by Cora Reilly
Matteo sent me a look that made me realize just how dangerous this situation was. Not for me, but for someone who should have never gotten dragged into the fucking misery that was mob life.
“He doesn’t mean it,” I blurted.
Sid glared. “The fuck I do.” For the moment, he seemed to have forgotten about his peace-loving ideals.
Matteo hadn’t pulled his weapons yet. I wanted to convince myself that it was a good sign but a glimpse at the two men with him made my heart plummet into my shoes. They were both my father’s men and they had already closed the door and were standing beside it with expressionless faces. A closed door was never a good thing. Nothing I could say would change their minds because they were acting on my father’s orders. They would do what he’d told them. There was only one person who could help me now.
Sid got right into Matteo’s face as if he wanted to punch him. Matteo didn’t even twitch, only stared down at Sid with the scariest look I’d ever seen in anyone’s eyes. Even without knowing who Matteo was, Sid must have sensed just how dangerous the man in front of him was. Sid took a step back, his eyes darting between Matteo and me. I jerked into motion and stepped between Matteo and him. “He doesn’t know anything. Please, just let him leave.”
My father’s men laughed and one of them murmured something that sounded remarkably like ‘slut’. Matteo’s expression darkened even further. My father’s men were watching him expectantly. I’d insulted Matteo by running away, and worse by being with another man. In our world there was only one thing a man in Matteo’s position could do to protect his honor. I’d only ever seen Matteo with some variation of an arrogant smile on his face, but there was no trace of amusement now.
“I should probably go,” Sid said suddenly, backing away. “This got nothing to do with me.”
Coward. The moment the thought crossed my mind, I felt bad. Running was really the only sensible thing for him to do. He couldn’t protect me from Matteo or my father’s men, but that he wasn’t even going to try was something I could and would never understand.
One of my father’s men, Stan or something like that if I remembered him correctly, grabbed Sid by the arms. Sid started struggling like a mad man, but it was obvious he’d never had a fight in his life. Stan laughed, ripped Sid’s arms back sharply, then rammed his knees into Sid’s back. With a cry, Sid fell to his knees, only held upright by Stan’s grip.
“Hey! Stop it,” I shouted, wanting to rush toward them, but Matteo snatched my arm, jerking me to a stop. I whirled on him, on the verge of snarling into his face but stopped myself. He was Sid’s only chance, regardless of how ridiculous that sounded.
“Please,” I said, even though begging left a bitter taste in my mouth. Matteo’s dark eyes didn’t even flicker as he peered down at me. Expecting him to help me after what I’d done was preposterous. “Don’t kill him. Just let him go. He’s not a danger.”
“You want me to spare the fucker who had his fucking hands all over you? You let that sucker have what’s mine and want me to let him walk away? That’s what you want from me?” Matteo asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
I swallowed down a nasty retort. I wasn’t his, would never be. Nothing I had done with Sid was Matteo’s business. Even if I had fucked Sid, that still wouldn’t have been his fucking business. Even if I’d fucked every single guy I’d met that still wouldn’t have been his business. I needed to tell him that I hadn’t slept with Sid. Maybe it would placate him if he knew I hadn’t given everything away. His ego would love that there was still something he could take from me. Pride kept my lips sealed.
“We should head out. Someone might have heard when we kicked the door in. Let’s get rid off this asshole and move on,” Stan said, knocking his knee into Sid’s back again. Sid’s eyes were huge as they flitted back and forth between us.
“Silence,” Matteo said sharply and Stan snapped his lips shut.
I reached for Matteo’s arm, my fingers digging into the damp material of his dress shirt, feeling the hard muscles beneath. I had to swallow my fucking pride if I wanted to save Sid’s life. “Matteo, it’s not—”
My words were cut short by the sonic crack of a suppressed gunshot. I froze, eyes flying to the source of the noise. The other Made Man was pointing a Glock with a silencer at the spot where Sid’s head had been moments before. He was slumped forward, head hanging limply and blood dripping to the ground. Stan let go of Sid’s arms. The body toppled over and landed on the ground with a resounding thud. I stared and stared. Slowly my hand slid down Matteo’s arm.
