“Cristiano, it won’t work. Sometimes I need space. You remember how I am when I get moody. It’s safer for everyone if I just stay clear of people for a day or two.”
Her argument was weak, but her stubbornness wouldn’t let her give in yet. “Annie, when you need to decompress, then fine, go to your apartment. Or lock the door to our bedroom. I’ll camp out with Ryan or sleep in one of the guest rooms. Whatever. I don’t care. I just want to live with you, woman.”
“What if—”
“What if you stopped arguing, gave in, and we lived happily ever after. Or whatever fairy-tale bullshit you read to Ryan. I don’t deserve you, but I’m sitting here, asking you to live with me. To be mine. To love me and my son and be ours.”
Her breath hitched as she inhaled. “I do love you and Ryan.”
“Then move in here.”
“Cristiano.” Her voice was tight, warning.
“Anya,” I mocked in the same tone.
A snicker left her, and I knew I’d won. “Okay. Fine. We will give it a try. But I can’t make any promises it will be something permanent.”
“It will be.”
“Will you stop pushing?” she griped. “You’re getting a trial period. Be happy with that.”
“Fine,” I muttered, appeased for the moment because I knew she wasn’t going anywhere. I wouldn’t let her even if she tried. “Let’s celebrate. I’ll take you and Ryan out to dinner tonight. Our first dinner as a family.”
Her beautiful face softened, and she hugged me. “I would really like that.”
Chapter 23
Anya
Cristiano surprised me by taking us to one of my favorite Greek restaurants. Ryan had never tried Greek food, so we ordered one of everything, letting him taste test and discover what he liked the most. Some of the faces he made while chewing a few of the dishes had his father and me cracking up, but the majority of the food, he enjoyed. The three of us had a great time and I was reluctant for the fun to end, but Ryan began to yawn and I knew it was time to head back.
It was past Ryan’s bedtime by the time we got home from dinner that night. He fell asleep on the car ride, and Cristiano was carrying him inside when we were met at the door by Ciro and Adrian. Both of them were in casual jeans and sweaters, but there was nothing casual about the expression on their faces.
One look at my brother, and I knew something had happened. Hearing crying coming from the direction of the family room, I clutched Cristiano’s hand hard.
“What is it?” Cristiano asked, his voice already rough with emotion.
Ciro put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before taking Ryan out of his arms. “Vito’s gone, fratello.”
I heard the air hiss out of Cristiano, felt the shudder rack his body, and then his arms were around me. I didn’t hesitate to hug him back, holding him because he needed me to be strong enough for the both of us right then. Just for a moment. His fingers tangled in my hair, his face burying in my neck, and seconds later, I felt his tears.
I balled his shirt in my fists, holding on to him tighter as I locked gazes with Adrian still standing in the doorway. “How?” I whispered. “When?”
“Scarlett told Victoria that he wasn’t up to coming down for dinner. When she went to check on him later, he was already gone.” His jaw was clenched, the only outward sign that this was killing him. He respected Vito, had come to love him. The sound of his wife sobbing in the distance didn’t help either. “We were on our way to tell you guys in person when you got here.”
“I’ll take Ryan to bed,” Ciro offered. “You guys head on in. Scarlett will want you two close.”
Cristiano was in a daze, so he didn’t object. I kept my arms around his waist, and we followed Adrian in the direction of the crying.
Scarlett and Victoria sat on one of the couches, holding each other while they both openly wept. The pure agony I heard in their sobs tore at my heartstrings. Allegra was on the other couch, her head on Dante’s shoulder, tears pouring down her pale face. Seeing us coming, Dante pulled his wife onto his lap to make room for Cristiano and me.
Adrian went to Victoria, sitting beside her and rubbing her back while she cried. I wasn’t even sure she realized he was there, she was crying so hard. She clung to Scarlett, who was normally the strong, at times almost emotionless, twin. Now there was no sign of the stoic lady boss who’d run her father’s business part time. Her face was blotchy and drenched in tears, but she and her twin were still beyond beautiful.
