by L A Cotton
I grabbed my mug and got comfy on the couch. But I’d barely settled when there was another knock at the door.
Assuming it was Maurice, I placed down my drink and traipsed to the door, my heart doing another leap when I found Luca standing there.
“You’re okay,” he breathed, “thank fuck.”
“L-Luca.” I blinked. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard a commotion out in the hall and saw all the blood… what the hell—”
“You must be Luca.”
Every cell in my body fired to life as Enzo stepped up behind me.
“Let me guess, you’re the guy.” Luca’s gaze dropped to mine, a hundred questions there.
“Now is not a good time,” I said, forcing my lips into a thin smile.
“Seriously?” Luca dropped his voice an octave. “You’re going to do this after what happened last night?”
Enzo bristled behind me and I let out an exasperated breath. “You should go,” I said firmly. “I’m okay, I promise. I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed, hurt flashing there. He lifted his dejected gaze to Enzo and electricity crackled between them.
“Luca, please…” I pulled at his arm. “I need you to go.”
“Fine. But I’m right across the hall if you need me.”
“I know, thank you,” I mouthed, trying to silently convey that everything was okay.
But it wasn’t.
I was literally stuck between the two men in my life.
Luca backed up slowly, reluctance etched into his expression. Running a brisk hand over his face, he spun on his heel and disappeared into his apartment. I closed the door with a soft sigh, turning to meet Enzo’s hard glare.
“You fuck him?”
“You care?”
He made a clucking sound, pressing his lips into a thin line.
“You want a fight?” I let out a resigned sigh. “You won’t find one here, not tonight.” Barging past him, I went back to the couch and sat down.
Being around Enzo was always intense. He was like the sun, pulling everything else into its orbit. Except he wasn’t the sun, not in the way most of us imagined the sun as a warm, inviting thing that made everything seem better.
He was something much worse.
Fiery, hot destruction.
Enzo grabbed his mug of hot chocolate and joined me, choosing the chair instead of the couch. I tried not to overanalyze why.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” I asked.
“You know I can’t. But for what it’s worth, I am sorry I brought this to your door.”
“So why did you?” I tucked my feet up onto the couch, noticing Enzo’s dark eyes follow the line of my legs. A faint smirk traced his lips when I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered myself.
“The truth?”
I nodded, my heart crashing wildly beneath my rib cage.
“I didn’t even think. After I…” He inhaled a sharp breath. “I got in my car and just drove and ended up here. I know I shouldn’t have come… fuck.” His fist collided with the arm of my chair and I was relieved it was fabric and not wood.
“Antonio will be here soon.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Gattina.”
My breath caught at the pet name. He’d used it as an insult before, but this was different.
“So Luca… he seems nice.” His expression darkened even more at the mention of my neighbor.
“He’s a good guy.”
“Is he treating you right?”
“We’re not together, Enzo…”
“But you want to… be with him?”
No, you stubborn asshole, I want to be with you. I silenced the thoughts. If I pushed, Enzo would run. And he was here, talking to me for the first time in what felt like forever.
“It’s not that simple.”
“No,” he let out a soft sigh, “I guess it isn’t.” Enzo sank into the chair, dropping his head back and closing his eyes. He was crashing. Whatever had happened tonight, the adrenaline was fizzling out.
I sat there, watching him. The clothes Maurice had brought over were dark gray sweats and a t-shirt that fit Enzo’s big muscled framed like a second skin. It was rare to see him out of his jeans and black sweaters or shirts, but I wasn’t complaining. Enzo could make a burlap sack look hot. He oozed sex appeal. From his electric blue eyes to the tattoos snaking up his arms and around his broad shoulders.
I wanted so badly to go to him, to trace the angles of his jaw with my fingertips and take some of his pain for my own. But a loud knock at the door demanded my attention.
Enzo bolted upright and I smiled. “It’s probably your uncle.”
“Shit, yeah.” He ran a hand through his damp hair.
“I’ll get it and then give the two of you some space.”
“Thanks.”
I got up and went to the door, inhaling a calming breath before welcoming Antonio Marchetti, boss of the Marchetti crime family Dominion, into my apartment.
My home.
Totally not how I saw tonight ever going.
Chapter 15
Enzo
I watched Nora disappear into her bedroom. I’d heard Maurice suggest she go someplace else, heard Uncle T mutter the same thing when she answered the door and invited him into her home. And I’d told him the same thing as I’d told Maurice. Nora stayed.
I’d already made a colossal fuck up by coming here. I wasn’t about to put her at any more risk by sending her off somewhere I didn’t have eyes on her.
No, it was better she was here, with me. Where I could keep her safe.
“Gino?” I asked, satisfied Nora was out of earshot.
“He’s gone, son. I’m sorry.”
“Fuck.” I scrubbed my face, feeling the weight of Gino’s death heavy on my shoulders.
“Don’t do that,” Uncle Toni said. “Don’t carry this too. Gino knew the risks of the life. We all do. He died for this family and when the time is right, we will honor him into the afterlife. But first I need to know what the hell happened down there?”