“Did I give you the fucking order to kill him?” Matteo snarled.
“This was Outfit business. As long as she isn’t married to you, she falls under our jurisdiction and so did the asshole here.” Stan kicked Sid’s lifeless form. I flinched. Inside a beast was raging, wanting to claw Stan’s fucking eyes out, wanting to kill them all, but I was paralyzed.
Blood spread out around Sid’s head, soaking his dreadlocks. My stomach constricted. I’d seen that much blood only three times before. The first time when Luca cut off Raffaele’s finger, the second time: on Luca’s shirt after he’d dealt with the guy who’d drugged Aria, and the third time when the Russians had attacked us. It didn’t get easier as some people said, as even I had suspected. I had a feeling it never would.
Stan nodded toward me. “What about other witnesses? You don’t live here alone.”
I blinked, terror gripping me so hard I could barely breathe. I couldn’t let them kill my flat mates as well. The girls had been nothing but kind to me. They didn’t deserve that. My eyes found Matteo. His gaze searched my face before he turned to my father’s men. “We’re done here.”
Stan looked like he wanted to protest but the other guy nudged his shoulder. With a glare at me, Stan opened the door and checked the corridor. “Clear. Let’s go.”
I turned to Sid’s body again. Matteo wrapped an arm around my waist. I didn’t look his way. I couldn’t avert my eyes from Sid as if my attention was the only thing that anchored him to life. He was long gone. Pieces of his brain dotted the red sea on the ground.
Matteo steered me toward the door, then down the corridor. Stan was in front of us, while the other man made up the rear. Surrounded. I was surrounded. I should have tried to run away. The odds had always been against me. It had never stopped me before. Maybe this was my last chance to escape. Once back in the States, I’d be trapped. Giving up wasn’t in my nature. I’d always fought my own battles, but so far only I had to pay the price for my courage. Tonight, an innocent, someone who’d never been sullied by the darkness of my world had paid with his life for my dreams, for my wish for freedom, for my selfishness. I’d thought I could evade fate, could outrun a world of blood, but had inadvertently dragged innocents into that world.
Could I live with that?
I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it was in our nature to bring misery and death to everyone around us. Maybe that was why it was best for us to stay among ourselves. Hadn’t Aria said something along those lines a long time ago?
Aria. I’d finally see her again. That was the good news I was clinging to right now. She’d get me through this. She always did.
Matteo’s grip on my wrist was painful. His eyes held a clear message, now that he’d caught me, he would never let me get away again.
***
Everything seemed to happen behind a fog. I was pushed into the back of a car and Matteo slipped into the backseat beside me, then we drove off with squealing tires. I watched the place I’d called home for the last two months disappear. I pressed my forehead against the cold window. I hardly dared to blink. Every time I closed my eyes, crimson flashed behind my eyelids. Sid was dead because of me.
I could hear Matteo talking to someone on the phone in the background but I couldn’t focus. Everything was over. He’d take me back to my father now, and I had no doubt that I couldn’t expect any kind of mercy. I had betrayed not only the Outfit but also New York, had made my father a
nd Matteo lose face. I would be punished. I glanced at Matteo who was glaring at the back of the front seat. I quickly fastened my bra again and put it back in place. Of course Matteo noticed.
I could tell he was furious. I wondered what kind of punishment he had in mind for me. I’d been on the run for six months. He couldn’t possibly want me for any other reason than revenge. I knew the rules. I wasn’t worthy of marriage anymore. Matteo probably already had a new fiancée and once he’d dealt with me, he’d move on with his life. If he’d wanted to kill me, he would have done so already. That didn’t mean Father wouldn’t do it the moment I set foot on Chicago ground.
We pulled up in front of an airport hotel, and Matteo turned to me, eyes holding a clear warning. “We’ll spend the next few hours until our flight here. If you try to ask anyone for help, this will end in a bloodbath, understood?”
