Maria (The Family Book 4)

by Angelique Jones

  He couldn’t stand to see her leave like this, and he knew that she would. She was too stubborn to do otherwise. Smiling grimly to himself, he knew that he was just as stubborn, and she should remember that because he meant every word that he’d just said. He would give her the time that she felt was needed, but she would be coming home. Where she was going was the past; it was never her home. It never could have been because the only home she would ever have would be with him.

  Chapter 19

  Wearily, Nero rubbed his hands across his face. He couldn’t take much more of this. Hour after hour, he worked to find Basilio. The fucker had no place to turn and no money, yet he continued to evade Nero. The files that they pulled out of the compound that night were the end of Basilio’s enterprise, and anything that he might have hidden within the walls of his home had burned. Nero had recouped everything, plus a healthy profit for his family by draining all of Basilio’s hidden accounts. Nero wanted nothing to do with the property in Mexico, but he knew that he had to deal with it or Basilio would have access, so he gave it away. He gave it to Basilio’s allies and enemies, knowing that once they had it, they would kill him if he showed his face. Angie would have been proud, he thought dryly. Everything on this side of the border, he shut down. Matteo was currently taking stock of the properties to determine whether they were going to keep them or sell them.

  Leaning back in his seat, he thought of his other problem, Maria. He had never stopped wanting her, even after she technically tried to kill him. He knew that she had done it for her brother, and even though she had called his people to save him, his pride had still been hurt. When Angie had told him that she was pregnant, he was taken back to Jenny. He had loved her with the infatuation of youth, but Maria he loved in a way that made what he felt for Jenny seem pale. He knew that if Jenny hadn’t killed herself, he would have eventually forgiven her, so why was it so hard to forgive Maria?

  Sitting there, he forced himself to face the truth. Jenny knew only the part of him that he had given her, the part that he had made up. The part that was unreal. He showed Jenny what she wanted to see because he thought that was what he needed to do to have her. With Maria, it was the exact opposite. Maria knew every ugly truth of his life and accepted it as it was. While Jenny and Maria both had been pampered woman loved by their families, Maria was part of his world. Tempered by fire and forged by steel, she was his equal, able to stand at his side in a way that Jenny never would have been able.

  Reaching into his pocket, Nero took out the ring he had taken back from Caterina’s dead body. He stared at it, knowing that it was time to put it away. It was time to put it away like it was time to put the past away. Jenny, Enzo, Caterina, his father, and all the others were the past. A past of which it was time that he let go. It was probably the most important lesson that Angelica had taught him, though it was a lesson she had never intended.

  ***

  Rubbing her slightly bulging belly, Maria stared at the children playing.in the park. So much had changed after Nico’s true death. Her father and brothers had come to her to ask for her forgiveness. She had wept in their arms like a broken child. She wept for their pain and for hers as she realized that she had never truly forgiven them. She had never forgiven them for not protecting her for Enzo, which had made everything that happened afterward so much sharper. They had asked for her to come home, but she couldn’t. That place was no longer her home, and it hadn’t been for many years. Instead, she stayed in the apartment where Angie had put her. It was small but nice, giving her time to truly understand her own feelings.

  Nero had also come to her. He was willing to start over again, and she agreed to try. He had been courting her, flying back and forth to see her. He took her to dinner and brought her gifts. Sometimes they would just stay in her little apartment and watch a movie while she curled against him on the couch. It was amazing, like she was a young girl again. He made the world feel like the past really didn’t matter. He was due in tonight, and she planned to leave with him. She had already packed her things, and she was ready to start her marriage for real this time, a marriage that she now would have chosen herself. She couldn’t help but feel gratitude to Angie for forcing it on her. She had known what Maria never would have suspected, that she and Nero were two halves of the same broken coin. Though they still had a lot to figure out, they would do it together in their home.

  Thinking of Angie made her sad, and she tried to push it away. Lucca had explained the truth of Nico’s death to her, and while she felt the pain of losing her baby brother sharply, it was nothing like the guilt that Angie felt at taking his life and the reason why she took it. She had wanted to go to Angie, but Lucca wouldn’t allow it. He said that both of them had to accept that Nico’s death wasn’t their fault. Logically, Maria knew this, but she couldn’t help the guilt that would overtake her at times. What Nico had done had been out of love for her. How could she not feel that she was to blame for her brother’s death?

  Standing up as those sad thoughts took away from the beauty of the day, Maria made her way to her apartment. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the other woman until she had hooked her arm, and she felt something jabbing her in the stomach.

  Confused, Maria looked over and froze. “Move, you bitch, or I’ll shoot,” Patricia Barzette growled, tugging on her arm.

  Realizing that it was a gun in her stomach, Maria moved jerkily forward.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just move, you cow, and smile. I don’t want your guards to think anything is wrong.”

  “What guards?”

  “The guards that your husband has following you.”

  Nero had men watching her. Of course, he did. She was a fool to think otherwise. Forcing a smile onto her face, Maria allowed Patricia to pull her along, hoping that the men would realize something was wrong. Blinking when her apartment came into view, she realized that was where they were headed. Terror filled her, but she pushed it down and went.

