Until Tomorrow Comes: A Dark Mafia Romance (Beauty in Lies Book 1)
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Until Tomorrow Comes
Beauty in Lies Book One
Adelaide Forrest
Copyright © 2021 by Adelaide Forrest
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 by Adelaide Forrest
Proofreading by Light Hand Proofreading
Created with Vellum
Contents
About the Author
Content & Trigger Warnings
Soundtrack
I. Until Memory Fades
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
II. Until Tomorrow Comes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Also by Adelaide Forrest
About the Author
Adelaide lives in her tiny house with her husband and two rambunctious kids. When she's not chasing all three of them and her dog around the house, she spends all her free time writing and adding to the hoard of plots stored on her bookshelf and hard-drive.
She always wanted to write, and did from the time she was ten and wrote her first full-length fantasy novel. The subject matter has changed over the years, but that passion for writing never went away.
She has a background in Psychology and working with horses, but Adelaide began her publishing journey in February 2020 and never looked back.
For more information, please visit Adelaide's website or subscribe to her newsletter.
Content & Trigger Warnings
Beauty in Lies is a DARK mafia romance series dealing with topics that some readers may find offensive or triggering. Readers of Adelaide Forrest’s Bellandi Crime Syndicate series should note that this series is much darker.
Please keep in mind the following list WILL contain specifics about the ENTIRE series and may spoil certain plot elements. Please avoid the next page if you don’t wish to know specifics.
The following scenarios are all present in the Beauty in Lies series. This list may be added to over time.
•Situations involving dubious, questionable, or nonconsent
•13 Year Age gap, with both characters being of legal age at the time a physical relationship forms.
•Forced Pregnancy
•Branding
•Forced Marriage under threat of death & violence
•VERY graphic violence, torture, and murder
•Drug use, attempted date rape, and dubious situations while under the influence
•Kidnapping/Captive Scenarios
Soundtrack
Until Tomorrow Comes Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3tszVNZDP40H9Z6JpcWsoV?si=VwqyL-7dQTynZ09_OJV0DQ
“Snake Charmer” – Jiovanni Daniel
“Jekyll & Hide” – Bishop Briggs
“Run Baby Run” – 2WEI
“Devil’s Gonna Come” – Raphael Lake
“Cold Blooded” – UNSECRET
“Hunt You Down” – The Hit House
“The Time of Our Lives” – The Venice Connection
“Love It” – UNSECRET
“Can’t Help Falling In Love with You” – Tommee Profitt
“Sentenced to Death” – Colossal Trailer Music
“Paint It, Black” – Ciara
“Wicked Game” Ursine Vulpine
“Stimulated” – UNSECRET
“Walk” – Saint Chaos
“Causing Love” – RAIGN
“Born for This” – Manafest
“Talk To Me” – Apocalyptica, Lzzy Hale
“Die Trying” – New Medicine
“I’m So Close I can Taste It” – Graffiti Ghosts
“Champions” – Kurt Hugo Schneider
“Hate You” – Jim Yosef
“Pray” – Egzod
“Nightmare” – Besomorph
“Tonight is the Night I Die” – Palaye Royale
“Feeling Great” – Sdms
“Silence” – Cemre Emin
“The Heresy” – Mushroomhead
“Chemicals” – The Glitch Mob
“Appetite” – Casey Edwards
“Dancing with the Devil” – Kitty Antix
“Prisoner” – Raphael Lake
“Omens” – UNSECRET
“Wolf Totem” – The HU
“The Devil You Know” – Blues Saraceno
“Darkness Below” – Red Moth
“Shine” – Matt Beilis
“Kiss the Devil” – Bel Heir
“Make Me Believe” – The EverLove
“LOVELOST” – Margo
“Blinding Lights” – The Weeknd
“Losing You” – UNSECRET
“The rainy road” – Rahul
“Baby, I’m jealous” – Bebe Rexha
“Man’s World” – MARINA
“Revolution Bones” – Paolo Buonvino
“Riverbound” – Comaduster
“The Devil is a Gentleman” – Merci Raines
“Devil’s At Your Door” – SWARM
“Odds Are” – The FifthGuys
“Origin” – Besomorph
“Dark in my Imagination” – Of Verona
“Vanguard” – Jo Blakenburg
“We Are the Darkness” – Rok Nardin
“Alpha” – Little Destroyer
“Devil in Disguise” – EMM
“Get My Way” – Vosai
“Killer” – Valerie Broussard
“Murky” – Saint Mesa
“Sweet Dreams” – Dexter
“Every Breath You Take” – Chase Holfelder
“Coma” – Ash Graves
Part I
Until Memory Fades
If you’ve already read the prologue novella, Until Memory Fades, then you can skip directly to Until Tomorrow Comes. If not, the prologue is included for your convenience and is necessary to understand the relationship between Rafael and Isa.
