Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess

by Hardin, Michelle

  “The answer’s no, Mr. Reynolds. You’re a grown man. You knew what you were doing when you did it. You bet an obscene amount of money— money that you didn’t have. Now you’ve cost us money because you have yet to pay what you owe …”

  “I’m sorry. Just give me some time, and I can come up with the money.”

  “I said no.” Carter reached over to Bruno, and he handed her the man’s debt file. “But you’re in luck, Senator …” Yes, Bryan Reynolds was a Senator. “We have use for you.” Carter opened the file and glanced at the balance of Reynolds’ debt. A wicked smile spread across her face. “You will help us now.”

  “But I’m a government official!”

  Carter nodded. “Indeed, you are. You have many connections that can be useful to us.”

  “Are you out of your Goddamn mind?” he yelled angrily.

  Carter rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Mr. Reynolds. You’re getting all worked up for nothing.”

  “Fuck you!” he shouted. “You must be out of your fucking mind if you think I’m working for the … the Mafia,” he whispered into the phone.

  Carter chuckled. “Why are you whispering Senator?”

  “Because you just said you wanted me to work for the Mafia.”

  “I said nothing of the sort. We actually coulduse your influence to help with some business transactions. Also, your support for Marcus Jones, in the upcoming- New York- Senate election, would be greatly appreciated. This is a good thing, Bryan. This is a way to pay off your debt without the use of violence, blackmail, or homicide. You should be happy.”

  “The answer’s no,” he said firmly.

  Carter sighed. “And that would be an acceptable answer had I’d been asking you. Sadly for you, I wasn’t.” She frowned. “Also, I’m not too fond of your tone, Senator. You’re yelling, and cursing at me, and it’s beginning to hurt my feelings. I advise you to remember that this call- as well as this offer- is a courtesy. There are other ways for this matter to be handled should you chose not to comply with me. Now, I would be happy to continue working with you, but if you don’t want to work with me I could always pass you off to my husband-”

  “No!” Bryan said quickly. “There’s no need to get him involved-”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, trying not to laugh at the alarm in Bryan voice. “I can fit you into his schedule-”

  “No just…I’d rather work with you.”

  Carter smiled. Of course the idiot would rather work with her. Carter wasn’t the nicest person in the world, but compared to Nathan –who was ruthless and terrifying- and the other men in the Salerno Organization, she was an angel. This was why she was so popular in the Organization. This was why many deals went incomplete until she was present to complete them. The associates feared did her, but not as much as they feared the Capos and the Bosses.

  “Okay,” said with an exaggerated sigh. “I guess I can help you…even though my feelings are still hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’d be happy to work with you, just you.”

  The fear in his voice amused Carter. She fought off her laughter in effort to continue, and get this call over with.

  “So shall I set up a meeting?” Carter said, already knowing the answer.

  “Yes, please…” the Senator said. “Thank you.”

  The line went dead, and everyone in the room chuckled. Senator Bryan was truly amusing.

  “Okay, one more message, Carter,” Aniyah said. “Well… it’s actually a lot of messages, but they’re all from one person.”

  Carter frowned. “How many?”

  She cleared her throat. “Hundreds over the last two months,” she said cautiously.

  This was when Carter locked eyes with her husband.

  “Go ahead, Aniyah,” Carter said, never moving her eyes from Nathan.

  Everyone in the room looked at the phone.

  “Okay, you have about ten and counting messages from Paolo Luchini so far today—”

  “I fucking knew it!” Angelo snapped.

  “Shit,” Anastacia muttered.

  “Shit? That’s all you have to say?” Alessandro asked Anastacia.

  Anastacia leveled a glare on him, and shot insults in French.

  Carter sat back against Lucca and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  With eyes still locked to Nathan’s, Carter asked Aniyah, “What did he want?”

  Silence fell over the room.

