by Bethany-Kris
“I thought the Outfit was the family. That’s what you always said.”
“It is,” Riley replied.
“Family forgives, Dad.”
“Not this one, Adriano.”
“Mom’s body isn’t even cold yet,” Adriano said.
“Your point?”
“You’re already looking for the next hole to fill, Dad.”
Riley scowled. “Adriano—”
“I can’t help but wonder if you’re just using her death as an excuse to get something else that you want. And if that’s the case, you’re just an asshole.”
“Watch yourself, son. You’re treading a very thin line.” Riley stood from the bench and dropped his full cup of gelato into the trash can. “I think we’ve talked enough.”
“I think we haven’t said nearly enough,” Adriano replied, unfazed at his father’s anger. “The least you could do is tell me the truth. Is this about Mom’s death or is it about what you can gain from it, Dad?”
“It’s about the family—la famiglia.”
Adriano wasn’t sure his father knew what that was anymore.
“Your mother would understand,” Riley added.
“I doubt it.”
Adriano rushed through the office door leading into his father’s private space without even knocking. He knew better, but he just didn’t give a damn. The phone in his hand buzzed with yet another text, someone else confirming what he already knew.
Riley glanced up at his son’s entrance, but continued on with the conversation he was having on the phone. “Yes, well, sad thing … I’m aware. Let him believe that, I don’t care.”
“Dad,” Adriano growled.
“I absolutely did not!” Riley blew out a heavy breath, rubbing at his temples. “As I said, let him believe that. When I make my move on behalf of my wife, Terrance will damn well know it. Trust that.”
Riley slammed the phone down without another word.
Adriano clenched his hand around the cell phone he held, a pressure growing in his chest. “Tell me you didn’t do that.”
“Ah, you know about the shooting,” Riley murmured.
Another shooting.
More people were killed.
This time, the attack had happened at the Trentini mansion. From the information Adriano had been able to gather, a drive-by shooting after one of Terrance’s usual dinners had taken the life of one Rossi and nearly killed the Outfit’s underboss, Ben DeLuca. The man would be lucky to make it through the night with his life, actually.
Adriano hadn’t expected to get that frantic, frightened call from Alessa Trentini. He’d missed her call because he’d been collecting payments from guys on the streets for his father. But the voicemail from Alessa … it’d scared him. He tried calling her back, but Alessa wasn’t answering his attempts.
“Things had calmed down,” Adriano said, his hands shaking in his rage.
“Not entirely.” Riley shrugged like it didn’t make a difference. “And regardless of what I say, you have clearly settled yourself on the idea that this shooting was ordered by me.”
“Wasn’t it?”
Adriano wouldn’t be surprised.
“No,” Riley replied. “I don’t know who did it. It wasn’t me or my men.”
“I want to believe you.”
“But you don’t.”
“No,” Adriano said.
Adriano didn’t take his eyes off his father for a second. Without knowing it, Riley had hurt Adriano in the worst way. Not with the act itself, but because of who had been the one to call and tell Adriano it happened.
Alessa.
She was there.
There might as well have been a giant, invisible wall building higher and higher between Adriano and his father. Riley was doing it all. Adriano’s growing resentment was nothing more than a by-product.
“You’re taking this too far,” Adriano told his father.
Riley frowned. “I didn’t do the shooting.”
“You don’t have to pull the trigger, remember? That’s what you said about Mom.”
“I didn’t order it, either,” Riley said shortly.
Adriano scoffed. “I still don’t believe you.”
“How dare you?” Riley shouted.
Adriano stepped into the living room of his family home just in enough time to see his father grab his sister by the arm. Riley shook Evelina fiercely.
“Stop,” Evelina whimpered. “I’m sorry!”
Pain and fear washed over her features as tears streaked down her cheeks. Adriano’s anger bubbled up to the surface fast and harsh. Never had he witnessed his father use any kind of violence against Evelina.
