Dead Man's Hand: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  Dead Man's Hand

  A Good Run Of Bad Luck

  Giulia Lagomarsino

  Copyright © 2021 by Giulia Lagomarsino

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design courtesy of T.E. Black Designs

  www.teblackdesigns.com

  WANDER AGUIAR Photography

  Zack Salaun

  Created with Vellum

  A Good Run Of Bad Luck is a spin-off of The Cortell Brothers series. It was never supposed to happen, but I just loved the secondary characters so much, that I had to write them. A special thanks to Kaylee and Katherine for helping during the tough times and pushing me through. I couldn’t have written this without both of you!

  Contents

  1. Antonio

  2. Ciara

  3. Antonio

  4. Ciara

  5. Antonio

  6. Ciara

  7. Antonio

  8. Ciara

  9. Antonio

  10. Ciara

  11. Antonio

  12. Ciara

  13. Antonio

  14. Ciara

  15. Antonio

  16. Ciara

  17. Antonio

  18. Ciara

  19. Antonio

  20. Ciara

  21. Antonio

  22. Ciara

  23. Antonio

  24. Ciara

  25. Antonio

  26. Josh

  27. Ciara

  28. Antonio

  29. Ciara

  30. Antonio

  31. Ciara

  32. Antonio

  33. Ciara

  34. Antonio

  35. Ciara

  36. Antonio

  37. Ciara

  38. Antonio

  39. Antonio

  40. Ciara

  41. Antonio

  42. Ciara

  43. Antonio

  Also by Giulia Lagomarsino

  1

  Antonio

  I walked over to the sniveling piece of shit on his knees and raised my gun, pointing it right at his head.

  “Please,” he begged quietly.

  My brother never begged. He was the leader of the Scavuzzo Crime Family, having taken over for my father when he became too sick to run the organization, but after what he had done, he didn’t deserve to live.

  “You want forgiveness after you killed our sister?”

  “I didn’t do it,” he urged. “Antonio, you know me. You know I would never do anything like that.”

  “Video footage doesn’t lie,” I said coldly.

  I stared at my brother, the man I used to look up to, and pressed the gun against his head. His eyes turned to steel as he prepared for his fate. At least he was taking it like a man.

  “I’m being set up, but you do what you have to do. Be the good puppy that Giuseppe turned you into.”

  I smirked at him. It was funny that he thought Giuseppe had any control over me. He was doing a good job of hiding his fear, but I could see the slight tremble of his body, the way his eyes widened as my finger moved to the trigger. In this life, there were only two ways to live, by the code of the Family or against us. He made the wrong choice, and now he was going to pay for it.

  “Alessandro Scavuzzo, you’ve been accused of murdering one of your family and found guilty. I hope you rot in hell.”

  I pulled the trigger, watching as his head jerked back and he seemed to kneel in suspension for just a few moments before his body crumpled to the ground. The sound of the gun reverberated through the four walls of the basement, sending a sharp snap down my spine.

  I jolted upright in bed, my body sweating as my heart raced out of control. Glancing around the darkness of the room that I didn’t recognize, I grabbed my gun and trained it on the lurking shadows. Slowly, my heart found a normal rhythm and the room came into focus. I wasn’t back at the family home in Chicago anymore. I was in Colorado, way up in the mountains where no one would ever find me.

  Lowering my weapon, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. I rarely slept through the night now. Memories of all the things I had done, in the name of the family, haunted me constantly. Everyone was gone now, everyone but Carly. I wasn’t welcome with her, though. I had killed one brother and aided in the death of another, not that I knew it at the time. I had been working for my uncle, always thinking he was guiding me to the best of his abilities, and he was. I just hadn’t realized it was a power grab. I had trusted him because he was my father’s number two, always there by his side. I was just the enforcer. I was the best there was, but that also got me into trouble. I was meant to take action, not to think. I would never make that mistake again.

  Tossing off the blankets, I got up and headed for the bathroom. Staring at myself in the mirror, I hardly recognized myself anymore. My hair was longer now, hanging in a shaggy pattern around my cheekbones down to my jawline. My face, always clean-shaven, was now covered in a thick beard. When I headed into town, the locals scattered, terrified of the mountain man that only came into town for supplies.

  When I left Chicago, I took all the money I had saved and anything my father left in his safe. That was something Giuseppe had never gotten his hands on. He never had access to my father’s personal items, though I’m sure he would have given enough time. If Carly hadn’t come back to end things, my uncle would have taken over, and I would have been a slave to a mad man. I had taken the omertà, the code of silence and loyalty to the Family. I was a Made man, and I couldn’t just walk away from the family. But with everyone dead, I had the chance to start over. I didn’t deserve it. After all the things I had done, I should be in the grave or in jail. Why Carly had let me live, I’ll never understand.