  Aniyah cleared her throat. “He wanted to speak with you. Then he called to invite you to his home in Italy. Yesterday, he asked if you’d be interested in calling him. He said he’d like to get to know you. When you didn’t respond to his messages, he asked to set up a meeting the next time you’re free.”

  Everyone in the room began to speak at once. They were trying to figure out what step to take next. Meanwhile, Carter and Nathan slipped into a silent conversation of their own. They watched each other as the arguing and chaos erupted around them. The older individuals in the room argued that it was Anastacia who had created the issue, and said she should fix it. The younger men urged them all to be calm and let them handle it, claiming that since Carter was Nathan’s wife, he should be the one to handle it. They hurled insults, threatened to kill Paolo Luchini, and tried to reason with each other.

  It was Carter’s voice that cut through the arguing and silenced them all. “From now on, forward any calls from him to my husband—”

  “Carterina—”

  Carter silenced her mother and Angelo by continuing to give Aniyah instructions. “If he would like me to come to his home, tell him to make travel arrangements with my husband. If he would like to get to know me, then he can talk to my husband. And if he wants a meeting, tell him that you will set up a meeting between him and my husband.”

  “But he said he only wants to talk to you.”

  Carter turned and took some Las Vegas financial reports from a pile behind her. She turned her attention to the work, officially detaching herself from the situation. It was too much drama. She had too much to think about. With the meeting still weighing heavily on her mind, she had no time to think about Paolo Luchini. She didn’t know the man, nor did she know what he expected from her. What she did know was that she didn’t have to deal with it. She knew Nathan wouldn’t let Paolo Luchini hurt her, and if he tried, Nathan would flatten him. She didn’t need to do anything but let her husband handle this for her.

  “Do as she asked, Aniyah,” Nathan said. “Forward every call to me from now on.”

  “Yes, Mr. Salerno,” Aniyah said. “I’m doing it now. I’ll make sure the calls go straight to your voice mail.”

  “Also, put everyone on alert. Let them know we may have a potential trespasser. Paolo Luchini is no friend to this family. He has no business in New York.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That will be all for today, Aniyah,” Nathan said.

  “Yes, Mr. Salerno,” Aniyah replied before she hung up.

  “Why don’t you two just let me handle him,” Anastacia said.

  “Do you what you will,” Nathan said. “But it doesn’t matter. Mr. Luchini has already crossed the line.”

  “I understand that. But it would be better for me to handle this. I can call him, talk to him—”

  “Talk to him?”

  “You can’t possibly be interested in starting a war with the Luchini family, Nathan. Paolo may be an idiot, but his family has been around for a long time. Your father worked for him,” Anastacia argued. She turned to Angelo. “Angelo, talk some sense into your son.”

  Angelo looked at Anastacia, and then he looked at his son. Nathan arched an eyebrow, and Angelo chuckled and turned back to his work. The boys were right. Nathan would never be able to run this family in the future if Angelo stepped in and took care of every situation that seemed too big for him to handle. If he didn’t find his son fit to run his organization, he wouldn’t have given him the title of underboss.

  “My son has
plenty of sense, Anastacia,” Angelo said coolly. “It’s his responsibility to protect his wife. Paolo crossed the line, and now he will deal with the consequences.”

  Anastacia looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Are you crazy?” She turned back to Nathan. “Paolo Luchini is a fucking lunatic. He’ll come here just to test you.”

  Nathan smirked. “I’m well aware of who Paolo Luchini is, Anastacia.”

