“Are you going to be okay?” the maid asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Before Cara could respond, she heard the front gate open.
“Go. Now.”
Ginny stared at her uneasily but Cara nodded.
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted gently. “Just go before things get ugly in here.”
The girl swallowed visibly but she didn’t argue. She moved toward the door as Salvatore entered.
“Where are you going?” he asked but Cara called out to him, giving the maid an opportunity to escape.
“Salvatore, come in here. I need to speak with you.”
Her brother instantly forgot about the maid who took the chance to leave the house and Cara inhaled deeply.
“Oh good. You’re not moping around your bedroom. You look less shitty too.”
Cara couldn’t smile at this backhanded compliment.
“You know, Carolina, our fortune is about to climb. Soon, I will be in charge of two thirds of the soldiers.”
He grinned wickedly, plopping his massive frame onto the couch. There was something in his tone which troubled her but she wasn’t sure if it was a result of her own nerves.
“How is that?” she asked, momentarily forgetting the spiel she had planned. “Have you been promoted again?”
“Not exactly, but Miami will be down one capo soon,” he chuckled. “Your lover is going to be out soon.”
Ice coursed through Cara’s veins.
“What?”
Salvatore leered at her.
“Please don’t tell me you care about that stronzo. We both know you only fucked him to make me angry.”
Cara could only stare at him.
“What are you saying? What did you do to Matteo?”
Salvatore cringed as if the sound of his name made him unhappy.
“I didn’t have to do anything. The man can’t keep his shit together these last weeks. He’s letting his crew fall and I’ve been snatching them up one by one.”
Cara’s brow furrowed.
“I don’t understand,” she breathed. “What does that mean, Salvatore? You’re undercutting your own men?”
“Matteo Bruno is not my man,” he spat, leaning forward. The smirk vanished from his face.
“He’s a thorn in my side and he can’t run his own business. If he had, it wouldn’t have been so easy to snatch up his soldiers.”
A prickle of fear and worry slid through Cara. Could Matteo have been neglecting his business because of what happened between them?
She thought of how coldly he had acted, but did it affect him more than he had let on? A combination of hope and alarm touched her heart and she stood still, her mind whirling.
“Anyway, when Giovanni realizes how much he’s lost his crew, the stronzo will not be my problem anymore.”
“Salvatore, what did he ever do to you?” she demanded. “You don’t even know him.”
She didn’t know why she asked. Cara was fully aware of how the words would set off her brother but it was too late to recant them.
He leapt from the couch, flying into her face before she could react.
“Because the bastard has no respect,” he spat. “Or have you forgotten how he talked about you like you were a whore. Maybe you like that, but I demand respect. He doesn’t even realize that he’s beneath us – his family was never part of the elite! He shouldn’t even be here and he never should have been made a capo!”
“You can’t try to break up the familia here,” Cara protested, aghast. “You’re bringing unrest among the crews, Salvatore. You’re going to cause more problems!”
“You don’t know anything about how things work, Carolina, so shut your mouth,” he screeched at her.
Cara gaped at him, her alarm growing into full-fledged fear. Salvatore was setting Matteo up, and while she didn’t understand the situation fully, she knew that meddling with the other capos was not the dignified thing to do.
“Salvatore, whatever you are planning, you must reconsider. The Don wouldn’t like to know that his capos are working against one another.”
“Again, you don’t know shit. Stick to shopping, Carolina, and stay out of my business.”
Cara wondered why he had brought it up if not to get her reaction. Did he actually think she would cheer him on?
Has he suspected that Matteo and I were together all along? The idea filled her with fear but she knew the point was moot for several reasons. Still, the look of hatred on Salvatore’s face spoke volumes to her. It was beyond ambition, what her brother was doing. He was playing with fire – and it was going to backfire and blow up in their faces if the Don ever learned he was pitting the crews against each other.
“Salvatore, I’m pregnant.”
At first, Cara didn’t think her brother had heard what she said, his face still twisted into the same expression of disgust it had been when discussing Matteo but slowly, the look chipped away to reveal something terrifying.
“Are you?” he drawled slowly, his face inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face but she dared not move, lest he take it as a sign of weakness.
“Yes.”
“I don’t suppose this is an immaculate conception, given the fact that you’re a whore.”
She tensed even more if that was possible, but she didn’t respond, her eyes fixed on his face.
“The father is Matteo Bruno.”
Although she had expected a volatile reaction, she had never imagined that her brother would strike her as viciously as he did.
She fell to the floor, her hand flying to her face as the sting of his fingers lingered on her cheeks. Cara choked back a sob and crawled backward as Salvatore advanced on her.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” he spat, his eyes glowing like a demon from the underworld. “No matter how much we do for you, you just have to slap us in the face with your sins. This ends here.”
He came toward her again, striking out to kick her but Cara rolled out of the way, gasping in shock.
“Salvatore! I’m with child! Contain yourself!”
“You won’t be carrying that stronzo’s baby when I’m finished with you,” he snarled, again lashing out to kick at her and Cara screamed, curling up to protect herself. His foot landed on her upper thigh.
