The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 1

by Bethany-Kris

  “Chris can swim.”

  The statement came from the man who approached behind Cara, making Valeria’s eyes widen in familiarity when he smiled her way. “Been a minute since the two of us had the chance to speak, oui?”

  “Gian,” Valeria said, taking the hand he offered when he came to stand beside his wife. “had I known that first day your intentions for being there were to help me—”

  Gian shook his head. “No need to say anything or wish for different things. We’re here, now, all of us.”

  “Most of us,” Alessio corrected.

  Cara gave him a smile. “Still in that mood, hmm?”

  “I didn’t like the plan.”

  “He’s headstrong.”

  Alessio made a noise under his breath but said nothing.

  Cara’s gaze turned back on Valeria in an instant. “You must be exhausted.”

  “Very. And ... still in shock.”

  “I bet.”

  “I want Chris, and the rest, to get back safely.”

  At that statement, all eyes turned back on her. It was only them in the small sitting room at the Waldorf that connected to a larger bedroom, sure, but it still seemed like she suddenly had a huge audience that became enraptured with whatever she might say or do next.

  Gian gave Alessio a glance. “Something we should be told ... on that?”

  Alessio arched a brow. “I’d say so, but we’ll wait for him to say it.”

  “What did I miss?” Valeria asked.

  Cara reached out, taking her hands with a warm smile that reminded her of the mother she lost years ago. “Nothing—it means nothing. We’re so thrilled to meet you, Valeria. I would love to spend time with your daughter if that’s okay with you?”

  Valeria was quick to nod. “Sure, she loves people. Always wants to make them smile.”

  “I bet she’s an angel.”

  “She’s certainly been mine.”

  One of several, Valeria realized.

  Her daughter was one of many angels in her life.

  • • •

  “Thank you.”

  Haven smiled as Valeria took the mug of tea. “You really should try for more than an hour-long nap, Val. Being tired will not make him get here any fast—”

  “There they are! There’s the cars! Mamá, look!”

  Valeria peered around Haven’s side to see Maria standing on the edge of a chaise at the window, her hands gesturing at whatever was down below. “Maria, it could just be guests coming to the hotel.”

  “No, it’s Chris. It is!”

  Maria hopped down from the window, the dress Valeria packed for her daughter flying wide around her legs as she darted for the doorway.

  At the window, Andino who entertained Maria, smirked back at them. “She’s not wrong—they’re coming in now.”

  What?

  Valeria no longer cared about her tea, or the fact she was exhausted. She didn’t bother to glance at the people milling between the rooms as she followed her shouting, excited daughter as the girl headed out of their room, and down the hall of the hotel. She caught up with Maria before she pressed the button on the elevator for it to open.

  She grabbed Maria around her waist, pulling her back as she kneeled to say, “Just wait ... let them come up, okay?”

  Sure, she said that.

  Didn’t mean she meant it.

  Valeria’s heart thundered as she watched the elevator, and the little sign above it that said the doors opened on the ground floor. The Marcellos closed down the corridor of the hotel, renting every single room for the night to make sure they had all the privacy they needed for whatever might happen.

  Footsteps approached behind them.

  Their voices.

  Valeria continued watching the elevator.

  “I saw him, I did,” Maria whispered.

  “I bet,” she said, believing her daughter. “Just a minute, okay?”

  Still, the girl practically vibrated in her mother’s arms. It was only in that moment that Valeria realized ... she was not the only person caught in Chris’s snare. His caring nature, sweet and yet still firm, caught her daughter’s heart, too.

  Maria looked up at her mom by tilting her head. “We never have to go back, right?”

  Valeria met her daughter’s stare, so the girl understood she was telling the truth. “Never. Ever.”

  “Good.”

  The elevator dinged as the two of them broke their staring contest. The first men out of the elevator weren’t faces that Valeria recognized, but she was still quick to stand, and keep her daughter out of the way so they were able to come through.

  And then there Chris was.

  At the back with his twin.

  “Chris!”

  Maria’s squeal, punctuated by her jumping in place, had him turning with a wide smile in their direction. Valeria let her girl go, and Maria wasted no time darting forward. Corrado slipped out of the elevator first, but her daughter didn’t seem to have an issue differentiating who was who between the identical twins. She gave him a smile, sure, but the man Maria wanted was the only one she reached for.

  Chris came out of the elevator with arms open, already kneeling to hug Maria. The girl’s arms locked around his neck, and he stood, holding her tight all the while. He pressed a kiss to her temple, murmuring something to Maria.

  “You still have it?” Maria asked.

  Chris grinned and flashed his wrist with the woven leather bracelet. “Of course, bambina. Never take it off if I can help it.”

  “Better not.”

  “Be nice,” she told her smartass child.

  At her quiet admonishment, Chris’s gaze came her way, and she swore the world stopped. Like her ability to breathe, and the beats of her heart.

  It all just ... stopped.

  For him.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  Chris’s features softened. “Do you?”

  She was very aware of the people behind her. Of the family that gathered, and the others saying hello to men who arrived back. None of that mattered to her though. Better people be aware now.

