I’d toyed with the idea that maybe she’d escaped a rich benefactor, or some abusive, wealthy prick of a boyfriend, but it was doubtful. Bella didn’t seem like a girl who put up with bullshit.
Nah, it was more likely that she was the daughter of some rich, important, and strict daddy who was big in international finance, and didn’t want her dancing for a living. It would explain why she’d known all those languages. Now she was probably trying to get some experience before going professional in NYC.
Her shocked face when she’d mistakenly admitted she understood Italian popped into my head, and I laughed out loud.
You’re gonna make my life more fun in the meantime.
As I got out of the shower, my phone chimed, signaling a missed call, and I frowned. Which family member needed something now? Glancing at it, I shook my head and snorted, startling Toro.
“Guess who?” I asked him, and he cocked his head, tongue lolling out. “Yup, our favorite Fed, Mike Westfield.”
Suddenly, I paused, feeling the urge to call him back. In the light of day, a whole new theory presented itself as Westfield’s number blinked on my phone.
Was there any way possible Bella could be a Fed? A plant of Mike’s to get something on me so we’d do more of his work for him?
Then my face twisted as I tried not to laugh.
Bella, the jumpy, sexy Rabbit, who sassily flirted in French, but betrayed her nerves by twisting her fingers in her hair. Yeah, right. No, Bella had spent years studying dance like she’d said. The way she moved was proof enough of that. Even the way she walked. You could sense the deliberateness in each of her steps. Elegant, striking, and focused. Even the best undercover Fed couldn’t have moved like that.
If that theory was banging around in my cranium, I was pushing it with being vigilant. Just because I’d been taught to sleep with one eye open didn’t mean I had to pay a visit to Uncle Joe’s paranoia-crazy-town.
If Bella was on the run, she was safe with me. If she wanted to talk, she could.
Either way, sooner or later, I’d figure her story out.
Or I’d entice it out.
What could I say? Girls liked talking to me. It was a gift.
Toro lifted his head at that moment and skittered out of the bathroom, heading for the front door, whimpering eagerly. Throwing a towel around my waist, I followed him, and sure enough, someone knocked two seconds later.
Yanking it open, I grinned at my two visitors, one of whom let out a little yelp, and the other who glared at me, his nostrils flaring. They made quite a pair, these two.
Angelino, my little brother, who was more often than not called Axe, due to his charming personality, towering height, and hard jaw. You’d never know it with all those muscles, but he had a good heart, and a good head on his shoulders. Brenna, his “pecorelle”, or “little sheep”, was like a warm, exotic flower, with great blue-green eyes, dark hair, and an exquisite face. She was a petite thing, especially next to my brother, and I liked her a lot.
“Christ, Colt. That’s how you answer the door?” Axe’s face twisted into his usual scowl. “Put some fucking clothes on. You’re gonna give me and my girl nightmares.”
“More like sweet dreams,” I said, and winked at Brenna, who made a face like she was trying not to laugh. “Buongiorno, you two.”
“Morning, Colt.” A laugh escaped Brenna. “Nice to see you.”
“It is, isn’t it?” I mused, stretching my arms out, and flexing, more to get a rise out of my little brother than anything.
“Get outta the way,” Axe snapped and I laughed. Busting his balls was one of my favorite pastimes, besides teasing my twin little sisters, Ava and Sophia.
Not Trina, my other sister, though. Nobody fucked with Trina much. She had claws.
As Axe shoved by me, Brenna trailed after him. Toro lifted up his head, and trotted after them, head-butting Brenna for pats.
“So what brings you to my fine abode so early in the morning?” I asked.
“Mama Ange,” Axe sighed, holding up a stack of Tupperware, and a bag. “Go get dressed, you goomba. Ya makin’ me lose my appetite.”
For a moment, I was tempted to strut into the kitchen in the buff, and really set Axe off, but there were knives in there. And Axe had just spent three weeks in jail, working out the whole time.