“You’re fucking pazzo!” she cried, scurrying away from him, trying to ignore the shooting pain in her leg. Her concern was only for the baby. She had to protect her child.
“Get back in here, you little puttana,” Salvatore hissed. “I’m not finished with you.”
“You’re fucking finished,” a man growled from the entranceway from the other side of the doorway. Matteo strode forward with fury radiating off his body and threw a vicious uppercut to Sal’s jaw. The man flew backwards, crashing against the wood coffee table and landing hard. He moaned as he tried to draw a breath, shaking his head slightly as his vision swam.
Matteo pulled his pistol out and aimed at Salvatore’s face. “Stay where you are.”
“Matteo!” Cara sobbed, managing to get to her feet and stumbling toward him but Matteo didn’t acknowledge her.
“Oh, did you call him to come and save you?” Salvatore asked, sneering at his sister. “It doesn’t matter. He can’t save you now. I’m going to make you pay for all the trouble you put this family through.”
“Take one more step and I’ll splatter your brains all over that Monet,” Matteo said flatly. “Cara, get out of here.”
“Don’t go anywhere!” Salvatore screeched, reaching for his sister’s neck. “I’m going to teach you a lesson once and for all.”
“No, you won’t,” Matteo said coldly. The menace in his voice, the quiet violence, stopped Sal in his tracks.
Cara drew in a sharp breath, scared of how her brother would react. He wasn’t used to being thwarted, and she just knew things were about to get nasty.
“Did you know the mother of your child is a whore?” he sneered at Matteo. “But don’t worry. I’ll make sur
e your kid grows up knowing what a puta his mother is,” Salvatore snickered savagely.
Oh, dio mio…
Confusion lit Matteo’s face and he glanced at Cara who hovered near the staircase, using the bannister to hold herself upright.
“What the fuck are you taking about?” Matteo demanded, looking between the two of them. “She’s not pregnant.”
“Apparently she is,” Salvatore replied. “You didn’t tell him, Carolina? You’re an even bigger whore than I thought.”
Matteo raised the gun and fixed his eyes on Salvatore.
“Watch your mouth,” he spat. “I will kill you – with joy,”
“I don’t believe you. You’re still the same weak, pathetic loser you always were, Matteo. Any minute you’re going to start crying. I remember—”
The gunshot reverberated through the living room and Salvatore screamed in pain as the bullet logged into his shoulder. The gun flew from his right hand and disappeared under the sofa.
“Get upstairs, Carolina,” Matteo ordered her, but she sprinted forward to retrieve the weapon from under the couch.
“You better fucking kill me, stronzo, because if you don’t, I will make it my life’s work to hunt you down—”
“Do you ever stop talking?” Matteo asked, taking the gun from Cara. He cast her a sidelong look as Salvatore tried to stand.
“Stay down, Salvatore, or I’ll finish you, so help me God.”
“You don’t have the balls—”
Another shot rang out, grazing his other arm and Salvatore howled in pain.
“I can do this all day,” Matteo told him nonchalantly. “Or you can stop struggling and shut the fuck up.”
Balefully, Salvatore looked up at him.
“Haven’t you done enough damage to my family?”
“Not even close,” Matteo retorted. “You think you can walk into my city and take over?”
“You can’t stop —” Matteo raised the firearm again and Salvatore promptly clamped his mouth shut. Cara realized she had forgotten to breathe and exhaled in a whoosh.
“You’re going to quietly resign, Salvatore. You’re going to pack up whatever shitty belongings you brought with you from Italy, thank Giovanni for his hospitality and claim homesickness. If I ever see you again, I swear to you – I will make it the unhappiest day of your life.”
Matteo rested his eyes on Cara and she felt icy dread fill her veins. She could not begin to imagine what waited for her back in Italy, an unwed mother, under the thumb of her abusive brother and father. Not only would her life be over, her child’s would be miserable also.
“Do you understand my terms, asshole?” Matteo asked when the silence hung too heavily. “Pack up and move out. Or I shoot you right here, right now.”
“Giovanni will never accept that!” Salvatore spat. “He’ll—”
“As we speak, Arian is heading over to Giovanni’s place, ready to show him the video of you killing Vito. All it will take is a word from me, stronzo. No reason will be good enough to justify you killing one of his men in cold blood – without his permission. You’ll never be able to explain to him how that came to happen, or how you shed blood in the house he so generously loaned you. Or, you can get the hell out of Miami before he sends someone for you. Like you know he will. He won’t have a choice – he’ll have to come down hard on the little upstart from Italy who thought he could come here and start taking over. Killing his men, challenging the other capos. You know damn well he’ll never stand for it, Salvatore. He’s going to make an example of you.”
Salvatore gaped at him and Cara didn’t understand what was happening. What had Salvatore done?
“So, what will it be?”
Salvatore glared hatefully at him but Cara could see that he had carefully considered Matteo’s words.
“Carolina, go upstairs and get your things together.”
She closed her eyes, feeling the sting of tears welling in her sockets but she willed herself not to cry. She would need to find a way to endure what was happening the same way she had everything else in her life. She would have to run away, escape from her father and brother. Start a life where they could never find her.