  Was it crazy?

  Yes.

  Was it true?

  More than anyone understood.

  “I do,” Valeria said quickly, “I love you.”

  Chris came forward, still holding Maria—although he shifted her to one arm instead of two—and reached for Valeria. Once his arm locked around her neck, he pulled her in close, his mouth finding hers for a soft, long kiss that made her heart restart all over again.

  Damn.

  She would have preferred he kept kissing her, but she didn’t mind when he pulled away just long enough to touch their noses together, his eyes locking onto hers. Softly, he said, “Ti amo—sempre. I love you always. As long as you want me.”

  That was perfect.

  Because she wanted him forever.

  20.

  “You went to Mexico for a job.”

  Chris chuckled as he poured a small glass of whiskey at the wet bar. “I did.”

  His father came to stand next to him with a knowing smile. “Seems you came back with more than you intended to, Christopher.”

  “And?”

  Gian sighed, his gaze drifting across the room to where Cara was helping Valeria settle Maria for the evening. Once she was in bed, his parents had promised they would leave them be to relax for the night, or as much as they could.

  “Bit ... rushed,” Gian murmured. “What is it about you boys of mine rushing into love, hmm?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  Gian shook his head. “I don’t, so tell me.”

  Chris thought it was simple.

  Obvious.

  “You taught us not to be afraid of love, Papa. You and Ma—watching the two of you growing up showed us what love is supposed to be. Not perfect. Not always easy, or given to us. We earn it, we nurture it, and we do that so we can keep it. That’s the wonderful part, or I thought so, anyway.”

&
nbsp; Gian made a soft noise in the back of his throat, turning so that his back was to the wet bar, and he could watch the women across the room as he spoke. “So, what you’re telling me is not to worry, yes?”

  Chris smiled. “Not about this. I have it handled.”

  “You always have everything handled. You were not the one of my five boys I had to worry about that. Trust me.”

  He did.

  “And I am proud of you,” Gian added after a moment.

  Chris tipped his glass up for a drink, letting the spices of the heady liquor rove over his tongue before he swallowed it back. Setting the lowball down, he asked, “For what?”

  “Doing the impossible. And finding something you wanted, I suppose.” Gian glanced his way, that soft expression of his father’s turning into something else. The Don was in the room—just like that. All it took was his father flipping a switch, and his mood changed. “As for the cartel ...”

  “What about it?”

  “I would appreciate knowing what we’re looking at now where they are concerned.” Gian shrugged his broad shoulders under his tailored, black blazer. “I let you go into Mexico with little plans, or even understanding how all of this would play out.”

  “To be fair,” Chris replied, amused, “even my plans got fucked up. Someone else had her own plans, and she did what she wanted do whether anyone else cared.”

  “And who is this someone?”

  “Abril Lòpez. The youngest daughter—same age as Val, but nothing like her, if we’re being honest here. And that’s not a bad thing, let me say.”

  “She helped?”

  “Helped ... caused a war.” Chris made a dismissive noise and waved a hand in the air. “What do the details matter if it’s all the same, yeah?”

  Gian grunted under his breath. “And what, I assume a surviving male will now take over the cartel? Will we have to be concerned about retribution for our part we played down there, or not?”

  “Oh, no. I assume nothing. Abril is now a new queen on a very broken throne, and that’s fine, she likes it there.”

  His father blinked.

  Chris nodded.

  What else could he do?

  He had not planned for Abril, and when he decided to use her help ... the woman had her own schemes running. She was dangerous, a lot like the rest of her family, but a hell of a lot less obvious about it, too.

  “We should stay out of Mexico as much as possible,” Chris said. “Entirely. I suspect she will be busy tearing down what remains of her father’s cartel to rebuild it in the image she prefers, while—”

  “Warring with her rivals.”

  “Mmm.”

  Gian folded his arms over his chest, considering those words. “You think she would ... use us to her advantage, if we were to return, even for vacation?”

  “I think anyone—man or woman—who thinks to assume to underestimate Abril Lòpez will deserve everything they get, and our family should not be the ones who she makes an example out of.”

  That seemed to be enough for his father.

  “I will pass the information along to Andino, then. I am sure the Marcellos won’t be welcome down that way, either.”

  “To be safe,” he agreed, “yeah.”

  Gian glanced his way again, the kinder smile replacing his stony expression. “As for you ...”

  “What about me?”

  “I hope you will settle down, now. I’ve never said one way or the other, Chris, on famiglia or The League because I thought you had decided long ago.”

  He cleared his throat. “I thought I did, too.”

  “And now?”

  A laugh burst from his chest.

  “This was enough for me. I am a made man, and nothing more. That’s where I need to be, and where I want to be. Corrado and I, well, we’re old enough now we don’t need to be looking over each other’s backs all the time, I think.”

  “You’re not wrong.” Gian nodded, reaching over to clap his son on the shoulder. “And on the made bit, good.”

  “What would you have said, if I chose the other option?”

  “The same thing, son.”

  Right.

  Because that was his father in a nutshell.

  And his mother, too.

  Speaking of which ...

