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Aria’s lids fluttered and I tensed, dreading the look in her eyes when she saw me. Would she hate me? Fear me?
How could I ever make it up to her? Ever apologize if I’d hurt her like I thought I had? There was no apologizing for something like that. It was unforgivable.
Aria looked at me with a small frown.
“What did I do?” I rasped, torn between not wanting to know and desperately needing to.
Aria peered down her body. I didn’t understand her reaction. Was she in shock? How badly had I fucked up? She brushed her fingers over her throat and I winced at the bite marks I’d left on her unblemished skin. I was a monster. I should have never been given someone like Aria.
Aria pushed into a sitting position and grimaced, pain flashing across her face. A new wave of self-hatred slashed through me sharper than any knife ever could.
“Aria, please tell me. Did I…?” I couldn’t even say the fucking word. What kind of man could perform the deed but not say the word?
Aria’s brows drew together as she looked at me as if she didn’t understand a word I was saying. “You don’t remember?”
“I remember bits and pieces. I remember holding you down.” That was the worst memory of all. Aria bent over the couch, me on top of her.
“You didn’t hurt me,” Aria said softly.
Her body spoke a different language. Why was she trying to protect me? “Don’t lie to me.”
Aria crawled over to me. I regarded her without moving. “You were a bit rougher than usual, but I wanted it. I enjoyed it.”
I had trouble believing it, considering how my rougher side was. “No, really, Luca,” Aria murmured, kissing my cheek. She didn’t look scared or broken. “I came at least four times. I don’t exactly remember everything. I passed out from sensory overload.”
I closed my eyes a moment. Fuck. Not like my father.
“I don’t understand what got into you. You even attacked Romero.”
I put my hand on Aria’s knee, savoring the feel of her soft skin, glad that she didn’t flinch. “My father is dead.”
Aria’s eyes widened. “What? How?”
“Last night. He was having dinner at a small restaurant in Brooklyn when a sniper put a bullet into his head.” Aria didn’t need to know the entire truth. It wouldn’t serve any purpose. The less she knew in this regard, the safer she’d be.
“What about your stepmother?”
“She wasn’t there. He was with his mistress. She was shot too, probably because the Bratva thought she was his wife. Someone must have told them where to find him. Very few people knew he went there. He was in disguise. Nobody could have recognized him. There has to be a traitor among us.”
Nina was probably slurping champagne and dancing on the tables as we spoke. I needed to go see her with Matteo later today. Part of me wondered if maybe she’d been involved in his death. I needed to find out so I could figure out if there was a traitor among our men. I had my suspicions, of course.
“How do you feel?” She touched my chest as if I needed consoling. I hadn’t felt an ounce of sadness over my father’s death. Seeing him lying in his own blood with open, empty eyes, I hadn’t felt a sliver of the emotions the sight of Aria’s bruises had evoked in me. I stroked Aria’s upper arm, then lightly traced the bite marks on her throat. “Relief.”
Aria tilted her head. “Because you’re finally Capo?”
Because Father could never hurt Aria, because I wouldn’t have to kill the man myself to protect her. He was finally gone, and I would rebuild the Famiglia to something stronger and better.
“Yes,” I said. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I really didn’t hurt you?”
Aria kissed me. “You needed me and I needed you, Luca.” The look in Aria’s eyes tore at my last wall. I quickly got up. “I need to handle the situation. The Famiglia needs me to take control and uncover the traitors.”
Aria smiled. “You’re going to be a great Capo.” I didn’t say anything, only regarded my wife’s kind face. She slid out of bed. “Can I help you with anything? Should I keep Nina company?”
I shook my head. “Take a bath and relax. I’ll handle everything.”
Aria nodded, but I could tell that she was disappointed but I didn’t want her involved in this mess as long as I didn’t know exactly what had happened, and Nina didn’t need consolation any more than I did. After a last kiss, I went into the shower. When I was done getting ready, I found her downstairs in a satin bathrobe, sipping coffee. “Shouldn’t Romero be here by now?”
“Fuck,” I breathed. Searching the mess of my bloody clothes on the floor, I finally found my cell. I picked it up. I’d turned it to silent and I’d ten missed calls and countless messages from Romero and Matteo, as well as Dante and Scuderi. I called Matteo as I unlocked the elevator. Matteo picked up after the second ring. “Have you lost your fucking mind? I’ve been trying to call you for hours. What’s your fucking problem?”
