Ruthless Princess

by Van Dyken , Rachel

  The fist came flying at me so fast and hard that I stumbled to the side. My vision blurred as I moved out of the way and finally answered. “I’m guessing here, but probably…” I gulped. “…a little over two hundred times before—”

  His next fist came from the other direction. I saw it. His knee, however, seemed to be operating independently, as it got me right in the chin; had my tongue been in the wrong place, I would have bitten it off.

  There was something that felt very wrong about fighting him back when I was the one who went behind his back without his permission.

  So, with every question, I took the hit, blocking what I could, making sure that whoever walked out of here the bloodiest, won the girl.

  And that would be me.

  “How many times did you lie to us!” Nixon roared.

  “All the damn time,” I muttered, turning my right side toward him as my left eye started swelling shut. “We didn’t want to get caught!”

  The air left my lungs as a kick got me right in the gut.

  I fell to my knees. “Shit, that hurt.” I spat blood and wiped what I could from my mouth.

  “Who was in your bedroom three nights ago when I knocked on the door?”

  Shit, damn, shit. I’m going to die after all. I wasn’t innocent, and innocence wasn’t getting me out of the pain, so I answered truthfully. “She was, sir, still naked, in my bed, while I lied through my teeth.”

  A roar of rage fell from Nixon’s mouth. I didn’t duck that time; I let him hit me, twice in the stomach before I doubled over in pain, and then another time across the face. I spat out more blood and muttered, “Worth it.”

  “He’s not fighting back,” a voice said. “He needs to fight back!”

  “He won’t.” My dad piped up. “This is about honor, and Nixon needs to get his. This is about respect, and Junior needs to learn how to give and receive it.”

  I was starting to see double as I blinked up at a pacing Nixon. His eyes were sharp, focused, clearly intent on ending my life. “Will you die for her? Kill for her? Protect her?” With each question, a hit came until I was nearly blacked out on the mat.

  All I remembered doing was whispering “yes” before my eyes caught his fist flying down into my face, I barely held my hands up, but the blow was hard enough to break some of the bones in my hand as I blocked.

  I roared in agony and rolled to my side then slowly got up. “Any more questions?”

  “You want me to kill you, is that it?” Nixon seemed amused.

  “I want you to feel justified enough in your anger so that I can feel justified enough in loving her when I don’t deserve her.” His fist came and then stopped as he backed away.

  “That—” Releasing a frustrated sigh, Nixon grabbed a towel and tossed it at me. “—was a good answer.”

  “Great.” I stumbled to my knees again and briefly saw a flash of blond hair as it registered that Serena was at my side in the ring. Why’d she look so freaked out? We hadn’t even gone six rounds, or had we? I suddenly couldn’t think straight… couldn’t…

  A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and dripped onto my chest, the last thing I noticed before passing out.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Serena

  My dad wouldn’t let me into Junior’s room.

  I expected to lay with him, comfort him, wash away his pain, and then cry until he woke up.

  Instead, the first thing Junior Nicolasi, my boyfriend and soul mate saw when he opened his eyes was the guy who made him hurt beyond all reason.

  My dad said he just wanted to talk.

  Well, Junior had been out cold for at least four hours, talking had gone out the window the minute all of us had gotten into it.

  Just another day in the life, right?

  “Hey.” Ash came into the kitchen with a bottle, not a glass, but a bottle of wine in hand. “You hanging in there?”

  I frowned. “Isn’t that my line? Because I’m pretty sure we were just at a funeral, and you gave the eulogy.”

  He sighed, shaking his head. “Life is so…” A grimace. “…strange.”

  “Tell me about it.” I grabbed the bottle and tipped it back. It was full of tequila. I shoved it back against him. “You savage! That’s not even wine!”

  He gave me a dopy grin. “Yeah, I pretty much ran out of that, two hours ago, and now I see three of you, but I don’t give a shit because at least you’re alive.”

