When We Were Us: A Dark Mafia Romance (Alpha Boyfriends Book 3)

by J. S. Cooper

  “What?” I took a deep breath. “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you and Fabiano had something going.”

  “We did not have anything going.”

  “Is that why Luca killed him? Did Luca kill him because you fucked Fabiano and he knew that you couldn’t be trusted? Was he going to kill you next? Is that why you went to the feds?”

  “Nothing happened between me and Fabiano.”

  “Ah, so you do remember him?” He smirked.

  “I do,” I said softly. And my mind went back to that night, the night I wished I could take back. It was true. We had been in a bar. Me and Luca had gone dancing and he’d left me to go and get some drinks. When he was standing there, I saw him flirting with some girls and it made me upset and jealous so I decided to get him back. I flirted with a guy that I’d seen a couple of times around Luca’s house. His name was Fabiano. He was tall, dark, handsome, the sort of guy that made you feel like you were special to him, even though you knew you weren’t really.

  And as he’d smiled at me and flirted with me, I’d flirted back. I didn’t care about him. I didn’t want him. I just wanted Luca to see me flirting and for him to get upset. I hadn’t wanted anything bad to happen. I’d just wanted him to realize that he couldn’t flirt with other people. Flirting with other people hurt. It hurt inside. And maybe that’s why I needed help as well. Maybe I should have been okay with him flirting with other people. It was innocent enough, I suppose.

  Well, that night that I’d been flirting with Fabiano, his hand did slip up my dress and it was caressing my thigh. His other hand then grazed my boob and that’s when I’d had enough. I pushed him off of me and yelled, “Stop.” But the wheels had already been set in motion. Luca had already seen what had been going on. He saw me push Fabiano away and yell. He didn’t know that I’d been batting my eyelashes at Fabiano just a few minutes before. He didn’t know that I’d been twirling my hair and smiling at him, giving him fuck-me eyes. He didn’t know that. All he saw was Fabiano trying to finger me, and the next thing I knew, he and Fabiano were outside fighting.

  “Bitch, are you listening to me?” Enzo interrupted my memories and for once, I was happy to hear his voice.

  I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I didn’t want to think about what happened later that night in the dungeon of Lucas’ house. I didn’t want to think about the blood. I didn’t want to think about how Fabiano had died just because I’d been jealous.

  “Hey there, bitch,” Enzo shouted at me again. “Are you going in and out of consciousness? Do I need to slap you to keep you awake?”

  “Please, don’t touch me.” I shuddered as he came closer to me.

  “So what are you going to do? I’m not going to ask you one more time.”

  “I can ask Luca where the body is. But...”

  “But what?”

  “If he doesn’t tell me, you still have to promise that you’re not going to touch my friends. You need to leave them alone. I’m begging you, please. They’re innocents in all this.”

  “They don’t even know, do they? They don’t even know what you did. Do you think they’d still be your friends if they knew? Do you think they’d still be your friends if I brought them in here and I let Giuliani fuck both of them?”

  I gasped, “Please. That’s enough. Please, just leave them alone.”

  “So tell me what I want to hear.”

  “Fine. I’ll ask Luca.”

  “And if he doesn’t tell you right away?”

  “I’ll push him until he tells me. You just have to promise me you won’t touch my friends, please.”

  “You got a promise. You get the information I need, I leave them alone.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay.” He smiled at me then. A sweet, handsome smile. And as I looked into his face, he looked like a sweet older man. It’s funny how looks could be deceptive. Sometimes the most evil bastards were standing there right in front of you, and you had no idea that such evil could exist in them.

  Chapter 15

  Luca

  I pulled up outside Enzo’s house and I sat in my car waiting for a few minutes. I needed to settle my nerves and I needed to be calm. If I went in their guns blazing, I would be dead, Anabel would be dead, and it would all be over. I had decided not to bring Giorgio with me because something about his actions wasn’t settling well with me. Something about him was making me think he couldn’t be trusted, and while I wanted to confront him, I knew that now wasn’t the time. I had to take care of this before I confronted him and all hell broke loose at home. I could only put out one fire at a time.