Evelina wasn’t perfect, as far as that went. She liked to push against the rules their father set out for her, but Adriano didn’t blame her.
“Hey, back off,” Adriano warned, stepping closer to his father and sister.
He hoped his presence was enough to force his father to let go of Evelina without Adriano actually needing to step in. Adriano had a good four inches of height and fifty pounds of muscle on Riley. When that didn’t work, Adriano jumped in between his father and sister. He shoved his sister back before giving his father one hard push. Riley smacked the wall with a thud but bounced right back like he was going to come at Evelina again.
Evelina, like the smart girl she was, stayed behind Adriano’s large form.
“Back off, Dad.”
“I’m sorry,” Evelina repeated in a whisper.
Riley glared at his son, waving at Evelina. “Do you know what she did? Do you know?”
“I just got here to have dinner like you wanted, Dad,” Adriano said through clenched teeth. “I’ve been running around for you all fucking day. No, I don’t know what she did.”
But with the way Riley had been going on lately, like he was five seconds away from losing his shit, Evelina could have breathed wrong and she’d be in crap.
“She went there,” Riley barked.
“I just wanted to see—”
“You shut up, you little bitch.”
Adriano took a step toward his father, zoning in on the man like he was prey. “That’s enough, Dad.”
Riley scoffed. “Oh, Adriano. You have not yet reached an age where you scare me, son.”
“Do you want to test that theory out?” Adriano asked.
Adriano didn’t move a muscle. Neither did Riley.
“I’m sorry,” Evelina repeated softly.
“What happened?” Adriano asked.
“She went to that fucking wedding,” Riley muttered, his voice full of hate and disgust. “After I told her not to, she still went. She, like you, clearly doesn’t understand what loyalty means.”
“I do!” Evelina cried. “But Lily is—”
“Nothing to us,” Riley interjected cruelly. “A Rossi now—nothing.”
Adriano felt for his sister. Evelina and Lily DeLuca—although she’d married a Rossi today—had been friends ever since they were just kids. Evelina was supposed to be in the wedding but the war between the families forced her to drop out of the party. Or rather, Riley demanded it of her.
“And who took you?” Riley asked.
Eve glanced away. “I went myself.”
“You’re lying.”
“I am not!”
“You are,” Riley ground out. “I will find out who took you, Eve.”
“What does it matter?” Adriano asked. “She went and she’s home. Nothing happened.”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Adriano,” Riley spat.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t act stupid. You couldn’t even follow through with the one thing I asked of you to do, son.”
Adriano sighed, more frustrated than ever. Two weeks earlier, after the mess of the Trentini shooting had calmed down, Riley went after the Rossi crew. Despite acting like Laurent’s attack on a Conti business hadn’t mattered to him, Riley still went after the men of the Rossi crew. Adriano wa
s starting to get whiplash with the games his father was playing.
“You retaliated like you wanted to. I didn’t have to be a part of it. Have you got what you wanted yet, Dad?”
Riley smirked. “Not even close.”
“Keep spilling blood and you’ll eventually drown in it,” Adriano bit out.
“Then I’ll die a happy man,” Riley said unaffected. His attention turned back on Evelina in a blink. It spoke volumes about how Riley felt toward his only son in that moment—an afterthought and entirely unimportant. “If you can’t follow my rules, Evelina, I will not give you another chance to break them. Your dorm is gone. I will have two enforcers follow you to your dorm tomorrow. I want it emptied and your keys handed over. Welcome home, sweetheart.”
Eve nodded. “Okay.”
With another dismissive wave of his hand, Riley left his children. Adriano turned on his sister, wondering why she had defied their father when Riley was in the state he was.
“Why would you do that, Eve?”
Eve sniffed, wiping at her tears. “I wanted to wish her luck before she walked down the aisle. That was all.”
Shit.
Adriano hated it when his sister cried. “Why didn’t you tell Dad who took you?”
