by Bella J.
“Why the hell not?”
“If they were planning retaliation, they would have done it already.”
Lorik waved his hand to get our attention. “I know I’m new to this and all, but I would think killing the underboss of a rival family isn’t quite something that would easily be swept under the rug…or buried six feet underground.”
I leaned forward. “I’m with Lorik. Letting our guard down is not a good idea, and neither is fucking with their business when we have a sister who is walking with a giant target on her forehead.”
“I agree with Dad.” Both Lorik and I scowled at Antonio. He shrugged. “It’s been six months. They haven’t made a single move, and with us being distracted by protecting Karina, they have managed to take over the streets with their drugs.” He scoffed. “It’s actually fucking brilliant if you think about it. They knew our main priority would be keeping every member of this family safe, especially Karina. They saw an opportunity, and they took it.”
I frowned. “I still don’t get why they haven’t even attempted to avenge Enzio’s death.”
“It’s because they can’t.” Dad stared at me from across the table. “Even though Stefano would want nothing more than to take revenge, he knows he can’t. Enzio overstepped the line. He started it all.” He looked at Lorik. “You just ended it.”
Lorik looked confused. “Yeah, we know that. But the question is, does Stefano know that?”
“He does. Enzio went against his wishes, blatantly disobeyed him by kidnapping Karina. If Stefano ignites a new war in the name of revenge, he would lose the support of his allies. We did what any other family would do.”
Lorik pulled his palm down his face. “Jesus Christ. Just when I think I have this Mafia 101 down, you lot pull out new shit to confuse my Albanian ass.”
I snorted. “And God knows it doesn’t take much to confuse you.”
“At least I know what it means when I say ‘kiss my ass.’”
Antonio and I started laughing, and Dad cleared his throat, demanding our attention.
“In any case. The wedding is in two weeks, after which Lorik and Karina will go on their honeymoon. Every measure has been taken to keep the destination a secret, and the security has been put in place. That would give us a month to sort this shit out and get those goddamn drugs off my streets.”
I leaned closer to Lorik. “Where’s the honeymoon?”
He shrugged. “Fuck me if I know.”
Dad got up from the table and turned to Antonio. “Get all your associates on this, and I don’t care if you have to pay double in order to get the necessary information from your informants. I want the drugs gone.”
Antonio nodded. “Dante and I will take care of it.”
I loved how my big brother always spoke on my behalf. I loved it so fucking much it actually annoyed the crap out of me.
Dad left the dining room in a rush, leaving the three of us in awkward silence…until I opened my big mouth.
“I disagree with Dad.”
Antonio glared at me. “That doesn’t surprise me. You always find it difficult to agree with anyone.”
“I’m with Dante on this,” Lorik chimed in. “I’m not as clued in as I like to be, but my instinct is telling me not to let our guard down.”
“We’re not. But like our father said, you and Karina are going on your honeymoon in two weeks. She’ll be safe while we stay behind and sort this shit out.” Antonio got up from the table, buttoning his suit jacket before focusing his stare on me. “Remember to get those phone calls checked out.”
“Yes, Dad,” I mocked.
Antonio left the room, and Lorik turned to me. “Tell me about these phone calls.”
“There’s not much to tell. It’s just random phone calls. When I answer, the person hangs up.”
Lorik raised an eyebrow. “How long has this been going on?”
“It started a few weeks ago.”
“I’ll try to get a trace on it.” Lorik stood, and as he passed by my chair, he paused. “You know why your sister is tired, right?”
“Jesus,” I moaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Yes, Lorik. I know.”
He leaned down next to me. “Do you know what it means to have a magic cock?”
And then I elbowed him in the gut, causing him to grunt.
“Fucker,” he mumbled, and I smiled as he walked out of the room.
I had no idea why, but I found his ass amusing, which was why I liked having the little shit around the house. Plus, it seemed like he had the ability to make my sister happy, which was a big thing for me.
At least one of us Valenti siblings was happy.
Chapter 2
Dante
“We are having a bachelor party.” I placed my hands on my hips, glaring at Antonio, trying to mentally convey the message that I would not budge on this one. He might be the underboss, the second in command—or whatever—but passing on a chance to have a bachelor party was fucking blasphemy.
Antonio got up from behind his desk. “Do you really think having a bachelor party should be on our priority list right now?”
I blinked. “Is that a trick question?”
“For God’s sake, Dante. We have other more important shit to worry about.”
“Like what?”
“Like heroin being handed out like fucking pamphlets at every corner.”
I snorted. “Still not reason enough not to take Lorik to a bar, force him to consume his weight in alcohol, and then watch him pass out between barfing sessions.”
Antonio stared at me. “You need help.”
“Oh, come on. The man keeps going on about how much alcohol he can drink without passing out. This is our one shot to prove him wrong, to make him pass out twice in one night. Once that ring is on his finger, his independence and freedom fly out the fucking window.” I clenched my jaw as I kept my gaze on Antonio. I was desperate. I had one shot to get something really embarrassing on my future brother-in-law. Something I could torture him with for the rest of my fucking life. Who in their right mind would pass on such a glorious opportunity?