  Her jaw ticked and Nathan saw frustration in her hazel eyes. “Look, Nathan. I mean no offense, but you are fairly young. You’re barely twenty-five. I understand that your father may be okay with letting you do something as crazy as poking a beast, but since this involves my daughter, I have to advise against it. I can’t let that happen. It’s my job to protect her—”

  “With all due respect, Anastacia, the moment Carterina took my hand and became the most important person in my life was the moment it became my job to protect her,” Nathan said firmly. “I have no interest in ‘poking a beast’. As a matter of fact, the only one who should be fearful of poking a beast is Paolo. Your ignorance is understandable— you as my mother-in-law will never face me in such a manner— but I assure you, Paolo Luchini will never lay one finger on my wife. I’m not an idiot—”

  “I never said you were—”

  Nathan silenced her by continuing. “I discovered all there is to know about Paolo Luchini months before I met you. I know everything— from what side of the bed he sleeps on at night to how many times a day he takes a shit. So instead of worrying about Paolo Luchini, you should probably focus on tomorrow’s meeting. My gut is telling me that what you have in store for us tomorrow is far more important. Am I wrong?” Nathan asked. His voice was calm, but he might as well have yelled the words at Anastacia.

  She was silent for a moment before she looked over to Nathan again. “Fine. We will make a deal then. If Paolo comes to New York and you’re around, you get to handle him. Pull out all the stops. But if he comes to New York while I’m around, I get to handle him as I see fit.”

  “And if we’re both around?”

  “Then we do it together. It will hurt worse that way.”

  Nathan laughed, and Carter rolled her eyes. How appropriate that Nathan and Anastacia would bond over the possibility of killing someone. Carter didn’t give a shit. She’d kick his ass herself if she had to. She was sick of the name Luchini.

  ***

  The meeting only lasted a little while longer before everyone tired. Once the hour grew late, they ended the meeting, planning to meet again the next day in New York.

  Carter said her goodnights and left Nathan to see everyone out. She walked to her bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she was sinking into her favorite tub. The hot water blanketed her skin, and she let out a relaxed sigh. She laid her head back on the soft headrest and closed her eyes.

  She really needed this. She needed to relax and clear her mind of everything. And that’s exactly what she did. Carter let all of her stress melt away. She stayed in the tub until she was sure every bit of the jasmine fragrance had absorbed into her skin. Stepping out, she dried her body and made her way to the walk-in closet. After slipping on her pink silk mini nightgown, Carter headed over to her vanity to begin her nightly routine. She started with her favorite body cream. She massaged the cream into every part of her body, enjoying the way it made her skin feel. She was finishing up her last leg when she decided to acknowledge his presence in the room. She’d felt his eyes on her, but had decided to ignore him until she’d finished her task. She was still a little upset with him, but she didn’t like not speaking to him all day.

  “They kept you long,” she said. “Was everything all right?”

  When he didn’t answer, Carter turned to look at him. He stood silently, leaning against the door frame, staring at her.

  Carter fought against her sudden shyness and turned away from him to reach forward for her hair moisturizer.

  “Are you going to answer me, or will you just stare?” she asked.

  “Am I not allowed to look at my wife?” he asked.

  Carter shrugged and applied the moisturizer to her hair. Once she finished, she grabbed her brush and ran it through the long strands.

  “You can do what you want, Nathan,” she said softly. “I’m yours to look at.”

  He said nothing after that. Carter didn’t say anything, either. She just continued brushing her hair and hated the distance that she had created between them— all because she refused to talk it through with him.

  Carter was trying to maintain a cool demeanor even though she felt as if she were suffocating. She hadn’t seen him smile all day, nor had she heard him genuinely laugh. Neither of them had been in a good mood, and all because Carter was afraid of what tomorrow’s meeting had in store for her. To be honest, she didn’t even think she was mad at him anymore. She was just hurt.

  She sighed as she finished brushing her hair. It didn’t matter really. Just because she wasn’t mad at him didn’t mean she was willing to talk to him about it.

  Carter set her brush down and stood from her vanity. After pushing her chair in and turning off the light on her side of the closet, she turned to go back into the bedroom. As she was about to leave, Nathan caught her arm. Startled, Carter’s body tensed under his touch, but that didn’t stop him. He pulled her to him and pressed her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around her body and hugged her close. Carter inhaled deeply as she suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion. She didn’t know where it had come from, but it hit her hard. Tears gathered in her eyes as she fought weakly against his hold on her.

