Reckless & Ruined

by Bethany-Kris

  “The joy. I can feel it.”

  Alessa gave her sister a tight hug before leaving Abriella alone in the living room. Padding down the hallway to where her bedroom was at the very end, Alessa rubbed at her sore, bruised cheek. By morning, she was sure it would look terrible. Not even makeup would hide that mess completely.

  Alessa yanked open her bedroom door and froze right where she stood.

  Adriano pushed up from the edge of her bed with the grace of a predator. “Hey.”

  What?

  A slow smile tugged at the corners of Adriano’s mouth. The left side of his bottom lip was split and a reddish bruise was beginning to form on his jaw. The sight broke Alessa’s heart but hell, he was alive.

  “Hey,” she finally managed to say.

  Adriano laughed as Alessa slammed her bedroom door shut. “Joel sounds pissed.”

  “He is.”

  “I still have your spare keys.”

  Alessa nodded. “I guess so.”

  “This is probably stupid.”

  “You being here?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Adriano said.

  “It’s reckless.”

  “Do you care?”

  “No,” Alessa replied.

  Adriano took two long strides forward, coming to stop in front of Alessa. His fingers ghosted over the scratches and bruises on her face. “Did he do this?”

  Alessa didn’t need to ask who he meant. Adriano knew. “Yes.”

  Rage bloomed in his green eyes, but Adriano hid it well.

  His words, however, hid nothing.

  “I’ll kill him.”

  Alessa had nothing to say to that except, “I love you.”

  “I love you,” Adriano echoed.

  “There was a gun …”

  Adriano’s gaze flicked away from hers fast. “Yeah, mine.”

  Oh.

  “I wouldn’t have brought it out, but they didn’t give me a choice,” Adriano added quickly. “They were all around me. I needed them off.”

  “You don’t have to explain,” Alessa murmured.

  “Don’t I?”

  “No.”

  Because she loved him.

  Adriano cupped Alessa’s cheek with a gentle touch. “I’m always going to protect what is mine. You understand that, don’t you?”

  Alessa nodded. “Yes.”

  “That means I’m going to do whatever I have to so that you’re safe and happy, Alessa. Nobody else matters to me. If that means I have to throw myself headfirst into this mess with the Outfit, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ve tried to be neutral—I can’t be after tonight. And sometimes, it’s not always going to be pretty the way I do it.”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  “Good,” Adriano said. “I just needed to make sure you understood that.”

  “I’m not looking for a good man.”

  “Just yours, huh?”

  “Just mine,” she agreed.

  “I needed to be here, to know you were okay,” he said, his tone softer than Alessa had ever heard it before. “I promise I’ll get out of here without anyone ever seeing me.”

  “There’s an enforcer at the door, apparently.”

  Adriano chuckled. “There’s a roof exit and a next door building only a couple feet away. I’ll jump across and exit there.”

  Alessa was impressed. “Smart man.”

  “Very.”

  “Kiss me, Adriano.”

  He didn’t disappoint.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Let me see it,” Riley demanded.

  Adriano tilted his head up, giving his father access to the bruise and cut he sported from the previous night’s fight at Tommas’ club.

  “Jesus, son.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  It still hurt like a motherfucker, too.

  Adriano wouldn’t show it.

  “Christ, you’re one-hundred-ninety pounds of muscle and—”

  “And Dean had four fools jump me from behind,” Adriano cut in fast. “What in the fuck do you expect, Dad?”

  “Mitch ended up taking one of your bullets, huh?” Riley asked.

  Adriano shrugged. “They didn’t give me a choice.”

  “Well, nobody saw a thing, so we’ll use that to your favor at the moment.”

  “Nobody ever sees anything,” Adriano muttered.

  Riley didn’t respond to that. “Dean has grown a mighty set between his legs over the last week if he thinks something will excuse him from attacking a made man.”

  “Is that all you’re worried about?” Adriano asked.

  Riley laughed lowly. “You were at a Rossi’s club.”

  Yeah, Adriano had been waiting patiently for this. “I was.”