More importantly, though, I was starving. Already I could smell Mama Ange’s homemade sausage and my mouth was watering.
Five minutes later, when I walked into the kitchen fully clothed, I paused in the doorway. As they put out breakfast, Axe and Brenna were flitting around each other in a synchronized, instinctive kind of dance. Then, I watched as Brenna brushed her hand along his shoulders, Axe tugged on her ponytail, and they shared a smile.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself, happy to see them like this. But when Brenna looked over at me, as I slid into a seat at the bar, guilt speared my stomach, and I stifled a sigh.
If I’d gone to Ruffino’s auction that night, as intended, would Brenna even be alive? Would Ruffino still be selling girls?
Questions like those had haunted me the last few weeks.
After the auction that night, when I’d met up with Axe to find out what’d happened – the kid was just supposed to go and sniff around, not bid on any girls – he’d insisted that he had to do it, and that I would’ve done the same.
At the time, I’d been so furious and worried, I’d insisted I wouldn’t have, that I “followed orders”, and wouldn’t have blinked at Volkov bagging a virgin. So, in these past few weeks, after spending a lot of time with Brenna, I’d been overwhelmed with disgust at myself. While Axe believed I would’ve done the right thing, along with Dante, Trina, and Mama Ange, I wasn’t so sure.
Only Pop understood, when I’d hesitantly broached it to him.
“You’re the oldest, Cosimo,” he’d told me bluntly. “You make the hard choices so the rest of them don’t have to. You always put family first, right or wrong. Angelino is like my mother, that noble streak is stronger in them. He’ll choose right, thinking that in some way, it is putting family first.
“And, while this situation worked out, it almost didn’t. We teetered on a knife’s edge, there. You know better than anyone how quickly it coulda went to hell. So, I wouldn’t waste time wondering what you would’ve done in Axe’s place. You’re not in Axe’s place. You gotta be you.”
As I was leaving, Pop watched me go, looking unusually pensive and gentle.
“Colt, don’t torture yourself. It all worked out. And if anything, maybe something bigger was at work when it came to Brenna and Axe. Capisci? All is exactly as it should be.”
Yeah. Maybe one day I could stop and forgive myself. For now, I could just be grateful to the powers that be Axe had wound up at Ruffino’s that night or there would be lives on my conscience.
“Colt!” Brenna snapped her fingers in my face and I blinked.
“Yes, pecorelle?” I asked with an instant smile. “Something the matter?”
“Don’t call me that.” Rolling her eyes, Brenna added, “I only asked you like four times if you want some coffee.” Folding her arms, she shot me a suspicious look. “Have you been getting enough sleep lately?”
“Oh, sure. And yeah, thank you. You’re a gem. However, did my meathead little brother land you, again?”
Axe glared at me. “You wanna eat today, Colt?” Then he stopped and squinted, looking at me harder. “Brenna’s right. You look beat.”
“Please,” I snorted. “I look amazing. And you better give me food, unless you want to bring down the wrath of the Ange. Chop, chop, little brother chef, fratellino capocuoco.”
Axe muttered something rude in Italian under his breath, spearing the breakfast sandwich he was making with more zest than necessary.
“I love your apartment, Colt,” Brenna quickly said. “It’s very you. Larger than life.”
Looking around, I nodded, and said, “Thanks. Oh yeah, this is your first time here, isn’t it?�
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“Yeah.” She came around and scratched Toro’s ears. “But not my first time meeting this love bug, oh no.” Brenna kissed his nose and Toro’s tail thumped on the floor.
Gesturing around, I said, “Well, this is pretty much it. I’d take you out on the patio, but it’s an icy mess. And my room is a mess. And that loft, which is my office, is also a mess. Sorry.”
“Wow, great tour, Colt, thanks,” Brenna laughed.
“Second one in less than twelve hours, too.” I laughed along with her. “Last night I was showing off the club.”
“That place done yet?” Axe asked, handing me a plate of food. “Wait, weren’t the dancer auditions last night?”