1
Rafael
Sixteen months ago.
The greatest shock didn’t come from walking up to a building stained with blood and tears, but from the cold and stark weather as snow drifted over the frozen ground.
Why did anyone insist on living in a place where the air hurt their face? And where the fuck was the sun?
The warehouse loomed in front of us as we left the rich, comforting warmth of the Ferrari. The massive structure might have blended in with the other abandoned commercial properties in the area, had it not been surrounded by an eer
ie feeling of death. Even in a graveyard for buildings, nothing could disguise the ghosts that lurked around Bellandi's famed warehouse. I didn't know that I believed in spirits, despite my mother's belief in the afterlife, but even I felt all the tortured souls who clung to this place where they had drawn their final breaths.
It certainly didn't help that they'd probably choked on their own blood as they fought for air.
An ordinary person might have wondered how Matteo conducted his wet work in such an obvious location without fear of repercussions, too lost in their grand illusions of being safe in their first world country, where crime couldn't happen to them and bad things only happened to strangers in the night.
Most people were naïve enough to believe the police could ever truly be a threat to men like us.
Then again, most people were fucking idiots.
At my side, Calix ran a hand through his hair, looking just as aggravated as I imagined he had to feel. While fighting in Matteo Bellandi's war was a necessary duty born out of allegiance, nothing could stop the impatience that came with knowing only a ticking clock stood between him and the girl he'd pledged to marry walking down the aisle to another man.
His rumpled suit was a stark contrast to the smooth lines of mine. In other circumstances, I might have reprimanded him to remember that people were always watching us and judging any imperfections they found. It was unnecessary to give them any more ammunition to work with.
After a long flight—even in the comfort of my jet—and knowing that he was mere hours away from his Thalia? I mostly couldn't fault him for it.
"You could have at least changed before we got off the plane," I argued, quirking a brow up when he groaned at me in response. "Need I remind you, Matteo Bellandi is my ally. He needs to be yours. You will be far more directly affected by his friendship than I will, given the proximity of Philadelphia to Chicago. Ibiza is an entire world away."
He scoffed in response. One of the few men who dared to show such impudence in my presence. But Calix had come to Ibiza when he wasn’t yet a man, his family banished from the city they called home in a violent uprising by the other families that had once been friends. He quickly became the closest thing I had to a brother.
"Right, because you don't have world domination on the brain," he said, falling into place behind me. I touched my hands to the front doors of the warehouse, probably taking my life in my hand as I grasped the knob and turned it. The heavy steel door heaved open with a groan, and I stepped into the vast, open space of the main warehouse.
"Doesn't look like they're here, after all," Calix grunted, glancing around the room. I pressed a finger to my lips before pointing down to the trail of blood splatter that led to the back hallway. Pulling my cell phone from my back pocket, I dialed Matteo's number one more time, hoping to alert him to our presence before it led to a bloody standoff.
The line connected as he finally answered my calls. "You're as bad as one of Simon's one-night stands today. Won't take a fucking hint. What do you want?" Matteo grumbled into the phone. The sound of a man's pained whimpers filled the background noise.
It seemed we hadn't arrived too late to enjoy the fun.
"Well, I suppose if I'm not wanted, I can take my men back to Ibiza," I drawled.
"You're early," Matteo returned. As if I didn't know that.
"Lorenzo indicated things were progressing faster than expected, and you might need assistance sooner. I live to please. Now, where are you hiding in your blood-soaked warehouse? I suppose we could play a game of hide and seek, so long as Ryker promises not to throw a hatchet at me when I win."
"Freezer at the back," Matteo grunted, disconnecting the call.
“You’re no fun,” I chuckled, glancing to Calix, who studied me with a demented smile.
"Wonderful. Like Chicago in February isn't cold enough, now we have to go inside a fucking freezer," Calix grumbled as I made my way for the hall at the back. With the worn edges covered in rust, the freezer door didn't look capable of functioning. But sure enough, Matteo stood outside the door with one of his men, waiting.
My eyes met Matteo's first, his gaze as hardened as mine. "It's good to see you, Rafael," he said. The man at his side widened his eyes, staring at me in shock for a moment before he snapped his face back into an expressionless mask. Not yet broken. If the mask needed practice, then his training hadn't been as thorough as what Matteo and I had lived.
