Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess

by Hardin, Michelle

  Carter knew the accent immediately— it was one she’d come to know quite well. He was Italian.

  “Hi,” Carter replied.

  “My name is—”

  Before the strange man could finish introducing himself, a tall and very muscular man stepped directly between her and the stranger, completely blocking her from his sight. Carter stumbled backwards, nearly losing her balance, but a big hand on her back caught and balanced her. Mikilo Valente. The man blocking her from the stranger was Dante Luciano.

  Carter watched the muscles in his back flex as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared the strange man down.

  “May I help you?” Carter heard Dante ask the man in front of them.

  “Certainly,” the heavily accented man said brightly.

  Mickey came forward from behind Carter and shot her a look that clearly said, “Let us handle this.” Carter rolled her eyes. Of course, Nathan would leave her in New York for two weeks with two controlling alpha males and an overprotective mother. They were suffocating her, the jerks, and now they were blocking her from the strange man who had sparked her curiosity.

  Who the hell is he?

  It looked like he had extended his hand to shake Mickey’s. Carter snorted. Fat chance, dude. Mikilo didn’t shake hands. He barely even talked to people that weren’t his family— or a girl he wanted to screw.

  The man spoke again after Mickey refused the shake. “I know who you are, but I do not know if you know me. Your father used to work fo—”

  “I know who you are,” Mickey cut him off.

  “Can we help you with something?” Dante asked calmly.

  Mickey didn’t look too calm. He looked like he was waiting for Dante to say that he could attack freely. Mickey was like that sometimes. He didn’t like to be inhibited, but he knew that if he went full-on psychopath before he was told that there would be consequences from Nathan or Angelo. That he didn’t want. So he remained where he was, ready for action.

  She heard the strange man clear his throat. “Very well,” he said, his tone still civil. “I am actually here to meet the young woman you are blocking from my view. Not only that, but I’ve always wanted to see the Salerno Organization. I want to see if the money Anastacia let Angelo steal from me went to good use. I’ve heard about this place in New York, but I’ve only seen what he has in Italy …”

  Carter peeked around Mickey’s shoulder and saw the strange man looking around the building.

  “ I see my money did create quite the empire, yes?” He looked back at Dante with a smile “Maybe you can show me around? I heard the Salernos had built something very impressive in America …”

  “And in Italy …” Dante added. “But no, I will not show you shit because I’m not a fucking tour guide. This is New York— you can find tours on every corner. Just take in everything— a large part of it belongs to the Salerno organization.”

  The strange man chuckled. “I see you have the same charm as your father. Tell me, is this one’s father—” he pointed at Mickey “— still fucking my Anastacia, or is it just that gutter rat, Angelo? I need to know if I’m here to kill just one or both of them …”

  “I’m sorry, Paolo …” Cesare’s deep accented voice sounded from behind Carter.

  Carter turned to see her sexy sugar daddy— Wait. Had he just said Paolo? As in Paolo fucking Luchini?

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Cesare asked as he continued to walk over to where they all stood.

  Dante and Mickey took a few steps back. Mickey gripped Carter’s arm gently and pulled her to his side. She continued to look at Cesare and Paolo Luchini, who were now leveling deadly glares at each other.

  The large group of men standing behind Paolo for his protection moved in closer to their boss as the Salerno family soldiers began to fill the lobby and escort the clusters of people out the door. They completed the task quickly. As the innocent civilians exited, more men dressed in all black filled the lobby, coming in from outside of the building.

  Carter frowned.

  She didn’t recognize these men. She’d never seen them before. One looked to be the leader of the rest of the men. He was a tall man with thick muscles and dark brown skin. When she locked her confused eyes with his deep brown eyes, his eyes seemed to soften. Her confusion seemed to amuse the man.

  He tilted his head forward slightly in a silent greeting before mouthing, “Hello, Carterina.”

  Carter mouth parted slightly, but before she could think any further, her mother stormed through the doors and past the man.

  “You motherfucker!” she shouted.

  Cesare chuckled and quickly moved away from Paolo. Not only did he step back, but every single man in the lobby took a step back at the sight of a seething Anastacia Stone storming angrily up to Paolo Luchini.