  Getting to the door, Patricia pushed it open and shoved her in. Just as she was trying to figure out why her door was open, her mind blanked with fear as she recognized the man standing in her apartment. No, this couldn’t be happening. Basilio had always looked cool and well put together, but not anymore. Gone where his fine clothes and looks, and in their place was a rat that was being hunted.

  “What took you so long?” Basilio demanded as soon as Patricia closed the door.

  Disgust filled her face. “I couldn’t grab her until she started walking. There were too many people around, and her guards were too close.”

  “Fuck,” Basilio growled as he hurried to check out the windows. “They saw you take her?”

  “Of course they saw her go with me, but they’ll think nothing of it. I’m just a woman,” she said mockingly.

  “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” Maria demanded, finding her voice.

  “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” Patricia mimicked before smacking her hard across the face. “What’s going on, you little bitch, is that you’ve ruined everything. The whole lot of you should have been dead by now.”

  Holding her cheek, Maria stepped back. “I don’t understand why you’re here with him.”

  “Did you really think that I’d let you get away with killing my son?”

  “I didn’t kill Paulie,” Maria said, which only incited Patricia’s anger.

  “You little whore! You killed my son the day he was forced to marry you. If you had just died that night, my baby would still be alive, but no, you had to live. I told him to make sure that he killed you before he left, but my baby didn’t check to make sure. Imagine our surprise when the call came that you were in the hospital. He had to rush over there before he could even finish his dinner to deal with everything. Everyone believed that when Paulie died, it was because what happened to you was meant for him, but I knew the truth. I knew but couldn’t say anything. Then, you whore, you throw my baby’s r
ings on his casket and disgrace him. He who gave you and that bastard in your stomach a name dared to insult him,” she ranted, pacing the room before turning her hate-filled eyes to focus on Maria.

  “Then I heard that bitch Angelica and that bastard Nero talking. She had killed my baby for you. She had killed my little baby because he tried to do what your father should have done and killed you. Then that bastard Nero agreed to marry you. Agreed to marry you, the whore at my son’s funeral. It couldn’t stand. Why should you have the life that my son had so unjustly lost? You all had to pay.”

  “You’re mad,” Maria whispered.

  “Mad? No. Brilliant. It wasn’t hard to find out who you had been fucking. I knew that you had lied about being raped to hide the shame of your wanton ways. Basilio told me how you seduced him, trying to steal him from his wife. He was only too happy to help me stop your wicked ways, especially after you sent your lover, Nero, after him. Vicky had been a good friend of Paulie, and she and Jason were glad to help. I had spent years setting it all up, but then Nero ruined it by marring you before it was set. It took some doing, but Nico was easy to turn. He wanted Nero and Angelica dead as much as we did. It was all going so perfectly until you grew a conscience and warned Nero’s people. Still, I thought that we could pull it off until Nero attacked Basilio, forcing him to lose everything. You’ve taken everything from us, and now we are going to take everything from you.” Patricia spat, her chest heaving.

  Looking around wildly, Maria froze when a shadow by the door caught her attention. Forcing herself not to look, she focused on Basilio. “You have to know that if you hurt me, there will be no escape. You’ll be hunted.”

  “I’m already being hunted, you little fool. Nero has been dogging my heels. The bastard won’t give me a moment’s rest. He’s taken everything. Everything. My houses, my business, and my money—it’s all gone. He stole all of my files from my house before he burned it. Then the bastard gave the deeds to my businesses to my rivals so that they would hunt me. I have nothing left, and I will make sure that he has nothing left.”

  Basilio snarled, lunging at her, but before he could reach her, bullets began to fly, knocking him away. Diving for the floor, Maria huddled into a ball until she was pulled up and clutched in a firm grip.

  Picking her up, Nero kept her face buried in his chest. Telling his people to deal with this, he carried her out of the apartment to the car below. When the car began to move, Maria pulled her face from his chest so that she could see his face.

  Gently, she whispered his name, which had him squeezing his eyes shut like he was in pain before they snapped open and focused on her face. “No more. I have had enough of this. You’re coming home with me,” he said tersely before looking away. His face was set like granite, as if he expected her to argue and he was steeling himself for the fight.

  Smiling, she gripped his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. “My stuff is already packed. Make sure our guys don’t forget anything.” Blinking at her words, she laughed a small laugh before she cupped his face and brought it to hers until their lips just touched.

  “I love you, Nero Genovese,” she whispered, but before she could complete the kiss, Nero gripped her chin to stop her.

  Rubbing his thumb across her lips, he said the words that she never thought to be returned. “I love you more than you can ever imagine, Maria Genovese,” he said just as softly before taking her lips with his.

  The past was over now. Only their future was before them. A future where past love and pain would hold no sway over them. A future in which they held the other’s heart.