I wanted to comfort them both, but their brother needed me more. He sat there, so still it was as if he had turned to stone. His tears had stopped, but the sound of his sisters crying was killing him. Every time one of them whimpered, he jerked as if they had shot him. His fingers would clench around mine, and I would stroke my free hand up and down his arm.
I didn’t know how to help him through this. I wasn’t home when either of my parents died, instead, at school. When Taras died, I was all alone because Adrian was in prison. No one was there to help me digest the agony of losing a loved one. It was a helpless kind of feeling to know what was wrong with the people you loved, but unable to do a damn thing to ease their pain at losing someone so permanently.
“Is there something we need to do?” Dante asked Adrian quietly. “Someone we need to call?”
“The nurse already called the morgue. They will be here in about an hour to get him. Other than that, there’s nothing more we can do tonight.”
Ciro returned and stood behind the couch, his hand stroking lovingly over Scarlett’s hair. The devastation on his face was hard to witness. This was a blow he wasn’t expecting. None of us were. I knew Vito was sick, knew his time was short, but no one was prepared for him to actually die.
“Was he in pain, do you think?” Allegra murmured softly.
“No, baby. He went in his sleep.”
I wondered if that was true or just something Dante was guessing at to make her feel better. I didn’t know, but I chose to believe it, needing that small blessing if nothing else.
We all sat there quietly for a few more minutes before Cristiano jerked to his feet. Still holding on to his hand, I went with him. “Where are you going?”
“I have to see him,” he gritted out.
I didn’t try to argue with him over it. Knew there was no stopping him if his mind was made up. Instead, I went with him. His fingers contracted around mine when I fell into step beside him, and we climbed the stairs together.
The guards we passed were solemn. They were all feeling the loss right along with Vito’s children, but they weren’t able to show their emotions as freely. They nodded their heads in respect to Cristiano as we walked by, but he didn’t notice them, so intent on the need to see his father.
Inside the master bedroom, I could see the place was set up like a luxurious hospital room. An IV pole stood by the bed, the fluids attached to it looking freshly hung. There was a heart monitor and an assortment of other machinery I couldn’t easily identify, but the room was so large that it didn’t feel overly crowded in there.
And on the bed, Vito lay, looking peaceful as if he were just sleeping. In my lifetime, I’d seen plenty of dead bodies, many of them meeting their death at my own hand. But Vito didn’t look like any of them. His face was paler, slowly starting to change to a grayish blue. His hands were folded on top of his stomach, something I could only assume his nurse had done earlier.
A chair sat beside the bed, and I could picture Scarlett sitting there reading to her father, laughing with him as she told him about her day with her children and husband.
Now, Cristiano fell into that chair and grasped his father’s arm. “Pop…” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat a few times before continuing. “You’re not supposed to be gone yet. Yeah, I know Scarlett said it wouldn’t be long, but I didn’t think it would be this fast… I need you here, Pop. I need you to tell me how to comfort the girls. Their husbands couldn’t, so how the fuck am I going
to?”
He shook his head, was quiet for a moment, then spoke again. “I’m gonna fuck up. Shit’s going to happen, and I’m not going to have the answers. Or I’m going to handle a situation and know you would have done it different, better. I don’t want you to be gone. I fucking need you…”
I had to bite my lip to keep my sob locked inside where it couldn’t be heard by anyone but me. In all the time I’d known him, I’ve never seen Cristiano so shattered. It was hard to see him hurting like that, to be unable to find the words to make this all better.
If there were someone else in the room, he never would have let himself break down. That he was doing it while I was there to witness it meant a lot to me for some strange reason. Only I got to see this side of him. Only I was allowed to see him let down every wall he kept up in the public eye, so they couldn’t see his weaknesses, his fears, and his pain.
I squeezed his shoulders, letting him know it was okay to let go. That while he was vulnerable in his sorrow, I had his back. I would be there to protect him even when he didn’t need me to.
He released his father to grasp both my hands, his head falling back against my chest. “He’s not supposed to die, Annie.”