  Paolo swallowed. “Ana, I had to see.” His tone sounded as if he was pleading with her.

  “You better be happy her fucking husband isn’t here, Paolo!” Anastacia yelled. “He would kill you where you stand!”

  “She’s beautiful, Ana,” he said to try and stop her angry strides. “She’s beautiful just like you.” Then he turned to Carter again. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

  Mickey’s grip tightened on her arm, and Dante’s body tensed next to her. When she looked up at both of them, it was obvious to her that they were fighting back rage. She looked to Cesare and saw that his expression had taken on a darkness as well. He looked at Luchini like he wanted to kill him. And Anastacia? She had broken out in a full-on run for Paolo Luchini.

  “Take my child out of his sight now!” she screamed in pure unadulterated rage.

  Carter had never seen her mother so pissed off. Before she could even ask why she had to leave, she was being pulled away. She turned back toward her mother just in time to see her attack.

  Carter’s mouth fell open when the first punch hit Paolo Luchini’s face, and he fell to the ground. Once he was on the ground, all Carter saw was her mother’s black boots repeatedly connecting with Paolo Luchini’s face. Over and over again, she kicked him. She moved to his body and stomped down hard on his ribs while he cried out in agony.

  Carter was in a state of complete shock, and it wasn’t because her mother was seriously beating the shit out of Paolo Luchini. It was because not one man moved while she was doing it. Paolo had brought a large gang to protect him, and not one of them stepped forward to stop her mother. They quietly watched as Anastacia continued to beat Paolo Luchini senseless.

  Carter was taken to the pair of large steel door that locked off the only two elevators that went to the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh floors. Dante entered the code, and one of the doors opened. This was one of the new changes to security that Angelo had added when Carter had been still recovering. There were only two elevators that went to the two top floors of the Salerno Building, and they were locked behind two steel doors. The doors could only be opened with a code that was changed every day.

  Dante and Mickey led Carter through the doors and onto the elevator. Mickey pressed in the twenty seventh floor and typed in the code. The twenty-seventh floor was no longer abandoned. It now held the offices of the boss, underboss, and the powerful capos of the organization.

  “Carter, Dante, and I are going to go back down there after you get off of the elevator, okay? Do not come back down. Your mother wants that to be the first and last time Paolo Luchini lays eyes on you. And Nathan’s going to want to know you’re not in the same room with him when we call him.”

  Carter sighed and turned to her two protectors. “You guys are doing it again.”

  “We’re just following orders, Carter.”

  “Why are you being so protective? I am capable of protecting myself you know!” she yelled in frustration.

  Dante sighed. “We know that, Carter, but this is what your husband wanted in his absence. He wanted to know that you were safe at all times. Plus you yourself said that you wanted no part of dealing with Paolo Lu
chini. Am I right?”

  Carter glared at Dante. “Yes,” she said grudgingly.

  Dante smiled. “Then let them take care of him for you. This is what you wanted. There’s plenty on your schedule, and you don’t need this added to it. Just stay up here and relax until it’s clear downstairs, and then we’ll all three finish up the day and go home.”

  Carter sighed. “Damn you, Dante.” Dante chuckled. “You get on my nerves.”

  Dante came up behind her and wrapped his arms lovingly around her shoulders. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We love you, dear princess. This is why we protect you. Would you not fight a battle or two for us?”

  “She’s already fought for me,” Mickey said behind them.

  Carter turned to him as he walked forward and pulled her to his side.

  “You did something for me that only my brothers have done. You killed for me. You put your life in danger for me. Now keep your little ass up here so we can get rid of that sick fuck downstairs. Nathan wouldn’t appreciate the way the man was looking at you.”

  Carter smiled and stood on her toes, placing a kiss on Mickey’s cheek.

  When the elevator doors opened, Carter exited the elevator and walked straight to the reception desk, leaning on it.

  “Oh my fuck-freaking gosh,” she muttered.

