Pity filled his face as he spoke. “Tori, it’s impossible. No matter what that woman has said, you two can never be together. After the things that have happened between our families, the Salvaticis will never accept you. You have to realize that and move on. Move on so that you can find happiness. I love you, Tori, and it will haunt me to my dying day that I didn’t protect you from Enzo and Caterina. But I can still protect you from yourself.”
Stepping forward, she took his hand into hers. “Nero, you are my family. I love you, but I have to make this decision on my own. I know you feel guilty, but you shouldn’t. You did everything in your power to keep me safe.”
“And I failed.”
Smiling softly, Tori squeezed his hand. “No, you didn’t. I’m here. I’m alive, and for the first time in a long time, I’m glad of it. I’m glad because I realize that there is so much out there waiting for me if I can just put aside my own fears and seize it. I know that Dominic’s family may never accept me, but I’m willing to take the risk if it means that I’ll have him. And I know that he may not want me, but I’d rather go see him and have him tell me that than to spend the rest of my life wondering.”
Nero pulled her into his arms and rested his cheek on her head. “So I guess that there’s no talking you out of this?”
“Nope.”
“And I don’t suppose you’ll let me kill him if you come back with a broken heart?”
“Nope.”
“How about a good beating? Will you give me that, at least?”
“No, but I’ll let you sit on the couch with me and watch sappy romance movies while I cry into my ice cream.”
“Of course you will,” he groaned, releasing her. “So, when do you want to go?”
“Soon.” She patted his arm and smiled up at him. “Don’t worry, I don’t give a damn what he wants. He’s mine, and for once in my life I’m not going to let anyone get in the way of what’s mine.”
No, she clearly won’t. Tori had finally found something worth fighting for, and Angelica was right. I’ll have to see how this plays out.
Chapter 23
As he moved through the rooms, Nero couldn’t believe that he was standing in the Salvatici family home—or why he was there. It was Tori and Dominic’s engagement party. Never could he have imagined it, nor would he have thought that they would have wanted to move so quickly. Dominic had no sooner asked Tori to marry him than Angelica had called Rose tell her that the engagement party was ready to happen. Rose had balked at the speed of it all at first, but whatever Angelica had told Rose had put a smile on her face that she wouldn’t explain.
As he looked over the crowd, Nero saw what he was looking for—or rather, who. Maria was nowhere to be seen. He told himself that he was looking for her because he felt responsible for her, but he knew it was more. That broken girl reminded him of Jenny and brought out the guilt that he had tried to bury.
“Nero, would you bring this upstairs for me?” Angelica asked, coming out of nowhere. Shoving a plate into his hand, she turned and left before he could refuse.
What the fuck?
Staring after her, Nero walked toward the stairs. A guard was stationed at the bottom so that guests did not wander up. Ready to hand the plate off to him, he was surprised when the guard stepped aside and told him where to go.
Curiosity more than anything made him go. Moving through the corridors, Nero found the room. Not bothering to knock, he went in. At first he thought the room was empty—then he saw her. Standing by the window, she stayed motionless though he was sure that she had heard him enter. Nero set down the plate and walked toward her. She seemed smaller than he remembered.
“How are you feeling?” Nero asked when she just stood there, ignoring him.
Her thin shoulders tightened with tension before she swirled around. “How do you think I feel?” Maria spat out in a venomous tone.
“Why aren’t you downstairs at the party?” Nero tried again, ignoring her anger.
“Why the hell would I want to watch my brother betray me with that sister of yours?” Maria sneered, causing Nero’s lips to tighten at her venom.
“Maria, Victoria had nothing to do with what happened to you. In fact, she considers you a friend and is worried about you,” Nero said calmly, but he knew it sounded forced. The girl had a reason to be angry—but not at Tori.
“A friend? Are you insane?” She laughed cruelly. “Of course you are—you’re a Genovese. Victoria is just like any Genovese. They use people. She used me to try and get close to Angie, nothing more. If my stupid brother doesn’t realize that she’s using him for something, then that’s his problem,” she said, emphasizing every word as if it was a curse. When she had finished, she turned her back as if to dismiss him.
Angered at her words, Nero stepped into her personal space. Reaching out, he forced her to turn around and wrapped her hair around his fist to force her to look into his eyes. It was a mistake. The pain in her eyes gutted him even more than her next words.
“What are you going to do, Nero? Beat me? Rape me? Come on, prove to me you’re just like the rest of your family,” Maria taunted.
Staring into the eyes of the broken woman before him, Nero saw his true self, which made his words harder than they might have been. “Are you going to spend the rest of your life feeling sorry for yourself? Are you going to let the hate inside of you eat you up until there’s nothing left but a bitter, soulless woman?”
“Don’t you mean used-up woman, Nero? Because that’s what I am. Did you think that I didn’t know that your sister sent the same tape to every family that she had sent to my brother? Tell me, Nero, is that why you came looking for me? Did you get off on what you saw on that tape? Were you hoping to get a little taste? That’s it, isn’t it?” she whispered silkily, raising her hands to his chest.