  She had been trained like the rest of us, to be a killer. She had an assassin with her that day. Carly could have easily taken me out, along with any number of the other men working with her. But she had spared me, and now I was left to relive the choices I had made for the rest of my life.

  Dropping my gaze from the mirror, I splashed some water on my face, trying to wipe away the nightmares that plagued me. Walking out to the kitchen, I opened the cabinet to grab some coffee, but the bag was empty. I tossed it in the garbage, only then seeing the grocery list I had made that was still sitting on the kitchen counter. I’d completely forgotten about it yesterday.

  I got dressed in jeans and a henley, then pulled on my socks and winter boots. As I looked out the front window, the storm that was already moving in told me I didn’t have a lot of time to get into town and back. Not to mention, the two lane roads running through the mountains were pretty shitty, and I would have to hurry if I wanted to beat the weather.

  Climbing into my truck, I slammed the door and headed to the closest grocery store. I would also need to get extra gas for the snowmobile. If the weather turned too bad, at least I would still have transportation. As I pulled onto the roads, I clenched my jaw. The roads were already slick. I should have been more prepared for this shit. It took me almost forty-five minutes to get into town, when normally it would only take me twenty.

  Hunching my shoulders against the blistering wind, I pushed through the doors of the local convenience store and grabbed a shopping cart. Like usual, everyone stopped and stared at me like I was about to murder someone. I did have a gun on me, that habit
hadn’t died out. I would always make sure I was protected, but these people didn’t need to know that. I filled my cart, adding twice as much as most people in this town did. Unless you were in town to stay at one of the casinos, these people were scraping by on the best of days. Winter was always harder, and I had only been here for a year.

  I started unloading my groceries on the belt, ignoring the way the cashier trembled as she reached for my purchases. It only pissed me off further when I loaded up a bag of salt and she jumped like I was going to reach across and snap her neck. Maybe at one point in my life that would have been true, but I wasn’t the same man now. At least, I liked to think I was a little different, despite still being slightly feral.

  “I—is there anything you need?” she asked, barely looking at me.

  I ground my teeth and shook my head. I rarely spoke to the locals. I didn’t have anything to say to them anyway. I handed over my cash and shoved out of the store, irritated with her reaction. If I thought there was a better place to live out the rest of my miserable life, I would gladly go there, but living up here in seclusion was about as close to living a normal life as I would get.

  2

  Ciara

  The snow was already blowing across the road so hard that I couldn’t see. I squinted, trying to make out the edge of the road, but it was nearly impossible. I was kicking myself for insisting on having a car instead of something larger. But that was me, always ready to argue if I could get away with it. And with what I was doing, I wanted things done my way.

  I took a deep breath and started reciting my pertinent details. “I’m Ciara Donnelly. I’m twenty-eight years old, running from my abusive ex in Vegas, Sean McConnell. I’m here to work at the casino and lay low.”

  It wasn’t that much information to remember, but you’d be surprised how quickly you could mess up the details if you weren’t careful. Besides, this was one job I couldn’t mess up. My father relied on me to get certain jobs done, and this was one he really needed to be sure about. Basically, if I didn’t come home with the answers he needed, I shouldn’t bother coming home at all.

  I should be used to it by now. My father was not an easy man to deal with, and he demanded the best. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t technically one of them. I had my role to play, and it was vital that I do my part so he could ensure the safety of everyone under his protection. Failure was not an option on this mission.

  I took a deep breath, blowing it out as I navigated the dangerous mountain roads. I should be getting close to town, or at least, that’s what my GPS said. After I got there, I needed to get set up with my new job. Then I could get to work for my father.

  The tires started to slide as I made my way down the mountain road. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, praying that I could just make it into town for the night. I already had a room reserved at the casino, so I just had to make it there. Then I could start on my plan.

  A large truck coming my way took up way too much of the road. My eyes widened as I realized that we weren’t both going to fit on this small two-lane road. I squeezed my eyes closed as the truck just barely made it past me without hitting me. Blowing out a breath, I chuckled at how ridiculous I must have looked.

  “Ciara, you’re acting crazy,” I muttered to myself. “You’re going to be fine.”

  I slowed as the road curved, careful through every turn, but I hadn’t planned on just how treacherous this would be in the winter. On the next curve, I carefully turned the wheel along the road, but the tires didn’t move. I slid straight instead of turning with the road. Another truck headed in my direction was now right in my path. I slammed on the brakes, jerking the wheel, hoping that I would somehow get out of its path, but the car spun out of control, hitting the edge of the road. The car slid to the side, the back end barely hitting, but not enough to stop the car from rolling over.

