by Bethany-Kris
He hit me.
Kim couldn’t believe it, and suddenly, she knew leaving the hotel had been the biggest mistake she ever made.
None of the men at the table would look at Kim. More blood seeped along Kim’s tongue, the pain throbbing from one side of her jaw to the other. Franco didn’t let her get up from the floor the second time. He leaned down to grab her face in his hand again, fingers pinching into the tender spot where his slap had landed.
“Someone has been touching you, and I will find out who, Kimberlynn. I might not have proof right now, but I will. When I do, I will still marry you just the same as I always planned. My seat as the Don of my family will be protected once my father’s gone. Then, I will put you down with a bullet like the whoring bitch you are before I go about my merry fucking way.”
Kim’s fists clenched into tight balls against the tiled floor. It was the only show of fear she gave him. She wouldn’t let the welling tears fall. “Let me go.”
“Oh, I will.” Franco glared, his voice turning to a whisper. “Be grateful this is all you’re getting for your little show, sweetheart. If your brother weren’t watching, I’d take you upstairs and show you what a girl like you deserves. After all, you’ve already been giving it to someone else with my ring still on your hand. Why not me?”
“My father wants her to get the rest of her things from his house,” Cody said from the doorway, his tone hard and cold. “As soon as possible. His words, not mine. He’d like to be done with her mess.”
Franco released Kim, standing to right his pants. “I’ll send someone over.”
“Actually, I think he wants to speak to her about this crap she pulled and he’s having that dinner with his wife’s family, so she should be there to at least show face.”
Franco sighed, sparing a glance down at Kim. “Get up, Kimberlynn.
Kim did as she was told, not wanting to risk earning another slap. “But my—”
“Shut up,” Franco snapped at her. “Cody, will you need Lucas to tag along or can you handle keeping an eye on her yourself?”
“I can do it,” Cody assured.
“Good. Kim, get out of my face before my charitable mood leaves.”
Kim was gone from the room before her next breath, needing to get out of the house as quickly as she could. At least she remembered to grab her messenger bag someone left by the front door.
• • •
Cody hadn’t driven more than ten minutes away from Franco’s home before his car was jerked to the corner of the road and put it in park. Kim was hiding her bruised cheek in her hand, willing the burning in her eyes to go away so she wouldn’t cry. Humiliation and terror were a damning constant in her heart.
The sound of a seat belt unbuckling caused Kim to flinch away from her older brother. She couldn’t even stand to look at him, let alone have him look at her. Cody surprised her as he leaned over the seat and strong arms swallowed her into their embrace.
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry, Kimberlynn. Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Cody chanted, holding her tighter as the tears finally fell.
“Wh-what are you doing?” Kim asked, sobs catching in her chest.
“I just had to get you out, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t step in, but he wouldn’t have allowed me to take you out of that house if I had. The way he was going on, he probably would have shot you and me both right on the spot. You needed to get out. I couldn’t help. I’m so, so sorry.”
Kim cried harder as Cody wiped the wetness from her face, being extra careful around her bruises. “What am I going to do?”
Cody sucked in a hard breath. “It’s Giovanni, isn’t it?”
Kim stilled, refusing to answer his question. Playing dumb seemed like a better plan for the moment. “What?”
“Gio. It’s him you’ve been running around with. I knew his jacket when Lucas showed Franco the other day, and, well …”
“Well, what?”
“I asked the taxi where he picked you up from. I’ve dropped some shit off to Giovanni since he’s been here. I know the address of the hotel he’s staying in. How long?”
“New York was the first time,” Kim whispered.
“Oh, Kim.”
“I love him.”
“I hope so,” Cody replied softly. “Because otherwise, getting yourself killed over a good fuck seems really ridiculous.”
Kim laughed bleakly. “You’re such a guy.”
“I know. It’s a pride thing.” Cody pushed the hair from Kim’s face, wiping away more of her tears in the process. “Shit, he bruised you bad. I’m sorry.”
She was reminded of his words weeks ago as they drove to Franco’s. It sent a race of chills running down her spine. “Cody, you can’t go back there and do anything.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
“No, you can’t. You’ll only get yourself in trouble, or worse.”
Cody sighed. “Kim—”
“Promise me, Cody. I know how important getting your button is. Please don’t ruin all you’ve worked for because of me.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Gio explained some things. I thought you were just being an asshole to me because of Nunz, but that wasn’t it at all. You needed to have distance to do what needed to be done. If they knew you were sympathetic to me, it meant you’re not following family rules. By staying away or giving me a cold shoulder, you didn’t have to hurt me in a different way. I get it now.”
“Christ.” Cody shook his head as he leaned back into his seat. “He’s been using me against you, hasn’t he?”
Kim nodded. “You, me, my friends. Anyone, really. If it was only me he would come back on, I wouldn’t care if he just got it over with and killed me.”
“But not just Franco.”
“No, Dad tosses his two cents in whenever he gets the chance. You’ve heard what he thinks of me.”
“Fucking bastards.”
“Cody, promise me,” Kim demanded again.
