Dirty

by Ella Miles

  “You don’t think I will kill you?”

  “No.”

  I shake my head, tightening my grip on the gun. “If you move an inch, I will shoot you.”

  “I don’t think you will.”

  He moves, and I shoot him in the other leg.

  “Fuck you, bitch!”

  I grin. “I’m not a liar. I will kill you if you move. I’ve killed plenty of men before. And even if I hadn’t, the things you did to me would have made me strong enough to kill you in an instant. The only reason you are continuing to breathe is that Caspian needs to kill you more than I do.”

  Dante laughs. “You aren’t strong enough.”

  “Gia’s plenty strong enough. Adela’s safe. Kill him, Gia,” Caspian says as he enters the room.

  His words should be enough for me to pull the trigger, but I can’t do that. Caspian needs this more than me. He’s needed this for five years.

  I lower the gun and hold it out to Caspian. “You need this more.”

  Caspian holds onto the gun and then tries to push it back into my hands, but I won’t let him.

  “I love you. Let this be my final gift.” I give him the gun, and then I step back. I may not get to kill Dante, but I can watch the white leave his eyes.

  Caspian lifts the gun and aims it at Dante, and for the first time, I see fear in Dante’s eyes.

  “You took Clara from me. You deserve to be tortured over and over for the pain you caused her. You stole her, tortured her, raped her, and then killed her. But I’m a compassionate person. I will kill you swiftly if you apologize for what you did.”

  Dante shakes his head. “I never stole a Clara.”

  Caspian’s finger tightens around the trigger. “You took her from me five years ago. And then threw her out with the trash like she was nothing. You were about to do the same thing to Gia and hundreds of other women. You remember her.”

  “I don’t because she doesn’t exist.”

  I can see Caspian’s rage grow as Dante admits he doesn’t remember Clara. Caspian has a lot of control, but he doesn’t have much control left.

  “Admit what you did, you fucking cunt.”

  Caspian’s hand shakes as he stares at Dante with all the pain he’s felt for years.

  Dante turns from Caspian and looks at me with his lust-filled disgusting eyes.

  I jump as the bullet leaves Caspian’s gun without warning. It hits Dante in the head, and he falls to the ground, dead in an instant.

  Caspian runs to me and throws his arms around me, both of us shaking.

  “Did he hurt you?” Caspian’s voice trembles as he speaks and looks me over.

  I close the shirt he ripped around my body. “He barely touched me before I snatched his gun.”

  Caspian exhales. “You promise?”

  I nod.

  “Thank you for coming back and saving me.”

  “I didn’t save you; you saved yourself.”

  I smile weakly.

  “Is Adela okay?”

  He nods. “Yes, she’s shaken up, but she’s fine. She will be popping a baby out in six months without a problem.”

  I smile. “You knew.”

  He nods. “I knew, but it still killed me to leave you here not knowing if you were going to live or die.”

  “You made the right decision. I wouldn’t have forgiven you if you had saved me and anything had happened to Adela.”

  “I know. It still killed me.”

  Tears fill my eyes. I won’t let him see me cry over him again.

  “I’m going to go call my brothers. I’m sure they are worried sick. They will send a plane to get me.”

  Caspian steps in front of me, stopping me from leaving.

  “Your brothers know where you are. They’ve known the entire time I’ve had you.”

  “What?”

  “They trusted I would keep you safe. If you were with them, you would have jeopardized their lives, and it would have been one of the first places Dante would have looked.”

  “I should still talk to them, now that he’s gone.”

  “Stop. Stop running.”

  I freeze.

  “I’m sorry. For everything, but most importantly for breaking your heart. And for not telling you I love you too.”

  “What?”

  Caspian grabs me and kisses me with everything he has. He dips me, holding me in his arms as he deepens the kiss, his tongue tasting every drop inside my mouth.

  When he pulls back, I see the love in his eyes. He loves me, and I love him. This should be our happily ever after. Our perfect ending, but it isn’t. I can’t start our lives together on a lie. He has to know my darkest secret. Only then, can he decide if he loves me.

  “There is a reason Dante didn’t admit to killing Clara.”

  Caspian steps back, he can sense what I’m going to say.

  “Dante may have stolen her, but he sold her to my family. To my father.”

  Caspian takes another step back, and I can feel him slipping further away from me.

  “Your father? Enrico Carini?”

  I nod. “He was the one who raped her. He broke her.”

  “He killed her?”

  I swallow, trying to keep the words from leaving my mouth, but he has to hear them. He has to know the truth.

  “No, I killed her.”

  19

  Caspian

  Gia couldn’t have killed Clara. It’s not possible. Gia has to be lying or misunderstanding what happened. I know Gia’s past is dark, but she couldn’t have killed an innocent woman.

  “No,” I say.

  Tears stream down her pink cheeks. Whatever happened, I can forgive Gia. I love her. I almost lost her to Dante again. I won’t let her go again.

  I force my legs forward toward her to show my support. She needs to know there is nothing she can say to make me leave her.

