by Cora Reilly
Diego glared, then he sent me a hard look. I walked over to them and pushed Mick. “How about you lick your fucking wounds and get over your bruised pride. Stop being a fucking pussy about it. So what, you lost your fiancée, there are a million more fish in the water.”
A muscle in Diego’s throat twitched. Mick moved to the benchpress, bringing some distance between us, which was probably for the best.
Diego got into my face. “I want you to swear that you won’t touch her before the wedding.”
“Don’t you worry, Diego. Gemma will lose it after we’re married, but not because you feel like it’s your fucking right to determine when she’s supposed to lose it, and certainly not because a few fucking Traditionalists would look down on her if she wasn’t a virgin in her wedding night. She’s going to lose it in the bond of holy fucking marriage because that’s what she wants and that’s the only goddamn reason that matters to me.” I jabbed my finger into his chest. “And if she changes her mind and wants to lose it before, then I sure as hell won’t ask you for permission, because it’s only her fucking decision, got it?”
He looked like he considered smashing my head in with the kettlebell, but he’d just have to learn to deal.
A few weeks later, I was still so angry at Savio, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Back at school, I’d hardly paid attention in classes and was glad for recess.
It’s not that I’d never considered going to college. Toni was determined to attend, so of course it had crossed my mind to join her. I didn’t have a dream of becoming a doctor or a lawyer. My life had always revolved around family life, so I’d never really given a day job more than a fleeting thought, and if I did, it was helping out in our restaurants. What really got to me was that Savio acted as if he was doing me a favor. Did he really think I was that clueless?
I knew what this was really about, him trying to postpone our wedding as long as possible. He wanted to keep up his male slut life while I waited for him to be ready to wed.
Toni slanted me a look. “You’re going to break that fork in half.”
I loosened my hold and took a deep breath.
“He might as well announce your engagement. It’s probably already making the rounds anyway. Savio Falcone willing to marry a girl is too hot of news not to get out quickly.”
I scanned the surrounding tables. Most of them were occupied by kids from Camorra families, or families who were by some degree associated with the mafia. They might as well call it Camorra High.
I’d caught the occasional curious glance as well as conspiratorial whispering in the last few days. Maybe the news about Savio and me was already making the rounds like Toni said. It wouldn’t come as a shock. Several Camorrista had watched Savio’s fight against Mick. Even if Remo had asked them to keep the reason to themselves, some of them had probably let something slip to their wives, and most of them were scandalmongers. I caught Noemi’s eyes across the room and groaned inwardly. She’d taken it upon herself to annoy me. Only yesterday she’d made some stupid comment about riding Savio’s bull, which could only mean she’d heard something about me and him. She turned away and said something to her crony Will. For a while, I’d thought they were an item, but now I wasn’t sure anymore.
He got up and came toward our table.
“Oh no,” Toni murmured. “Don’t let him rile you up.”
“Don’t worry.” Will thought he was some kind of VIP student, only because his parents were filthy rich and owned half the Strip.
He stopped beside me and perched his ass on the edge of the table, running his hand through his reddish hair. My mouth curled in disgust. “It isn’t Halloween yet, but nice Raggedy Ann outfit.”
I ignored the jab at my dress. Diego had dragged his feet this morning, which meant I was too late to change into other clothes in school. Because I had been too immersed in my anger at Savio, I hadn’t done it before recess.
His grin became even more obnoxious and I braced myself for what would follow. “So are the rumors true that you’ll become the next Falcone whore?”
How the hell had he found out? Even if the wives had started talking, it shouldn’t have left our circles and Will, no matter how rich, wasn’t part of the mafia. His parents were, however, friends with Mick’s parents. Maybe my ex-almost-fiancé had let something slip, probably because of his bruised ego. Mick was a nice guy, but he was also a Made Man, and those didn’t deal well with rejection in any form.
I gritted my teeth, trying to stop myself from lashing out.