I nodded. Then Matteo pulled me out of the car with him and led me inside. Nobody paid us any attention as we headed toward the elevators and rode up into the fourth floor.
Matteo led me through the long hallway until we arrived in front of a simple white door.
Stan and the other Outfit man stopped too. “She should come into our room with Carmine and me. She’s still part of the Outfit,” Stan said, his eyes sliding over my body. I knew what he and the other guy would do to me if I came into a room with them.
“She’s mine. I won’t let her out of my eyes again. Now fuck off. Gianna and I have matters to discuss,” Matteo growled. He slid the keycard into the slot and opened the door.
Stan and Carmine exchanged a look but didn’t protest. Then Stan sent me a cruel smile. “Teach her some manners.”
Matteo dragged me into the room, kicked the door shut and fixed me with a terrifying expression. “Oh, I will.”
CHAPTER NINE
Gianna
Matteo flung me onto the bed. Then he was on top of me. He pressed my arms into the mattress above my head, his knees beside my thighs. His eyes were almost black with fury. Did he want me to beg for mercy? Ask him for forgiveness? Then he had a long wait coming.
“You let someone have what’s mine,” he growled, eyes scorching my body with their possessiveness. He leaned down as if he was going to kiss me. Our noses almost brushed but he only scowled. “Your father gave me his permission to do with you as I please. He doesn’t care if you live or die. He doesn’t care what I do to you. I think he’d even approve of me punishing you harshly.”
I wasn’t surprised. Father had already barely tolerated me before I’d brought shame to our family by running away. Now he probably hated me like the devil. I almost wanted Matteo to hurt me. I deserved it for getting Sid killed. I knew Matteo would have no trouble hurting me. I’d seen what he was capable of. Maybe physical pain would finally drown out the anguish I felt deep inside.
Matteo
Gianna didn’t say a fucking thing as if she couldn’t care less what I did to her.
I tightened my hold on her wrists to see if she would finally show some of that fire I was used from her, but despite a small wince she didn’t react.
I hated what she’d done to her hair. It was light brown, no longer the fiery red I loved. At least, she hadn’t cut it off.
My eyes were drawn to the sliver of naked stomach that peeked out where her shirt had ridden up. The thought that someone else had touched her there, had touched her everywhere made me want to tear everything down.
She was supposed to be mine. Mine alone.
For a moment, the fury was so blinding I wanted to hurt her, wanted to show her that she belonged to me, wanted to fuck her so hard that she forgot everything else. I gripped her waist, my fingers brushing over her soft skin. Mine. Only mine from now on. Her father had told me I could use her as I saw fit before I took her back to him. Nobody would blink an eye if I took from her what had been mine for the taking in the first place. She tensed under my touch but still didn’t say anything. Her eyes were resigned. No hint of her usual temper.
She didn’t fight me, didn’t do anything. She reminded me of a ragdoll. She probably waited for me to do what everyone expected me to do, to fuck her even if she was unwilling, to hurt her until she begged me for forgiveness. And I could have done it but I didn’t want to. Despite what she’d done and how bad she’d made me look, I still wanted her, and not just her body.
“Being submissive isn’t like you,” I said quietly. Her pulse sped under my fingertips. It was the only sign that she wasn’t as indifferent as her expression made me want to believe. Maybe she didn’t care what happened to her because she was heartbroken over the bastard I’d found her with.
The idea sent a new spike of wrath through me and I quickly released her before I lost control. I slid off her and sat on the edge of the mattress, trying to ignore the look of surprise and shock crossing her face. I glared at the floor, clenching and unclenching my hands. If Carmine hadn’t killed the fucker, I would probably have done it. I still wanted to do it, wanted to slice the part of his brain out that harbored the memory of Gianna’s body under him.
Gianna sat up slowly, carefully as if she thought I might attack if she moved too fast. “Aren’t you going to rape and torture me?”
I almost laughed. That’s what everyone expected. Most men in our world even thought she deserved it. I turned to her, my gaze tracing her beautiful face. Even more beautiful than my memory had made me believe, even now when she was pale and her eyes were puffy from tears.