"You mean it's good to know you have reinforcements," I said, my voice lacking all inflection. Matteo was perhaps one of the closest things I had to a friend, but that didn't mean we were warm and fuzzy. We had a mutual understanding. We stayed out of one another's way and only offered support or opinions when necessary.
He hadn't called and invited me to his wedding by any means. Though I had heard about it through the grapevine and been shocked. In our lives, women were a weakness.
I couldn't imagine any single woman ever being worth risking my life for.
"Mostly that. Just make sure your men behave while they're in my city," Matteo ordered, but there was no animosity to his tone. Our rules were fairly similar, though he was slightly more strict on protecting women. I didn't allow human trafficking in my organization, but I didn't protect people who weren't my concern either.
"They know the drill," I returned, making my way to the freezer door.
"Ryker's inside with his latest toy. You know how he feels about being interrupted." Matteo laughed. Calix took a step back, avoiding the doorway as I wrenched the door open and stepped into the freezer. The sound of something cutting through the air filled the space, the slight and nearly imperceptible whisper of Ryker's hatchet as it traveled through the space between us. I lifted my hand, catching it by the handle before it could sink into my shoulder. The wooden handle I held in my palm was stained with blood that had soaked into the porous surface over years of use, but fresh blood coated it where Ryker had gripped it to throw it at me.
Ryker grinned at me, his face twisting maniacally as my face split into a matching smile. "You missed," I said.
"One of these days," he said, wiping his hands on a rag and glaring at the blood caked beneath his fingernails. Calix and Matteo strolled into the room, sensing the foolish game, that would only stop when one of us was dead, had ended. Men like Ryker and I needed a bit of senseless violence in our lives.
It had been nearly a week since I'd watched the life bleed from someone's eyes. Considering there were only two ways to make a man like me feel alive, fucking and killing, I desperately needed a fix.
How fortuitous for me that a lovely bloodied meatsack sat in a chair, waiting for Ryker to go back to his torture session. "Who is he?" I asked, stripping off my suit jacket. Folding it neatly, I handed it to Matteo's man lurking in the doorway. "If it crumples, so will you," I warned him. He swallowed, nodding and pushing the freezer door closed to lock the other five of us within it.
"Perhaps you would be liked more here if you didn't threaten the men," Simon barked from the corner. He always kept his distance from me. There again, he'd never been a fan of mine.
"I'm uncertain what gave you the impression I want people to like me," I said back, stretching my lips over my teeth in the bastardization of a smile. He scowled at me, rolling his eyes to the ceiling in a move I'd killed men for in the past. Matteo glared at his bodyguard, one harsh look making the other man straighten his posture and disguise his hatred.
Men took it so personally when you fucked their sister.
"He was one of our dealers until about a month ago. Then he just up and disappeared for a few days," Matteo answered. "Didn't hear a word from him, and we figured he was dead. He said he was visiting his sister, but we've had eyes on her. He was never there, so I'd like to know where he's really been."
"I bet he wishes he was with her now," I chuckled, trailing my eyes over Ryker's handiwork. Missing fingernails, entire sections of skin missing from his chest and stomach. "Are you close with your sister?" I asked him,
grabbing his forehead and shoving his face until he stared up into my eyes. Touching Ryker's hatchet to his cheek, I let the sharp blade pierce the skin ever so slightly to punctuate my words.
"No," he wheezed, the tiny glance to his left the only sign that the words were a lie.
"Hmm," I said, playing along for the moment. "What about your wife?" I asked, grabbing his left hand and snapping the ring finger back until it cracked and he yelled out in pain.
"She has nothing to do with this," he rasped.
"I'm not a Bellandi, boy. She's about to have everything to do with this if you don't start singing," I said, smiling at him as I slid the wedding band off his finger and tossed it into the air. "Maybe I'll even wear your wedding ring while I fuck her. I always wondered what it was like to be married," I teased. I was many things—a criminal and a murderer among them—but a rapist I was not. He didn't need to know his wife would beg for more if I paid her a visit.
They always did.
He swallowed, glancing to Matteo to see if the other man would interfere with my threat. He wouldn't, because Matteo knew that there were certain lines I wouldn't cross. I clung to my humanity by a shred, and I wouldn't sacrifice the rest of my soul to the devil by forcing myself on a woman who didn't want me. Not when I never lacked for a willing bed companion. No woman was worth that.