by Anthology
Enrico Candetti was a gangster, mob boss, crime lord. Whatever you wanted to call him, he was all of them. My family had been one of the most notorious crime families for years, stemming from my grandfather and great-grandfather. Although I couldn’t remember much about my grandfather, Bruno, I knew he had been killed by a local drug lord in Rome. In return, my father retaliated by having every member of the drug lord’s family—man, woman, and child—murdered. My father was a ruthless bastard, but he was my padre and I loved him. He treated me well, even though he allowed me to indulge in criminal activity. What parent is proud of their child for theft and fighting? When I fought at school, he rewarded me with a clap on the back. I stole a car, and he bought me a brand new one. I got caught smoking, so he gave me a packet of cigarettes.
When I made my first hit, he had never been prouder of me. For years, my father searched for Salvatore, the man responsible for my grandfather’s murder. When he was located, my father authorised his hit, still not having any substantial proof Salvatore actually murdered my grandfather. He didn’t care. He wanted him dead and I was the one being primed to do it. My father had gotten weaker every day from his cancer. It debilitated his body as he primed me to take over the Candetti family syndicate. As his sole heir, he saw it as a way for me to embrace my destiny.
And today he wanted me to meet my future wife. Damn, I was no good at holding down any woman, let alone a wife. I had no idea what made him think I could be monogamous with this one, even if it were the daughter of his old friend.
“Hey, Fabrizio, wait up. What’s the rush?” Luigi, my friend and one of my father’s hit men, caught me by the arm, as I was about to step outside into the gardens to spend some time with my father. His disease was aggressive and things started to crash in on me. I wished I had more time, or better yet, a choice.
“Today is the day I meet my wife.” I could tell Luigi anything. I trusted him with my life.
“I hear Gio Firone’s daughter is quite intelligent and incredibly beautiful,” Luigi said, his eyes wide with mirth.
“And where the hell have you seen Gio’s daughter?” I asked him.
“Around. She’s been at a few clubs we’ve been to together, but you were always too busy fighting the enemy or hooking up with some putana to notice her.” Luigi laughed.
“I’m not laughing. You of all people know I don’t do relationships.” I let out a frustrated breath. Arguing with my father on this was useless. My father had great respect for Gio and this marriage was set in concrete. No way out. No escape.
“Fabrizio!” my father called out to me from outside. “Sbrigati e veni fuori.”
I stepped outside and my father opened his arms wide, signalling for me to hug him.
“Don’t look so worried. You will thank me in years to come. Allegra is a vision. You will not regret this marriage. With both your good looks, I can only just imagine what your children will look like.”
“I don’t know,” I told him, leaning back on the lounger. “I’ve never been good with children. Let me get used to the idea of marriage first before we discuss children.”
“Wait until you meet Allegra. You’ll be eating your words and all your bachelor days will be behind you.”
As I was about to answer him, there was a tap at the café doors. Luigi gave me a smirk when our housemaid announced, “Don Enrico, the guests have arrived.”
I cleared my throat and returned Luigi’s smile as my father signalled for the housemaid to let them in. I’d never met Gio’s daughter, my future wife, yet I felt this rush inside of me, knowing that I would meet her now.
She entered the garden trailing behind her father. Her dark blonde hair was long and wavy, her blue eyes enhanced by the longest and thickest lashes I’d ever seen. I vaguely remember seeing her at one of the clubs Luigi spoke about, but seeing her in the flesh I was immediately attracted to her. This woman was beautiful, and from her body language, I could tell she was feisty. That was even more enticing. She looked nervous, too nervous to look up and notice me standing there.
Our fathers hugged and clapped each other on the backs like old friends do. We still hadn’t been introduced and she still hadn’t given me eye contact. Perhaps she thought I was one of my father’s men instead of his son.
“Are you going to introduce me, Papa?” she questioned her father, with a touch of sarcasm.
“She makes a good point, Gio,” I added, standing from my chair. “I believe an introduction is in order under the circumstances.”