“He sent you the photos?” Uncle Toni nodded and I continued. “Gino got a lead on a guy holed up at a warehouse in a disused industrial area along the river. We thought it was Dominic Alejandro. Marc and Dixon staked out the place overnight, we took over and spent the entire day watching. No one came or went.” I grabbed one of the bottles of water Nora had left out for us.
She was fucking good at this stuff, so cool and composed. Most girls would have slammed the door in my face or called the cops when they saw all the blood. But not Nora. She was made of different stuff. Strong and sassy and so fucking selfless.
“Enzo, son… I know it’s late, but I need to know everything.”
Of course he did. There would need to be cleanup, a plan for the next steps. Uncle Toni would have guys out there within minutes of giving the order to look for the asshole toying with us.
“He finally left the warehouse, so Gino wanted to go check out his nest. We watched him drive away, made sure the coast was clear, and broke into the building. That’s when we found the photos and the dead body.”
“Bodies.” Uncle Toni’s expression turned grim. “Three in total. All stuffed in lockers.”
“Gino said it was Alejandro.”
“It looks likely.”
“Do we know who the others are yet?”
“No, but I have guys working on it. Michele is already on his way to Providence.”
“Is it safe?”
“He’s taking precautions.”
I nodded.
We were Marchetti. We didn’t cower from our enemies. But when they had an inside edge, the rules were different, and everyone felt the pressure.
“He knows us, Uncle T. Like personally. When he attacked us, he said surprise.” I’d forgotten until now or blocked it out. It had been a crazy couple of hours.
“He knows me. How is that even possible?”
I stared at my uncle, hoping he had the answers I’d yet been able to find.
“I don’t know, son. But I give you my word, we’ll get to the bottom of this. What happened after he attacked Gino?”
“He took off. I gave chase until about five miles out of Verona. I lost him at a gas station.” He must have taken the first exit and disappeared on the underpass. By the time I realized I’d lost him, it was too late, and I’d kept on driving.
“You should come home with me and—”
“Actually,” my eyes flicked toward the hall, “I think I’m going to stay here.”
He gave me a sharp nod and stood. “Niccolò is very fond of Miss Abato. Arianne too…” He left the words hanging. He didn’t need to say it. It was only what everyone else thought—that Nora was too fucking good for a guy like me. But I couldn’t leave her, not tonight. Not until I knew she was one hundred percent safe.
“I want round the clock security on this place,” I said.
“It’s already done.” Uncle Toni waited for me to stand before pulling me in for a hug. “We have faced worse, Lorenzo. We will get to the bottom of this and Gino will be avenged, I swear to you. La Famiglia prima di tutto.” He gripped my shoulder tight in promise. “Now go be with your woman. I have a woman of my own waiting for me at home.”
His hearty chuckle filled Nora’s apartment. It was good to see him finally admitting his feelings for Genevieve, his long-standing housekeeper.
After the truth came out about Aunt Lucia, we’d all expected him to spiral into a dark hole. But he hadn’t.
I guess he was a better man than me.
“Try and get some rest.”
Rest was the last thing on my mind. Earlier, on Nora’s couch I had almost dropped off, but now… now I had restless energy zipping through me. I needed a drink or to fight or to…
Fuck.
I swallowed hard as I walked my uncle out of Nora’s apartment.
“Maurice will be right outside and I’m posting two guys at the door. I’ll call you when I know anything.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He disappeared down the hall and I closed the door, locking it and checking it twice. Then I padded into Nora’s bathroom and retrieved all my weapons. My brass knuckles, two knives, and my pistol.
I wanted them all close by in case anything should happen.
Knocking on the bedroom door, I waited, but Nora didn’t answer.
“Gattina?” I said, pushing the door open quietly and slipping inside. Nora was asleep, curled up on the bed.
The sight of her was like a lightning bolt to the chest. Without overthinking it, I dropped my weapons on the nightstand and stripped out of my clothes before pulling back the covers and climbing into bed behind her.
It was a bad idea.
The worst one I’d had in a while. But I needed to feel her soft curves against my body. To know she was safe in my arms.
Nora hadn’t been in any of the photographs, but I didn’t like the idea that this fucker knew about us, about Arianne. Because we all led back to Nora and she’d been through enough already.
When shit had got bad with Scott Fascini and Nora had been kidnapped, I’d been beside myself. He’d taken her right from under my nose. That kind of guilt didn’t just evaporate. And I’d vowed to myself, no matter what did or didn’t happen between us, that I would never let anything happen to her again.
That’s why it had been so easy to walk away.
To protect her.
Not only from myself but also from the darkness of the world I inhabited.
Hooking my arm around her waist, I dragged Nora into the hard lines of my body. She murmured softly, snuggling closer. Wiggling her perfect round ass right against my crotch.
“You stayed,” she whispered, her voice thick with sleep.
“Needed you, Gattina.” I tucked my chin into the crook of her neck and breathed her in.
“Why do you call me that?”
“Because you’re soft right here.” My fingers dipped to Nora’s navel and stroked her smooth skin.