  “I remember Clara. She was a beautiful, strong, innocent woman. She loved life, but my father broke her almost instantly. She was so fragile, so naïve that it was easy for him to break her.

  “I thought I could help her. So one night after father had gone to bed, I snuck into her room. I couldn’t sneak her out; her body was too broken to run. And I couldn’t lift her on my own. But I could bring her a weapon. I couldn’t kill my father myself, but she could. She just needed the gun.

  “So I provided her one. But she was too far gone to keep fighting. She just wanted the pain to end.”

  She doesn’t continue, instead, her voice cracks. Clara used the gun to end her life and her suffering. I don’t blame Clara for what she did. I couldn’t rescue her, and she didn’t grow up in the world that Gia did. Clara didn’t have the same fight that Gia has.

  Rage and pain hit me again. And I have nothing and no one to take it out on.

  “I need revenge.”

  “Enrico is gone. He’s already dead.”

  I turn, needing to find something to take out my anger on.

  She races in front of me. “Take it out on me. I deserve it. I never should have given her the gun in her condition.”

  I look away. I can’t look at her. It hurts too much.

  She grabs my face and turns me toward her. “Take out your revenge on me.”

  “I can’t. The last time we did, one of us almost died.”

  She wipes her tears. “It’s worth the risk if it means I have a shot at keeping you.”

  She’s right. It’s worth the risk.

  She smiles weakly at me and then walks to the bed and lies down offering her body to me.

  This room is filled with the darkest of items. Items I could use to destroy her. But it’s not what I want.

  I want rough. I want fast. And I want to know if we can find love in the dark. Or if we are meant to wander this world apart.

  I grab her body and rip her pants until she is naked.

  She moans as I do, but this isn’t about pleasure. This is about releasing my rage.

  I flip her over and find her sweet a
ss. I spank her hard, watching as her flesh turns red. She cries out, but it just sparks my deeper rage.

  I hate her for what she did.

  I’m not sure I can forgive her.

  I’m not sure if I can forgive myself.

  Or if the love I felt a minute ago was even really love or just worry.

  I spank her again and again, watching the pain spread as I undo my pants. I need to be inside her whether she is ready for me or not. I need to fuck her ass and show her how much pain I’m in.

  I push my pants down, and then I push my hard cock against her asshole, and in one movement, I thrust in. She screams in pain but doesn’t try to stop me.

  I want to do worse. More spanking. Slam into her body harder. Grab instruments to mark her body.

  I settle for slamming hard into her while I slap her ass.

  “Conti!” she cries out.

  I still. What am I doing?

  My rage immediately disappears as she moans my name. She sacrificed herself to save my sister. She’s sacrificing her body now for a chance at love. And I’m repaying her by hurting her after I’ve already done more than enough horrible things to hurt her.

  I pull out and flip her over before thrusting my cock back into her.

  “I’m so sorry, princess,” I say kissing her lips as hard as I can. Tears sting both of our eyes as we kiss harder. Gia wraps her arms around my neck as I slowly rock in and out.

  “I love you,” I whisper against her lips. “I’m so sorry. I’ll never screw up again.”

  Gia smiles. “You will, and I’ll forgive you. Just like I’ll screw up as well. I love you."

  I smile. I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling as long as I have her. But right now I need to focus. I have the love of my life to make love to, and I want to rock her world.

  She bites her lip as she sees my expression change. “I want to love you forever, Gia.”

  “I’ll never stop loving you, Conti.”

  I laugh. “But I might stop if you keep calling me by my dad’s name.”

  She laughs too, but her laughs quickly change to moans as I take her perky nipple into my mouth and rock against her clit. I know exactly how to play her body. It doesn’t matter we are in the darkest place, where Gia was raped and with the dead body of her rapist a few feet away. We won’t remember any of that after tonight. Because tonight we are reclaiming it as ours.

  I never thought I could love again after Clara. Clara was my light, and Gia brings out my dark. I thought I needed to stay firmly in the light, but Gia has taught me that it’s okay to live in the darkness. Because even in the darkness, there is light. And together we can always find our way back out through our love.

  Epilogue

  Gia

  “I have some exciting news,” I say into the phone where my sisters-in-law Nina and Eden are on the line.

  “Oh my god, you’re engaged!” Nina shouts.

  “No.”

  “You’re pregnant!” Eden says.

  I laugh. “No.”

  I can hear the audible sadness in both Nina and Eden’s voices.

  “Don’t worry, Caspian and I are still going strong, I just don’t think either of us is ready to settle down and have kids.” I don’t add that I don’t think we will want kids ever. Our lives are too dangerous to add kids to.

  “So what’s the exciting news?” Eden asks.

  “I’ve finally found my passion! I’m officially a partner with Caspian and Adela in the security business. We install security systems in the worst of the worst homes and businesses, and then use that information to turn them over to the police or to kill them.”

  Silence.

  I knew my news wouldn’t go over well, but finally, I get a response. “That’s amazing!” I hear them both say at the same time.

  “Really, it’s amazing! I’m so proud of you. You are really going to make a difference. You are such a badass. You have the skills, and you know this world so well,” Nina says.