  His body swayed toward me; I took the moment to pull him into my arms and give him the hug he deserved. “I love you, Ash.”

  “Not as much as I love you.” His fingers dug into me as he held me tight. “I’m so pissed you almost got yourself killed.”

  “Says the guy who tied me up.” My voice was muffled against his chest.

  “I expected you to fight more,” he said when he pulled back. “To confess your love in such a huge way, they’d have to listen.”

  I frowned and took the bottle again. “It never occurred to me they would care. We broke the rule; we suffer the consequences. Isn’t that how it’s always been? How many times have you had to go down to the basement in your dad’s house? How many times have you taken a life because a cousin, a made man, or a businessman broke the rules?”

  Ash leaned his massive body against the counter. “The thing about family, Serena. They’re always willing to listen… eventually. You did the hard thing, you did the right thing by staying by Junior’s side, but you also have to know that your dad would kill himself before letting harm come to you. I’ve never in my life seen Nixon Abandonato, badass boss, so upset as when he was up here staring at the wall like he’d just lost everything that matters because what you still don’t understand is the rules apply to them too. If they give you a free pass, it’s the entire Family in jeopardy; it’s the boss, his wife, the rest of the kids. It’s everyone, so if you don’t fight and prove your fealty, they have to let justice and blood run through, get it?”

  I gulped. “How drunk are you?”

  “Very.” He took a heavy step toward me. “Remember this for the future, hell remind me when I’m sober, rules apply to everyone, so if you’re gonna fucking break them, make sure you know how to survive it, mmmkay?” He patted me on the face at least six times before finally stumbling down into the living room and collapsing onto the couch.

  “He’s going to be okay, right?” Violet suddenly appeared, her lipstick was a bit smudged, and her dress was wrinkled.

  I eyed her suspiciously. “Did you take a nap in your clothes?”

  “No.” Her eyes widened. “Why?”

  “Uh, no reason.” I shook away the haze. It was my imagination, just like it was my imagination that Breaker was stomping into the room looking like he wanted to break something. “Geez, what’s his deal.”

  Violet was quiet. “He’s young.”

  “Yeah, we can’t use that excuse with anyone who grew up in these families, plus he turns twenty in like two weeks.”

  “Yeah,” she whispered and swiped her tongue across her top lip. “I know.” And then, “It’s probably horrible timing but, I just wanted you to be the first to know since everything’s gotten a bit crazy. Sergio gave me the green light to finish med school outside of Chicago.”

  I froze, my mind filled with a million questions. “Why would you do that? Why would you leave? Why would they let you?”

  Her eyes filled with tears before she looked away and shrugged. “Things change, you know? Someone close to us just died, and I think—I think it might be good for me to get away, to learn and come back and help as much as I can, maybe I could have saved someone, maybe, I don’t know, just maybe.”

  “Is that why you look like someone just broke your heart, then?” I reached for her hand. “What’s going on?”

  “You can’t help u—m-me,” she stuttered. “Nobody really can, can they?”

  “Violet, talk to me, what’s wrong?” My stomach filled with dread as she bit down on her lower lip, it trembled so much I
was afraid she was going to start sobbing, and I wasn’t sure I could handle any more emotional trauma.

  “Do you think—” she started when she finally got herself under control, composed and cool like she always was. “Do you think some of us are cursed?”

  “What?” I reared back. “No, not even a little bit, and especially not you!”

  She was the goody-goody of the entire group. I mean, I would bet a million dollars she’d never seen a penis and had taken one drink in her entire life. If there was ever a perfect daughter, it was her.

  And ohhhh, how Chase knew it.

  Perfect for his political career, I mean.

  “Yeah, well…” She sniffed. “That, at least, makes me feel better.”

  She went to pull away, and that’s when I noticed the mark on her finger, her left finger? It had been smudged away by her tears. What? Makeup? Why would she have cover up on her finger?