“That would have just set him off even more,” Evelina said.
“Because it was someone from another family.”
“Yeah.”
“Who?” Adriano asked.
“Theo,” Evelina whispered.
“DeLuca?”
“Yes.”
Fucking hell.
CHAPTER TWO
Someone was always watching Alessa Trentini. Even the walls had eyes.
“Alessa, that had better not be something with alcohol in it,” Terrance said, sneaking the glass from his granddaughter’s hand before she could protest. He sniffed it, and then handed it back. “Smells clean.”
“Because it is.”
Terrance believed his granddaughters didn’t lie to him. That was one of his biggest mistakes. Being raised in a family that was front row and center in the Outfit meant Abriella and Alessa needed to be above reproach. It didn’t matter that their father wasn’t a made man in the family, because their grandfather was the boss and he made all the goddamn calls.
“I never know with you two,” Terrance said, smiling slyly at Abriella who stood beside Alessa. “I don’t mind you girls drinking occasionally but tonight is not that night. Stay sober and smile for the guests. It is the least Damian and Lily deserve after the last couple of weeks. We don’t need any issues at this wedding. They would surely like a quiet, happy night to start their lives off with.”
Alessa couldn’t help but agree with her grandfather.
The Outfit had been in the midst of a feud for a couple of months that only seemed to grow with every passing day. It started with a shooting at a restaurant and spiraled wildly out of control. Mia Conti died at the restaurant shooting. Her husband Riley blamed Terrance for reasons that were tied up with another family that wasn’t even involved with the Outfit. The four major families involved with the Outfit had either taken sides with Riley or Terrance while the ones who hadn’t were left struggling to keep the peace. Another shooting happened right in her grandfather’s driveway during a party.
Alessa shuddered but hid it well enough. She had been present for both shootings and lucky enough not to be hurt. Watching Mia Conti die while Adriano tried to save his mother’s life was something Alessa couldn’t forget. And then again in the driveway of her grandfather’s home, a place that was supposed to be safe, she watched two more people struggle for life because of someone’s choices.
Someone no one knew.
They all had their suspicions. Riley blamed Terrance for Mia. Terrance blamed Riley for the retaliation. The DeLuca’s were staying quiet but with the marriage between the Rossi family and theirs, that wasn’t a surprise. The Rossi family had retaliated on the Conti family, but refused to admit their involvement even with video proof.
Alessa knew more than she was supposed to about the feud. Blissful ignorance wasn’t safe. Being involved with the Chicago mob was a dangerous thing. Now, it was more dangerous than ever.
“We’re being good,” Alessa told her grandfather.
Terrance laughed. “Good is a relative term that rarely applies to you Trentini girls. Just keep your noses clean, capisce?”
“Yeah, we got it,” Abriella said.
“I’m going to find your brother and parents before calling it a night. I’ll see you both at my home before morning, yes? We’re having breakfast tomorrow, you both promised.”
Alessa had to force herself not to roll her eyes. “Of course.”
The two Trentini sisters wouldn’t want to anger their grandfather, after all. The best way to get what they wanted from Terrance was to bat their eyelashes, follow along with whatever schemes he had, and dazzle the crowd just the way he liked.
Alessa and Abriella had played these games for longer than they knew how to count.
“Joel will drag us home at an appropriate time,” Abriella assured their grandfather.
“Good.” Terrance waved a finger in the air, smiling. “Remember, there are a lot of eyes in here on you two tonight. Do not shame me, girls.”
When Terrance was gone, Alessa shot Abriella a look. “Is he serious?”
“As a heart attack,” her sister muttered. “I need a fucking drink.”
Turning, Alessa scanned the crowd of guests at the DeLuca-Rossi wedding. Abriella had been the bride’s maid of honor. Alessa spotted the bride dancing with one of her older brothers. Lily Rossi looked happy as Theo DeLuca spun her around and around. The groom was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Damian?” Alessa asked.