  She was trying to stop cursing. She had finally confirmed what she and Nathan had suspected weeks ago. The first test she took was negative. She hadn’t told Nathan because she still hadn’t gotten her period. Well, yesterday, after spending the previous day in the bathroom vomiting, she went and bought ten pregnancy tests. She confirmed with those— and her doctor— that she had only seven months and two weeks more to break the cursing habit. She’d be damned if she had a toddler walking around her house cursing up a storm because she’d failed to kick the habit.

  Child. Holy crap, Carter thought. She was going to be a mother. Nathan didn’t know how far along she was yet. She wanted to wait and tell him when he returned home in two days. After that , they would tell the family.

  She couldn’t believe it had happened so fast. The ironic part about this pregnancy was that she and Nathan had had unprotected sex numerous times with no pregnancy. Now she was six weeks along, proving that her efforts at preventing pregnancy with that damn shot had failed.

  “You okay, honey?” Aniyah asked her from behind the reception desk.

  Carter looked up at her friend and smiled. “My mom’s downstairs kicking Paolo Luchini’s ass. So yeah, I’m peachy.”

  Aniyah’s dark brown eyes brightened, and she laughed. “Gotta love that Anastacia Stone,” she said. “If she can’t teach these Italian men not to fuck with us, then we’ll have to.” She gave Carter a wink and handed her some messages.

  Carter chuckled and took them from her. “Did my Bubby call?”

  “No, your Bubby hasn’t called,” she said with a smile. “But you know he will soon. Why don’t you come and sit with me until then, mommy.”

  As soon as Aniyah called her mommy, Carter smiled. Okay, maybe one person knew. But that was only because Carter and Aniyah had become a lot closer these past two weeks. Carter wasn’t going to take ten pregnancy tests on her own. She needed a friend. And since Jenna was no longer interested, the spot for a best friend in Carter’s life had opened and was filled by Aniyah Clark. What was better about this friendship was that Aniyah knew exactly who Carter was. There were no secrets and no lies. It was refreshing to have a friend like this. She didn’t have to hide anything. Aniyah knew Carter’s mother, she knew who her father was, and she knew that the Salerno Organization was actually a huge front for a powerful crime family.

  Carter sat next to her friend and rested her head on her shoulder. “I’m so tired,” she confessed. “I was up sick all night. I could barely look at food this morning. It sucks. One second I want to eat everything I can get my hands on, and the next I want to throw up everything I eat.”

  Aniyah put her arm around Carter’s shoulder. “Aww, poor baby. That’s what you get for getting pregnant so young,” she teased.

  Carter laughed softly. “Nathan and I are very aware of the timing, thank you. But we’re better off than most. We’re married, financially stable, and happy. Our own parents had been in fucked-up situations when they had us, and we turned out all right… ish.”

  Aniyah chuckled. “You guys are going to be great, Little Ri,” she said with a smile.

  While everyone else working at S.O. called her Carterina, Aniyah called Carter Little Ri and treated her like a little sister. Carter loved her.

  “That big, strong, sexy underboss you’ve got will take good care of you and his bambinos.”

  “One bambino,” Carter corrected.

  Aniyah chuckled. “Uh-uh, girl. There’s two babies in there.” She laughed. “There has to be. You got pregnant while you were on birth control. I’m terrified right now. If that shit doesn’t work, I’m doomed.”

  Carter laughed and nudged her friend’s side gently. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you and Kyle won’t be having babies anytime soon,” Carter teased.

  Aniyah gasped in outrage. “Bite your tongue, Carterina!”

  Carter laughed. She loved teasing Aniyah about Kyle. Aniyah claimed she didn’t have a crush on him, but Carter wasn’t stupid— she had eyes. Every time Kyle walked past the reception desk, Aniyah’s eyes were on his ass.

  “I will not bite my tongue. You like him.” Carter grinned and nudged her side again.

  “I do not!”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Aniyah rolled her eyes and looked away from Carter. “Kyle Valente is not a nice guy.”

  Carter frowned. “He’s misunderstood. He has a lot to offer.”

  “Says the woman he’s in love with.”

  Carter groaned. “People need to stop saying that.”

  Aniyah pursed her lips and looked at Carter. “It’s true, Ri. He does love you.”

