians and donated money to their campaigns. He walked a fine line, managing to sit on both sides of the track without falling. I wasn’t sure how he managed it, but I was fascinated watching him achieve it as if it was nothing.

  It wasn’t, though. Normal people didn’t do what he did, at least, not successfully anyway.

  His soft humming rang out, and I smiled. He didn’t realize he did it, but it was one of my favorite sounds, and that was what had me slipping out of our bed and walking toward the bathroom.

  I wrapped my arms around my waist and Lorenzo’s T-shirt that I was wearing, unable to take my gaze off him. He let his head dip back, the water washing over him and through his inky black hair. Each of his perfectly chiseled muscles moved as he tilted his head side to side.

  Slowly, I dropped my arms from my waist, stepped forward, and pulled the T-shirt over my head. I didn’t make a sound as I stepped into the shower with him, but from the way his body tensed and then relaxed, he knew I was there.

  “Morning,” I murmured, trailing my hands over his sides and around to his stomach. His abs jumped at my touch.

  “Morning, baby.” He turned, his wet body pressing against mine. “You’re up early.”


  I couldn’t get enough of his dark eyes and the way he leaned forward, caging me in. “I am.” I felt his erection press against me and moaned. “I wanted to save water with you.”

  “That right?” he asked, his voice deeper.

  I planted my hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating an erratic rhythm at my touch. “Yeah.” I pushed closer, biting down on my bottom lip as my nipples scraped against his chest. “I also wanted to do this.” I didn’t think as I got down to my knees, my face coming level with his hard cock.

  It jumped as I dragged the tip of my finger along the underside and up to the head, a drop of pre-cum escaping. My tongue flicked out, lapping up the salty liquid. His hand moved to the top of my head, his fingers pushing their way through my hair and holding me there.

  My lips parted, and I dipped forward, taking all of him in my mouth. I twirled my tongue around him while at the same time, cupping his balls and humming, the vibrations causing his hand to grip my hair harder. He pulled, trying to set the pace, but I wasn’t going to allow him. This wasn’t just about him. It was about me too.

  I halted as the head of his cock hit the back of my mouth, unable to get him all of the way in, then reached between my legs, finding my bundle of nerves and strumming. I moaned louder, pulling my head forward and backward harder and faster, knowing it would drive him crazy.

  “Fuck,” he gritted out, and when I glanced up at him, I saw that he was staring down at me, watching intently as I played with myself. He planted his feet wider apart, his hand resting on the side of the shower, and ordered, “Show me.” He licked his lips. “Show me your pussy.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, so I pulled my mouth back, letting his cock slide out. “Wha—”

  “Open your pussy lips.” My breath stalled in my chest at his words. Everything sounded so much dirtier when he said it with his deep, raspy voice. “Open them up and let me see your pretty clit, baby.”

  I leaned back, my knees and thighs burning at the position I was putting myself in, but I didn’t care. I was so turned on by him watching me that I would have stayed like this for hours if it meant he didn’t look away.

  “That’s it.” His hand moved to his cock, his long fingers wrapping around his girth and slowly moving up and down. “Faster,” he demanded, so I did as he said.

  My arms burned at how fast I was going, my wrist threatening to give up, but I didn’t stop—I couldn’t stop. I let go of his balls, trailing my hand up my stomach and to my nipple. I groaned as my finger skimmed over it, but it wasn’t enough, so I rolled it between my finger and thumb. The burn at the base of my stomach teased me, promising my orgasm, and it started, slow at first, building and building the faster I strummed my fingers over my clit. I felt it get bigger, and then everything hit me all at once, knocking me off-kilter.

  I cried out, my body screaming with sweet relief, and before I knew it, I was in the air, my back slammed against the wet, tiled wall, and Lorenzo’s cock was pounding into me.

  “Fuck, yes,” he gritted out, unrelenting in his rhythm. I held on to him, my nails digging into his shoulders, sure to leave marks, but I didn’t care, and neither did he. “You’re like a goddamn angel sent from heaven just for me,” he croaked out, pushing his face between my neck and shoulder.

  I closed my eyes, taking each of his bruising thrusts, and knowing that I wouldn’t be able to spend another day on this earth if he wasn’t by my side. I’d fallen for him, there was no doubt about it, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. Not when I didn’t know if he felt the same. So, I kept my mouth shut. I kept all of my bubbling feelings inside, hoping that he’d feel the same somewhere along the line.

  His body stilled, his cum spilling inside of me, and then he halted, his breaths so heavy it was as if he’d just taken part in the Olympics. It was always the same when it came to us. We got lost in the moment, lost in each other. And before I knew what was happening, my mouth was opening, my body taking charge of my brain, and I blurted out, “I like you.” I felt him still, his muscles tensed so hard it was like holding on to a block of ice.

  I held my breath as he pulled his face away from my shoulder, his eyes telling me nothing as he stared at me. Had I said the wrong thing? Why couldn’t I have just kept my mouth shut and basked in the after-sex moment? I just had to open my big mouth and tell him something, didn’t I?