“Did you think I would?” I asked in a surprisingly calm voice. Some of my anger was suddenly gone that she was watching me with her wide blue eyes.
“Yes. My father’s men definitely thought you would. Didn’t you see their expressions? They probably hope that you’ll give them a go at me once you’re done with me.”
Of course, they’d told me so numerous times while we’d been on the hunt. I knew what they thought was happening right now. Fuck, part of me wished they were right. I wasn’t a good guy. “I don’t give a fuck about your father’s men, and I don’t give a fuck about your father. And if they lay a single finger on you, I’m going to kill them. They won’t hurt you, nobody will.”
Her brows crinkled. “Once I’m back in Chicago, Father will punish me.”
Did she really think I’d hand her over to her asshole of a father? I hadn’t hunted her for sixth months only to give her up. I smirked. “You aren’t going back to Chicago, Gianna. You are coming to New York with me.”
Hope and relief crossed her face. “To Aria? Is she alright? Did she get in trouble because she helped me?”
Somehow her response annoyed me. “Aria is fine,” I said, before I stood and walked toward the window. I kept my back to her when I asked, “That guy, did you love him?”
I wasn’t sure what I’d do if she said ‘yes’. I couldn’t hurt that fucker anymore, and I didn’t want to hurt her, so what could I do? Kill someone else, preferably the two assholes from the Outfit who’d been grating on my nerves for too long, and maybe while I was at it, I’d kill her fucking father the next time I saw him.
“Sid?” she asked in a shaky voice, and I almost lost it right then. I scowled at her over my shoulder. Her eyes were actually moist with fucking tears.
“I don’t care what his name was,” I growled.
Fuck, I wanted to kill that guy so badly. I’d have paid a billion dollars if there were a way to resurrect the asshole, only so I could kill him again. Slowly, painfully.
“His name was Sid,” she said stubbornly, a familiar glint returning to her eyes.
She still hadn’t answered my question. “Did you love him?”
“No,” she said without hesitation. “I barely knew him.” I would have rejoiced if she hadn’t started biting her lower lip like she was fighting tears. She looked fucking sad and then a tear slid out of her left eye. She blinked a few times.
“If you didn’t love him, then why are you crying?”
She glared. Glared, as if she was the one with reason to be
angry. “You really don’t know?”
“I’m a Made Man, Gianna. I’ve seen many people die, have killed many myself.” And right now I wanted to kill again more than anything else in the world.
“Sid didn’t deserve to die. He died because of me. He never did anything wrong.”
What the fuck? Really? “He touched the wrong girl. He died for touching what wasn’t his to touch.”
Gianna shook her head. “You wanted to kill him yourself, didn’t you? That’s why you stopped Stan? Not because you wanted to spare Sid’s life.”
Did that really come as a surprise to her? For someone who was convinced I and every other member of the mob were monsters, she seemed oddly surprised by my desire to kill the asshole who’d pawed at my fiancée.
Before I could reply, my phone rang. Luca’s name flashed on my screen. I had only sent him a short text while I was in the car. He’d tried calling me but except for a quick talk to the pilot of our private jet, I hadn’t been in the mood to speak to anyone, but knowing Luca he wouldn’t give up. Stifling a groan, I picked up, turning away from Gianna again.
“A text with ‘I got her’, that’s all I get from you?” he said angrily.
“I was busy.”
I could hear Aria’s high voice in the background, but thankfully Luca didn’t put her on. I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to a hysterical woman, least of all the woman who’d helped my fiancée escape in the first place. It was early morning in New York, couldn’t Luca have let his wife sleep in for once?
“With what?” He paused. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to fucking know.”
“Did he hurt her?” Aria asked loud enough for me to hear.
I didn’t say anything.
Luca lowered his voice. “Is she alive?”
“Fuck you.”
“I take that as a yes.”
Aria was still speaking in the background.
“Tell your wife that her sister is fine.”
“Gianna is fine,” Luca said in a muffled voice, then to me. “When will you be back?”