  I got out of the car slowly and walked up to the front door. I knew Enzo wouldn’t be expecting that. He’d expect me to have some covert mission with my guys. He’d be thinking I’d try to break in and bust Anabel out of the house, which I had considered but I knew that he was expecting me to do that. He would have men guarding her. He would have people waiting to ambush me. I couldn’t bust in and try and sneak her out. This had to be done in the proper fashion. I had to speak to him. I had to know what he wanted. I rang the doorbell and I waited. About ten seconds later, a short, pudgy guy opened the door.

  “Hello. Can I help you?”

  “I’m here to see Enzo.”

  “And you are?”

  “I’m Luca. Who are you?”

  “Oh, you’re Luca. I’m Giuliani. You’re lucky you got here because I was just about to fuck that fat bitch of yours.”

  I kept my mouth shut. I was not going to let him rile me up. I could tell that he was the sort of guy that wanted any excuse to start shooting and I wasn’t going to give him that excuse. “So is Enzo here? Can I come in?”

  “You’re by yourself?” He peered around and looked over my shoulder. He was surprised. I knew they thought I’d come with an army of men, but I didn’t need an army of men. I was Luke Cattaneo. I was king, the head, the capo. I could deal with this by myself.

  “Can I see Enzo? And I want to see Anabel. I want to make sure she’s okay.”

  “That bitch is okay. All she needs is a good fucking.”

  I took a deep breath. I was not going to let him get to me, but as he kept talking about Anabel like that, I could feel myself starting to react. I could feel myself getting angrier. I had to cool it. If I got too angry, it would all be over.

  “Hold on,” Giuliani said and slammed the door in my face. I waited for what must have been about five minutes before he opened the door again. “Come inside. Enzo is ready to see you.”

  “Okay.” I walked in and followed him down a long hallway. It was dark inside. Austere. It was a depressing house. There were no pictures up anywhere. There was no art. All the life had been sucked out of the rooms and all that was left was looming gloom. I could see that it wasn’t a place of happiness; and so it didn’t surprise me that Enzo’s daughter had left. Though I knew he blamed me for that. I followed Giuliani into a small living room and he told me to sit down on a red velvet couch. I sat on the hard uncomfortable seat and waited.

  “Stay. I’ll be back,” Giuliani said and he left the room. I looked around to see if I could figure out if there were any cameras or any men watching me in corners that I couldn’t see. I didn’t see anyone. I was surprised, just like they’d been surprised by me showing up alone. I thought the place would have been packed with men with guns just waiting for me. As far as I could tell, there was no one, but Enzo, Giuliani, and Anabel in the house.

  “Well, well, well, it’s nice to see you, Luca Cattaneo. Thank you for gracing me with your presence at my home.” Enzo walked into the living room in a flourish, a warm smile on his face as he held out his hand. I jumped up and shook it, smiled back at him. If he wanted to play that game, I was down for it.

  “Good to see you too, Enzo. I take it you’ve been well?”

  “Well, not quite as well as you’ve been Luca, but I’m doing okay for myself, yes.” He smiled. “Shall we have a se
at?”

  “Sure.” I sat back down on the red velvet couch and Enzo sat on an armchair directly across from me. He smiled, a cold, vapid smile and then spoke.

  “So I’m sure you want to see your pretty little thing, huh?”

  “I would like to see Anabel, yes.”

  “I think we can make that happen, but...” He frowned slightly. “I don’t see a suitcase in your hands.”

  “Why would I have a suitcase?”

  “I think there’s a matter of five million dollars that I told you to bring in hundred dollar bills. I’m pretty sure you don’t have those notes in your pocket.”

  “There’s no five million, Enzo. You know you’re not getting that from me.”

  “But Luca, I think you understand that I asked for five million dollars. Did I not make myself clear?”

