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“The fucking bastard.” I remember only too well what that felt like, and I can only imagine the horror of what happened when he caught up with the poor woman running for her life.
“It was hell on earth living there.” Stephanie’s eyes are clouded with pain, and she shivers. “Rape, torture and beatings that took you to the edge of life. Orgies and pain became common place in our world. He liked to steal a woman from the street and lock them away for his own personal pleasure and I still don’t know to this day if he knew who I was, or just saw his chance one misty day in Central Park.”
“Matteo told me that Cesare was destroyed when you left.”
She nods sadly. “I was so worried he would think I had run away. I had fallen so deeply in love with him he was all I could think of, and that memory kept me alive because I had someone worth fighting for.”
I smile and inject some brightness into my voice. “I’m glad you got your happy ending. You’re back together. We all are.”
She nods, a wistful smile on her face, and it strikes me how incredibly beautiful she is. I’m not surprised that Cesare fell hard for this woman because there’s an innocence and fragility that surrounds her that would ignite the protective streak in any man.
“It’s good to be home.” She smiles and then says with a shake of her head. “Anyway, why don’t we enjoy the time we have without our men and order takeout and watch movies? There’s a fucking cinema in this penthouse that you will die for.”
“Sounds good to me.” And it does. Being here suits me just fine, and any fears I had are pushed firmly away. Matteo is my everything, much like Cesare is Stephanie’s, and a life with these people is way more attractive than the one I was facing a short time ago, no matter how long that will be. Surely a few months spent with the right person are worth decades with the wrong one. If that’s all we get, then I’m up for the ride because I have a feeling it’s going to be a wild one and I can’t fucking wait.
CHAPTER39
MATTEO
Ireach the club and once again I am plunged headfirst into darkness. This is my world. Shrouded in pain, violence and dirty money. It drips from the walls and reminds me who I am. Abi is the only light in my world and it’s no wonder I crave it like a drug because it’s the only glimmer of hope I have of surviving the shit I deal with daily.
They are waiting in my office, and my heart thumps as I prepare to meet my brothers for the first time since we left a few years ago.
Cesare is quiet beside me as he senses I’m too worked up to talk and as we reach my office, he says gruffly, “I’ll be down the hall. Call me if you need me.”
I nod, wishing I had the luxury of escaping this meeting, but this is probably the most important one of my life and as I head inside, two identical pairs of eyes stare at me for the first time in what feels like forever. I’m surprised at the emotion in them as my brothers stand.
For a second they regard me warily and the tension in the room is so thick it’s difficult to battle through it and then I say with a sigh, “It’s good of you to come.”
Dom nods and Leo says drily, “We had no choice.”
I nod, a sinking feeling telling me there is a long way to go before we’re one big happy family, not that we ever were and as we take our seats, I am itching for the nicotine my cigar provides but settle for a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves.
Leo glares through his usual enigmatic eyes and growls, “I have news of my own.”
We stare at him expectantly and he says gruffly, “I read the will.”
Thisisnews and Dom growls, “It had better be in our fucking favor.”
Leo laughs bitterly. “What do you think?”
“Tell us.” I growl, knowing I’m not going to like what’s in it, knowing immediately Diana will be named as head of this family.
“Carlos Matasso.”
“What about him?”
I raise my eyes and Leo snaps. “The person inheriting the Ortega empire is Carlos Matasso.”
It’s as if he’s launched a grenade in the room and we dive for cover while we wait for the dust to settle, because I’m not sure either of us can believe what we’re hearing.
Dom speaks first and shouts, “What the actual fuck? You had better be wrong.”
“I’m not.” Leo sighs. “I saw it written for myself. Giovanni Ortega’s last will and testament names Carlos Matasso as the sole beneficiary of his estate. There weren’t even any bequests. He gets the lot. We are now out of business or dead.”
I say with a deep sigh. “It all makes sense.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Dom growls, and I say with a sigh, “The reason I called this meeting is to tell you that Mario is dead but it leaves us with a huge problem.”