“Everyone dies, moya lyubov,” I told him quietly, massaging his shoulders, fighting back the continued sting of tears. “It’s just part of life. We live. We love. We die. Vito lived a full life. He loved many. Now, it’s time to say goodbye and let him be at peace.”
“She’s right.” A hoarse voice from the doorway pulled our attention to her.
Scarlett and Victoria entered the room, their arms linked together. Their husbands were right behind them, looking out of sorts because they were just as lost as to how to comfort their wives as I was on how to help Cristiano through this. Victoria made a weak whimpering sound when she saw her father, but Scarlett, ever the stronger twin, locked her arm around the other woman’s waist and helped her walk the last few feet to the bed.
Cristiano stood, hugging both of his sisters.
Scarlett put her head on his shoulder, glancing at their father with a smile that was heartbreaking to witness. “Papa had a long life. It was full of love and chaos, and at times it was less than perfect, but he enjoyed every moment of it.”
“Y-ye-yeah,” Victoria hiccupped out.
“And even if it feels like I’m suffocating right now, he would still expect us to be strong for each other.” Lifting her head, she kissed her sister’s brow, then her brother’s jaw. “We have our kids to think about. And we can’t embarrass Papa by letting anyone outside this house see us cry.” She tapped her sister under the chin. “We will be strong for him—and each other. R-right?”
Cristiano’s shoulders straightened, his arms tightening noticeably around the twins. “Maybe you should be in his seat after all, Scarlett,” he teased in a choked voice. “Because you’re the strongest person I fucking know.”
Chapter 24
Cristiano
It was a brutally cold, wet day when we laid Pop to rest. The rain felt like ice as it poured down on us.
Over a hundred people showed up for the service, and they all followed us on to the cemetery afterward. More than a dozen limos lined the well-manicured lawns as we gathered around the open grave where my father would rest for eternity. Beside it, my mother’s tombstone seemed to mock me, and I clutched Anya’s hand like the lifeline she was.
The many black umbrellas made it look like we were under a tent. In front of us, sitting in the chairs for the closest of family members, Scarlett and Victoria were huddled together with Allegra. Tears escaped from time to time, but neither of them let anyone present see just how torn up they were over the loss of our father.
I stood behind them, their husbands on either side of Anya and me. I should have been sitting with them, but I wasn’t about to let any of the elder Dons present see me do anything but stand. Losing Pop was a blow, but I wouldn’t allow it to give those bastards hope that they could catch me unaware. I was the head of the Cosa Nostra now, whether they liked it or not. There was no turning back.
With the last prayer, Pop’s casket was slowly lowered into the ground, and I sensed Victoria begin to shake. I caught her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. I felt her go weak, knew this was taking its toll on her. Adrian bent, whispering in her ear, but she barely shook her head.
Straightening, he caught my gaze. “I have to get her out of here. Now.”
With a stiff nod, I stepped back, giving them permission and room to leave. Adrian lifted her into his arms. The way she was so limp, I knew she was having issues with her blood sugar. The last few days she had been struggling to keep it under control. One of his men held an umbrella over them as Adrian marched toward their waiting limo.
Others took that as their cue it was time to leave as well. Allegra and Dante left, needing to check in on Matteo who needed to be fed soon. Jenny was babysitting back at the compound with Jarvis and Eloise. We had all discussed it together, whether they should attend the service or not, but we all felt our children were too young to be there. Not to mention the added dangers of someone trying to target any of us in the middle of the service. It was just too much of a risk to put the kids in that kind of situation.
Scarlett and I stood as a united front as people came to say goodbye and offer their condolences. Ciro and Vince were positioned at our backs, holding umbrellas over us, and Anya stayed by my side, her hand in mine. It was a huge statement to the elder Dons. I was telling them without words that she was mine.
Some of them knew who Anya was simply because we’d made no secret of our relationship in the past. Some knew her from the freelance work she might have done for them. Those who had never worked with her gave her a chilly smile. Those who had were respectful, unable to completely hide the apprehension they felt for her because they knew just how deadly she could be.
