Reign (The Larussio Legacy Book 3)

by Via Mari

  I hear him talking, but I’m not even near fucking ready for a voice of reason. I try to contemplate what he’s said, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is gone. My dark-haired beauty is already heading back to Italy, flying far, far away from me. A choice of words, or any response at all, seems to elude me, but my anger does not dissipate, only smolders just below the surface, ready to erupt into a full-blown volcano at any time.

  Jay knows I’m as pissed as he’s ever seen me, but he doesn’t cower. Instead, looks me right in the eye as he speaks. “Nick and Cole are good men. They’re on the plane with Serena, and they won’t let anything happen to her. As soon as we can clear Antonio and get him on a plane without drawing suspicion, he’ll be on his way to Italy to join them. She’s used to him protecting her and will feel more secure.”

  “Where? Where in Italy? Where are you taking her?” I finally manage to get out, while tightening my grip instead of loosening it from his lapels.

  “Nick and Cole are taking her to your family home, Gio. She isn’t safe anywhere else, as you and I both know. We haven’t told her that yet, so Nick and Cole will need to have that conversation when they land. She wants to go to her brother’s house. We’ll try to get her to stay at your family home, but we can’t hold her against her will when they arrive. It’s not our way. If you read our contract, you’ll see it spelled out to the letter.”

  “Fuck your contract! I wasn’t asking you to keep her imprisoned. I just want her safe,” I bellow, and as soon as I listen to the words and rewind everything that has happened in the last twelve hours, I realize Jay and the entire security team have done exactly what I would have wanted. She could have left without security, and he is right, she did take her protection because she saw the risks firsthand. I am just having an extremely difficult time reconciling the fact that after everything we’ve been through, she decided to leave, and that’s on me, on the goddamn Family that I am part of, and not on the security team who has done nothing but protect the two of us and our families.

  I let go of Jay’s shirt, taking in the steely eyes still fastened intently on my own. “I owe you an apology. I know you’re trying to keep the entire family safe, and you’re right, I wouldn’t want Serena held against her will, but she’s running scared, Jay, and that’s on you and your team.”

  His eyes narrow, but he steadfastly holds his ground, which impresses me despite my mood. “She’s scared because she should be, which is exactly why she didn’t ditch her security team when she left. We’ve learned the hard way that we need to ensure the people we are safeguarding know exactly how vulnerable they are if not guarded. Chase and Brian will attest to this, Gio. You have my word that her safety is my and my teams’ utmost concern, even if our methods piss you off.”

  No one dares to speak to a Larussio in this manner, and Salvatore’s entire body tenses, causing a chain reaction throughout the entire security team, each one on the ready for a sudden move, but I shake my head to keep Sal refrained. “I already know that you are committed, or you sure as hell wouldn’t be standing here. Keep Serena and her family safe at all costs.”

  He takes my threat in stride. “She’ll be completely safe until she hits Italy. Salvatore, we’re going to need help navigating things with your great-uncle once she gets there. We’ll need lifts to some of the security clearances that you and your uncle have set up. We’re going to need our best men on the ground and inside the complex if everyone’s going to come out of this alive,” Jay says.

  Sal nods, one curt gesture. “We can talk when we’re home,” Salvatore says, and he doesn’t need to say a word. Nothing that would bring trouble to the Family is going to be discussed until he is confident that we are in a place where no one can listen in on the conversation.

  Serena

  The moment we’re airborne, I climb into the luxurious master suite bed fully dressed and open my laptop to connect with Wi-Fi and begin the research that I need. If Antonio finds out that I took his password one day while he was in the bathroom, he’ll probably never forgive me, but I need to know exactly what I am up against, not just what the family and security team wish to tell me.

  Dominic Mancini was once a formidable enforcer for the Chicago Mafia, but thought he could do better on his own. He marshaled some of the Chicago crew and slowly began pilfering money from the Chicago mob and dabbling in other illicit activities to gain an even greater foothold in the crime industry. According to records, Dominic was using Ty Channing, a well-known attorney, to launder money through the Torzial Consulting Firm.

  The company name looks so familiar. I rack my brain trying to remember where I’ve seen it before, when I see the name of Katarina Meilers-Larussio-Prestian, Giovanni’s cousin. She works for the Torzial Consulting Firm and her boss and best friend is Jenny Torzial, the woman that was accused of murdering Ty Channing, her fiancé and the lawyer that worked for Dominic. Damn, what a small world!

  Jenny was acquitted of all murder charges, but it was learned that unknown to her at the time, Ty was using her company and passwords to funnel mafia money through her company. When the Chicago Mafia learned Mancini was skimming, they came after both Mancini and Jenny Torzial. Now it’s all coming together!

  I continue to read, skimming through pieces here and there, some I am already aware of, but slow down when I get to the part about Giovanni. Mancini and his crew initially taking asylum with the Italian Family rumored to have turned him out of their safe house, which is how he was caught by the authorities and now sits in one of the harshest prisons in the country. This is what Giovanni was referring to. He is the cause of Dominic being captured by the authorities! Damn. No wonder the man has a vendetta against him and anyone he cares about.

