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I brought my cup to my lips and tasted my smile.
Katia then stood and began placing the knives on the straps she’d tailored to fit. Surprisingly, it had taken the least of her time as only a few remained on my desk, and she broke the silence.
“They didn’t pose any harm in the room.”
Katia didn’t glance my way, and my smile broke. Fully entertained.
“It’s hard enough for me to sleep.”
“Afraid of a tiny knife?”
Katia stepped away from the cabinet, her attention landing on me. And while her words weren’t an insult, her mocking tone was. She wanted them back. This was the weakest attempt to get them. It cried with desperation, and its cry told me I had accomplished the beginning of breaking a part of her.
“No, I just don’t trust a Vitelli with one.”
Katia picked up her bag, and in slow steps, she made it to the door. She was already struggling to walk out. With a quick glimpse, her eyes lowered to my collar.
“You should burn it. There’s blood on your collar.”
Katia walked away, and I walked to my desk chair near my new pride collection of pain—hers.
I welcomed the silence with her departure, even if my mind wasn't. New threats had surfaced with Katia’s presence in Miami. Whispers of California’s rage had reached. My men saw the power of the arrangement. Not one had voiced anything but their loyalty and eagerness to have theprincipessaof New York as the queen of Miami. They understood the danger and the war that would come, and they were ready for it.
Iwas ready for it.
My phone rang, and I closed my eyes.
“Si.”
“Abbiamo un problema,”Arlo spoke through the speaker.
When we had a problem, Arlo took care of it before it reached me. Unless it was important, or I had to be known. By his tone, it meant our problem was someone. Someone who I had to agree and order to be taken for a swim.
“Where?”
“Same place. See you shortly.”
With fresh images of Katia’s silky dress, her unsaid pain that caused the hard-on that didn’t get taken care of by her lips, and the wrath’s need to still punish someone, it was best I left. If not, how long would I last before I sought my ill desire for her pain as I used her underneath me? In this state, my cruel hands would leave marks in every inch that would painfully bruise.
I left. After all, I didn’t lie.
XI
KATIA
“Get ready,we’ll be late for mass,”Lucca’s detached and even voice ordered before he disappeared from view as quickly as he’d made his presence known.
In Italy, Nonno expected my presence with a smile on my face every Sunday morning. I couldn’t fail to show, even in sickness. I guess something in the Mafia never changed, the faith of the made-man.
I wore all black. It seemed fitting.
The church was quite a drive after the road construction delay. However, once we arrived, I took one last peaceful breath inside the quiet and uncomfortable mood of the car. We both hadn't spoken a word, and as people piled around the main double wood doors, the car rolled to a stop in front of the entrance. Two men waited by our closed doors, and I turned to Lucca.
He too wore all black, and he sat patiently as the parked car ran with his eyes forward. He had something to say, and I watched as his mind played with the right words as he remained composed. His profile showed his strong jaw and the clean trimmed beard that hid so much beneath. Then he turned to face me, and the coldhearted man stared deeply into my eyes.
“I don’t miss a Sunday, but I’m afraid that will soon change, so I am introducing you to the church now while time allows it.”
Taken aback, I repeated his words in my head. The underlying meaning of his admission and the importance he gave to the Catholic Church. There was no misunderstanding how this man was a follower of God, and surprise wasn’t what I had expected.