Abriella shrugged. “Maybe he’s off with Tommas somewhere.”
Alessa eyed her unusually quiet sister. Abriella seemed withdrawn, which was odd. She liked a good party and tonight was a prime opportunity to let loose a little, even with the watchers.
“What is up?” Alessa asked.
“I’m twenty-one,” Abriella murmured.
“So?”
Alessa was twenty. What difference did their age make to the conversation at hand?
Abriella nodded out toward Lily. “She’s happy, you know.”
“Seems like it.” Alessa was happy the arranged marriage worked out to Lily’s favor. A lot didn’t where a woman was concerned. Men of the families made all the calls and the women were just expected to follow along with no questions asked. “Damian is an okay guy.”
“He is,” Abriella agreed sadly.
“Seriously, what is up with you?”
Abriella shrugged. “I’m twenty-one, Alessa. How much longer before that’s me?”
Oh.
Alessa frowned. She didn’t want to dwell on it or have her sister worrying about it, either. “With all the crap going on in the Outfit, that’s probably the last thing on Terrance’s mind.”
Abriella scoffed. “Where in the hell have you been living for the last twenty years, Lissa?”
“With you.”
“Exactly. You know better. Feuds are the perfect time for arranged marriages, and we’re both aware of what that shit means.”
Abriella was right. More often than not, scores and wars were settled by spilled blood and joining families. Marriages wiped slates clean and made apologies that a man wouldn’t say otherwise. Alessa and Abriella were fresh meat for the market.
Goddammit.
Alessa sighed. “Sorry, you’re right. I just wanted to get your mind off it. We’re supposed to be having fun tonight.”
Abriella said nothing as she gazed across the dance floor. Alessa followed her sister’s stare to find Tommas Rossi leaning against a far wall in the shadows. The family Capo didn’t seem to have much interest in the crowd, but instead, he was watching Abriella, too.
Alessa wasn’t surprised.
“I guess Damian isn’t with his cousin,” Alessa said.
“Apparently not.”
Alessa knew what her sister was going to ask before the words could even leave Abriella mouth. “Go, Ella.”
Abriella chewed on her bottom lip, her gaze flitting over the people before darting back to Tommas. “Should I? Here?”
“If you don’t, he looks like he’s about to make his way over to you.”
The smallest smile tugged at the corners of Abriella’s mouth. Alessa’s older sister had a way about her. Ella was quiet and fierce. She had a stubbornness that could rival a mule and a crazy side that Alessa was a little jealous of.
Because the two sisters were only a year apart in age, they were close. Alessa knew her sister’s secrets, including the biggest one of them all. Tommas Rossi. The family Capo had been messing around with Abriella since she was eighteen. Alessa covered for her sister since they shared an apartment together and went to the same college.
Alessa didn’t mind.
“Be careful,” Alessa said.
Abriella nodded quickly. “I will.”
“Say hi for me and watch out for Joel,” Alessa warned.
“Will do.”
Abriella handed her empty drink off to a server as the man walked by. Without another word, she disappeared into the crowd, walking the opposite way from Tommas Rossi. Alessa watched with a smile growing as Tommas waited, watched the direction where Abriella went, and then made a beeline straight for the same spot.
The two played their game well.
Sighing, Alessa gaged the crowd again. While Damian and Lily Rossi weren’t exactly big time in the Chicago mob, the two had certainly given quite a show for the guests tonight. Lily’s brothers were both rival Capos and since her uncle had been the underboss in the Outfit before his death, merging in marriage to another family was a huge deal. Guests of the Outfit’s syndicates from all over the States had been invited to the wedding. Even a couple of the Guzzi family members from Canada had shown up to celebrate.
Alessa found her brother in the crowd, completely oblivious to the fact his sister had just disappeared with Tommas on her heels. Joel only gave a damn about Abriella and Alessa if they could do something for him. Otherwise, he was a lot like their grandfather in a way.