“I can’t do that.”
“Promise me!”
Cody tossed his hands up in surrender. “All right, calm down.”
Kim sunk into her seat, the heaviest weight resting down on her chest. “I shouldn’t have left the hotel. I need to call Gio.”
She promised to call if something physical happened again. Giovanni was probably pissed as hell at her for leaving without a word, and likely worried out of his mind, but she wouldn’t break that promise.
“Here.” Cody plucked his cellphone from the drink holder, tossing it into Kim’s lap. “Giovanni is under the contact Skip. Tell him to meet you behind the hotel in the employee parking lot.”
For the first time that day, Kim made the right choice. One she hoped wouldn’t land her and Giovanni in a makeshift grave.
• • •
Kim waited while Cody got out of the car to talk with Giovanni in private. She fidgeted in her seat, feeling blazing green eyes surveying her from outside the vehicle. Could he see the bruises on her face or the swelling needing ice?
Quickly, Kim glanced up in just enough time to watch the two men stand toe to toe. As fast as lightning, Cody’s fist struck out and hit Giovanni, knocking the man to the ground. All of the air rushed out of Kim’s lungs in a huge whoosh of air. Panic saturated her insides, but she was frozen to the spot.
When Kim was finally able to move, she fumbled with the seat belt to unlatch the damned thing so she could get out of the car. By the time it was unlatched and her hand was on the door handle, Giovanni was standing, a smirk playing at the edge of his mouth as he wiped a smudge of blood from his lips.
The two shook hands, both nodding.
Kim felt like she just got dropped off in the Twilight Zone.
For five long minutes, Kim watched and waited as the two talked. Giovanni’s stare didn’t leave Kim for a minute. Sure enough, the anger was there, but the concern writing lines over his brow was far more prevalent. Guilt flooded her.
What had she done?
Finally, Cody returned to the car, getting in and shutting his door. Smiling the saddest sight, he said, “You know I love you, yeah?”
Kim nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I’m not going to see you again because, after today, you’re not coming back here. I won’t be able to have contact with you if I’m going to keep my place. The last thing I can do is give you what’s best and hope you do well. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
Kim didn’t get the chance to ask Cody what he meant before her brother leaned over and opened her door. “Good luck, Kim.”
• • •
Giovanni was silent as he closed the door to the hotel room. Kim noticed two duffel bags on the bed, packed and closed. All of his things that had been scattered throughout the large space were gone, too. The mattress had been stripped down to nothing, a pile of blankets and sheets at the foot of the bed. It looked ready for a cleaning crew to come through and ready the room for the next guest.
“You’re leaving?” Kim asked.
Giovanni sighed. “No, we are. For tonight, anyway. A new hotel so no one knows where we’re staying just to be safe.”
Kim forced down the lump lodging in her throat. “I’m so sorry.”
Giovanni faced her, a wetness shining in his gaze and making her heart stop. In two steps, his hands were cradling her face with the softest touch, the pads of his thumbs rolling over her cheekbones. Kim couldn’t stop the tears from falling again. Soft kisses dotted down along the seam of her lips.
“Look at you, Tesoro. Look at what he did to you.” Giovanni kissed her bruised cheeks over and over, wiping away every tear tracking lines down her face as he went. Kim’s heart broke a little more as she felt the tremor rocking his hands. “I can’t believe he did this to you.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“Don’t apologize, just … Jesus Christ, don’t you ever do that to me again. I didn’t know what to do when I came out of the shower and you weren’t here. I knew, though. I fucking knew. I love you so much, bella.”
“I love you, too. I shouldn’t have left, Gio, but I thought if I did, you would be better off. Safer or something.”
“I bet. Cody said three besides him and Franco were there?”
Kim nodded. “They didn’t do anything to help me.”
“They couldn’t. Did you recognize them?”
“Just Lucas, but not the other two,” she answered.
“Good.”
“How is that good?”
Giovanni shrugged. “They’re likely someone else’s men who were there for something. It means their loyalty is not to Franco and that bodes well for me.”
“What do you mean for you?” Kim asked quietly.
“I need to figure out a plan, so I have to start somewhere. That’s better than nothing.”
“Giovanni—”
“Please don’t argue with me. Right now, the most important thing is keeping you safe.”
Kim forced back her desire to prod him for more information, but there was one thing she wanted to know. “Cody said he wouldn’t see me after today because I wouldn’t be coming back. Why would he say that?”
“I told him to do what he had to do to keep his spot. He loves you. He’s also worked incredibly hard to get into Maximo Sorrento’s sights. We shouldn’t take that away from him.”
“I get that.”
“He’ll give us the rest of the day and night. Early tomorrow, he’s going to let Maximo—not Franco—know he watched me pick you up outside of a convenience store in the morning after you tricked him. It’ll all be a lie, of course, but it’ll let him keep his spot and help you at the same time. I’m okay with that.”
“But Franco thinks I’ll be back tonight.”
“Cody will take care of that. He’s going to call and let him know you’re staying the night at your father’s.”