“No,” Matteo whipped out, causing her to open her eyes again. “Cara is not going with you.”
Hope swelled inside her and she looked at Matteo as Salvatore snorted.
“You can’t keep her here! She belongs to me!”
“No. You will never be in the same room with her again.” Matteo vowed. “And if you ever lift a finger in her direction again, I’ll cut off your hands and send them to your father,” Matteo replied evenly.
Salvatore raged silently and the two men stared hatefully at one another.
“This isn’t the end,” Salvatore spat. “Mark my words.”
“It better be the end of it, asshole. You have the chance to start again in Italy. It’s the best offer you’ll get and I’m only giving it because you’re Cara’s brother. Worthless piece of shit and all, but still a family member.”
Matteo watched him rise and shuffle, bleeding and injured toward the stairs, throwing looks of hatred back every few feet.
“Oh, and Sal, your flight leaves in an hour. The private jet is ready to take off,” Matteo called after him. “And by the way, I have Nick upstairs packing for you.”
Salvatore whirled to stare at him, dumbfounded.
“You think my soldiers were going to walk over to you that easily?” Matteo grinned at him mirthlessly. “You’re the one not cut out for this line of work, stronzo. We do things differently in Miami. Too bad you weren’t smart enough to figure that out.”
Matteo waved his hand dismissively and Salvatore was forced to continue up the stairs, brushing past his sister furiously.
Cara cringed as if his touch had burned her and shrank back, her hands touching her belly protectively.
She lowered her head, feeling Matteo staring at her intently.
“It’s true, then?” he asked gruffly. “You’re pregnant?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you, Matt. I didn’t plan it.”
“You told Celine.”
She jerked her head up, wondering if he was about to invoke another argument between them but there was a peculiar look on his face like he was trying to make sense of everything he had learned.
“I did. I-I needed to get away from Salvatore long enough to see a doctor.”
His face was impassive and Cara dropped her head again. Would it be better to stay in America with a man who hated her, one who had harbored a grudge for decades?
At least my baby will be safer here, she reasoned. But Cara knew she wanted more than just the protection of her child. She wanted the love she thought she had found in Matteo, the passion, the connection.
But those were all lies, concocted by Matteo to get me to love him.
“I don’t expect anything from you,” Cara told him quietly. “I only want to ensure my baby is safe.”
He stared at her, his eyes betraying nothing.
“Is that all you want?”
Her mouth parted slightly, unsure of how to answer. Was he still playing with her, even after everything that had happened?
She didn’t know, but she also couldn’t lie to him and she shook her head.
“No,” she whispered, her eyes darting toward the stairs, worried that her brother would overhear.
“You don’t need to worry about Salvatore anymore,” Matteo said grimly. “He won’t hurt you again.”
There was more emotion in his voice than Cara had ever heard and more hope sprung into her chest.
“Matteo, I-I don’t know how I can ever make you trust me but I want you to know that the feelings I had for you these past few months were pure, always.”
His mouth tightened.
“I know.”
She gulped back the lump in her throat and nodded.
“All right.”
“The feelings I had for you were pure too. I just didn’t realize it
until I had gone through with my stupid ploy for revenge.”
Her eyes widened.
“Y-you care about me?”
He shook his head quickly.
“No,” he replied almost angrily, pausing to draw a deep breath.
“I’m in love with you.”
A sob fell from her lips and suddenly, the fear and confusion which had enveloped her dissipated into smoke and evaporated.
“Let’s get you the hell out of here and to a doctor,” he continued, reaching for her with his left hand. “I want to make sure that fucker didn’t hurt you or our baby.”
He tucked the gun back into his waistband and pulled his jacket over his hips, pulling her from the mansion. Cara could only stare at him through her peripheral vision, her heart overflowing with joy.
He said “our baby.” He really means it.
In the back of her mind was her wounded brother, fuming with rage as he was forced to return to Italy, but Cara couldn’t feel any sympathy for him, not after the abuse he had forced upon her his entire life.
“What if he comes back?” Cara heard herself asking when they got into the car.
“He won’t. Not with what he thinks I have on him.”
“Thinks?”
Matteo cast her a sly look.
“That’s a story for another time,” he replied, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “A much later time.”
Cara nodded and returned his grip tightly. She had his hand now and she would never let it go again.
Epilogue
“What are you looking at, stronzo?” Matteo growled and Ariano snickered.
“You’re getting jealous in your old age,” the capo commented, but he continued to stare at Carolina who walked through the yard, a tray of hotdogs in her hands.
“You’re gawking at my wife,” Matteo retorted. “You haven’t stopped looking at her.”
Ariano’s smile turned wistful and his gaze flittered toward Celine who stood a few feet away.
“I can’t help but wonder what Celine would look like pregnant,” he replied and Matteo was instantly contrite. It was true, Cara was glowing in her eighth month of pregnancy, huge in the stomach but the baby was undetectable from behind at all. It was a boy this time.
Taken by the Mafia Boss Page 10