Antonio sighed. “Fine.”
“Yes!”
“But we keep it simple. No funny business.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And by funny business, you mean strippers, right?”
“Yes. And by simple, I mean a night out at Vertigo.” Antonio pulled on his jacket. “I’m going down to the restaurant to make an appearance. You want to join me?”
No. “Sure.”
Going to Paradiso was one of my least favorite things to do. Sure, it had a bar, pizza, and its fair share of fuckable booty. But it was also the family restaurant, which meant we had to behave whenever we were there. We had to uphold the family name by acting like sophisticated snobs. Now, Antonio had that down to a fucking T. Me, on the other hand…I’d been struggling with the behaving part for quite some time.
My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket, and I pulled it out. “Yeah.”
Nothing.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Who the fuck is this? Listen, fucker, stop wasting my goddamn time. I swear to God, if I find out who you are, you’ll wish you chose someone else to play your pissy phone call pranks on.”
“Dante?”
Holy shit. “Layla?” My heart stopped. My gut turned inside out when I heard that voice. “Layla? Is that you?”
Silence.
“Layla, is that you? Talk to me.”
I needed her to talk, to make sure the voice I heard was hers. The shock caused my palms to sweat and my mind to race. Was it her voice? Was it Layla?
“Layla?”
And then there was nothing.
“Fuck!”
I checked the caller ID, but there was none. I stared at the blank screen, my heart now racing at a thousand miles an hour against my ribs.
Was that really her? Or did I imagine it? Did I imagine her voice?
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”
&n
bsp; I rushed out of the study, and as if sent from the powers above, Lorik came strolling down the hall. His eyes grew wide when he saw me. “Who died?”
“Lorik, tell me you managed to get a trace on the phone calls I’ve been getting.”
“I’m still working on it. Why?”
I roughed my hand through my hair. “Jesus Christ.”
“Dante, what the fuck, man?”
My mind was a giant rush of confusion. “It’s her.”
Lorik stepped closer. “Who?”
“Layla.”
“Who the fuck is Layla?”
I glanced at him, my mind still spinning. “It’s…”
“Layla?” Both Lorik and I turned to Karina, who stared at me with worried eyes. If there was anyone who knew what and who Layla was to me, it was my sister.
“She’s the one, Karina.”
My little sister stared at me with her big, brown eyes, and I saw the doubt, the uncertainty. “Are you sure, Dante?”
I smiled, appreciating how much she cared for me. “I’m sure, Karina. I really am.”
“But you’re giving up everything for her. Your family, your home, your life here with us.”
I placed my hands on her shoulders. “You and I both know this life isn’t for me. And it’s not for you either, which is why you’ll be off to college the second you get the chance.” I winked at her then grabbed my suitcase off the bed.
“Dante, you and Layla, you’re still very young.”
I snorted. “You should talk. You’re only sixteen—”
“Seventeen.”
“Whatever. You’re not even done with high school, and you’re already planning your escape from all this.”
“True. But you’re talking marriage. That’s a big step, especially if you’re leaving your family behind to do it.”
I pulled my hand through my hair and sighed. “It’s the only way, Karina. Layla isn’t meant for this life. She’s…she’s too…” I struggled to find the right words, “…she’s just too innocent, too goddamn delicate to be a part of this world. I can’t do that to her. I won’t do that to her. And I know the right thing for me to do is to walk away from her, but I can’t. I’m too much of a selfish bastard to live without her.”
Karina’s eyes softened, and I knew she got it. She understood. Of course she would. We were both the same, unlike our older brother.
She stepped closer. “You’re never coming back, are you?”
This was the hard part. The part where I had to tell my sister our goodbye would be permanent. I had to choose between a life of blood, deceit, and war…or her. And I chose her, but that meant never returning. Never coming back. I couldn’t risk it.
I took Karina’s hand in mine. “You know this is how it has to be. I chose her, and just by doing that I’ve already put her in harm’s way, which is why I have to do everything I can to keep her safe.” I etched my gaze on hers. “I’m sorry.”
A tear slipped down my little sister’s face, and it killed me to know I was the cause of it.
“I get it, Dante. I do. I just hope she knows what you’re giving up for her.”
I let go of her hand and glanced out the window. Not only was I a selfish bastard for not being willing to live without Layla, but I was also a selfish bastard by keeping my life, what it truly meant to be a Valenti, from her. The fear of losing her had turned me in to a coward. And I didn’t want her to be afraid of me, of who I truly was. Whenever she looked at me, it was with love and passion in her eyes. I never wanted to lose that—the way she looked at me.
Karina touched my elbow. “She doesn’t know, does she?”
I shook my head. “And I will do everything in my goddamn power to keep her from ever finding out.”
Karina let her hand slip to the top of mine, her fingertips brushing against the skin where the wolf which represented our family was proudly inked. I had it done on my eighteenth birthday, a simple act to show my loyalty to our family. Once that tattoo was inked on your skin, it was engraved on your fucking soul. But then I met her, the girl who changed everything. It was no longer the tattoo on my hand which determined my loyalty. It was my heart. My heart had chosen for me, and it chose her. Layla.
