Mr. Regnante (Mafioso Series Book 1)

by Serena Light

Much to everyone's shock, he raised his fist, seemingly ready to hit Rosalie as she shrunk back. She waited for the pain to blossom but when it didn't and a whimper escaped the man before her, she slowly peeked open her eyes, seeing Arcangelo's rigid muscles facing her. He had the man's fist in his grasp, his entire face devoid of any emotions as his grip tightened.

  "Baci tua madre con quella bocca (You kiss your mother with that mouth)? " Arcangelo asked in a bone chilling voice as the man swallowed thickly. "Se vuoi colpire qualcuno, prendi su qualcuno la tua dimensione, cagna. (If you want to hit someone, pick on someone your own size, bitch)."

  "Your precious little girlfriend is in some deep shit now." The man growled in broken English as Arcangelo chuckled.

  His laughter seemed to infuriate the man as he used his other hand and punched Arcangelo across the jaw, causing the majority of the people to shriek at the sound of the contact. The punch didn't seem to affect him much, because it only caused him to laugh louder as he released the man's fist.

  Instead, Arcangelo laughter ended as abruptly as it had started, and he grabbed the man by the front of his shirt, slamming him against the wall, before kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to groan and double over in pain. Apparently, the Mafia Boss wasn't done, because he slammed his elbow to the back of his neck, sending him to the floor in a heap before rendering him breathless with a kick to his side. He looked like he was going to kick him again before Rosalie shrieked his name in fright, wanting him to stop the violence.

  Instantly, his leg halted mid-air before Arcangelo straighten and composed himself. Grabbing the whimpering man, he pulled him up before twisting his arm behind his back painfully, resulting in a cry of agony.

  "Apologise," Arcangelo growled in the man's ear as he whimpered against his hold.

  "M-mi...dispiace." He apologized through his pain before Arcangelo marched him out the door and shoved him onto the gravel, causing the man to stumble before regaining his footing and running away as fast as he could.

  Turning back towards Rosalie, he noticed the frightened and distressed expression and was instantly before her, cupping her face and shushing her.

  "Shh,....you're okay." He assured as he tucked away a strand of her hair. "Are you hurt?"

  Rosalie shook her head as she covered his palm with her own. "Not hurt, just cold."

  Seemingly realizing this, Arcangelo glanced down and noticed that her white button up blouse had become see-through and exposed the purple bra she had on below. Removing his blazer he draped it over her, successfully covering her as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

  "Go and grab your things. We're leaving." Arcangelo instructed as she sniffled and went to gather her belongings.

  "You can't leave!" Her boss exclaimed, suddenly coming out of his stupor. "I don't give you permission!"

  "It wasn't a request," Arcangelo growled dangerously as the man squeaked in fright. "And it wasn't a negotiation either."

  Soon Rosalie returned with her bag as she shuffled closer to Arcangelo, tugging onto his sleeve as she just wanted to leave and never face such humiliation again.

  "Rosalie, if you leave, I will fire you!" Her boss yelled as Arcangelo opened the door for her.

  "Go ahead and fire her." He stated in response. "I'll get her a far better and well-paying job."

  "Oh, yeah? Like what?" The boss taunted.

  "A medical internship," Arcangelo stated smugly as her employer's smirk dropped off his face and his mouth fell open.

  Leading her to his car, Arcangelo opened the passenger door for her, before closing it shut. About to move to his side, he got a call. Attending it, he pressed the phone to his ear.

  "Tell me you got something." He spoke while rubbing a hand over his face, his anger abating from what had transpired inside.

  "No, sorry," Salvatore sighed on the other line, sounding equally tired and worn out. "They all have no idea. I even dangled them on the edge of death and no one had any clue."

  Without a response, Arcangelo ended the call, slamming his hand onto the hood of the car as he cursed under his breath, his anger returning at the lack of success from the past few months.

  They were nowhere on finding Rosalie's attackers. They had no idea who tipped them off or who the mole was, and most of all; they weren't any closer to making Rosalie safer.

  All of this pissed him off beyond compression.

  Those Mafia failures topped with what had transpired in the Diner had him absolutely livid.