  It looked like a sickle tattoo, which would be madness because she didn’t have tattoos; she didn’t have anything.

  “Hey, I gotta go make sure Breaker isn’t too drunk.” She jerked away from me and then walked off, giving me a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach because I could have sworn I’d seen that tattoo before.

  And on someone I knew.

  “Serena.” My dad barked out my name. I ran down the hall to the guest room, where both he and Phoenix were standing outside its door.

  “Can I go in? Is he okay?” Tears streamed down my face. “Daddy, tell me he’s okay, and he’s going to live because I love him, I really love him, and Phoenix I don’t care, I don’t care! Everyone gets a second chance; I’m not justifying what you did, I’m just saying that—”

  “Shhhh.” My dad pulled me into his arms and rocked me like I was a little girl. I instantly relaxed. “We didn’t know. And as much as it pains me to admit, we’re still fucking up every day as parents. The rules apply to us all, and we thought you were just being you, and Junior was just testing us, testing the Family, breaking rules because he could, sleeping around because it got you attention, and stop giving me that look. We can’t let people break those sorts of rules just because they feel like it. When one rule’s broken, the house of cards falls.”

  A heaviness settled on my chest. “I know, I know, I should have told you I just, I didn’t even know how to say anything, and then we stopped for a while because we hated each other so much—”

  “—Because your love matched your hate,” Phoenix said behind me in a soft voice. “Trust me when I say, I know exactly what that feels like.”

  He sighed and then held out his hand to my dad. “We’re good?”

  “We’re good.” My dad took his hand and then leaned in and kissed Phoenix on each cheek and said. “He’s released from his promise. And so are you.”

  Phoenix instantly relaxed. “I chose well.”

  “Well?” my dad repeated.

  Phoenix just smiled. “For a best friend. All those years back. I chose well.”

  My dad gulped and then murmured, “Despite our past, I did too, Phoenix, I did too.”

  Phoenix gave me a small squeeze, and then he was gone, and my dad was opening the door, giving me a slight push and nudging me in.

  It closed behind me.

  And there was Junior in all his bandaged-up glory looking extremely black and blue and high on whatever they’d given him so he’d stop moaning and jerking out stitches in his sleep.

  “So…” I walked over to him and sat on the bed.

  He muttered a curse and slowly turned his head toward me. One eye was completely swollen shut the other was getting there, his beautiful skin was turning purple and yellow, and I’d never seen him more handsome in all my life.

  Because he was alive.

  And he was mine.

  “So.” He blindly reached for my hand.

  “Want me to get naked so you can touch me with what fingers aren’t broken?”

  He laughed and then moaned.

  “Sorry.” I chuckled and then scooted myself on the bed. “I’ll hold you, and you dream, how’s that?”

  “Living my dream,” he said softly. “But you can hold me while I do that, princess.”

  “I love you.” I tried not to let the hot tears fall, but it was impossible.

  He turned and looked up at me. “Those for me?”

  “No.”

  “Liar.”

  “Hate you for as long as we both shall live.”

  He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, hate you for as long as we both shall live.”

  Neither of us missed the way he kept trying to grab my ass, just like I couldn’t keep myself from running my hands up and down his abs.

  Junior De Lange-Nicolasi was my curse and my reward. My treasure, my love. He was my perfect match in every way.

  And I would never, never let him go.

  He was my King—mine.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Junior

  One week later

  The fact that I was alive was still a new concept to me as I grabbed my gun, pulled it apart, and started cleaning it. Nervous habit.

  Serena was coming over for dinner, and it was the first time she’d be in my house where we wouldn’t have to sneak around—as much, at least.

  “So.” Dad slapped me on the back, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me, and looked ahead. “You wanna talk about it?”

  “If this is the sex talk, you’re a bit late, Dad.” I kept cleaning and then realized he was way too quiet next to me, which meant he was thinking, which meant something was wrong. Normally I’d get a laugh out of him. Today he just stood next to me, completely void of emotion, like he had gone somewhere he couldn’t come back from.