  “Well, Enzo,” I said in a low, deep voice. “I think you understand that you’re not getting five million. You’re not getting four million. You’re not getting a single penny from me.”

  “So you don’t want the girl back in one piece then?” Enzo stood up and shrugged. “I mean, that’s fine. I’ll let Giuliani have a pop at her and then, you know, we’ll take care of her.”

  “Fine.” I shrugged as if that meant nothing to me. “You gotta do what you got to do.”

  “Yeah, just like you did what you had to do to Fabiano, huh?” His voice was angry. The games were done.

  I took a deep breath. Finally, Enzo had let it out. This was what it was all about. It was all about Fabiano. The man that had cost me everything I loved and was still torturing me from the grave.

  “Okay, so do you want me to go then?” I stood up as well. “Tell Anabel I said hi and bye.” I walked toward the front door and I was just about to open it when Enzo stopped me.

  “Luca.”

  I paused and turned around. “Yes, Enzo?”

  “I know that you care about the bitch. That’s why you’re here. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be here. We both know that. So let’s stop with the crap, okay.”

  “What do you want, Enzo?”

  “You’re right. I don’t want the five million. I got plenty of millions myself. I need information.”

  “What information do you need?”

  “I need to know where Fabiano’s body is buried.”

  “Enzo, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “We both fucking know that you know what happened to Fabiano and we both fucking know that if I don’t find out where his body is, you and I are not going to get on.”

  I laughed then. “Enzo, we’ve never gotten on. We’ve never been friends. We’re never going to be friends, right? So if this is what that’s about, you can just let me go now.”

  “And you don’t want that bitch?”

  “I’ll take her if you don’t want her. But no, I don’t particularly care about her. I don’t know if you’ve heard, I’m engaged now to—”

  “I know, I know,” Enzo cut me off. “Valentina Marchese.”

  “Oh, well, then you know I don’t care about Anabel.”

  “You know Valentina Marchese’s been around town?” Enzo laughed. “Her dad doesn’t know, but she’s a slut with a capital S.”

  “Don’t talk about my fiancée that way.” I frowned. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Luca, fuck off. We both know you couldn’t give two shits about Valentina Marchese. We both know that the one you really want is sitting in my room right now, and we both know that if you don’t do what I want you to do, then she will be fucked tonight by me and whoever else I choose. And who knows what will happen to her next?”

  “You listen to me, Enzo. You better not lay a finger on her.” I couldn’t hold back anymore. I burst into anger, shouting at him, my fist mere inches from his face. “If you let anyone hurt her or touch her, I will kill you and I will let you watch yourself die.”

  “Ha ha ha, you’re funny, Luca. You’re a funny, funny, funny, funny, man.” And then he stepped toward me and his mouth lowered. “If you threaten me one more time, Luca Cattaneo, I will kill you and your bitch together.” And then he smiled. “But I know it’s not going to come to that, is it?”

  We stared at each other in a standoff for what felt like hours. Finally, I cleared my throat. “Let me see her. I need to see her before I do anything.”

  “Fine, you can see her. You got five minutes with her in a room.”

  “Take me to her.”

  “Follow me.”

  We walked toward the back of the house and then he opened a door. He walked in and immediately I saw Anabel tied to a chair, Giuliani next to her, his hand on her thigh. I flinched, but I had to hold myself back. I couldn’t go after Giuliani right now. It just was not worth it. Anabel looked up at me, fear in her big, beautiful green eyes. They widened as she saw me. And as I glanced at her, I felt a protectiveness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. This was my Anabel. This was the woman that I’d loved. This was the woman that had come into my life and changed me. This was my Anabel. I knew in that moment that I couldn’t let anything happen to her. I knew that no matter how much I wanted revenge on her, no matter how much I hated her, I could not let Enzo do anything to her.

  “Get your hands off of her.” I stepped forward and I looked at Giuliani. I didn’t care what was going to happen now. “Get your hands off of her and step back.”