  “Nathan, stop,” she cried softly.

  “I can’t do this, Carter,” he whispered. “I need to touch you, hold you. Do you know how hard it’s been to watch you smile and laugh with everyone except me today? I wanted to cut Lucca’s arm off because you let him touch you. You let him hold you, but you wouldn’t let me,” he confessed. “Do you know how fucking low I feel for wanting to cut off the arm of my own cousin?”

  “Nathan, let me go,” she whispered and fought against his hold again.

  “Please, baby,” he begged in a pained voice. “I can’t take any more. I’m losing my mind. Tell me what I need to do. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t talk to me. You hurt me.”

  “I didn’t want to hurt you, Carterina. You know that, baby. I just didn’t want to put too much on you. After finding out who ordered the hit on your father, the Mitchell attack, the head injury, and your mother’s arrival, I just didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

  Carter pushed out of his hold and turned to face him. “Nathan, I need you to understand that I have to be able to trust you.”

  “You can trust me,” he argued.

  Carter shook her head firmly. “Not if I’m constantly afraid that you’re keeping something from me. I need you to be on my side in this.”

  Nathan frowned. “Why would you say that? I am on your side. Every decision I’ve made, I’ve done it with you in mind.”

  “You didn’t tell me about your talk with Anastacia, Nathan. You’ve been talking to her about things regarding me behind my back! You’ve been making decisions with her regarding my safety without even consulting me first! That’s not being on my side!”

  “Carter, I just wanted to protect you.”

  “I know that, Nathan. But in the process of protecting me, you left me in the dark, alone. You’re all I have! I need you to be with me in this because I’m terrified,” she cried. “I went into this completely blind because I knew I had you with me. I let this woman who had abandoned me into my life, and I still don’t even know why she left. I feel like I don’t know anything! My life was filled with lies, secrets, and withheld information— but not with you. You belong to me, and I belong to you. We have no secrets or lies, and we don’t withhold anything from each other!” Carter took a deep breath through her sobs. “I don’t want you having secret conversations with her about
me, Nathan. I don’t like it. I’m your wife. If she comes to you with something like that, then you come to me, and we discuss it. I’m the one you make decisions with, not her! Stop shutting me out.”

  “Is that how you really feel? You think I’m shutting you out?”

  “Yes,” she cried. She was hoping that she was helping him understand what she was feeling. She was afraid that if he didn’t stop shutting her out, if he didn’t start trusting her enough to make decisions with her, and not for her, their marriage wouldn’t make it.

  There was only a brief moment of tense silence before Nathan pulled her into his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, мое красивое Роуз. Please forgive me.”

  Carter threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly as she cried. “I’m sorry, too,” she said as relief washed over her.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, baby. I shouldn’t have kept anything from you. I’m trying not to be so damn controlling, but it’s such a hard habit to break.”

  “I don’t want you to change. You don’t have to stop being my controlling, overprotective husband. I just want you to talk to me first. I want to be included. I want you to trust me. Even if we disagree, we can make a decision together. I should’ve told you how it made me feel a long time ago, but I guess it just didn’t matter until now.”

  Nathan pulled back from their embrace and cupped her face. “I promise, мое красивое Роуз. From now on, we make decisions together. You and me. No one else has a say in what we do.”

  “And I promise to tell you when something is bothering me, just like I want you to tell me when something is bothering you. I don’t want to fight every time we have a disagreement, Bubby. That’s not us. I want us to talk it through.”

  Nathan nodded and kissed her lips. “Me too. And I do trust you. I’m not going to hold you back anymore, Carter.”

  Carter shook her head. “You don’t hold me back, Nathan—”

  Nathan silenced her by placing a soft kiss on her lips. He looked into her eyes. “Yes, I do, Carterina. You are far braver than I am, and I see that now. I’ve held you back because I was afraid to lose you. But it’s time for me to put the same trust in you that you put in me. I want you by my side in everything I do. Both here and at work. All right?”