He sat on the edge of my table as if it was his throne and we his subjects. By now almost everyone had turned toward us, listening in. Across the room, I could see Noemi practically glowing with amusement. So that’s how it was going to be? She was going to sick her lapdog on me? The cow was too scared to face me.
“I hear the brothers share their women. But Remo Falcone always calls dibs first. Because he’s Capo, he’s going to fuck you first. Do you think Savio will watch when his brother will pop your cherry? Maybe they’ll both fuck you. Ever heard of a sandwich? One up your pussy, one up your ass.”
I jerked to my feet. My chair tumbled over and crashed to the ground. Before I could consider the consequences of my actions, I swung my arm back and smashed my fist straight into Will’s face. He fell backward from the table and curled up on the floor, holding his bleeding face. I was fairly sure I had broken his nose. He began sobbing, rocking back and forth.
Toni grabbed my arm as if she thought I’d attack him again. “Gemma, what have you done?”
My eyes followed her line of sight toward three teachers heading our way.
I took a step back when two teachers crouched beside Will. He was crying as if someone had cut his arm off. Diego hadn’t shed a single tear when he’d had bullet and knife wounds. Normal guys were such wusses.
“Gemma, in the principal’s office right this second,” Mrs. Montgomery said.
Noemi, who had finally dared to approach, now that enough teachers were around to protect her, gave me a triumphant smile.
Sending her a last glare, I headed out of the cafeteria. Toni was hot on my heels. “Will’s such an asshat. That right of the first night is an urban myth. The Falcones don’t do that.” She paused. “Right?”
I sent her a disbelieving look. But I wasn’t really in the mood to talk. My knuckles hurt like hell from the punch. Usually I only fought with bandaged hands or boxing gloves.
We arrived at the secretary’s desk. She motioned for me to take a seat on one of the chairs.
“Antonia, you have to wait outside,” she then said. Toni gave me an encouraging smile before she left.
The door to the principal’s office swung open and he motioned for me to come in. I strode inside and sank down, knowing what was coming. I’d probably be banned from school for a few days. “You know we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence, and what you displayed today was an intolerable act of brutality toward one of your fellow students. You realize that Will’s parents will ask me to remove you from this school.”
My eyes widened. “Forever?”
He gave a stern nod. “This is no small transgression.”
I blinked, stunned. Dad would be furious, and Mom would cry fat ugly tears as if I’d personally stabbed her in the heart. “But… things like this have happened before.” This was a school filled with kids from Made Men, or kids who were in the process of becoming Made Men. Violence did happen. Of course, I was a girl and my family wasn’t one of the leading families of the Camorra. Only mere soldiers. And Will’s parents owned several hotels and had an assload of money and influence. They sponsored many school events.
“I already called home. I left a message for your parents because I couldn’t reach them and also a voicemail on your brother’s phone.”
Oh great. Diego would be delighted. “Will insulted me.”
“What did he say?”
I frowned. My engagement wasn’t public yet, so I wasn’t sure ho
w much to say. “He called me names.” I couldn’t even say the word ‘whore’. It was the worst insult anyone could throw at a girl in my circles.
The principal frowned. “If you can’t be more concrete, I can’t help you, and even if Will insulted you, that’s no excuse to punch him. From what I hear, you broke his nose, Gemma. His parents might press charges against you.”
I sunk deeper into the chair. A Made Man would die before he admitted that a girl had beaten him up. But Will would probably tell it to anyone who wanted to hear it.
“I need to have a word with Will in the infirmary now.”
Will definitely wouldn’t say anything in my favor. I walked back out and took a seat on one of the chairs across from the secretary’s desk. I wanted to scream in frustration.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed but suddenly Diego appeared beside me, looking like he was close to exploding. The secretary looked up. “Name.”
Diego glared at me, then at her. “Bazzoli. I’m here to pick up my sister.”
The woman frowned. “Where are her parents?”
