Wrath (Part II): A Mafia Romance (Esposito Series Book 2)

by Fariah Zaidi

  Stefan had grabbed me by hand and pulled me away from the altar. He only stopped when we were safely behind the grand staircase. His lips were on mine the moment we stopped running.

  My eyes watered when we pulled away, roaming over his handsome face. The face I thought I’d never see again, “You’re here, you’re really here.”

  “I made you a promise, mia regina,” he whispered, placing small kisses anywhere he could, “I would always come back for you.”

  My fingers went to his face, cupping his cheeks, wanting, needing to feel he was here. He was alive.

  We were interrupted when Vincent suddenly stumbled behind us, heaving and panting, guns in both hands.

  “Um hello?” he dramatically waved his hands, “Fighting a war out here? Can the sappy reunions happen later?”

  I didn’t say anything. I was so delighted to see that goofball in the moment that I wordlessly pulled him into a bear hug, wrapping my hands around his neck. His drama was forgotten, and he hugged me back with equal force, pressing a kiss to my head.

  “I missed you.” he whispered, before letting me go.

  We both turned to Stefan when he spoke up behind us, “We’ve to get back out there.”

  “Okay,” I answered, “either of you give me a gun.”

  “Why don’t you ask Stefan?”

  With that, Vincent was gone. I turned back to Stefan, who had a rather skeptical look on his face, “Are you up for a fight? You don’t even have a Kevlar.”

  I walked closer to him, grabbing his by his tie, “Listen to me, Stefan Esposito. I’m not letting you go back out there alone. We’re in this together, remember? So, unless you want me to perform a full body search, you better hand a couple of the multiple guns I know you’re carrying.”

  He smiled slyly, leaning down a little, “I mean, I wouldn’t mind the full body search.”

  Before I could yell at him, he laughed and produced a couple of guns from the inside of his jacket pocket, “You better be careful out there.”

  “I will be.” I promised. As we were about to move, I stopped him, handing him back the guns. Ignoring his questioning look, I picked up the hem of my dress, and ripped it from the edge. I kept tearing until it reached my thigh and finally my legs achieved better mobility. Until now, Stefan was watching me in amusement, but when his eyes fell on my bandaged legs, the light vanished.

  “Did he-”

  But I stopped him. I grabbed my guns from him and wrapped my hands around his neck, “Not now. Not now, baby. Just know that I want the bastard alive.”

  He nodded, and with one last kiss, we separated, going in different directions.

  The moment I stepped out from the refuge of the staircase, I saw that, in a few minutes, the pristine hall had turned into a warzone. It was clear that the Romanos didn’t stand a chance. It was a bloodbath. The marble floors were now crimson. The small stage that had been serving as the altar was upturned and broken in half, riddled with bullets.

  I dived behind one of the pillars, mentally recalling my shooting lessons from Enzo. For the next few minutes, all I did was aim and shoot- in the legs, in the chest or right in the head.

  But when I felt the cold barrel of a gun press right against head, I froze.

  “Drop the guns.”

  I slowly put my guns on the floor and turned around to face whoever it was. He motioned with gun for me to stand.

  “Trust me, you don’t wanna do this.” I told him, raising my hands, watching my rescue just a few feet away.

  “Believe me, I do.” he sneered, “You low-life bitch, I’m going to-”

  A bullet went off behind him, piercing through his skull. He was on the floor the next second.

  “That’s not how you talk to a queen.” he reprimanded the dead man, then looked at me, “You good?”

  “Depends on whether or not you give me a hug.” I smirked, enjoying the rush of adrenaline through my veins.

  Enzo laughed and pulled me into a hug, pressing a loud kiss to my head.

  “I’m good now.” I sighed, pulling away.

  He moved back into the fight, aiming, shooting and dropping people one by one. I slowly moved from one pillar to another, catching sight of Stefan in the far end of the room, tackling two men at once. It was then that I noticed a man advancing on him from behind. He had his knife raised, ready to attack.