  “With Alessa.”

  “Coincidence, nothing more. She happened to be there when I showed up,” Adriano lied.

  Riley’s mouth drew tight in his annoyance. “I’m sure.”

  “What are people saying?”

  “That you were at a Rossi club and that speaks to the Rossi family’s allegiance,” Riley said.

  “To us,” Adriano filled in.

  Riley smiled confidently. “Yes. So, I will overlook your little fuckup with the Trentini girl as this puts me in a better place than I was yesterday. And I will demand something for … this,” Riley said, waving at Adriano’s face. “What a mess, son.”

  “My face?”

  “No, the Outfit. Although you could have used a good ice pack last night. It might have helped.”

  “Maybe,” Adriano said.

  Riley raised a single brow high. “Where did you go after the show at the club? I sent men out to your apartment and to some of your friends’ places. You should have come directly to me.”

  Adriano didn’t miss a beat. “I decided to lay low for a while.”

  “Where?”

  “Somewhere safe; where no one would come searching for me,” Adriano said.

  Riley took a deep breath and eyed his son over, looking for a lie. Adriano was used to this with his father. The man had been doing it ever since Adriano was a kid. It never worked.

  “Is that so?” Riley finally asked.

  “It is.”

  “Still a damn mess, son.”

  Adriano agreed. “What is Tommas saying about last night?”

  That’s what Adriano really wanted to know. Tommas hadn’t invited Adriano to the club. Adriano caused a lot of issues for the guy by bringing trouble in. The Capo could easily spill the truth, saving his own ass in the process.

  “Tommas has been pretty neutral in this whole thing,” Riley said instead of answering Adriano’s question.

  “I know. His father isn’t.”

  “Laurent is like a fly you can’t kill. I’ve been waiting for the alcohol to eventually drown him, but maybe I’ll have to speed up the process. Nonetheless, I assumed Tommas’ friendship with Joel would keep the two close. I think this may drive the wedge I need in between them.”

  “You didn’t answer me,” Adriano pointed out. “What is he saying?”

  “Nothing. He is saying nothing.”

  Maybe Tommas Rossi didn’t want to save his own ass. Or maybe he had something else to save.

  Evelina tiptoed around her father and brother, a jar of something skin-toned in her hand. “Let me see.”

  “Makeup?” Riley asked.

  “Look at him, Dad. This will just hide the bruising for now.”

  Riley sighed. “Fine. But make it good.”

  Evelina didn’t even try to hide her glare. “Go away.”

  “Going. Thirty minutes left, so hurry. Both of you.”

  Adriano met his sister’s gaze as she dabbed a bit of makeup onto a sponge. Once his father was out of the room and far from hearing range, Adriano said, “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Evelina said, smiling. “You worried the shit out of me when the phone call came through about the club. Dad had guys going crazy out there looking for you, Adriano. I thought Dean might h
ave … never mind, but it scared me.”

  “I got out of there just fine,” Adriano said.

  “Still!”

  “Sorry, Eve.”

  Evelina frowned, dabbing the sponge along his cheek. “Where did you really go last night?”

  “Alessa’s.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” he replied. “I just used her spare key. No one was home when I got there.”

  Evelina didn’t look very impressed. “She’s going to end up getting you killed, Adriano.”

  He doubted it. But even so …

  “It would be worth it,” Adriano said quietly.

  “Would it?” she asked.

  “Entirely. Love’s crazy like that.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Twenty-five minutes!” Riley shouted from the kitchen. “Stop messing around and hurry the hell up. I have cars and men waiting. I do not want to be late and miss the look on Joel’s face when he sees us.”

  Adriano groaned. “Fuck this day.”

  “He’s just on edge,” Evelina said.

  The Conti family was about to thrust their way right back into the Outfit with a bang. Adriano wasn’t exactly impressed with his father’s plan to put Joel on edge by showing up at the church where the DeLuca and Trentini families attended, but he agreed to do whatever his father wanted. This was what Riley wanted.