My brain instantly shot to Bella as I took the plate. “They were,” I said with a nod.
Axe held his own sandwich aloft, ready to bite in when he stopped short.
“Why do you look like that?” he asked.
“Like what?” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich and groaning in pleasure. “Oh my God, so good. Almost enough to make me want to move back home.”
“Don’t try to change the subject,” Axe said, scowling. “You got the look in your eye. Did you fuck one of those girls?”
“Why, fratellino, whatever are you implying?” I asked, taking another bite of my sandwich.
“Since when do you fool around with employees? That’s not like you. You shouldn’t even joke, you know Pop would blow a gasket. Never mind Mama Ange.”
“That’s rich coming from the man who basically stole our Brenna,” I retorted.
“That was way different,” Axe said. “I’d never fool around with an employee.”
“Oooh, is she pretty?” Brenna piped up at the same time, sitting on a stool next to me.
“Whoah, you two,” I said, holding up my hands. “I was kidding, nothing happened. I just showed the headline dancer around as a courtesy.”
“So, what’s her name?” Brenna asked, as she accepted a plate from Axe, and studied me. “Where’s she from? How old is she? What’s a headliner, anyways?”
Axe laughed as I stared at Brenna.
“Geez, nosy, take a breath. And Bella Lesaude, if you must know. She’s the most incredible dancer I’ve ever seen, I’ll give you that. And the headliner is the main attraction, the big to-do. No idea where Bella’s from, but she’s in her mid-twenties, I’d say.”
“She sounds interesting,” Brenna said, exchanging a knowing look with Axe, and then shooting me an innocent smile. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
The conversation turned from there, much to my relief, and we spent the next hour eating and catching up.
But when Brenna went to the bathroom, Axe leaned across the counter, eyebrows raised, and punched my shoulder. “Don’t fucking lie to me. What’s the deal with the dancer, Colt?” he demanded.
I took my time, taking a long sip of my coffee before shrugging. “What the hell are ya talking about, kiddo?”
“Please,” Axe snorted, “I know you. I saw your face. Even Brenna noticed.”
“Oh, you mean Bella. Yeah, she’s somethin’ else. Exciting. Piqued my curiosity, sure.” Shrugging, I took another swig of coffee. “Might have to tap that just to clear my head.”
“No.” Axe stood up straight, folded his arms, and shook his head.
“No?” I asked, smothering a laugh, as I grinned at him. “Do go on, fratellino. My squirt brother telling me what I can and cannot do.”
“It’s not that. I just worry about you. All you do is work. You have no life outside the family, and if you do, it’s all…bullshit.” He tossed a hand around at my apartment and rolled his eyes. “Like, who needs all this shit? Don’t you want something real? Not a stripper who works for you to tap, but like…maybe you should start thinking about settling down, Colt.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or punch him. Was my younger brother seriously standing in my kitchen like some wise old goat, giving me advice?
“Stop it, Angelino, you’re killing me.”
“What’d he do now?” Brenna asked, bouncing back into the room, and going up to Axe.
I shook my head. “It’s better if you don’t know. He’s talking crazy.”
Axe scowled at me as Brenna tugged on his arm, demanding to know what we were talking about. Flushing a dull red, he muttered he’d tell her later, to which Brenna stuck out her lower lip, and he had to look away.
To think I’d see the day when my tough as nails little brother met his match.
As we finished our sandwiches, Brenna still hounding me and Axe with questions, I was clipping Toro to his leash when my phone buzzed. Looking down, the noise around me receded, and blood rushed in my ears.
It was from Bella.
You busy? Then a winking emoji popped up right behind it.
Was I busy? I thought about the question and the million and one things I needed to do today, but my dick was clearly controlling my fingers because what I typed back was:
Nope. What’s up?
Those three blinking dots skittered across the screen, and I waited for her to reply.
But as amped as I was at the thought of seeing her again, I couldn’t stop thinking about those damned fangs…
Chapter Four
Bella
I waited, staring down at my cell phone, literally holding my breath.