“I understand,” she said softly. “And I hope one day I’ll find what you found in Layla. But Antonio, he won’t understand. He will never forgive you.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I have no doubt about that. But that’s the difference between Antonio and me. He wants to prove himself to everyone. He wants to build his life around this family. That’s how I feel about Layla, only I don’t want to build my life around her…I need to build my life around her.” I shrugged. “She’s my air, Karina. Without her, I can’t fucking breathe.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. I knew this was hard for her. It was hard for me too. Karina and I had been inseparable ever since I could remember. Antonio was too busy trying to be the perfect child to have any kind of sibling relationship with us. But that was okay, because we had each other.
And now…I was leaving.
Karina narrowed her eyes. “Dante, did you say Layla?”
“I…I don’t know.” I clutched the phone tighter in my palm. “I think it was her.”
Karina walked up to me. “Are you sure?”
“No. No, I’m not sure.”
Lorik held his hands in the air. “Can someone please tell me who the fuck is Layla?”
Karina and I stared at each other, her dark brown eyes filled with sympathy. My little sister knew the pain I had lived with, the broken heart I had carried in my chest for years. There was a saying that only time could heal a broken heart. Well, I called bullshit. My heart was anything but healed. In fact, it was the bitter, broken pieces left behind, pulsing behind my ribs, that fueled the heartless bastard in me to fuck for nothing but pleasure.
Karina stepped closer. “Dante—”
I held up my hand and turned to Lorik. “I need you to get these phone calls traced.”
He crossed his arms. “Okay, but will you tell me who the fuck is Layla?”
I took a deep breath, the mere thought of talking about her choking me. I bit my lower lip as her face rushed through my head, my chest tightening with every memory.
“Just…” I swallowed. “Just get that motherfucking call traced.”
And then I stormed off. I couldn’t…there was no way I could explain to Lorik who Layla was—who she was to me. Just saying her name out loud was painful enough.
The more I thought about the phone call, the voice, the more I started to wonder if it wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me. If maybe it was me who wanted to hear her voice so damn much I imagined it was her…saying my name.
I clenched my fists while rushing toward the bar. The fucking bourbon was calling me, begging me to consume it. Alcohol and pussy were the only two things strong enough to fight off the memories, to numb the heartache. Pussy wasn’t at my disposal right now, but alcohol was. And judging by the way my heart was pounding, I was going to need a fuck-load of it.
Luckily for me, there was a full bottle standing on the bar waiting just for me.
Once I poured a good amount of bourbon into the glass, I gulped it back with one mouthful. My eyes closed as the sting of the alcohol traveled down my throat, the burn settling in my stomach. But I still saw her beautiful face, amber eyes, and heart-shaped lips. The vivid image of her was so real it was like I had only seen her yesterday. After five years, I had hoped the memories would fade, slowly but surely disappearing from my mind…my heart. I should have guessed it would never happen. Not with her. Not after what we shared. Pity it didn’t mean the same to her as it did to me. If it did, we would have been together, living the life we had planned. But she left. She fucking left without a goddamn word.
“Fuck!” I threw the glass and watched as it shattered into pieces against the wall—just like my heart the day she left.
Chapter 3
Dante
My mind was reeling. Neve
r in my life had I felt so alive, so fucking happy. I was so optimistic about the future, I could barf. I never thought this day would come, a day when I would find something worth more than money and power.
My father, my brother, even my mother—they would never be able to understand why I left. But as soon as I looked into those amber eyes which held the power to captivate me with a single glance, there was no chance in hell I would ever doubt my decision.
As I drove out of the driveway of our estate—my home—I glanced in my rearview mirror. It would probably be the last time I would see the place. I was leaving everything behind with nothing but a suitcase and the prospect of living a happy as fuck life with the woman I loved.
I would miss my family—especially Karina. But I had no choice. If I stayed, I would be without Layla. And I knew without her I would have no reason to grab hold of the little good I still had left inside me. God knew I had done my fair share of fucked up things—things I hoped Layla would never find out about. Things that would haunt me for a long time, but as long as I had her, there was no demon strong enough to torture me with the past.
I checked the time on my Audi’s dashboard before speeding up. Just twenty more minutes before our forever started. But I was parked in front of her sister’s house within ten.
Layla’s parents both died two years ago in a car accident—at least that was what she told me. But I had dug a little deeper, pulled some strings, and eventually found out her dad was in prison for theft and money laundering. It was obviously something she kept to herself, and since I had a secret of my own, a secret about my family and my life, I chose not to confront her about it. To leave it be. Everyone had baggage these days. The world we lived in was too fucked up not to leave scars on every damn one of us.
But her mother, on the other hand, did die in a tragic car accident, which was why Layla lived with her older sister.
I got out of the car, my gut filled with nervous excitement. All of this felt so surreal, being able to take my girl and go start a life of our own. Ever since we were little—especially Antonio and I—we were bred to thrive in a world consisting only of power and wealth. Control and supremacy. We were taught to reign and rule, to spill blood to accomplish our goals. For a short while, I thrived learning to rule alongside my brother. I thought it was what I wanted…until she made me realize there was something more powerful than control and ultimate power.