  Giuliani looked at me like he wanted to say something, but Enzo shook his head. Giuliani stepped back.

  “Are you okay, Anabel?” I walked over to her slowly and crouched down. She nodded slightly, tears in her eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” I said softly.

  I wasn’t sure how I was able to keep my composure. I wasn’t sure why I sounded so sweet and so nice, but I needed to comfort her. I needed to make her feel like it was okay. And not only did I want to make her feel that it was okay, I wanted her to know it was okay, as well. I wanted her to realize that the man that she hated, the man that she’d left; the evil, cruel bastard that she turned into the feds didn’t exist. I was a good guy.

  I knew she didn’t see that in me, but ultimately, I was a good guy. I was a good guy for her and I’d wanted to be a good guy for life and I’d thought she’d understood. I thought she knew. Yes, I had temper issues. Yes, I had control issues. But I didn’t let those things define me. They did not define who I was as a man. They did not define my love for her. I loved her more than anything. I would have done anything for her and she left. She left me and my world had never been the same since.

  “Luca,” she said softly. “Are you okay?” she whispered, and I nodded. I kissed her on the forehead, and then I turned to Enzo and Giuliani.

  “Get out of the room. I need to talk to her.”

  “Hmm, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to get out of the room,” Giuliani said to Enzo.

  “We’ll go. We’ll wait outside.” Enzo stared at me as he spoke.

  “I’m going to undo her ropes,” I said to them. “You can’t keep her tied up like this.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, boss,” Giuliani said to Enzo again.

  “Shut up, Giuliani.” Enzo shook his head. “Do what you got to do, Cattaneo. We’ll be back in five minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  They walked out of the door and they closed it behind them. I quickly undid the ropes around her body and she stood up.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  “Hey,” I said back.

  “Funny, huh?” She gave me a half-smile and I frowned.

  “What’s funny about this situation?”

  “This time you really are my knight in shining armor. This time it’s real.”

  “I’d say it was more ironic than funny.”

  “I’d say it’s fate’s way of letting me know that I don’t deserve peace.” She sighed.

  “You really hate me, don’t you, Anabel?” The pain coursed through me once again as I stared at her, her beautiful face,
the way her face displayed every emotion she was feeling. And when her eyes settled on me and she offered me a whisper of a smile, I could feel my heart thawing. That was the power she had over me. She could make time stand still.

  “Luca,” she said.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry about the past. I know this is your world and I should have walked away without turning you in. I didn’t want anything to happen to you, I hope you know that. I just felt so guilty. I had to go and make atonement.”

  “There was nothing for you to feel guilty about, Anabel.”

  “You killed a man because of me, Luca. I had everything to feel guilty about.”

  “We can’t talk about this now, Anabel.” I looked toward the door. “We’ve got about three minutes left. Now, I need you to be honest with me, okay? I need you to be honest with me about everything. I know you hate me and I know you don’t trust me, but trust me when I say this. Enzo is a worse man than I am. Enzo will kill both of us. I know he’s most probably asked you for something. You need to tell me exactly what it is he wants you to do and what he wants from me because he’s playing games here and I have a feeling that he doesn’t really expect either one of us to leave this house alive tonight, do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “What?” She looked nervous. “But he said we can leave if we tell him where Fabiano is buried.”

  “Anabel, we’re the mafia. We don’t play fair. Just because he said we can leave, doesn’t mean we can leave. He wants information and once he gets that information, we’re done. You hear me? He will kill us both. And I know you don’t have reason to trust me, especially seeing as you know I was going to kidnap you too, but you need to believe in me. So I’m going to ask you again—what did he want from me?”

  “He wanted to know where Fabiano’s body was buried,” she said softly. “He wanted you to tell me where the body is buried. He said if I get that information from you he won’t harm Charlotte and Emily, and I’m nervous. You have to tell him.”

  “Anabel, I can’t tell him where Fabiano’s body is buried.”

  “But Luca, why not? Why do you care if he knows?”