KON (Trassato Crime Family Book 2)

by Lisa Cardiff

  “I was never going to let you die. I love you too much to let that happen.”

  The second the words left my mouth, I heard the soft tick of a gun safety being released, and my gaze followed the sound.

  Laney stood across from us with a sneer on her face, her body swaying. She raised a gun, aiming it at us. Time stood still as I gawked at the woman I thought I had loved for years. I felt nothing for her except unadulterated hatred and pity. She was like a cancer that kept coming back no matter what I threw at her, and no matter how many times I pushed her away.

  I snapped out of my haze and dove to the floor with Carmela still in my arms. I rolled to my side, absorbing the impact with my shoulder. A gunshot exploded over my head, and white plaster dust showered our heads.

  Still shielding Carmela with my body, I reached for the second gun tucked away in the waistband of my jeans.

  “Wait!” Anatolyi screamed. “Don’t kill—”

  With one flex of my trigger finger, I shot Laney. Her body flew back, crumpling to the floor, blood seeping out of her chest, coloring her white shirt red.

  Relief flowed through me, the weight of our ugly history finally gone. Maybe I should have felt sadness for her son, but I knew deep down in my soul he’d be better off without her. Laney was a lost cause, and she’d tear apart her son and ruin his life like she attempted to do with Carmela and me.

  “You killed her! She’s dead! Oh my God!” Gemma screamed over and over. She collapsed to her knees and crawled toward Laney’s body.

  “Kon, go. Get Carmela outta here. Take her back to your house. I’ll call you in the morning.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, man.” He patted me on the shoulder. “I trust you to take care of my sister. I’ll clean up this mess. Sal, call Tony and tell him to get Nico’s ass over here and do something with his sister.”

  Gian kept shouting out orders to restrain Renzo and Gemma. I didn’t care about any of that. I had Carmela. She was all I needed. I scooped up the woman I loved and carried her away from this nightmare.

  EPILOGUE

  Carmela

  “Do you think they’re going to freak out?” I questioned Kon, drumming my left hand on the table, my shiny wedding ring shooting rainbows over the white tablecloth. Kon had chosen the perfect ring, but that wasn’t why I loved it. I loved what it meant more.

  Kon swung his arm over the back of the booth. “Do you care?”

  I dragged my gaze up to meet his stare. The corners of his blue eyes crinkled and a lopsided smile showed off his white teeth. My stomach flipped over and my heart did this double beat thing.

  “No. I couldn’t stand the thought of planning another wedding. I wanted to skip to the good part.”

  He leaned his forehead against mine. “What’s that?”

  “The part where we start our life together.”

  He brushed his lips over mine.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  Two months after the nightmare at Renzo DiTonno’s house, Konstantin had proposed to me. There was no mention of our earlier arrangement, what our families wanted, or any future business dealings. Only one simple proposal at our favorite coffee shop, one beautiful ring, and a merger of our lives at the courthouse shortly thereafter.

  I spent a full year making preparations for my wedding to Rocco and months trying to stop my family from plotting my marriage to Nico. When Kon proposed, I knew I didn’t want any of the fuss that went into planning little details no one would remember a week later. I wanted a life with Kon, and I wanted to make it happen before anyone or anything got in the way. I was being superstitious, and I didn’t care. I wouldn’t give fate a chance to get in my way again.

  Alix Trincher hadn’t breathed a word about business deals in months, and I had a sneaking suspicion Kon had put a stop to it. The few times I bumped into my now father-in-law in passing, he kept it cordial and polite, and given his history, I was okay with our less than loving relationship. In fact, I preferred it that way. He still scared me.

  While my family hadn’t professed their undying love for Kon or openly supported our relationship, they stopped putting up roadblocks after that terrible night, and that was enough for me. I had no doubt any remaining reservations would crumble in no time at all, or in twenty-nine and a half weeks to be exact, when our babies made an appearance.

  I was pregnant with twins, and I was over the moon with happiness. I wouldn’t share that with my family tonight, though. There were only so many surprises they could handle at a time.

  Dominick told me in his roundabout way he didn’t expect me or want me to marry Nico. Less than a week after the incident, Nico and Gemma disappeared. I had no clue what happened to them, and I didn’t care as long as he and his sister stayed far away from me and the people I loved. Even better, Gian stepped into Nico’s role as the underboss, and from the little I heard things were going well.