  His lips parted, and I prepared myself for what he was going to say. This was it. This was going to be the moment where he’d tell me he didn’t feel like that about me. That it was too soon—even though it had been nearly five months since we had what I’d dubbed our fake wedding.

  “I…” He paused, his eyes misting over, and I blinked. There was something echoing back at me, something I’d never seen before. “I like you too, Aida.”

  LORENZO

  I couldn’t stop watching her as she glided around the room, talking to anyone and everyone. She stopped at our joint family table several times, making sure they were okay. She was in her element.

  Soft music played from the stage, setting the tone of the night—opening night. The piano bar had finally been refurbished in its entirety, and now all that was left to do was open it to the public. This was a soft opening, though—something they called it in the business. I had no idea what it was until Neri had explained it to me. He’d had plenty of “soft openings” over the years with his casinos, which was why he was here, celebrating the night with us.

  None of the other heads of the families had come, although they did have an open invitation, as did Dante. I ground my teeth together as I looked down at my cell, clearly able to see that he had read my message but left it unanswered. I was starting to get worried because I’d only heard from him once since he’d stormed out of my office. He wanted to move across the state and start a new thread to the business. It was a good idea, but I didn’t like the fact that he’d be so far away, though I’d given him the green light because I knew what it was like wanting to create something for yourself, to prove yourself. That had been three days ago, and I hadn’t heard from him since. If it wasn’t for Ma and Sofia having communication with him, I would have thought he’d been killed.

  “Turn that frown upside down!” Aida shouted, bounding over to me. I leaned my elbow on the bar top and pushed my cell into my pocket. Tonight wasn’t about business. It was all about Aida, the woman who had turned my world upside down.

  I winked at her and pulled her closer, unable to stop myself from touching her. The dress she’d worn was a black, slinky number, one that showed most of her back and dipped down to her chest, giving everyone a small tease of her cleavage. She looked hot as fuck, and she was all mine.

  “I think it’s about time you got up there,” I told her, tilting my head to the stage where the piano sat without a player.

  “What?” Her eyes widened, her head swiveling around to look at the packed bar. The lights were dimmed, just enough to give off a sense of atmosphere, and the carefully placed tables with chairs and booths allowed for everyone to see the stage without the people in front blocking them. Aida had thought of everything when she’d helped draw the plans up a few weeks ago.

  “I can’t get up there, not tonight.”

  “You can.” I grasped her waist and gave it a small squeeze. “They’ll love it, I promise.”

  She groaned, her gaze slipping over all of the patrons again. “I don’t know…” She bit down on her bottom lip, indecision on her face, so I made the choice for her.

  I moved away from the bar, my hand trailing down her arm and to her hand, then pulled her with me to the stage. Cheers rang out, the loudest ones from her sister, knowing what was about to happen. No one else had heard her play, but I had. Every time she was here, the first thing she did was test out the keys and play a tune she loved.

  Aida yanked back on my hand, trying to stop me, but I had the momentum. “Lorenzo, no.”

  I didn’t turn back to face her. I kept going until we were at the piano. “
Sit.” She raised her brows at me, her hand planted firmly on her hip. She was mad, but it was sexy mad, not real mad. “Please,” I tacked on, finally getting a response from her.

  Her chest heaved as she took a breath, then she sat down, her fingers already finding the keys, like they’d just gotten home and knew where everything was. I turned to face everyone in the bar, unsure what I should say, and then I decided the ivory keys and her musical ability would say it all. So, with a tilt of my head, I walked off stage and stood at the edge, watching her from the side.

  Her gaze bore into mine, her lips lifting just slightly on one side, and then she mouthed, “This one is for you.”

  My pulse thrummed, my heart feeling like it was stuck in my throat as she began to slide her fingertips over the keys. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she closed her eyes, causing everyone’s attention to focus on her. There were no sounds but the soft tune she played and then gasps as she ramped it up, slamming her fingers down so hard I wondered if it hurt her. If it did, she didn’t give any indication.

  She was so entrancing, captivating like nothing else, that I barely registered when she stopped. Clapping and whooping and hollering were sent her way, but I couldn’t move from the spot I was in. She bowed, raising her hand in the air, a blush rising on her cheeks, and that was when I knew. I knew it without a single doubt.

  I was in love with her.

  I was in love with Aida.

  I stumbled back at the realization, my body impacted by my thoughts alone. But even it knew the truth. I couldn’t live without her. Couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. We’d already exchanged “I like yous,” a prequel to what was destined to happen, but I’d never thought it would be like this, never understood this all-consuming kind of feeling.

  She tilted her head as she turned to face me, a frown etched onto her features. But I wasn’t going to tell her what I was thinking, not here, not with all of these people around. I knew it now, and part of me wanted to keep it to myself in fear she didn’t feel the same. But I wouldn’t. I’d tell her when the time was right. I’d tell her when I knew she needed to hear it most.