“Maximo will talk to Nunz and then he’ll know Cody lied, though.”
Giovanni smirked. “That’s the kicker. Something else Cody let me in on and it might be the one thing that bites Franco in the ass. It’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since I’ve been here. Maximo has no idea Franco is working through Nunz on his deals. Max believes Franco is doing this on his own, and Cody came in after the mess with you.”
Kim was finally starting to catch on. “He said he was watching me before he caught me counting cards.”
“Exactly, because he was using Cody’s well-formed scheme and passing it off to Max as his own. Cody let him do it because he needed the extra power to get it done and it got him in a better position for a bigger family.”
“I don’t really get what this means, Gio.”
“It means Franco is working with another boss without his father’s knowledge or consent. He’s paying dues that should be Max’s to your father and lying all the while. And I highly suspect it’s been going on for a long time. Franco needed to stand on his own two feet according to Max, but the idiot doesn’t have the intellect to get his own thing rolling. It’s so disrespectful to his family I can’t even explain.
“Besides that,” Giovanni added as he swiped the remaining wetness from under Kim’s eyes, “… it makes a person wonder why Franco would do that at all, unless he believes he has something to gain. I suspect the marriage to you was Nunz’s idea and a way for Franco to be involved with your family without making Max suspicious.”
“When I was on the floor—”
Giovanni flinched. “Dio, you don’t know how that kills me inside to hear.”
“Sorry, but when I was down, he said something about his seat as Don being protected so long as he married me with his father gone. Max isn’t gone, Gio.”
“No, but I think Franco wants him to be.”
“What do we do now?”
“Right now, you do nothing, Tesoro. We’re going to switch hotels.”
“And then?” Kim asked.
“And then I have to call my father and tell him what I’ve done.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Dad, hey.”
“Gio?” Antony asked on the other end of the line. His father sounded surprised to hear from him at first, but his voice quickly turned to worry at the stress in Gio’s tone. “What’s wrong?”
“I fucked up.”
Nothing new, right, Gio thought.
Sweet Jesus. He was so sorry to do this to his father. So fucking sorry.
Gio had misled his father about his stay in Vegas for a long time. Antony assumed Gio was doing good, staying out of trouble, and keeping his eye on things. For the most part, that was true. But, Gio left out personal shit. Like Kim … and how he loved that girl like crazy.
“Yeah,” Gio rasped. “I really fucked up this time.”
“Can it be fixed?” Antony asked quietly.
“I don’t know. Probably not. It’s bad.”
Gio just couldn’t leave Kim alone. That was the problem. He was stupid looking at her and high loving her. It was impossible for him to even think about leaving her alone in Vegas to marry that cocksucker. Especially after seeing the bruises on her pretty face.
Franco was incapable of being a good man and he wanted a toy for a wife.
“One to ten scale bad?” Antony asked.
“Twenty,” Gio replied, flinching.
Gio waited for the rush of rage from his father or the twenty-one questions sure to follow. He stayed silent and braced himself for the impact of yet another bad decision that would leave a mess to be cleaned. Sure, Gio might have cleaned his messes himself, but his father always suffered some kind of backlash for it.
Antony surprised him. “Talk to me, Tigrotto.”
“Shit. Don’t call me that.”
“Twenty-six-years-old, I get it. You’re always going to be my youngest boy. I constantly had to chase after you a little more than the other two, even when you stood below my waist. Indulge me, Giovanni. Let me feel like I can help you for once instead of letting you do it all yourself.”
<
br /> The pressure in Gio’s chest released with one hard whoosh of air. Across the hotel room, he could hear Kim’s shower still running though she was awfully quiet in there. They’d screwed up terribly, him and her.
“I don’t know what to do,” Gio whispered
The faint movement in the background of Antony’s side ceased as Gio heard a door close. “That bad?”
“Worse.”
Antony heaved a sigh. “Just tell me it wasn’t because you were too screwed up on something to know better, Gio.”
“You know, it might make it easier if that were the case.”
Antony finally seemed to understand this was not one his son’s usual missteps. “Can I even fix this, Gio?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not something you can pull rank on, and I knew better. I did. I just … needed to be the one to tell you.”
For an entire thirty seconds, Antony went silent on his end. Then, Gio heard the ding of his father’s laptop being turned on. “The next flight to New York, you’re to be on it. Give me five minutes, and I’ll have you a time.”
Gio swallowed air like it was a drug. “I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Yeah, that might fix it for a short while, but I still have to answer for what I did. And so does she, you know? I have to make sure that no one comes back on her for this. So I can’t leave it here like that, Dad. Hiding won’t fix this, and Marcellos don’t hide.”
“She?” Antony asked, surprise lighting up his voice.
“I—”
“What did you do?”
For the first time in longer than Gio could remember, he wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear. There were too many times in his life when he disappointed his father. Too many times he bent and broke the rules for his gain. This was going to shatter any faith Antony had left in Gio. It would totally destroy his father.
“I love her,” Gio said, wanting to get that out first. “That’s what’s most important here.”