“Not here,” Diego said sharply. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, and was sweaty as if he’d been called out of fight training. His Camorra tattoo was on display.
With a glance at it, the secretary gave a nod. “Your sister is suspended from school until Friday, at least. But expulsion is very likely.”
“We’ll see,” Diego muttered. He grabbed my forearm and pulled me to my feet then dragged me out.
“Diego,” I hissed. “Stop, you’re hurting me.” He loosened his hold but didn’t stop pulling me along. He steered us toward the boys’ restrooms, poked a head in, then dragged me inside. He released me and headed toward the only locked door. He hammered his fist against it while I regarded the urinals to my right in disdain. I’d never been in a man’s restroom before.
“Get the fuck out of here and take your shit elsewhere or I’ll climb over that fucking stall and drag you out.”
After a moment, the stall was unlocked and a freshman boy whose name I didn’t know came out. One look at Diego’s expression and his tattoo, and he rushed outside.
“Do we have to be in here?” I asked.
Diego advanced on me and grabbed my shoulders. “What’s wrong with you? What the fuck has gotten into you? I knew allowing you to fight was a huge fucking mistake.” He’d never said that.
“He got what he deserved.”
Diego’s eyes flashed with anger. “Did he? But you’ll be the one who’ll get punished. That fucking guy’s parents are going to do everything to get you expelled.”
“But… you and Dad can do something, right?”
Diego laughed darkly. “I could beat him up, cut him a bit, I’m sure then he’d change his mind but his parents own huge hotels that pay us for protection. They aren’t anybody. They deal with Remo Falcone personally because of how important they are. I can’t do anything without getting the permission of my Capo. Or I could ask Savio to talk to his brother for me, but I’m not sure I want to ask him for that kind of favor because you can’t get a grip on your fucking bitchiness. The engagement isn’t even public yet and you’re already messing things up.”
“You’re an asshole,” I bit out. I’d thought Diego would be on my side, had thought he’d smooth things out for me like he always did. Having him this furious at me, made me feel horrible.
Diego only glared down at me.
I swallowed. Why did Mom have to hand down her emotionality to me? I wanted to be tough like steel. Tough like Diego and the other guys who I always only ever got to watch fight.
Diego released a breath. “Are you going to cry?” There was still anger in his voice, but also something gentler.
I shook my head. “He called me Falcone whore,” I got out, and then the rest of what Will had said burst out of me, and I had to catch my breath when I was done.
“That fucking asshole. How dare he as much as look at you? How dare he talk to you like that? I’m going to break his bones.”
“I started with his nose,” I said. Diego shook his head. The anger on his face was no longer directed at me. “You should have let me handle him.”
“I didn’t think.”
Diego sighed. “I’m not going to allow anyone to insult you in any way. We’ll deal with this now. We’ll get everyone to back off once and for all.” He grabbed my hand to pull me along and I gasped in pain when he touched my bruised knuckles. Diego drew back, his eyes shooting down to my swollen flesh.
“Damn it, Gemma,” he said quietly, taking my hand carefully. “How hard did you hit him? Your knuckles don’t look good. We need to get them checked.”
“He looks worse.”
Diego chuckled, but he remained tense as he pulled me against him and led me out of the restrooms and the school. We arrived at his car and he opened the door for me. I slumped inside, wondering what Diego had in mind to save my hide.
He slid behind the steering wheel and revved the engine.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to where I’ve been. The Falcone gym.”
My eyes grew wide. “Why?”
“Because I’ll have a talk with Savio. I won’t have these kind of rumors about you.”
He sounded absolutely furious.
“I don’t want Savio to know what happened.”
Diego sent me a look. “That’s not up to you. I’ll have to protect your honor and keep you in school.”
I closed my eyes. This day got only worse.
We parked in front of the abandoned casino that harbored the private Falcone gym. Only the Falcones would use something this extra to work out.
“Come on,” Diego urged.
“You want me to come with you?”