  I screamed as the car started rolling down the dangerous mountainside. My head slammed into the window, and my body bounced around the car, despite being strapped in. The car finally groaned to a stop. I glanced around, my head fuzzy from slamming into the window. The car was facing the road, the back end facing down the mountainside. I tried the door, but it was jammed and I couldn’t get it open. Panicking, I jerked the handle over and over again, but nothing happened. I was stuck. Taking a deep breath, I unbuckled my seat belt and moved across to the other side, hoping I could get that door open, but as I moved, the car groaned again, and as I looked back, I realized that the car was only being held in place by a tree, and just barely at that.

  “I have to get out of here,” I whispered, terror washing over me. I hurried across the car, probably moving faster than I should have, but I was terrified. This wasn’t the way I was supposed to die. I yanked on the passenger door, but it was stuck too.

  “Hey!”

  My eyes flashed up to a man running down the mountain, slipping along the way as he tried to reach me.

  “Help!” I shouted. “I’m stuck. I can’t get out!”

  “Don’t move,” he commanded, his voice low and threatening. For just a moment, I wondered if he was here to kill me instead of save me. As he approached and looked around the car, I noticed his face was ruthless, evil. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. It didn’t matter who he was, as long as he got me out of here.

  “Do you have anything to break the window?” he shouted.

  Break the window? I searched around the car frantically, but everything was laying haphazardly after the tumble down the mountain. I had no clue if there was anything to help me.

  “Do you have a window punch?” he asked, his eyes boring into mine.

  “I…I…”

  “It would be under the driver’s seat,” he said calmly. “I need you to check.”

  Nodding, I brushed my hair out of my face, only to come away with a sticky hand. I stared down at the red that coated my hand, watching my fingers shake in terror.

  “Lady, you need to get moving!”

  I nodded, but before I could move, the car shifted backward, dropping down the mountain a good ten feet before hitting another tree. I screamed, grasping onto anything I could. When the car stopped moving again, I closed my eyes and fought the nausea swirling in my stomach.

  The man was outside the car again, this time with a gun in his hand. My breath seized in my chest as I stared down the gun. Oh God, he really was going to kill me.

  “Calm down,” he said, lowering his gun slightly. He looked through the window, and then back at the car. “I’m going to shoot out the window, but this car isn’t going to hold. Once the window’s broken, I need you to climb out right away. Okay?”

  I nodded, but it all felt robotic. All I could focus on was that damn gun.

  “Duck down, okay?”

  I did as he asked, but inside, I was shaking. I heard the crack of the gun and my head jerked up as I heard more glass breaking. He was using the gun to break out the rest of the glass.

  “Move!” he shouted, kicking me into high gear. I scrambled to the other side, but as I climbed across the seat, the car shifted again. I reached out my hand, barely grasping his as the car slid even further. “Give me your other hand,” he shouted. I thrust out my hand, but my body went airborne just as the car broke free from where the tree was holding it. My eyes connected with his just as I lost my grip on his hand.

  Time slowed as I looked behind me at the steep drop the car plunged over. I screamed as the back end of the car slammed into the ground below. My body jerked as I slammed into the back end of the car. Then the car started rolling front over back down the mountain. My head hit something several times and my body flopped around the car like a rag doll. I vaguely noticed the car had stopped moving before everything went black.

  3

  Antonio

  I locked eyes with her for just a second before the car slipped. I couldn’t see the color of them, but they were wide and frightened. I tried to grip her hand tighter, but there was nothing I could do. One sec
ond, she was there, and the next, the car slid off a small cliff on the side of the mountain.

  The crash was deafening, but there was no explosion. I shouldn’t care. I should go back to my truck and go home. I didn’t know her. She didn’t mean anything to me. But as I turned to walk away, something stopped me. Looking back over the ledge, I knew there was a chance she survived. It was about a twenty-five foot drop, but the car had landed on its trunk and then fallen onto the top. I could still see one of the tires spinning.

  “Fuck,” I swore under my breath, looking for a way down. With the conditions as they were, I wasn’t even sure how I would get her back up to my truck if she were alive. And if her injuries were severe, there would be no way to get her back down the mountain in this storm.

  Without any gear, I started the climb down, careful where I placed my feet and where I gripped with my hands. Luckily, it was more like chunks of land had been carved into the side of the mountain, almost like steps. I at least had a chance of getting her out of there.

  Almost at the bottom, I jumped down, nearly slipping on the slick snow below me. It wasn’t a thick covering yet, but enough to be icy. The car was crushed. The window I had broken was now smashed down to a nearly impossible size. The back window was my best option at this point, mostly because the window had been smashed out when the car landed on the trunk.