  Adriano pushed down the rising aggravation and let his sister finish dabbing on the last bit of foundation. “If the Artino asshole is there, I might kill him, Eve.”

  He figured someone should be aware.

  “Dean?” Evelina asked.

  “Yes.”

  “The guy is a pig,” she said dismissively.

  He was, but he was also dangerous.

  “He hurt Alessa.”

  Evelina flinched. “Physically?”

  “Yes. If you think my face looks bad, you should see what he did to hers using a brick wall, Eve. They might not be officially engaged or anything, but it’s basically a sure thing, so she’s intended to be his wife and he hurt her. He can’t even keep his goddamn hands to himself before he has got a ring on her finger. Imagine what it would be like for her after he strapped her down into a marriage and behind the privacy of closed doors.”

  Evelina’s gaze dimmed. “Oh, Adriano.”

  He hated pity.

  “I might kill him if he shows up today. He won’t have his little bastards holding me back.”

  “Play the good boy,” Evelina told him softly. “Give Dad what he wants to get what you want.”

  Adriano needed someone to talk to about his situation with Alessa. Evelina kept his secrets. It worked.

  “You make it sound like I’m selling my soul,” Adriano said.

  “Maybe you are.”

  “Alessa owns it anyway, Eve.”

  “Is love worth that?” she asked.

  Yes.

  “Just remind me to keep cool, huh?”

  “Will do, little brother.” Evelina grinned. “What a way to make our entrance back to church, huh?”

  Yeah, bruises and all.

  Adriano stood stoic and quiet at his father’s side. He was the pillar of a cool, calm composure, just as his father had asked. Evelina stood at the other side of their father. Riley, between his children as the head of their family and dressed in all black, smiled as Joel Trentini caught sight of the Conti family standing at the bottom of the church stairs.

  Joel’s mouth opened to say something but quickly snapped shut.

  Adriano knew what the man was seeing. Well over half of the Conti crew had gotten up early and dressed appropriately for church that morning. They stood behind the man they considered their boss and his children, waiting for him to make the first move.

  Adriano forced himself not to let his restlessness show. He hadn’t been inside a church since his mother’s funeral. The grief-fueled ache hadn’t disappeared, even if he was too busy to notice it lately.

  He couldn’t ignore it now.

  “Let’s go,” Riley murmured.

  Adriano matched his father’s pace as they began their trek up the church steps. He could hear the men behind them walking, too. Bells rang out loudly, warning the start of Mass and the gathering of the parishioners. Joel Trentini’s rage swam behind his piercing gaze as his jaw clenched and his hands shook.

  Alessa stood a few feet behind her brother at her sister’s side.

  It took all Adriano had inside not to look at her for long.

  At the top of the stairs, Riley took his daughter’s hand and patted it. “Find us a seat inside, Eve. Somewhere close to the front.”

  Joel scoffed when he heard that.

  Adriano knew the Trentini family had always taken first pick of the front pews at their church. The DeLucas usually took the next few rows back.

  Riley acted like nothing had happened. “Go, Eve.”

  “Sure,” Evelina replied.

  Once his daughter had disappeared inside the church, it didn’t take long for people to wander out after seeing her. Men from the DeLuca crew stood off to the side, watching the silent scene unfold with wariness. A few looked Adriano over, probably noting the cut on his bottom lip and wondering where the bruises were.

  Evelina had done a damn good job of hiding them.

  Adriano immediately found Dean Artino in the crowd of men. Like the coward he was, Dean stayed hidden behind the men with his asshole of a father like they were his first and only line of defense. Adriano had news for him—when it came to the Outfit, you were nothing if you weren’t made.

  They wouldn’t protect Dean.

  Adriano smirked when Dean’s eye caught his. Dean sneered but Adriano’s expression didn’t waver. Cocking his brow, Adriano reached up and touched his split lip with his thumb before dropping his hand just as fast.

  Dean didn’t miss the action.

  Adriano hoped the asshole knew he’d get him back for the marks and the cheap shots. He’d make damn sure Dean would pay for every bruise, scratch, and drop of blood he spilled from not only Adriano, but Alessa, too.