  I knew that feeling well.

  “Dad?” I placed everything on the counter and turned.

  We looked so much alike, it was almost scary, but where his eyes had this icy almost cruelty to them, mine were a warmer aqua, my hair was longer on top, and I had the eagle tattoo permanently etched into my neck. His lips pressed into a line as he crossed his arms and then finally looked at me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “So not sex,” I whispered under my breath. “Are we talking about nearly dying?”

  “We are.” His eyes drilled into me. “I could have lost you.”

  A heaviness pressed down against my heart. “But, you didn’t.”

  “But, I could have.” He swallowed slowly and then pressed his hands out against the countertop, his biceps flexing like he was ready to rip apart the entire kitchen. “I could have.”

  I reached for him then, pulled him against my chest, and hugged him tight. “I’m here, I’m right here, and you’ll have to kill me to get me away from you.”

  He clung to me so tight it stole the air from my lungs. “All I ever wanted was for you to know how much you’re loved-to find a love like I did, a love that rescues you from this sick pit of despair, and you just had to fucking fall for the one person that was off-limits.”

  I grinned and pulled back. “My heart couldn’t help it.”

  “Neither could your dick.” He rolled his eyes and then finally smiled. “Maybe I was the one that needed the talk.”

  “Dad,” I put my hand on his shoulder. “It goes a little bit like this. When a boy likes a girl—”

  “Little shit.” He kicked his foot out from under both my feet, sending me to the floor and then had a knife pointed at my still-bruised right eye before I could even finish teaching my sex ed class!

  I grinned when I spotted him notice that I had a small dagger trained right next to his temple at what would be a very painful and deadly wound.

  One side of his mouth quirked upward in a half-smile. “You’re learning.”

  “It should be weird that you’re proud,” I grumbled, still not moving.

  “And yet, I would have been disappointed had you not been quick enough.”

  “Boys!” Mom came strolling into the kitchen and stopped; I could see the shadow of h
er hands on her hips and could almost imagine her look of irritation. “Did you get blood on the food?”

  “Great, Ma, not even concerned about your only son!” I roared from the floor.

  “Did you get blood on the food?” she asked again with a bit more force. Another shadow fell, a small gun.

  “Why the hell did you arm her again?” I gave Dad a shove. “You know she has shit aim!”

  “Watch it!” Mom said.

  I sighed and let my head fall back against the kitchen floor at about the same time I saw a flash of black spiky stiletto heel. “Aw, you guys having family game night?”

  I moaned into my hands.

  She laughed. “Just give me a minute, and I’ll grab my knife too. Dibs on Junior. I like to see him bleed.”

  Dad shook his head again at me. “Just had to be Serena…”

  “Hey, I heard that!”

  He got up to his feet. “Yeah, you were meant to.” He walked over and kissed her gently on the cheek and then. “No weapons at the table.”

  Serena grumbled.

  I grumbled.

  Mom shoved her gun in her apron pocket. I mean really, the fact that she was even wearing an apron was hilarious, she could cook around ten things well, everything else was… shall we say, not very Italian, but dad never complained, so I never complained.

  I just went to Chase’s.

  Now that was food.

  They were like professional chefs over there!

  Dad sat at the head of the table and reached for my hand. And slowly, as we all joined hands, I looked up at Serena and winked.

  Family dinner.

  With my soul mate.

  Alive.

  I kept my eyes open during the prayer; something about closing them seemed wrong when I wanted to spend every waking moment drinking her beauty in. Some of Serena’s dark roots were starting to show, and I realized I liked it, I liked that around me she didn’t care.

  She was wearing lip gloss I’d lick off later.

  And mascara she didn’t really need.

  But other than that, the armor had been lifted, maybe because the dragon had been defeated.

  The dragon being our lie.