  Across the room, Cara took a hug from Maria before the girl darted to take her mother’s outstretched hand. Valeria shot Chris a smile over her shoulder before the two disappeared into the connected bedroom of the hotel room. Once the door was shut behind them, Cara looked her son’s way with a familiar smile that had his chest growing tight.

  He loved his ma.

  All the Guzzi boys did.

  “She is a sweet child,” Cara said, crossing the room to stand in front of Chris. She patted his cheek with a soft palm, pride and support shining through in her actions, and in her eyes. “I was worried about you.”

  “Sorry, Ma.”

  “You didn’t call enough.”

  “It wasn’t safe, really.”

  Cara’s thumb stroked his unshaven cheek. “And just what do you plan to do with the two of them now, hmm?”

  Chris smiled. “We have all the time in the world to figure it out.”

  Inside, though?

  He already knew.

  Keep them forever.

  • • •

  “That’s three books,” Valeria said, laughing.

  Chris grinned to himself in the doorway when Maria gave her mother a dramatic sigh. The girl wasn’t at all spoiled, but she still had her mom wrapped right around her pinky finger, as cute as that was.

  “But—”

  “And we had to get the concierge of the hotel to find the books, Maria.”

  “Just one more?”

  Valeria was trying to get her daughter to fall asleep, but Chris figured the events of the past couple of days had been a bit much. They all needed time to absorb what happened, calm down, and get back to a normal routine. Maria included.

  Behind him, the echo of water running into a tub reminded him of what Valeria had been trying to do before Maria crawled out of the bed meant for her, and found them in the bedroom as they talked.

  “I’ll read her another book,” he said, “and you can go have your bath.”

  Valeria gave him a look. “I don’t mind—”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Yes, Chris can read,” Maria said. “I want him to read me a book now.”

  He hid his chuckles when Valeria shook her head and tossed the handful of children’s books to the bed.

  “Anything to get out of bedtime,” she teased, strolling past him in the doorway.

  He caught her with his hand to her wrist before she could leave. Dropping a quick kiss to her mouth, he murmured, “Enjoy your bath, okay? She’s fine with me.”

  “She is.”

  That was all she said before leaving him alone in the bedroom with Maria. Chris gave the little girl dwarfed by the big bed and huge blankets a look.

  “One book,” he said.

  “Three,” she shot back.

  Oh, now they were bartering.

  Kids were great.

  “Two,” he countered.

  Maria considered that before nodding once. “Fine, two. Chris?”

  “Hmm?” he asked as he crossed the room. “What, bambina?”

  “Do we get to stay with you now?”

  He hesitated as he sat on the edge of the bed, already reaching for the books. “Do you want to stay with me?”

  “You kept your promise.”

  “I did, yes.”

  “No one except Mamá keeps her promises.”

  Chris shrugged. “I always will.”

  “Can we make a new promise?”

  “What is that?”

  “That you won’t leave.”

  “I don’t need to make that promise.” He smiled, leaning back on the bed with the book already opened in his hands. “I can’t leave, bambina.”

  “Why not?”
r />   “People don’t leave things they love, Maria. That’s all.”

  “Oh.”

  Her soft exclamation echoed in the quiet bedroom.

  “Promise to be ours, then?”

  Chris nodded as he flipped the page to the beginning in the book. “I can definitely promise that.”

  She suckered him into four reads of two books, but he didn’t mind. And by the time he finished, Maria snored away in the bed’s middle, unaware when he slipped out of the bedroom to find her mother.

  Valeria made it easy for him, considering she left the bathroom door wide open.

  “You know,” Chris murmured, leaning in the doorway to enjoy the sight of Valeria’s tanned legs spattered with bubbles and hanging over the ledge of the tub, “my mother asked me a question earlier.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, about you and Maria.”

  A sly, yet still sweet, smile curved her pouty lips when her gaze darted up to his. It was taking every ounce of his willpower to stay where he was, and not slam the door shut, go to her, and take what he wanted.

  Somehow, this woman who had once been so confused about her lust and need for sex because of the constant abuse she suffered, could now look like his personal minx ready to torture him with seduction. Chris was more than willing to let her do that, too.

  “And what was that question she asked?”

  Chris cleared his throat, refusing to let thoughts of his mother into his mind when this beautiful woman was just across the room, naked but for the water and bubbles hiding her curves from his view. “What I planned to do with the two of you, actually.”

  Valeria arched a perfect brow. “What does that mean?”

  “Better question,” he returned, “what do you plan to do?”

  “You.”

  “Pardon?”

  Her tongue peeked out to wet the seam of her lips as her hand came up from the water, covered in bubbles and dribbling water down her throat as she pointed a delicate finger at him. “You, Chris. I plan to be with you as long as you want me. That’s what you told me on the cliffs, right?”

  “It was.”

  “And that still stands?”

  “Absolutely, Val.”

  She grinned. “Then, that’s all I care about. Although, I would like to hear your plans.”

  “With you?”

  “Anything. I enjoy hearing you talk. Do you know how long it has been since I wanted to sit and have a conversation with a man? A man that wanted to hear me talk, too?”