Nero stepped back, releasing her. The depth of her inner loathing shocked him. “This isn’t you,” he said firmly, needing her to agree.
“Isn’t it? I’m exactly what your family made me. A whore. A whore that isn’t fit to be around good people. Do you want to know the real reason why I’m not downstairs? It’s because my father told me to stay up here, out of sight. He doesn’t want anyone to see the embarrassment that is his daughter. My own family can’t stand the sight of me. The only reason I’m even in this house is because of Angie. She forced them to bring me home,” Maria said bitterly. She wiped a hand angrily across her face, swiping at a stray tear. “So if you’re not here to fuck the Salvatici whore, then get out!” The tone of her cry encompassed every evil deed done to her and the pain that they had brought.
Images from the tape flashed through his head.
How the fuck does she even know about that? Why would her family tell her about it while she’s so broken? It’s just like with Jenny. Will Maria do the same thing and take the only way out that she thinks is open to her? No, not again.
“This isn’t over, Maria,” Nero told her, silently vowing to himself that she wouldn’t be another of his insane siblings’ victims. Unable to take the gut-wrenching sorrow that filled the room any longer, Nero left. Hurrying downstairs, he looked around, determined to speak with Angelica. Maria wasn’t part of his family, but he felt responsible for what had been done to her and he wouldn’t see her kill herself over it. They needed to get that girl help. Isolating her was just going to make her decide to take her own life more quickly.
Nero had just spotted Angelica when Tori yelled loudly, “The hell I am!”
Screams filled the room at the sound as women were pushed down and guards pulled out guns. Rushing toward his sister, Nero pulled out his own gun—which he had snuck in because he wasn’t an idiot—and found her in a kind of stupor. Demanding to know what was wrong because he clearly wasn’t going to get an answer from the laughing idiot that she was going to marry, Nero stood in shock when she blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
Blinking a few times as her words sunk in, Nero lowered his gun.
Holy fuck. My baby sister is pregnant. Staring at her, he knew that the Salvaticis were all wearing the same look he was.
Coming through the crowd as if nothing had happened, Angelica clapped her hands to gain everyone’s attention. “Show’s over! The food’s out. Now, please help yourselves.” Shooing away the stragglers, she walked over to Lucca and took his hand while smiling at Tori. “I told you that you needed to make a decision,” she said before walking away with her husband and father-in-law in tow.
Tori looked at Dom, then stopped laughing at Angelica’s words long enough to whisper, “Do you ever get anything by her?”
“Never,” Dom answered just as softly, as if he was afraid that Angelica would hear him.
Yeah, Nero thought. I could have told them that. The woman is a fucking witch or something. Nero looked at his sister.
“I guess I’m not going to have to worry about you getting into trouble anymore with her as your relative,” he teased before pulling her into his arms. “Congratulations,” he whispered.
Turning to Dom, Nero held out his hand. Gripping it hard, he pulled Dom into a man hug and pounded his back before stepping away. “Normally I’d be threatening you and rushing you to the courthouse to get married, but I expect I’ll be getting a call from your sister next week telling me when the wedding is, so I won’t waste my breath.”
Chuckling, Dom pulled Tori into his arms. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Better you than me,” Nero threw out as a parting shot as he walked away from them.
He needed to leave. While he was thrilled for Tori, he just couldn’t be there just then. Seeing it all reminded him sharply of everything that he had lost.
Chapter 24
“The last shipment will be coming in tonight. I want you there personally for the pickup.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“It is now, or are you going back on your word?”
“No.”
“Good. Because, Nero, if my shipment doesn’t make it to its destination, there will be consequences,” Miguel said with a chuckle before hanging up.
Motherfucking bastard.
Slamming the phone down, Nero rubbed his hand across his face. If anything happened, it would be his fault.
My fucking guilt has put my entire family at risk.
The price for finding Maria had been steep. It involved housing and transporting three large shipments from an off faction of the El Puno family. Nero’s mole, Miguel, had spent the last couple of years putting together some of the more disenfranchised family members to form their own family. These shipments would give them the capital to break free and stand against the rest of the cartel.
The El Puno family would be after Nero’s family with a vengeance if it found out that he had helped the traitors within their own family. The uneasy truce that Nero had been able to form after shutting off their distribution through Enzo’s clubs would be gone. It would be all-out war. Fuck.
Looking up at Matteo, Nero went over the change in plans. Matteo wasn’t any happier than he was—of course, Matteo hadn’t wanted the deal to start with. Nero knew that Matteo had been right at the time, but Nero’s guilt over allowing Caterina to live had trumped his common sense when it came to Maria.
Fucking Maria. I risked everything to save her, and each time she sees me she treats me like shit. Treats everyone like shit.
After Tori’s wedding, Maria had been quietly married off to a member of the Barzette family. Tori had told him that Angelica had gone into a rage when she found out, creating a cold war in the Salvatici family. From what Tori had told Nero, the way Maria had been treating the women in their family had caused the men to marry Maria off to the first family that they could find to take her. Obviously, that hadn’t gone over well with Angelica. Lucca, her husband, had a new scar to prove it.