  I couldn’t let him do that. And with as much focus as I could muster, I aimed at him and fired. The bullet hit him right when he was in the middle of a battle cry. Instead, it turned into one of pain and he fell to the floor.

  I watched as Stefan snapped the neck of the man he had in his hold and turned around. He first looked at the guy I’d shot, then he looked up at me. And when I saw the proud smile on his lips, I returned it with a wink.

  It was only for a moment though, because the next second, his eye widened in horror, fixated on something, or someone behind me. I tried to turn around, but it was too late.

  Someone grabbed me by the neck and pressed a gun to my neck.

  “Drop you weapons!” Valentin screamed, my ears reverberating with his panicked voice, “Drop them now!”

  It was a desperate move. He knew he’d lost. He knew that well. His hold was tight, I’ll give him that. He was holding me with all his might. My eyes wandered over the crowd in front of me- Stefan, Vincent, Enzo. I even recognized our soldiers, I saw Sienna on one side. They had all halted their fights.

  “If you don’t let me out of here unscathed, I’m going to put a goddamn bullet in her head.”

  And then he slowly added, “Just like Diego kill your whore of a mother.”

  Those words from Valentin were like a cracking whip. Each person present in the room froze in their place. Nobody even blinked.

  My eyes were focused on Stefan and I could feel the fury radiating off of him. I watched his fingers curl in a fist, I watched his face contort with rage and I knew just how agonizing it was for him to be reminded of his mother’s murder that way.

  “That’s right,” Valentin taunted, “I watched it- the tape Diego sent you. He had a whole collection, you know. She was a hell of a screamer, though. Must have been really good in bed.”

  That was it. I couldn’t hear him stand there spew bullshit from his worthless mouth. How dare he show such disrespect for Stefan’s mother? I let go of his arms and reached for the knife I’d stashed in my lace sleeve.

  Valentin was too busy with his monologue to even know what I was doing. And this time, I took him by surprise, and in a sudden move, I rammed my elbow straight to his neck. It all happened fast, and I wasn’t sure what if that would even work. But I could no longer stand there and listen to him talk.

  He stumbled back with a cry and that very second, each lesson that Enzo had taught me flashed in my head, begging me to be used. And I did- I smacked the gun he was holding in his hand and with all the strength I could muster, rammed it in his shoulder. And with one last kick to his chest, he was on the floor.

  I panted, lazily wiping the blood on my gown. It was only when I turned around that I saw everyone’s shocked eyes focused on me. I threw the knife away and let out a sharp breath, flipping my hair over my shoulder.

  “That’s not how you talk about a queen.”

  I saw Stefan. I saw the growing smile on his face. And then I saw him moving forward in my direction. I wanted to reach out to him too, I wanted to hold him. But then everything started blurring. I reached out my hand, but I couldn’t catch him. I was falling into something- something dark.

  And then I blacked out.

  Twenty-Two:

  Return

  Zara

  The next time I woke up, I was in a bed. Someone had tucked me in with blankets and there were soft pillows underneath my head.

  At first, I panicked, wondering where I was. I raised my head a little and saw that I was, yet again on a plane. Thankfully, this time, I wasn’t bound or cuffed to the seat. I slipped out of the bed and my eyes wandered over the re
st of the cabin, finally landing on Stefan.

  Wrapping the blanket around me, I began walking towards him. I passed Sienna and her brother, Steven along the way. I also walked past Vincent who was sleeping with his head on Enzo’s lap and drooling all over his pants. God help him when Enzo wakes up.

  Stefan looked up at me and smiled, closing his laptop. He chuckled loudly when I climbed into his lap, wrapped my arms around my waist buried my head in his neck.

  “You shouldn’t have left me alone you know.” I joked, “You know how needy and clingy I can get, especially now.”

  “I don’t care if you clung to me like a koala. I’m never leaving you alone again.”