  And it was only a matter of time until a man died at his hands.

  Chapter XV: Surprise Encounters

  Rosalie brushed the tangles out of her freshly blow-dried hair as she settled them. Applying her makeup, she looked down at her phone and noted that she needed to be leaving. Pulling on a pair of nude pencil heels, she wore her faun overcoat on top of her full attire which consisted of a black high neck and jeans. Grabbing her purse, she received the message that Dante was downstairs and waiting for her.

  Taking one last glance in the mirror, she smiled at her reflection, feeling it would be a good day as she made her way out her apartment complex.

  Greeting Dante and two other friends she got in the back as they chatted and laughed about their university professors as they made their way to lunch.

  After their break was over, they all had been so caught up with their work and studies and various stresses that they decided the moment they see an open opportunity in their calendars, they were going out for lunch.

  And today was the day where they all were coming together to a nice little restaurant a little way out to enjoy some time together.

  Stopping in front of the restaurant, they all made their way inside before deciding on a corner booth next to the window. Taking off her coat, Rosalie sat in after Dante as the other two sat opposite them, all four of them waiting for Maria to arrive so that they could order.

  "Where is she?" Her friend Angelica groaned as she glared at the time on her phone. "I'm starving!"

  "She'll be here soon." Dante chuckled as he turned towards Leonardo, both of them getting engaged in a conversation as Angelica eventually relented and joined in, Rosalie trying to listen to them converse but her eyes just couldn't stop looking at the door, waiting.

  Shaking her head, she looked away before the overhead bell rang, her eyes shooting up as she noticed four broadly built men walk in, their backs towards her until the fifth man followed behind them. He was dressed in a black shirt and jeans paired with black combat boots and a brown overcoat as he pulled off his gloves, blowing air onto his hands to warm them from the cold inside.

  As he warmed them, his gaze traveled around the restaurant before his eyes met hers. Mild confusion shining in his cerulean eyes as he had an amused smile sported on his lips with Rosalie openly staring at him, her lips gently parted.

  "Hey, Ango, come on." One of the men spoke up, lightly hitting him on the chest with the back of his hand. "Here's a table."

  She watched as Marcello and Romeo sat in the booth not too far away from hers with their back towards her with Vincent and Arcangelo facing her, Lorenzo pulling up a chair. Both her and Arcangelo staring at each other from across the room

  "I'm so sorry, guys!" Maria's breathless voice redirected her attention as she dragged a chair to their table. "I absolutely lost track of the time."

  The rest of her friends went on to scold her as they exaggerated how long they had been waiting, Rosalie chuckling at their theatrics as Maria apologized profusely.

  "We can order now." Dante heaved with a relieved breath as he beckoned the waitress who passed out menus to them all, glancing up from her menu, she noticed Arcangelo asking the waiter something as the rest of his friends were nodding along. After another minute of speaking, Arcangelo handed back his menu, the other doing the same as the waiter left.

  "Rosalie?" Leonardo's voice called out to her as she looked up at him.

  "Yeah?"

  "What are you ordering?" Dante asked slowly, cocking
his head in the direction of the waiter beside her.

  "Oh!" Rosalie spoke as she flipped open the menu, ordering their Alfredo pasta as the waiter nodded rattling off their order as they nodded in confirmation.

  Looking back towards Arcangelo table, she noticed all the guys were looking back at her with either sly smirks or amused smiles as they waved at her. Embarrassed, Rosalie looked away as she could hear their laughter ring through the restaurant.

  She tried her hardest to keep her attention on her friends and partake in their conversations as she shared a couple of laughs with them until Dante pulled out a deck of cards for a trick. Shuffling them, he laid them face down as he asked Rosalie to pick a card. Picking up a card she memorized it before returning it to the deck. Shuffling them again, he picked up a card showing the 5 of diamonds, exclaiming that to be her card.

  "My card was the 6 of hearts." Rosalie laughed as the other guffawed at his failure, the dark-haired boy's cheeks flushing as he gave a sheepish smile. Shaking her head at his antics, Rosalie placed a kiss on his cheek, Dante's face turning a deep red as he placed a hand on the spot. "Better luck next time."