She turned her head toward me when I spoke. I felt a particular freeze in the room. Her face stilled when she gazed upon me. Her fear bothered me. I didn’t want her to be scared of me. Matter of fact, for the first time in my life, I wanted someone to like me and see me as something other than a criminal.
“Of course. Fabrizio…” Gio shook and kissed my hand as a sign of respect to the family. “This is my daughter, Allegra Firone.” I held out my hand and she reluctantly shook it. The feeling of her hand in mine sent a spark through me.
“I’m Fabrizio Candetti.”
“I know who you are,” she stated, stiffly, trying to make it sound like I didn’t hold any interest to her, given who I was.
Still holding her gaze, I flashed her my most charming grin, hoping to get a rise out of her. It worked because she looked taken aback. Letting go of my hand she turned to her father and remained silent. I noticed her wrenching her hands together, a sign of nervousness.
“Fabrizio, why don’t the two of you get to know one another while I stay and keep your father company for a while?” Gio suggested, raising his eyebrows at me.
“A wonderful idea, Gio.” My father approved, with an enormous smile on his face.
I nodded, then without thinking, suggested another option. “We can go out. Perhaps for an early dinner. It’s late afternoon and I missed lunch due to some business that needed attending to.”
“I bet,” she mumbled under her breath.
She was going to be a handful, but one that I would welcome.
I stared at her. “Are you scared, Allegra? I promise I won’t bite. Yet,” I whispered the last word so only she could hear me and I heard her sudden intake of breath.
She eyed me warily. “Fine. Let’s go.”
“Brava. Luigi, can you go tell the housemaid to organise Allegra’s things upstairs?”
“Of course. No trouble at all.” Luigi smiled from ear to ear, knowing full well I was attracted to Allegra. I had no idea what plans my father had for the wedding, but I wanted her and I wanted her soon.
Allegra
Insane. I was truly and utterly insane. There was no other possible explanation. I knew nothing about this man, apart from his father being the Don of the Calabrian mafia. I knew he was a playboy…but he could also be a psycho…or anything in-between. The business he spoke of before probably entailed torturing someone in the basement. But there was only one way to find out.
I didn’t talk much during the short drive to the café. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t ready to see him. Once we were seated, I fidgeted with the menu. Nerves attacked my body, making me hot, considering the coolness of the air conditioner.
“Nervous?” Fabrizio asked me with a grin.
“I guess.”
“So, I’m assuming you know enough about me to have agreed to this arrangement so readily?”
“I know a suitable amount.”
“A suitable amount?”
I gave him a crooked smile and nodded. “Mmm…I know enough.”
He laughed softly. “Ardente. I like my woman fiery. If you know a suitable amount, then perhaps we needn’t have a date. Perhaps we should seal the deal instead?”
His proposition shocked me. I wasn’t ready for that. I felt his attraction, but I wasn’t ready for him to flash me a sexy grin and weaken every ounce of strength I had left.
Fabrizio
Allegra remained quiet the entire meal, only speaking when she had to. I wasn’t sure
if it was a ploy or if she was just shy, but she answered all my questions and we exchanged information about one another.
“You’re exquisite, Allegra.” The compliment seemed to catch her off-guard.
“I second that.” A man’s voice, deep and smooth, with a hint of an Italian accent spoke from behind me. I turned and saw some guy in a dark suit hovering over me. From the moment I set eyes on him, I detested him. “She looks too young for a man like you.”
“That’s none of your business,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “And you would be?”
“Joey Ventrice…I’m a general surgeon.” He offered his hand for me to shake. Being the arsehole I am, I refused. He grinned and returned his hand to his side.
“You look too young to be a doctor,” I said, standing and signalling for Allegra to rise.
“And you look too young to be a cold-blooded murderer.”