It had been a risky move. One that might be premature, considering Colt had only hired me to work at his club the day before. I was pretty sure most career gurus would discourage texting the boss like we were friends. Then again, most career gurus weren’t giving advice to a girl working for the heir to a major crime syndicate.
More importantly, they hadn’t felt the hard-on pressing against me when I’d been dancing for him.
A sizzle ran through me, and I tamped it down, but felt no guilt. Not anymore. There was no point in feeling guilty. Biology was biology. I hadn’t gotten laid in over a year and he was a handsome, powerful, red-blooded male who’d made no bones about his attraction to me. There was nothing I could do about the fact that my pheromones responded. I’d spent the night tossing and turning and trying to figure out how to fix it. But sometime between four and five AM, it had hit me.
I could use this to my advantage.
I’d taken the job to get my foot in the door so as to get close enough to Colt to hit him where it hurt.
In the business.
I planned to gain his trust, and not only make sure that all the cash that club was bound to bring in ended up in an offshore account with my name on it, but also make sure the Feds he was so fond of got enough dirt on him to put him away for as long as Justin would be locked up.
Plus one day, because fuck him.
But then I realized… What did a Sicilian male value more than money?
Two things.
Family and pride.
If you gotta destroy someone, do it from the inside out. Crush their fucking heart and soul.
My father never knew I overheard him telling one of my uncles that. As a child it had frightened me, but now it was just the advice I’d needed. Thanks, Daddy.
I wasn’t going to kill Colt Capestrana, after all. Oh no, far too painless.
I was going to destroy him.
From the few casual remarks Colt had dropped last night, I now knew being the first son of his generation was a role he took seriously. Further, Nevio, another one of my cousins lying low, had told me last week how the Capestranas not only adored Colt, but relied on him for everything, from errands to advice to business problems. He was their go-to guy.
So, now I had to figure out a way to use all that to humiliate him into the dust, and also ensure he lost the respect of every last Capestrana.
It was perfect. Not only would Colt suffer, but his family as well.
By the time I was through with him, he’d be a shattered, broken man, with no one to turn to, and nothing left. Enjoy that spotlight while it lasts, Colt.
And the grand finale? It would break his dea
r old daddy’s heart.
Word on the street was that Axe was trying to go legit. With no heir to the Capestrana empire, Salvatore would be forced to pack it all up.
So, if the crushing premonition of his youngest son bending over to pick up the soap didn’t give him a heart attack, the thought of his eldest growing old in jail would.
During this brainstorm, an old memory had pushed its way forward, and I’d had a split second of gut-wrenching guilt on that part of the plan. I found myself remembering a shadowy church, the smell of incense, a circlet of flowers, and a dainty dress. All in the color white, from head to toe.
My first communion.
My father hadn’t been there, even though he’d promised he would be.
One of the Capestranas’ distant cousins had been in my group. She had a bold way about her, and I remembered her dancing around her parents after the service in the parking lot, while Axe chased her. Colt had been standing up straight next to his father, swinging the hands of two, tiny adorable twins. My eyes had been drawn to him instantly as he’d looked like a real-life little prince. Even then he was too handsome for his own good.
I’d watched the lively, chaotic mess that was the Capestranas. None of them gave me a second glance because, little did I know then, that my father had pretty much denied my existence once his empire started to grow. But I must’ve been staring because Salvatore had smiled down at me with kind eyes and congratulated me so sincerely, I’d kept it in my memory this whole time. Even for the short time I remember living with my own father, he had always been distracted. He wasn’t mean, but it was like he never really saw me. Salvatore wasn’t like that. Not with me or any of his five children, who then erupted into a chorus of wolf-howls as they ran around like animals.
Salvatore had just burst out laughing, scooping up the two closest into a bear hug, and making them both shriek with giggles. Meanwhile, their mother had scolded Colt by kissing him on the head.
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