  Dominic’s network, at least those who haven’t already been taken out, are apparently still alive and well. Every two days he has a phone call that he takes in the break room, and prison officials believe information is provided and instructed via code, but they haven’t been able to break it to understand the instructions he sends out to his still loyal team on the outside.

  My family and I have done nothing, but Giovanni’s enemies want to hurt me to hurt him. They’ve certainly tried, but he hasn’t let them get to me, and he still has an entire security team at his disposal to battle Mancini’s loyal supporters on the outside, and that’s clear from reading Antonio’s notes, which gives me some peace of mind. I place my laptop on the nightstand, turn my phone off and try to get a little sleep.

  * * *

  It’s been hours in the air; a nap, a little bite to eat, watching mindless movies and a shower later, and finally I turn my phone on and watch as the barrage of messages, eleven in total, begin appearing on my screen. All from Giovanni, all indications of his displeasure and concern. I swallow through the pain of his messages, and the one that hurts the most is his disappointment in me not talking to him about my concerns. I don’t blame him for the way he feels, but we both know I wouldn’t have been strong enough to walk away if I had talked to him about it first. As much as I hate to admit it, he always knew the truth. He did everything in his power to send me away, knowing that we had to give each other up in order for my family to stay safe. I was the one who didn’t fully realize how bad it could get, regardless of how forthright and candid he was.

  When the plane lands, it’s morning in Italy, incredibly early morning, which means that very few people are moving around and active, but Nick and Cole have made me a cup of coffee in one of the travel mugs onboard. I inhale the aroma, and before I even taste it I know it will be delicious. A perfect balance of espresso and hazelnut and cream. Absolutely divine!

  “This smells amazing,” I say.

  Cole hands me a lid. “Bring it with you. We need to get going.”

  The men open the airplane door, and we are immediately surrounded by an entourage of intense and gorgeous looking security men, all with headsets affixed to their ears, keeping
me surrounded as they lead me down the ramp and into an awaiting limo. They get me settled into the car and then split up into the vehicles that will both lead and follow our car.

  The driver heads to the highway, and after a half hour or so the landscape becomes extremely familiar. This is not where I told them that I wanted to go. I asked them to take me to my brother’s so we could work on a plan to keep our family safe and come for Nonna when we knew it was okay, but that’s not where we’re heading, and I know exactly where they are taking me.

  “You want me to trust you, to come to you when I have fears and need you to keep me safe, yet your allegiance is not to me. Time and time again you do Giovanni’s bidding! I told you to take me to my brother’s home! My family is not safe, and it’s just going to keep getting worse and worse if they find out that I am at the Larussio estate. I will be a prisoner, nothing else!”

  Nick and Cole both have the good grace to look chastised. “Look, Serena,” Nick says, “we work for Giovanni and the Family, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand what you’re going through. We want to make sure you get through it alive. We wouldn’t be here otherwise. Giovanni’s estate is the safest place for you right now. We were going to talk to you about it, but thought it might be better to do it once we arrived. We are in the process of moving your nonna, too.”

  “Wait, why? No! She will absolutely hate it! You must know how badly she feels about the Larussios. She will never take to living under their roof. I can’t subject her to that!”

  Nick’s eyes narrow at me. “Would you prefer to watch her killed? Perhaps with a random missile dropped from a drone like they did with your grandfather’s house? Maybe this time they won’t miss. Or maybe they’ll drop the missiles all around, enough to give us a chance to get her out of the house, but then just take her. We are good, Serena, make no mistake about that, but you and your family are not safe unless you are at Giovanni’s estate, at least for a short while.”

  I shake my head. “No, this is not what I envisioned. I already called my brothers, and they had a plan to keep me safe until I could come for Nonna. This way, the enemies wouldn’t know where I was or come for Nonna, because they would believe I left Giovanni. That was the whole point, to make them think that we’re not together!”

  “Serena, I hate to state the obvious, but it’s far too late for that. They know that you are Giovanni’s because you led them right to his estate. No matter what you do, that will never change. They also know where your nonna is. How do you think they followed you into town and out to Giovanni’s? They have eyes everywhere. That’s what we’re dealing with and trying to sort out, but you have to trust us and give us time to do our job.”

  “I do trust you, but my brothers are expecting me. We have to figure out a plan to keep them and their families safe.”

  Cole’s been quiet the entire time, just taking in our conversation, but he finally takes pity on Nick. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, Serena, but we’re not going to let your family be taken. We know what we’re doing, and we overheard the conversation that you had with your brothers. We’re going to handle everything,” he says.

  He doesn’t look even slightly phased as my eyes go wide with shock. “You did not! Where is that goddamn wire? Tell me right now, Cole!” I demand.

  His jaw tightens. “I can’t do that, Serena. Suffice to say that we heard the conversation, and your brothers and their families are safe. They’re going to meet you at the Larussio’s estate. In fact, your nonna is being prepared for transport as we speak. We didn’t want to move her until you were with her, so the troops on the ground will move her at my say so.”