“And…”
“And you have sharp claws when you need them. You protect those you care about fiercely.”
“Keep going…” Her gentle laughter wrapped around me and made some of the tension in my muscles ebb away.
I’d forgotten how easy it was to just be with her. No bullshit or pretenses. I don’t know how she did it, but Nora disarmed me.
“Enzo?” She turned in my arms, staring up at me through her thick, dark lashes.
“We should get some sleep, it’s late.” And I’d already woken her once.
“I know there’s a lot you can’t tell me, and I get it. I do. But if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m here for you. I just want you to know that.”
Fuck.
This girl.
This strong, brave, gutsy girl.
“I wish it were that simple,” I said, plucking one of her stray curls between my fingers. “But this isn’t a fairytale, Gattina.”
“You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t know that you’re not the hero of this story, but the villain?”
Her words slayed me. It was as if she’d opened up my chest and looked right into my fucking soul.
“Good and bad aren’t two sides of a coin, Enzo. They’re two ends of the same piece of string. We all have the capacity to be good just like we all have the capacity to be bad. A thief is a thief until he gives his wares to those less fortunate than himself. Then he becomes the hero of their story.”
My lips curved. “It’s a nice sentiment but—”
“No buts.” She pressed a single kiss to my lips, her touch like fire, branding me to the bone.
“Just because someone makes bad choices doesn’t mean they’re inherently bad, just as someone who makes good choices isn’t always inherently good. We’re human, we all have imperfections and flaws.
“You say you’re bad for me, but I think you’d go to great lengths to protect me. Even from yourself.” She peered up at me, hesitating before she reached for me, gently stroking my jaw.
I snagged her wrist, holding her arm there. “Don’t. I didn’t stay for this.” Although my body always had other ideas whenever she was around.
Nora nodded, withdrawing her hand. I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved, but I was bone weary and desperate to close my eyes and find peace.
“Goodnight, Enzo,” she whispered, turning away from me. I dragged her body back to me and fitted us together once more.
“Goodnight, Gattina.”
I tucked my face against Nora’s soft skin and closed my eyes… letting her be my anchor for the night.
“She didn’t leave.” My father wore a smug smirk as he spoke the words. “She found out what I’d done and threatened to tell you. Always so loyal,” he said.
“You’re telling me you killed my wife?” Uncle Toni trembled, anger rippling off him like a violent storm.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My father—my own fucking father was a traitor… and he’d killed my aunt, the boss’ wife. What was this nightmare?
“I’ll fucking gut you and feed you to the fish.” Uncle Toni stormed toward my father, but I ripped my pistol out of my jeans, pointed and fired the shot, blowing a hole right through the bastard’s skull.
Everyone stared at me as if I’d lost my fucking mind. And maybe I had. Maybe this was all a sick, twisted nightmare I would wake up from any second.
“You good, son?” Uncle Toni was in front of me now, trying to peel the pistol from my hands.
“Better than him,” I said, but it didn’t sound like me.
“What do you want us to do with the body?” Uncle Michele asked.
“Burn him for all I care,” I said, before spinning out of the room and stalking out of there. But as I reached the door, my father appeared, a hole right through his skull.
“You think just because I’m dead, I’m gone? I’ll haunt you for the re
st of your days, SON. You can kill me, burn me, and curse me…” His body began to go up in flames. “But I’m a part of you, Lorenzo. My blood runs through your veins. And you will never—”
* * *
“Enzo, wake up. It’s just a dream… it’s just—”
Something touched me and my eyes snapped open right as my hand flew out and grabbed it.
“Enzo,” someone cried. “It’s me… it’s only me.”
“N-Nora?” I blinked, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. My grip on her throat relaxed a little, but I didn’t release her. Slowly, the memories from last night filtered into my mind.
The warehouse…
Gino…
The blood… so much fucking blood…
Finding myself on Nora’s doorstep…
“Are you okay?”
“I think that ship has long sailed, Gattina,” I ground out.
My thumb stroked her jaw and Nora smothered a moan. She liked a rough touch, being dominated, and in the past I’d been all too willing to oblige her. But something felt different between us now.
Something I didn’t want to acknowledge.
“Did you fuck him?”
Luca. I scoffed. He looked like a pussy. Mooning after Nora with those puppy dog eyes. She didn’t need an All-American boy next door; she needed a guy who knew how to handle her.
“Enzo, I thought we weren’t going—”
“Did. You. Fuck. Him?”
Anger flashed in her eyes as she lifted her chin in defiance. Even with my hand wrapped around her throat, Nora wasn’t scared. Turned on maybe, but never scared.
Jesus, this fucking girl.
If I had the capacity to ever love someone, it would be someone exactly like Nora. She was damn near perfect.
“And if I had? You pushed me away, Enzo. You did that. You really expect me to believe you haven’t been fucking half of Verona?”
She wasn’t angry, just resigned… and it fucking stung.
Because she was right.
Well, maybe not about the fucking part. But I hadn’t been a saint. There had been other girls. Faceless girls I’d tried to lose myself in when the voices in my head got too loud.