  Kon was messed up for a while after Laney’s death. He kept second-guessing his decision to shoot her. I understood his anguish. He loved her at some point, and taking her life, regardless of the crap she’d pulled, had to hurt. The father of Laney’s child stepped forward, and that was a huge shit-storm. I didn’t know if Kon would ever forgive Anatolyi, but Anatolyi was living in his own personal nightmare as a single father, so I think he got his due.

  “They’re here,” Kon said, threading his fingers with mine and placing our joined hands over my lower belly. “Are you ready to tell your family?”

  “I think it’s too late to back out now.”

  “You’re damn right it is,” he growled, nipping my ear. “I’m never letting you go now that we made it official.”

  Gian, Evie, and my mom waded through the crowded restaurant, drawing all eyes to them. I couldn’t blame people for rubbernecking like it was their job. They made quite the couple between Evie’s rising celebrity status and my brother’s dark, mysterious background.

  Gian slid in the booth after my mom and Evie. “Nice restaurant, Kon. I hope you’re planning to pick up the tab.”

  “Considering this is our wedding reception, I don’t have any problems with that. Do you, Carmela?”

  I elbowed him under the table. “Kon! That’s not how we agreed to tell them.”

  My mom’s mouth dropped open, Gian burst out laughing, and a huge smile lit Evie’s face.

  “You owe me a hundred bucks.” Gian nudged Evie and held out his hand.

  “You cheated. I know you did,” Evie said, rummaging around in her purse, then slapping a wad of cash on the table.

  “Stop it with the secrets, you two. Tell me what’s going on,” I said.

  “Just a little bet about who knew their sibling better,” Gian said, a smug look on his face. “I told Evie you two would either elope or get married at the courthouse without telling anyone. She thought you would go all out so Carmela would finally get the wedding of her dreams. I was right. She was wrong.”

  “Whatever.” Evie shrugged. “Even a blind dog finds a bone sometimes, and you guys have that freaky twin connection, so I was at a disadvantage.”

  “Why didn’t you want me there, Carmela?” my mom implored, her voice soft, almost fragile. “Are you still mad at me?”

  “Ma, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, and no, I’m not mad at you. We got caught up in the moment, and it felt right,” I replied, my stomach stewing with nervousness.

  “Baby girl.” She slid her arm across the table and grabbed my hand. “You didn’t hurt me. I see how much you love each other, and there is nothing I want more than for you to be loved, cherished, and happy. I’m so proud of you. You never gave up. You’ve had your dreams snatched away so many times, and you kept going. You kept fighting for what you wanted even when we thought we knew better.”

  “Then you approve of us? Of Kon?”

  “Carmela, I love you, and I love Kon even though I don’t know him very well because he makes you so happy. Happier than I’ve ever seen you.”


  “He does. More than you know.”

  Kon slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “I love you, solnyshka.”

  “I love you too.”

  I meant it. I never thought I’d love anyone like I loved Rocco, and in some ways I was right. I’d always hold my memories of Rocco next to my heart. While he played an important part in shaping my life, I stopped whitewashing all the cracks in our relationship. I forgave him for being unfaithful and myself for the harsh last words we shared, and with forgiveness I found peace and love.

  My love for Kon was different, and in a lot of ways, bigger and stronger. We were older and knew what we wanted out of life. We didn’t keep secrets from each other, and yes, sometimes his world scared me because in the world of organized crime—Russian, Italian, or any other—there was no security and no guarantees. I learned that firsthand, and I was fine with it. We lived by our rules, and we’d be okay provided we never stopped fighting for each other and our love.

  Gian raised his champagne glass. “To the happy couple.”

  I lifted my glass of sparkling cider and Kon tapped his against mine and whispered in my ear, “To our happy family.”

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  Acknowledgments

  Thanks much for picking up this book. I had so much fun writing it and weaving all my crazy ideas together with the help of some really great people:

  Amy Bustard for reading this book and brainstorming with me.

  Chris for helping me with dialogue.

  Felicia A. Sullivan for editing this book and giving me valuable, honest opinions.

  All of my relatives. I hope you aren’t offended I continue to steal names from our family tree.

  Limitless Publishing for being so accommodating.

  And of course, to all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers who took the time to read this book. Your support and feedback make all the time staring at my computer screen worthwhile! Next up, Emilia’s story.

  About The Author

  After spending years practicing law and running a real estate development company with her husband, Lisa decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer and she must confess that inventing characters is so much more fun than writing contracts and legal briefs. A native of Colorado, she lives with her husband and three children in Denver. When she isn’t managing the chaos of raising three children and owning her own business, she can be found reading or writing a book or tinkering in her garden.

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