  “At your say so? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? She will never forgive me, and she will hate Giovanni even more now, and how on earth did you convince Great-Uncle to take my family in? They are not cleared in any way! What if they want nothing to do with the Family and turn on them? What then? Did you think about that when you were making decisions for my life without asking me?”

  Cole narrows his eyes at me. “Calm down, Serena, and one question at a time! Your brothers will not turn on anyone. It will be your job to ensure they don’t have a reason for ill will toward the Larussio Family. They were already hiding their families, Serena. Giovanni wanted them safeguarded, and that’s what we’re doing.”

  “Giovanni wants it, and that’s how I have to live. Alone, without him, in a huge villa, kept a prisoner from life!”

  “It won’t be forever, and remember, now you will have your nonna and your family. You won’t be alone.”

  My phone buzzes with a message from Giovanni, and I huff at the fact his security team tells him absolutely everything!

  I will be home shortly after you land, and we will discuss this with you across my knee!

  Gio

  If Serena thinks for one moment that I will allow her to hide out from Mancini’s men in her brother’s home, she is wrong, no matter how much her grandmother or brothers disagree. Great-Uncle has already secured clearance for her family, knowing full well when he did that it may come to this sometime in the near future. I wasn’t prepared for her to leave, but perhaps it’s for the best that she knows just how serious Mancini is, even if she doesn’t yet see the need to stay at my family’s estate. I glance down at the ding of an incoming message. My dark-haired beauty has a mind of her own, and I chuckle as I read her response.

  I am NOT a child! You had no right to bring me here!

  Oh, on the contrary, I had every right, because she belongs to me to protect and safeguard, to love and cherish, and yes, even to paddle when she can’t seem to get out of her own way. I smile broadly as the team walks me to the jet that will have me in Italy before my naughty little submissive knows it.

  Are you ignoring me, Giovanni Larussio?

  I can hardly contain my laugher as we board the jet and the engines begin to roar. The security team gets the cabin closed up, and I settle in and send her a message.

  Do not worry, Tesoro. Things are under control at home.

  Nonna will hate it; your great-uncle will be livid!

  I glance up, and Salvatore is watching me. “Is everything ready for Serena and all of her family?” I ask, ignoring my cousin’s smirk as continual dings of incoming messages hit my cell, letting us both know that my little sweetheart is far from finished with her tirade.

  “I made arrangements for the guest houses while you were at your last meeting, so everything should be set when they arrive. All of Serena’s nonna’s medical equipment has been transported, but Serena is seriously pissed. The security team tell me she’s fuming mad,” Salvatore says.

  I run my hand through my hair and smile at him. “So I heard. Thanks for taking care of everything. Any luck finding her brother’s wives? Where the hell did they stash them?” I ask.

  “I think they believe this is some sort of a set up to have their families come out in the open. Paranoid fuckers! I don’t blame them for wanting to keep the women and children protected, but they’ll be much safer at our estate than anywhere else.”

  “Yeah, have you heard how Great-Uncle’s taking it all? I wish one of us were there to calm him. I wasn’t too keen on him leaving directly after the grand opening or flying home without us, but now I’m glad that he did. At least he’ll be there when Serena arrives.”

  “He’s beside himself. I’m telling you, Giovanni, if you ever decide to break it off with Serena, he may just disown you. He’s become quite fond of her, wouldn’t even start coffee or breakfast until she joined him each morning when she was staying at the estate. They seem to have formed a genuine bond. And my sources tell me he’s been on the phone personally with both the housekeeping manager and head chef, giving them instructions for the guest houses and meals.”

  I smile widely because only a short time ago Great-Uncle was the very one warning me away from Serena and wouldn’t even allow he
r to step foot in our penthouses without clearance. Funny how that woman has managed to worm her way into the heart of more than one Larussio. “I wouldn’t consider breaking it off with Serena. I’m going to marry that woman, Salvatore,” I say, flipping through pictures of her I have saved to my phone.

  Salvatore chuckles. “I wondered how long it would be before you decided to pop the big question. She’s a keeper, Giovanni. She thinks the sun rises and falls with you. Most of the women I meet want a lifetime of money and leisure. She is a feisty little thing, though! You know what they say about things that run in the family on the female side. Looks and temperament, my dear cousin. I pity you if you end up with a house full of daughters one day!”

  “I never thought I would say this, but I wouldn’t mind that in the slightest.”

  “Good to hear! Great-Uncle and I will expect a house full of nieces and nephews! Lord knows he won’t get any children from me!”

  “You’ll find the right person one day, Sal. I never thought meeting someone I was more than just physically attracted to would ever happen. It’s hard to explain, but when it happens, you know it in an instant.”

  Sal glances down at his phone just as mine buzzes with an incoming message. I chuckle out loud and look up at my cousin, who’s shaking his head. “Well, it seems at this very moment your sweet little girlfriend is still causing the entire security team more than a pile of grief.”

  I can’t help but smile at the thought of their chastisement. “Nick and Cole deserve a bit of it, though, for taking her to the plane without talking to me first,” I say, still pissed beyond words at the entire situation we find ourselves in.