Losing my temper, I whipped my head around to face him. “What the fuck did you say?” I stepped in front of him, but Allegra pulled me by the arm, pleading with her eyes. No woman had ever interfered before. No woman had ever been able to calm me before. Yet, this woman, whom I’d known only for a few short hours, could. Forcing a smile, I looked at Ventrice. “Have a good evening.”
“I wish you the same. Until we meet again. I will be looking forward to it.”
Allegra
“Who was that guy?” I asked once we’d returned to the villa.
“No idea. Probably some enemy of my father who wants to piss me off.”
“Well, it seemed to have worked.”
The look he gave me was intense. Something I’d never felt before and it frightened me. Ventrice called Fabrizio a murderer. Even though it had never been proven, I knew it was the truth. He’d taken a human life, possibly more than one. As the daughter of a gangster, I knew this, but it didn’t stop me from wanting him.
“It’s all part of the mafia lifestyle. I understand.”
“You do?” He smiled at me and it stole my breath away. “At least I have one fan. I’ll get the housemaid to show you to your room. We can have a proper date tomorrow night. I don’t want to rush you.”
“Sounds great.” I expected him to want to have sex with me. I should be thankful he wasn’t some type of monster, trying to get me to bed the first night. I was relieved but sorely disappointed at the same time.
Fabrizio
That night, leaving Allegra was hard. I could tell by the look of shock on her face she expected me to take her upstairs and consummate our relationship. Instead, I sent her to her room while I had a raging hard-on. I wanted nothing more than to fuck her. But it was best I kept my distance from her for at least the first night. God only knows how long I would last. I briefly spoke with my father and due to his deteriorating health, he wanted the wedding to take place by the end of the month.
“Where’s your bride?” Luigi asked, stepping into the corridor as I left my father’s room. His raised his eyebrows at me. “I never thought you’d let her out of your sight. I almost had to pick your mouth up from the floor earlier.”
“Very amusing, bastardo,” I said, punching him on the shoulder. “Get in the car, so we can attend to that unfinished business for my father.
Stepping into the deserted warehouse, Rocco held a severely beaten man in front of me. The victim, Harry, had been one of my father’s best men, until he betrayed us. As sick as my father was, he could always smell a rat. A putrid smell led us straight to Harry, who had been informing the police about our famiglia’s activities.
“Fabrizio,” Harry begged through his bloody split lip, as he fell to his knees in agony. He had repeatedly been beaten, blood covered his checkered shirt, and both his eyes were swollen shut. “Per favore, spare me.”
Rocco, wearing gloves, dragged him outside to the grave he’d dug a couple of days ago. The famiglia made sure we dug graves so deep even a dog couldn’t sniff the body. Although we were out in the middle of nowhere, we always took precautions. We wore gloves, dug a deep grave, used a silencer, never left any incriminating evidence behind, and never hesitated to kill.
Which is exactly what I did. One shot and it was all over. Harry was dead the instant I fired the bullet between his eyes. His weightless body slumped to the ground. Rocco and Luigi stripped to their underwear, careful not to get blood on their clothes, dragged the lifeless body to the grave, and began filling it with copious amounts of dirt.
Afterward, Luigi and I drove back to the villa and I reported to my father, who was still up and on his ventilator. Beside him sat my Uncle Frankie, who stood and shook my hand vigorously.
“Enrico tells me you are marrying Gio Firone’s daughter,” my uncle said, with a broad smile. “That is fantastic news. She’s just what you need, someone who has grown up amongst the famiglia, and not to mention stunningly beautiful. You take care of her, Fabrizio, you hear me?”
“I hear you.”
“Bravo,” my uncle said, bidding us all goodnight.
Turning to my father, I noticed he looked paler than normal. His body thin and frail in comparison to the man he once was. He didn’t have much longer, maybe only a few months, but instinct told me it would be far less.
“You take care of business, figlio?” he asked, grasping my hand in his.
“All taken care of, padre, no need to worry,” I assured him.