Looking at the clock, Nero saw that it was time. Gathering the dozen guys who were to come with them, Nero and Matteo got in one of the cars. The closer they got to the pickup site, the more uneasy Nero felt. When the cars finally stopped, Nero was on high alert. Getting out, he scanned the area. Miguel’s men were lounging against the truck that held the shipment.
The fuckers looks cocky, Nero thought as he began to walk forward. He froze when Miguel stepped out from behind the trucks. What the fuck is he doing here?
“Nero, my friend,” he said, stepping forward with a large grin on his face.
“Miguel, you weren’t expected. What are you doing here?”
“I would have thought that you would be happy to see me. It has been long, has it not?”
Shit. Something’s wrong.
Scanning the surrounding with a quick shift of his eyes, Nero called out, “This isn’t a social call. Let’s finish this. After tonight, our arrangement is finished.”
Chuckling like what he had said was amusing, Miguel shook his head and made a tsk tsk sound before answering. “No, my friend. It isn’t. You see, my partner and I have decided that this arrangement is working quite well. So well, in fact, that we think it is time that we expand it.”
“My family isn’t in the drug business, so you and your partner will have to look elsewhere,” Nero said, noticing his guys tensing as they realized where this was heading.
“No, Nero. The problem isn’t your family—it’s you as the head of the family. That’s the issue,” Miguel replied menacingly before the sound of guns being cocked came at them from all sides.
Nero yelled quickly for his men to move. They dove for cover as bullets flew around them. There was no way out. Looking for Matteo, Nero saw him clutching his side. He saw his men littering the ground. Nero knew that he had no choice if any of them were going to have a chance of making it out alive.
“I’m going to distract him. I want the rest of you to try for that truck.”
“Fuck that. We’re not leaving you,” Matteo hissed through the pain.
“There isn’t any other choice. If we all die here, who’s going to help Rose? She’s the one they’ll be after next. They’ll actually have no choice after killing us.” Seeing the truth in Nero’s eyes, Matteo nodded his head.
Breaking away from the others, Nero ran through the fire and dove behind a shipping crate. Hissing in pain, he pressed at his shoulder. A bullet had caught him.
“Miguel, can you hear me?” Nero called out.
After a few quick words in Spanish, silence filled the night as the firing stopped.
“Yes, my friend,” he answered with a laugh.
Glad the fucker is enjoying himself.
“Well, my friend, I was wondering how you planned to take over my family. Also, you know that the contract on my killer will be activated upon my death, so unfortunately you won’t live long enough to enjoy the spoils,” Nero said, filling his tone with sarcasm. The more he could keep the focus on himself, the better chance he knew the others would have.
“Ah, my friend. My partner will have your grandmother nullify the contracts, so they will not matter.”
“Somehow, my friend, I doubt Rose will be doing that.”
“Ah, but you see, she will. While you were making your way here, my partner had your grandmother taken. After a few hours of ‘persuasion,’ she will be only too happy to do this for us in exchange for your death.”
The fucker. No, they couldn’t have taken Rose. If the house had been attacked, our people would have hit the panic button, which would have alerted all of our phones. It’s a fail-safe. Reaching into his pocket, Nero looked at his phone.
No signal. Why is there no signal? It must be jammed. Motherfucker.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket. Nero knew that he had no choice but to keep the bastard talking. “Then your partner does not know Rose. By the way, Miguel, who is your partner?”
Before he could answer, the sound of a truck starting rumbled into the night. Gripping his gun, Nero stepped out and fired. Bullets whizzed back at him, forcing him to dive for cover again. When Nero heard Migu
el screaming to get them, it was music to his ears. That meant his crew had at least made it to the road. They had a chance. Throwing aside his empty gun, Nero propped himself against the crate, pulled out a cigarette, and waited. He didn’t have to for long. Miguel’s men poured around the container, guns raised.
Nero couldn’t help letting a chuckle escape when a furious Miguel joined them, growling. “They won’t get far.”
Ignoring Miguel’s words, Nero asked instead, “So, my friend, are you going to tell me who you plan to install to lead my family before you kill me?”
Pure glee entered Miguel’s eyes. “Kill you, my friend? I will, but not before your grandmother does her part. If pain isn’t her incentive, maybe family will be,” he said before telling his men to seize Nero.
Chapter 25
The smell of shit and piss filled Nero’s senses when he came to. Groaning softly, he opened his eyes.
Where the fuck am I?
Looking around while blinking his eyes into focus, he realized that he wasn’t alone. Dropping his gaze toward the sound, he saw Rose in front of him, crying softly on the floor. Her breaths were labored and she had hugged herself into a ball. Struggling was useless—Nero realized that he was tied to a chair that was bolted down.
Rage filled him when Miguel walked up and kicked Rose. He laughed at her when she tried to crawl away. Kneeling down next to her, Miguel smiled at the look on Nero’s face.
“Ah, my friend, you are awake. Good. My partner had hoped that you would awaken soon.”
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