  Epilogue

  The house was silent. Uncle Angelo had taken his family and moved out long ago. His wife was unable to stay in a house that held the memories of a daughter no longer in this world. A daughter that Angie herself had taken from this world with brutal efficiency. Pulling the sheets from the furniture, Angie stared at it with a heaviness in her soul. It was all the same. Her uncle had changed nothing during the years that he had lived here with his family. This place was kept as a monument to a past that was long gone. To a family that no longer existed. Michael, her brother whom she had given everything up to protect, lived in an apartment in the city near to Uncle Angelo and his family. Though he tried to hide it, she knew deep down that he wished that she would go away. Go away and take the past with her. They had all moved on with their lives, yet here she was seeking answers to questions best not asked. Seeking truths that she did not want to face.

  Walking through the house, she went out the back and headed for her bench. Her bench looked out onto a world that she once would have given anything to join. Pain ripped through her as she looked at the landscape before her. Would she ever know peace? Would the darkness within her ever be quenched? Was she destined to forever be an outsider looking in? She had scarified everything to avenge and protect those she loved, yet they despised her at every turn. She was the living memory of all wrongs and misdeeds. She represented what most hid deep within, never acknowledging it existed.

  Fighting back the despair that was a living, breathing thing that surrounded her, she looked down at her phone. For days, her brother had been trying to contact her, and for days, she just didn’t answer, deleting any message that he left, not bothering to listen. So, now, instead of calling, Michael texted her, telling her that he needed to speak with her, to see her. That he had something important to tell her, but she couldn’t bring herself to go to him. Not yet. Not now. Not when her world had shattered. For now, they would all have to deal with these issues without her. She just hoped that it would not be yet another thing that she would come to regret.

  Coming soon

  Book 5 of The Family

  Michael

  Angelica (The Family book 1)

  Family is many things to many people but in one woman’s world family means

  Respect

  Honor

  Loyalty

  These words are the meaning to life in her world. When these words are not followed there is only one other word that you must know

  Revenge

  For Angelica it is the only word that has held any meaning in her life for ten years. Taught at an early age that disloyalty equals death and that blood is to be answered with blood she seeks vengeance for the deaths of those she loved.

  Always alone she has been careful to stay free of emotional ties until her life takes an unexpected turn. Unfortunately like everything in her life it has consequences. Consequences that can only be answered with blood. As her past and future collide together Angelica must face her past once and for all if she has any chance at a future and happiness that she never dared hope for. She must do it quickly before she sinks further into the darkness and becomes the very thing that she hunts.

  Excerpt.

  Prologue

  At the age of ten I was my daddy’s little princess and my mommy’s little angel. I was kept in my tower like any other princess. My mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was so beautiful that many people called her Helen of Troy, and though our coloring was different, everyone said I was just as beautiful. When Mommy chose Daddy, the other men she hadn’t chosen were very angry, though they hid it and waited. My parents were worried that someone would steal me, so I lived in my tower, only allowed to be seen by my family. When I was ten my mommy became pregnant with my brother, and we were sent away to be safe. When I was ten my daddy and my mommy died and I was forced to run and hide.

  When I was eleven he found me. When I was twelve he found me. When I was thirteen he found me. When I was fourteen he found me. When I was fifteen he found me. When I was sixteen he found me and told me that I would be his princess. When I was seventeen he found me and told me that I was to remain a virgin. When I was eighteen he found me and told me that I was to be his virgin princess bride. When I was nineteen he found me. As I escaped again he yelled to me that if I ever allowed any to touch me, he would kill them, and the pain I suffered now would be nothing
compared to what I would suffer for the rest of my life.

  His threats scared me then no more than they had when I was eleven. The hurt he did to me I refused to show. The numbness of my existence let me block it out. The problem was, when I turned twenty I did something I had never done before. I allowed someone to become my friend. I didn’t want to be her friend, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was a happy whirlwind who hugged me as I cringed at the contact, ignoring it and my nastiness, refusing to leave. Maria was what I had once been; maybe it was why I caved and did the unthinkable, allowing someone in.

  Chapter 1

  “Maria, I swear you’re not going to be happy until every girl hates us,” I groaned, looking up, wondering how I got myself into this situation.

  Laughing as her bodyguard, Sal, growled at a couple of boys who thought to get close to us, she said, “You know, Angie, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths if you weren’t so beautiful. I need to flirt just to compete.”

  “Yeah,” I said dryly as I looked at her get-up, all the way down to her Louis Vuitton pumps. The girl was beautiful and rich. She competed with no one. I knew why she did this. Separately, we were something every girl hated and every guy wanted; together we were lethal. Accident causing lethal sight and she loved it. Her with her dark hair and blue eyes; she was the perfect Italian beauty, while everyone, even she, thought I was the perfect Irish beauty with my red hair and green eyes.

  Running up, she grabbed me in a big hug. I was so used to her easy emotion that I didn’t even flinch anymore at the contact. Though I hated to encourage her, I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped when a group of boys fell over themselves, landing in a mass on the ground at the sight of us. Moving faster, wanting to get off campus, I pulled her along, half listening as she continued to talk. “Oh, come on. Come out with me tonight; it will be fun. You never go out with me. I even figured out a way to get by Sal,” she whispered, glancing back at the mass following us.