  He hugged me tightly to himself, and we both sighed. This right here, for me, was home. I was away from him for about three days and it felt like eternity. The sight of him, the scent of him- I’m never taking it for granted again. There can never be a place where I’d feel so safe, so protected and so loved.

  “What happened after I passed out?” I asked quietly.

  “Not much,” he sighed, nuzzling my hair, “we cleared the scene, and prepared to go home. Someone had called home and Mama Bella was freaking out, elated that we were all okay and ordered us to come home immediately.”

  “And what happened with you?” I looked up at him, “Last time I saw you, you were bleeding out in the middle of the road and I couldn’t do anything to help you.”

  “It’s a long story.” he kissed me in assurance, “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

  I nodded, eagerly.

  Stefan dived into recalling all that had happened after he woke up at the mansion- how he burned cried, how he burned down all of Valentin’s clubs and all that went down at the underground auction. I couldn’t control my laughter when he began describing Fox.

  “She was like Ursula from The Little Mermaid, but with a hundred more botched up surgeries.”

  I cackled loudly, but I stopped when I realized something.

  “Wait, you’ve watched The Little Mermaid?”

  He went red in the face and began quickly offering an explanation, “Not that I’m ashamed of it or anything, but yes, I did watch it. Once, with Rosalie.”

  “Who’s Rosalie?”

  “She’s Enzo’s daughter.”

  “Enzo has a daughter?” I exclaimed loudly.

  Another voice rose in the cabin.

  “Yes, I do have a daughter.” Enzo said, “I love that you’re back, but if you don’t stop giggling, I won’t take you to meet her.”

  “You do know you’ll take me to meet her even if I force you to sing Disney theme songs right now?”

  He let out a very defeated, resigned sigh and muttered a ‘Yeah’ under his breath. However, I didn’t annoy him further. Instead I urged Stefan to continue his story.

  He told me about Steven, and how he’d found out that they were indeed Alessandro’s kids.

  “They’ve been helping us from the start.” I wondered.

  “What about Sienna? Do you really believe she didn’t have a hand in what happened to Rafael?” Stefan asked.

  “We should let Rafael decide that. For now, I’m glad you’re in my arms again.”

  Our return home was grand, to say the least. There was celebratory gunfire and lots of cheering.

  Mama Bella wrapped her arms around her tightly, crying and laughing at the same time. Everyone hugged everyone. There was joy and excitement in the air and everyone knew why today was so special. This victory had been a long time coming. It wasn’t just the elation of winning this fight, it was the joy of winning a twenty-year-old battle. It was to bring peace to the ones we’d lost- Valerie, Sofia, Celine, Theo, and all our soldiers who’d laid down their lives for us.

  “Welcome home, brother.”

  Everyone turned towards the stairs to see Rafael walking down with the help of his crutches. It was Stefan who first moved away from the crowd and rushed to help off the stairs and engulf him in a hug. It was the most endearing moment.

  He then held out his hand for and I rushed in his arms, careful not to hurt his back.

  “Welcome home, my queen.” he kissed my head, “Your bravery and courage never cease to amaze me. I’m very proud of you.”

  Stefan

  The celebration was huge, and an especially delicious feast had been prepared for the entire family, courtesy of the one and only, Mama Bella.

  I looked all around me and my heart swelled with joy when I saw that every single person that I loved and cared for was here. I’ve waited for this moment for a long time, and it was finally here.

  The moment our heads hit the pillow we were out like a light. Days of exhaustion had finally overtaken us.

  The next morning, I woke up to find the place beside me empty.

  I immediately left the bed when I heard soft sobs coming from the bathroom. When I opened the door, the scene before me broke my heart.

  Zara was standing in front of the full-length mirror, trying to hold back her sobs, her body devoid of any clothes. That’s when I noticed the extent of pain Valentin had put her through. There were long cuts all over her body- arms, legs, stomach, chest- everywhere.

  She looked vulnerable, broken.