  Carter nodded. “And I love him, too. But he’s not in love with me. And I’m not in love with him. We could have been something back when I was a waitress in Hope Beach, but that wouldn’t have lasted once I met Nathan. Then it would have been messy, and we would have all lost each other.” Carter turned to face Aniyah. “It happened the way it happened for a reason, and I understand that now. I’m not going to say that there were never any feelings between us because that would be a lie. And I’m not going to say that I didn’t want to be with Kyle once because that would be a lie too. But I can honestly say that I am hopelessly in love with my husband, and Kyle is not in love with me. He uses me as an excuse because he’s afraid.”

  “Afraid?”

  Carter nodded. “He’s in love with me because he can never have me. Kyle doesn’t want love, marriage, or children. Nathan was once the same, and then he found love. Now he has all three. Kyle is using me as an excuse. If I am the love of his life, then he can be single forever. Kyle had a chance with me long before Nathan. I told him what I wanted, and he stuck with friendship. But then all of a sudden Nathan has me, and he has an epiphany?”

  Aniyah chuckled. “What makes you think I want a man with commitment issues, Ri?”

  Carter smiled. “Because he’s worth it. He has so much love in his heart, and he doesn’t even know it. He’s been hurt and betrayed in the past, but his heart is healing.”

  Aniyah frowned. “What? Did and old girlfriend hurt him or something?”

  Carter frowned. No, it wasn’t an old girlfriend or something. That would make Kyle’s issues with women far too simple. When Carter found out what had happened to Kyle, her heart shattered into a million pieces. His distrust for women was deeply rooted. Kyle hadn’t told Carter about his past until after she had woken up from her injury. They’d been sitting in the living room, and he began to tell her how important she was to him. The conversation just kind of turned into his story. Carter had held him the entire time he spoke. Then cried for him later that evening when she talked to Nathan about it.

&nbs
p; Carter was honored that Kyle had trusted her enough to give her a place in his heart. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve it, but she was glad. She couldn’t imagine her life without Kyle’s friendship.

  Carter smiled at Aniyah. “No, Aniyah. It wasn’t an old girlfriend.”

  Aniyah seemed to understand that the situation wasn’t so simple, and she left it alone.

  Carter reached for Aniyah’s hand and held it. “You would be good for him.”

  She shook her head. “No way, Carter. I’d kick that man’s ass. He’s rude and selfish.”

  “He’s kind and caring.”

  “He’s an asshole that barely sees me unless he needs something secretarial.”

  Carter sighed. “Okay then. I was just saying. You two would be perfect for each other.” Carter dropped the subject.

  For a moment, they sat in silence until Aniyah released a long sigh. “You don’t understand, Ri. It’s not as easy for me as it is for you. You’re beautiful— I’m not,” she said sadly. “Kyle Valente dates models, just like his father does. I’m not a model, and I’m not skinny, either. I’m fat.”

  Carter frowned. That statement wasn’t true. Aniyah didn’t think she was pretty, but Carter thought the opposite. Aniyah was stunning. She had deep, brown eyes that were striking in contrast to her dark, chocolate brown skin. Her hair was as jet black as Carter’s, and just as thick, falling to her shoulders in shiny, bouncy curls. She could be a full-figured model— she had the perfect body for it. She wasn’t fat— she had curves and legs that went on for miles. Aniyah was smoking hot.

  “You’re not unattractive, Aniyah.” Carter leaned forward in her seat. “Confidence is sexy, so you have to have it,” Carter stressed. “You’re gorgeous. Your body is beautiful, too. I wouldn’t lie to you about any of this. How can you say it’s easy for me? I had been single for two years when I met Nathan. I’d only had one boyfriend before him.”

  “But you’re beautiful, and Kyle wanted you.”

  Carter sighed. “Aniyah, you’re just as much of a woman as I am. There are times when I feel like my thighs are too thick or my chest is too big. Hell, I was going to get a reduction before I met Nathan. I’ve always felt they got in the way of my fighting, but Nathan loves them. I’ve seen some of the women Nathan used to be with before me. They were all blonde, tall and skinny, with long legs and small breasts. I’m looking around like ‘what the fuck?’ My husband has a type— and it’s not me!”