“Sono molto contento. You are attracted to Allegra, si?” he asked, beginning to cough and gag. I offered him the glass of water from his nightstand and he resumed his smile once he’d taken a few quick sips. “You will make me proud, Fabrizio, you will be a great Don.”
“Grazie, padre. I’m genuinely attracted to Allegra, even though I’ve only just met her.” I smiled and wondered what she was doing all alone upstairs in her room.
“It was the same for me when I first saw your mother.” He laughed. “I was besotted with her and all she did was offer me a smile. I was ruined for any other woman within minutes. I miss her, but we will be united soon.”
“There’s a positive thing, even though I still think you’ll be around a while longer,” I lied. “You’re not going anywhere until I marry Allegra.”
Allegra
Tossing and turning all night from a lack of sleep had given me dark circles under my eyes. Getting ready for dinner, I made sure to take extreme care with my appearance, disguising any blemishes with concealer and wearing a short white dress, which hugged my body and accentuated my curves. I barely listened to anything he had to say the whole drive there. I was so nervous.
We arrived at the restaurant and he led me by the arm to the table, tucking my hand under his arm. I immediately pulled away, my fingers tingling. I had intended to push him back, but it felt like I’d touched a solid brick wall. He grinned, tilting his head as he looked at me as if trying to figure me out.
“Allegra, is anything wrong? You don’t like my touch?”
I swallowed nervously. “No. It’s not that at all. I’m just a little nervous. This is all so new.”
“There’s no need to be.” Instead of backing away, he moved closer to me in the booth, pinning me between the booth and his body. “Soon we will become one. I will take good care of you.”
I started to say I understood the arrangement, but he pressed his lips firmly to mine. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed, but I might as well have been trying to push a house. His tongue grazed my lips insistently until they parted for him and then his tongue teased mine. Caught off-guard, I moaned into his mouth as a sudden heat bloomed in my core. He pulled back, giving my bottom lip a quick nip with his teeth.
“You have a beautiful mouth,” he said. “I couldn’t resist any longer.” He moved away and signalled for the waiter.
I licked my lips, still tingling from the kiss, hating him because he’d stopped kissing me. My eyes roamed up and down his body. He was dressed all in the one colour. Pants, shirt, and jacket—all jet-black. The fine cut of the suit accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow
waist. The man looked like he had just walked off a magazine cover. He was gorgeous.
Sipping my wine, I stared at him over the rim of the glass, not knowing how to strike up a conversation.
“So Allegra, tell me about yourself. Are you studying, working? What do you do in your spare time?” he asked, leaning back and surveying the way my dress rode up over my thighs when I crossed my legs.
“I’m still studying. I’m in my third year of Accounting,” I replied, gaining some confidence. “I enjoy yoga. Extensive workouts are not for me. I love to shop, like any other woman. What about you? What do you do apart from working for your father?”
“That’s about it. There’s nothing much to tell. You know my involvement in the famiglia is highly confidential,” he said, running his finger over his full bottom lip. I found myself wishing he would stop.
“I know.”
“I don’t have much time to socialise. The family business takes up a lot of my time. With my father so ill, I need to focus on taking over the business.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that. Does it not make you pleased to be the new Don?”
“I’m not so sure of happy, but it’s inevitable. I was born to be the Don.”
“Perhaps, once we are married, you will be happier.”
He raised a sardonic brow and quietly said, “Maybe.”
The rest of the evening seemed to go quite smoothly. We laughed while we ate and drank and I enjoyed being with him. I loosened up and ended up doing most of the talking.
“Do you feel comfortable coming home with me, to my private apartment this evening?”
As much as I wanted to say no, I found myself agreeing. I’m such a hypocrite. Fabrizio’s apartment wasn’t far, only a ten-minute drive. The apartment was a circular shape and quite modern. He took my hand and guided me through the hallway to a door, which led into the dining room. From there, he walked me through the kitchen, a spacious living room with a huge flat screen, a guest room, a guest bathroom in the hall, and a library that led back into the main foyer. He looked at me and gestured upstairs.