Franco Sorrentino was the last to approach us. Gianni was at his side, a hand on Franco’s arm to help the old man walk without risk of falling on the wet grass, while one of their security team followed behind, holding an umbrella over them.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Franco told Scarlett, and he shook her hand. “If you or your family ever need anything, just ask.”
Scarlett gave him a tight smile. “Thank you, sir. Papa always had the highest respect for you.”
Lie. We all knew Pop detested the bastard, but it was still the answer Franco was expecting. My sister was a diplomat, trained by the best there ever was—our father. Some of it had rubbed off on me, but more often than not, I was too hotheaded to remember all his lessons.
“I believe you know my grandson.” He motioned to Gianni.
The younger Sorrentino was dressed in an expensive suit much like his grandfather, his hair slicked back from his face like the douchebag he was, but he couldn’t even seem to pretend to be sympathetic to the fact that we were there to say goodbye to our loved one. His animosity was blatant on his face, in the set of his shoulders. His entire vibe spoke of his dislike, his hatred.
Ciro stepped closer to his wife, one hand protectively on her waist, the other shooting forward like a snake striking, offering it to the thinner man. Franco nudged his grandson roughly, and as soon as Gianni’s hand touched Ciro’s, he squeezed. Hard. Gianni made a low squawk in pain, but my brother-in-law gave him a menacing smile, tightening his grip. “Yes, we remember him very well,” he murmured to Franco. “How is your leg, Gianni? Did it ever heal right after I shattered it?”
Gianni jerked his hand back, shaking it out. “Fuck off.”
Franco smacked him in the leg with his cane before offering me his hand as he had my sister. I shook it, but I kept my eyes on Gianni, who was now glowering at Anya. I knew she could have taken him out with nothing but her shoes as a weapon, but my first instinct was to stand in front of her, to block her from his view.
“This must be your lovely bride,” Franco said in a honeyed voice. “How are the wedding plans going, my dear?”
Fuck. I forgot I’d told the old man Anya was planning our wedding when I went to see him about the whole Martina issue, but Anya didn’t even miss a beat as she gave him a small smile. “We’ve actually put it on hold for the moment. I think we need to take time to grieve for Vito.”
“As you should,” the Don agreed. “I expect an invitation. We wouldn’t miss your happy day for anything.”
“Of course,” she told him, sounding genuinely sincere. “We would love to have you and your family there, Mr. Sorrentino.”
Gianni grumbled something under his voice, too much of a pussy to say it loud enough for any of us to hear. Anya reached out with her free hand, touching the slimy bastard’s arm. I wanted to jerk her back, break her contact with him, but I forced myself to squash the urge, telling myself she was mine.
“I hear your stepsister had a run-in with the wrong person,” she told him with a look of concern. His nostrils flared, his quick-to-burn temper beginning to catch fire. But Anya merely smiled sweetly. “I hope she learned her lesson and that her children are okay.”
He took a menacing step in our direction, but his grandfather stopped him with a hand on his chest. Without blinking an eye at the man, she offered her hand to Franco. “Thank you for coming today, sir. I hope the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances.”
As they walked away, I heard Scarlett snicker quietly. It was the first amused sound she’d made since Pop’s death, and for some reason, it eased something painful in my chest. Made me realize that even though we’d lost our patriarch, we still had each other.
“Anya, I don’t know what you did to Martina Sorrentino, but whatever it was, I’m a little in love with you right now,” Scarlett told her as she came around to Anya’s other side.
The two women linked arms as they began walking toward the last remaining limo. “How are you feeling, myshka? You look like you have a little more color than you’ve had the past few days.”
“I don’t know why, but laying Papa to rest brought a small bit of peace. Seeing Gianni get schooled and nearly throwing a tantrum to rival Zariah was unexpectedly entertaining.” She laughed softly. “Papa would have been so proud of you.”
Her Mafioso King (The Vitucci Mafiosos Book 4) Page 16