  “Zara…” I whispered, reaching forward to stand behind her.

  “He scarred me, Stefan.” she whispered, biting back a sob.

  Without a word, I gently pulled her away from the mirror and under the shower. I turned it on, dousing the two of us in warm water. There, I held her close. And with the water, I willed for our pain to wash away too. It was wishful thinking, but I couldn’t bear to see her in so much pain. I kissed her slowly- her hair, her face, her neck, anywhere I could reach.

  “You are beautiful.” I whispered, “And your scars- they’ll be a reminder down the road that you were stronger than whatever or whoever tried to hurt you. Wear them with pride, my queen.”

  When she looked up at me, I saw the twinkle in her eyes. The light residing right under the pain and vulnerability, begging to come out.

  “Promise me that you’ll never leave me, ever.” she hugged me, resting her head on my chest.

  “You pulled me out of an abyss I was sure I was destined to. How can I let go of the light of my life?”

  Twenty-Three:

  Revenge

  Zara

  It took me four days to gather up the courage to go and face Valentin.

  In these three days, Stefan would return to our room each night with his clothes soiled in blood. He had chained Valentin up in the basement was breaking him bit by bit. He would beat him or torture him just enough to cause him pain, and enough to keep him alive for however long he pleased.

  And in these three days, I began my own task- compiling information and talking to various people. Only when I was sure that the collected data was enough, I left my room early one morning, pressing a light goodbye kiss on Stefan’s cheek. Even in his sleep, he smiled at the small act of affection.

  It was seven in the morning. The estate was slowly being lit up by the morning sun. A few soldiers were out in the back garden, sparring and practicing. They greeted me with respect, and I returned it with a smile of my own.

  I had an agenda today, a mission. Safely tucking my file under my arm, I crossed the estate and reached the broken church and headed straight for the basement.

  Each step that brought me closer to Valentin, my trepidation increased.

  “Miss Zara, what are you doing here?”

  My attention was drawn to Seth, who was standing guard near the room Valentin was currently in.

  “I need to see him.” I motioned to the door with my head.

  “Does Boss know you’re here?”

  “Do I need his permission?” I asked, quirking a challenging eyebrow.

  “No, but-”

  “Open the door, Seth.” I cut him off, as politely as I could, “and don’t let anyone in until I’m done with him. And I clear?”

  “Yes, Miss Zara.” he nodded, reac
hing for the keys, “Let me warn you though, he doesn’t look good.”

  “I’ll handle it.” I assured, smiling at him, “Can you wake him up for me, please?”

  He nodded again, throwing open the door. I followed him inside, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room. It was cold, very cold. The stone walls were covered in cobwebs and the floor was rusted with the blood of all those who’d been kept here. Two tiny windows in either corner of the room barely let in any sunlight.

  My gaze zeroed in on Valentin lying in one corner of the prison. Like Seth had informed me, he didn’t look good. His face was swollen, and barely recognizable, white bandages had been hastily wrapped on his hands and his cloths were torn.

  Seth motioned to another guard and together the two of them dragged Valentin up from the floor. He groaned loudly but didn’t open his eyes. The soldiers then picked him up and cuffed his wrists to the chains hanging from the ceiling.

  Seth then left the room and came back with a small bucket of water which he proceeded to splash right on Valentin’s face.

  He woke up with a start, mumbling incoherently. He looked around him once or twice, and then his eyes landed on me. I took a seat on the small stool Seth had given me before leaving the room.

  “How’re you feeling?” I asked.

  “Fucking peachy.” he spat, wheezing with pain.

  I smiled, crossing my legs and opening the file on my knees.

  “What’s that?” he rasped.

  “Why, I’m so glad you asked.” I mused, grinning from ear to ear, “See, I read somewhere, a long time back, that every villain had his or her story. And that got me thinking. So, these past few days, I’ve been digging into your life. And boy, you are one troubled- I wanna say- human being.”

  “Funny.” he mocked.