  “Thank you.”

  “Just wait a little until you tell your brothers. They won’t take the news well. They will probably try to ring Caspian’s neck for letting you do such a dangerous job, but you are going to do amazingly well.”

  I smile. “I’ll wait until we come to your house Christmas to tell them.”

  I hear a baby crying in the background. “We need to go. Be safe and visit soon. We all miss you.” The line is disconnected as the cries get louder in the background.

  I smile. I miss them too.

  Caspian comes into the living room carrying a plate of sandwiches. “How did it go?” he asks even though I know he heard every word of our conversation. The cons of living in such a small home. The pros far outweigh the cons though. I love being so close to Caspian all the time. This house feels cozy, like a real home, instead of the coldness of the mansion my family used to call home.

  “Well, my sisters think it’s a great idea.”

  Caspian raises his eyebrows. “And your brothers?”

  “We agreed it was best to wait to tell them.”

  Caspian laughs. “Good, that means I can live another day.”

  I curl up next to him on the couch and snatch a sandwich off his plate.

  “I love our life. And I love you for letting me risk my life, same as you.”

  “It’s hard. Maybe one day it will get easier. But I can’t stop you from being the badass, warrior you are.”

  I kiss him on the lips, smiling widely. I can’t get enough of him.

  “I overheard your sisters-in-law though. Do you want to get married and have kids? Have the typical life?”

  “No. I don’t have a need to get married. I already know I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you without a piece of paper telling me so. And kids, our lives are too dangerous to bring kids into the mix. All I need is you.”

  “I feel the same way.” He rubs his nose against mine.

  And I lean into the crook of his arm while I chomp down on my sandwich.

  Arlo and Nina travel to stay safe from the dangers our family has put us in. They never stay in one place for long, and that keeps them safe.

  Matteo and Eden use the distance of the US and Eden’s job as a prosecutor to keep them safe.

  But Caspian and I confront the darkness head-on. Our lives are the riskiest, but it’s worth it to live the life we want.

  Italy is my home, and I would never leave it. As for my childhood home I love, and for Clive and Erick, the remaining men on my revenge list, maybe one day I’ll face them and get my home back. As for now, I’ve realized I don’t need revenge to be happy or free. Love already set me free.

  The End

  * * *

  Thank you so much for reading! The Carinis' story isn’t over yet! Read the final chapter in Dirty Epilogue next…

  Dirty Epilogue

  Prologue

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Mrs. Carini.”

  My heart stops at the voice on the other line. A voice I never thought I would hear again.

  “Clive.”

  I can feel him smirking on the other end of the line.

  “What do you want? Whatever it is, the answer is no,” I say.

  “No? I don’t think you are in any position to tell me no.”

  “We gave you everything. Our house. Our company. Everything. We needed your help, and we traded everything to get it. Now we are done. You live your life, while we live ours. We aren’t friends. We aren’t enemies. We are nothing.”

  Clive laughs. “Maybe that was the promise, but you broke the rules.”

  “We haven’t broken any rules, because there were no rules to break. We had no agreement. We are nothing.”

  “I doubt you will think that way anymore.”

  My breath catches as I race to think about every worse case scenario. My husband and kids are playing in the other room. I can hear their laughter. They are safe, for now. What about my the rest of my family? What about Eden, Matteo, Gia, and Cas
pian? Are they safe?

  “What did you do?”

  “We didn’t do anything. We didn’t start this war. You did.”

  “We didn’t start anything. If you remember, you were the one that kidnapped me. You helped Roman sell Gia. You are the monsters who started this, not us. One cooperative moment helping us save Eden doesn’t redeem you.”

  “We don’t hold grudges. I’m not talking about the past. I’m talking about the present.”

  “We haven’t done anything. We don’t give a shit about you. We don’t think about you.”

  “Well, that is about to change. Because I think you will be thinking a lot about us from now on.”

  Clive’s bluffing. This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t even be listening to this conversation. Clive and Erick can’t hurt us. We have taken every precaution. We have twenty-four-hour security. Caspian installed the highest level of security equipment in all of our homes. And we all hired the best bodyguards in the world.

  We have made many enemies, and we don’t take the threats we receive lightly. But Clive and Erick are weak. We could squash them in a second. We don’t so they can be out there making enemies, which takes a large target off our backs. We no longer need to be involved in the dangerous life the Carinis grew up in. We can exist on our own without our dark pasts.

  “I’m done playing games, Clive. Tell me why you called, or I’m ending this conversation,” my voice vibrates through the entire house, and Arlo strolls down the hallway to where I’m standing. We exchange a glance, and I know whatever Clive says, won’t matter.

  I have Arlo. I have my kids. And whatever happens, Arlo will face it with me, by my side.

  “We took…”

  1

  Nina

  I hear a scream, and my heart stops.

  It does this every time one of my children scream or cry. It skips a beat at any loud noise.

  It’s been five years since there has been an attack on our family. Gia was the last victim, but since Caspian helped free her, our life has been mostly quiet. Normal. Exactly what I wanted.