“You bet.”
I dragged myself out of the car then trudged after Diego. I didn’t want to see Savio again, especially not after what Will had said.
“Gemma, get a move on,” Diego said, and I sped up, not wanting him to reprimand me again, especially not in earshot of Savio. We entered the huge gaming area of the casino where a boxing ring, a cage, and other workout equipment were spread out.
Savio was pummeling a boxing bag while Nino and Remo were sparring in the boxing ring. The Camorra Enforcer Fabiano was doing burpees. He gave Diego and me a curt nod before he proceeded his workout.
I tried to hide my nerves. This would be embarrassing.
Diego pulled me straight toward Savio who stopped and regarded us with cocked eyebrows. Only seeing him filled my stomach with butterflies. I tried not to check out the display of muscles that glistened with a fine sheen of sweat, or the tattoo that peeked out from his low waistband, the horns of the stupid bull that every girl seemed to have seen except for me.
Diego finally released me to step up close to Savio who narrowed his eyes at my brother.
Remo and Nino stopped fighting and looked over to us as well. I could already feel embarrassment crawling up my neck.
“Make it official,” Diego demanded. “An engagement announcement that’ll show everyone that my sister is yours, that she’s under your protection.”
My eyes widened. That had been an order. Diego and Savio were friends, but Savio was also a Falcone.
Savio took a step toward my brother. “I’m not taking orders from you, Diego.” Then his eyes slid to me and my bruised hand that I still cradled against my stomach. Something in his face shifted. “What the fuck happened with your hand?”
I shrugged. I wouldn’t mention Will, much less Noemi, or any of the things they’d said to me.
“Will Reynolds called my sister, an honorable Italian woman, your future wife, a Falcone whore,” Diego growled. So much for keeping things to myself.
Remo swung himself out of the ring and Nino climbed out a moment later. Even Fabiano stopped what he had been doing to watch the freakshow. Savio only stared at me. “That bastard suggested that your brother as Capo would…fu…” Diego glanced at me. “…would take my sist
er and that you’d watch. That you two would share her at the same time.”
Oh God. Why couldn’t the ground swallow me? Expulsion would have been less horrific than this mortification.
“That’s what he said?” Remo asked with a twisted smile that raised the little hairs on my neck. “Remind me again, Nino, what is it called? Ius?”
Nino shook his head with a frown. “Ius primae nocti.”
I’d had enough Latin to know what that meant, and my expression slipped a moment. Remo Falcone’s name stirred fears in most people. Even a wife and beautiful children hadn’t changed that.
Diego lost his shit. “This isn’t a fucking joke. My sister is an honorable woman, and nobody should suggest that anyone but her husband touches her!” My heart skipped a beat. He had screamed not just at Savio but also at Nino and Remo.
Remo’s smile slipped off, and Diego fell silent. He took a deep breath. “I meant no disrespect, Capo, but I must protect my sister’s honor no matter the price.”
Savio seemed to pierce me with his eyes. “We will make the engagement official, and I will make it clear that Gemma is only mine. Nobody will touch her, not a single fucker, and most definitely not any of my brothers.”
He strode toward me and took my hand, regarding my knuckles closely. “This will have to heal before you can wear my engagement ring.” His voice was pure possession and sucked the air clean out of my lungs, making me feel light-headed. Then he looked up at me and the arrogant mischief was back. “I already know exactly what kind of ring to get you.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“She needs treatment for her knuckles,” Diego butted in, stepping up beside us, and eyeing Savio’s hand on mine critically. I could tell he wanted to shove him away. As if even hand-holding was too much before we were married. I almost rolled my eyes.
“So, when’s the engagement going to be?” I asked.
Savio exchanged a look with his brothers. “In two months. That way we have some time to prepare everything. How does that sound?”
For once, I managed to keep my cool. Anger still simmered under my skin, at Savio, at the situation, even at myself. “All right. Will it be a big feast?”