  Fuck you.

  Conti men always win.

  Like the man could hear what was inside Adriano’s mind, Dean dropped his gaze.

  Adriano felt the tension skyrocket as his father stepped forward.

  “Good morning, Joel,” Riley greeted serenely.

  Joel’s gaze narrowed. “Was your church unavailable this morning, Riley?”

  “No, not at all.” Riley’s answer was simple and brazen. “How are you?”

  “Well,” Joel all but forced out.

  “And your beautiful sisters?” Riley asked, tipping his head in Alessa and Abriella’s direction.

  “Fine.”

  “Ah, that’s good to hear. I’d heard you’re considering arranging a marriage between young Alessa and the Artino family.”

  Joel’s cheek ticked. “And if I am?”

  “Oh, my boy,” Riley said in a way that sounded chiding. “An Artino? An unmade Artino, Joel? Terrance would have been sorely disappointed in you for that.”

  Alessa gave nothing away. She found Adriano’s stare, her tongue snaking out to wet her lips. He couldn’t help but wonder if she could still feel him days after their last fucking. Did she still have the marks of his fingers on her ass and the tender ache between her thighs like she always did when he fucked her hard and fast?

  Adriano needed to get away from those thoughts and fast. He shoved his hands in his pockets as Riley’s favorite man, Kolin, stepped up beside him. They intended to appear unafraid and unbothered by the presence of Joel and his allies. Riley wanted to seem higher, above the drama and nonsense.

  Adriano wasn’t sure if it was working or not.

  Walter Artino barked out a laugh and stepped through the throng of men. “You’ve got a lot of nerve saying anything, Riley.”

  Joel held up a single hand, quieting Walter instantly. “Is that so, Riley?”

  “I think so.”
Riley glanced over the men standing in the church entrance. “And whether or not you’re willing to admit to it, Joel, your father never would have approved of a future match between Alessa and an Artino. Terrance would have had a fit if he were alive.”

  Silence covered the crowd.

  Speechless, Joel could only glare in response.

  Riley smiled coldly. “Oh, had you not told them yet of your parentage?”

  “A great deal already know,” Joel spat.

  “You mean the Artinos,” Riley replied.

  Adriano couldn’t help but be a little enraptured by his father’s show. Riley Conti wasn’t backing down and he was more than willing to play dirty. He wanted respect and he wanted to throw Joel completely off his game.

  In Adriano’s opinion, Riley was succeeding.

  “And this mess last night,” Riley continued quieter.

  Joel’s teeth clenched so hard that his molars crunched. “I’d heard.”

  “I think your men owe my son an apology, Joel.”

  Walter scoffed. “Like hell.”

  “Joel,” Riley said, firmer the second time. “Regardless of this feud between us, your unmade man made an attack on a made Outfit principe simply for dancing with a woman who isn’t even his fiancée yet. Now, I understand a no touch policy, but Alessa and my son have always been friends. Adriano kept a watch on her all through high school. Never once did your father take issue with the closeness between the two. Terrance always knew it was innocent. Just like the dancing last night was innocent. And my God, look at her poor face.”

  All the eyes turned on a very uncomfortable looking Alessa. She cupped the side of her cheek with her hand, her gaze turning downward. Adriano’s rage pulsed hard and fast through his veins. Makeup did nothing to hide the bruises and scratches on her cheek.

  And then, Alessa’s lashes fluttered as she lifted her gaze to meet Adriano’s. There was a smug satisfaction swimming in her irises. Like she was taking some enjoyment out of Dean’s actions being shamed.

  “I wasn’t aware Alessa’s injuries were caused by Artino,” Joel said slowly.

  The lie was boldfaced and terrible. Anyone with two brain cells could see it.

  “Then you are an idiot, and I feel for the poor treatment your sister is sure to receive at her future husband’s hand because you look the other way,” Riley murmured. “Look at her face. She has the bruise marks of his fingers on her cheek. Refusing an apology to my son I could understand … maybe. But your own sister, Joel?”