  Instantly the other started to tease him about his failures as Rosalie momentarily glanced up, her smile faltering at the dark look Arcangelo was giving her. His teasing smile was gone as he stared directly at her. She watched as he stood up, beckoning her with his finger as he walked towards the back of the restaurant where she knew the restrooms were.

  "Uh...I'll be back," Rosalie told her friends dismissively while standing up, all her friends asking where she was going to which she mumbled something about washing her hands. Swallowing thickly she walked past the guys' table, as he gave them a smile before making her way to the back where she had watched Arcangelo go.

  Standing in the hallway, she was suddenly pulled into one of the washrooms as the door locked behind her. Rosalie's back was against the door as she stared at Arcangelo's chest, his face suddenly coming into view as he leaned down to be at face level with her, one hand on the door as the other was resting on her waist.

  "Who's the kid?" He asked her as Rosalie's cheeks flushed.

  "Dante," She informed him, looking up at him. "He's a friend. Why do you ask?" She added just to see how he would respond.

  "Because you kissed him,"

  "Oh, is the big bad Mafia boss jealous?" Rosalie teased as her eyes lit up with humor, a warning growl rising from Arcangelo's chest as he pinned her with a hard gaze. "Is that it? You're jealous?" She giggled.

  "Princess..." Arcangelo spoke lowly as her laughter died down in her throat as he pulled her closer to him. "You're my girlfriend, so don't think you can go kissing around guys." He continued in a low husky voice as her heart rate increased, warmth oozing down her back as a shiver went through her.

  Noticing that little act, Arcangelo leaned forward as he pulled down the high neck, exposing the soft skin of her neck. He initially placed a gentle kiss on the skin, a sigh escaping Rosalie as she melted into his arms, but that was before a gasp tore through her as she bit her tongue as he bit on the skin.

  Arcangelo covered her mouth with his hand as he pushed her against the door. She could feel his teeth sink into her skin as the pain jolted through her, but the sensation of his mouth against her neck just had her moaning against his palm. Pulling away, he surveyed the hickey as he licked his lips before glancing up at the lust in her eyes, a smirk quirking at his lips.

  "I don't share what's mine," He growled possessively as he removed his hands from her lips, lightly pecking them. "So the next time you plan to kiss any guys, remember that I will bite you, and next time it will be in a lot more places than just your neck. Be glad that you can cover it up with your high necked shirt."

  With that he placed another kiss on her lips before unlocking the door and walking out, leaving her to sag against the wooden structure at her back as she tried to calm down her heartbeat. Walking towards the mirror, she pulled down the neck, before staring at the angry mark on her skin, a giddy feeling flowing through her at how possessive he was for her. Fixing her appearance, she washed her hands before making her way out the washroom and going back to her table, forcing herself not to look back at Arcangelo's table.

  Their food had already arrived and her friends were telling her that her pasta was getting cold and that she was so slow. Rosalie just chuckled as she dug into her food, momentarily glancing up as she noticed Arcangelo looking at her as he popped a fry into his mouth, giving her a wink before turning towards Vincent, both of them getting engaged in a conversation.

  Turning back she chatted with her friends, laughing and cracking jokes until she noticed Arcangelo and his friends get up from their table. Having eaten and paid their bill, they were leaving. Pulling on their coats and jackets, all 5 braced themselves for the weather as they walked out, some of them smiling, waving, or winking at her on their way out, as Arcangelo simply gave her a look, her phone suddenly vibrating in her lap.

  Looking down, she noticed it was a text from him.

  Swiping it open, Rosalie's face grew a deep red as her heartbeat increased, the contents having her forget how to breathe as her friends looked at her in concern, all of them asking if she was alright as she downed a glass of water, fanning herself as she tried to calm down.

  **

  Arcangelo and Vincent leaned against his car's bumper as they both looked out at the Tuscany sunset from the hill they were on. Lorenzo and the other two had left to go home while the two best friends decided to stay out for a bit longer. Throwing back his head, Arcangelo exhaled into the air watching as his breath fogged up above him.

  "Arcangelo..." Vincent called out softly as his best friend turned him, his entire being on alert because he knew that this man never took his full name unless it was serious. "Alyna is pregnant."

  "What-" His best friend breathed out in disbelief. "That's amazing! Congratulations!" He laughed as he hugged the blond man, excited that he had another niece or nephew to look forward to. Pulling away, he held Vincent at arm's length before his smile dropped as he noticed the uneasy expression on his face.

  "What's wrong, Vincent? Aren't you happy?"

  "I am." Vincent nodded sombrely as he leaned against the car. "I am."

  "Then?"

  "I think..."

  "What?"

  "I think Alyna is cheating on me."

  Those words hit Arcangelo like a bullet. The air was momentarily knocked out of his lungs as his eyes widened in shock. Sure, he and his sister never got along quite well, but if she was cheating on his best friend, her husband, then...

  "And you think it's her lovers?"

  "Not this one, no." Vincent shook his head, stuffing his hand into his pockets as he stared down. "No, this one is mine, just as much as Claudia is mine."

  "The-"

  "She's cheating on me, Arcangelo. I feel it."

  "But you don't know?"

  "Not for certain, no," Vincent stated. "But I have a gut feeling that she is, and when have my gut feelings been wrong?

  "Fuck." Arcangelo breathed out in disbelief, rubbing a hand over his face. "What are you going to do?"

  "For now, nothing," His best friend sighed in defeat. "But once the baby is born, I will find out for certain if she is having an affair. If I am wrong then all well and good."

  "But if she is?"

  "I'll file for a divorce." Vincent's voice broke as tears welled in his eyes. "I'll file for a divorce and try to get custody of the kids." He stated as his words morphed into a sob.

  Arcangelo's heart broke to see his best friend like this as he wrapped him in his arms, hugging his brother close as he let him sob into his coat.

  "Married life has been shit for the past few years." Vincent sobbed. "I-she doesn't love me anymore...Arcangelo, I can feel it."

  "Hey, we'll take things one at a time." Arcangelo soothed. "Let the kid be born, and then we'll take it from there."

  "If she's cheating on me, you'll help me get custody of m
y kids, won't you?" Vincent asked, pulling away with a blotched face to stare up at his best friend.

  "Of course I will," Arcangelo spoke as if though it were an obvious fact. "Besides, we all know the secret about Alyna. So after that, why wouldn't I help you get custody of the kids. For all we know, she's just as bad as Antonio."

  "Thank you."

  "Don't thank me."

  "Then can I ask one more favor of you?"

  "Say it and it shall be done." Arcangelo grinned at his best friend who didn't smile back.

  "Reinstate my position as your second-in-command," Vincent demanded as the other man stared at him quietly. "I can't stay at home, I can't stay there. I'll bring Claudia with me if I have to, but don't force me to stay at home. Please."

  "It will be done." He nodded a stern expression on his face as Vincent let out a breath of relief. "Be at the estate at 7 on Monday."

  "Thank you, I'll be there, boss."

  Chapter XVI: Back-in-Black

  Even after University had resumed and everything was back to the way it had been, Rosalie could not get accustomed to the fact that she had guards watching her. The first week, one guard stayed in the car, while the other followed her around, maintaining his distance from her, but keeping her in eyesight.

  When her friends finally noticed this one suit-clad guy following her around everywhere, they thought he was her stalker. Rosalie had laughed at them and told them that he was her...bodyguard...of sorts. That notion in itself had her friends flabbergasted which resulted in numerous questions from them--which she couldn't possibly answer without disclosing the fact that she was in the Mafia protection programme.

  So she excused herself, claiming to be late for work.

  Finally, they came around to her vacation, all of them saying they missed her and asking where she had gone and what she had done there. Thinking on the spot, she made up the lie of trekking. Claiming that her family took her on a hiking expedition in Switzerland where she didn't have signals for a call and only returned a day before University started again.

  Her friends were all very satisfied with the response, even further prodding to get to know more about the Alps. She told the same story to her family when they called, and they were all very excited for her.