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His portly stomach brushed my arm, but I refused to move. I wasn’t the kid who ran from him. Who was afraid as he watched a woman die. Now, I was the thing to fear.
“See, that’s how I feel about her. What we have doesn’t end.” I didn’t shout like him. Instead holding onto my control. “Even if I have to kill to keep her.”
“You see this disrespect.” He backed away, spitting at my feet. “He isn’t good enough for my daughter. He’s a nobody!”
I lunged. I was going to kill him. I wanted to see his face turning purple as I cut off his air. I wanted to feel his heart pop as I plunged the knife into his chest.
I wanted him to know it was me. The worthless punk who took his life. His daughter. His legacy. Everything he cared about.
“You won’t keep me from her,” I growled, but Matteo slapped a hand to my chest before I could reach him.
Any other person, and I would’ve shoved them off. But Matteo was the one person I would defer to. The one who’d given me everything.
“He’s the new underboss.” My body stilled as shock washed over me. What did he just say? “That’s not good enough for you?”
Gio’s mouth opened and closed in surprise. A gargling sound left his lips as he stared in disbelief.
I understood the feeling. Had Matteo just promoted me? Against all protocol and tradition?
I might hate what Gio said, but he wasn’t wrong. I came from nothing. I wasn’t supposed to rise higher. I was a fixer. That was the best I could be.
“He’s not Italian.” Gio’s rage echoed off the buildings around us. “He wasn’t a capo first. You can’t do this.”
“I can do whatever I want.” One side of Matteo’s mouth tipped into a smile. “It’s one of the greatest perks of being the boss.”
“Where is your loyalty?” Gio stomped towards him. The light caught the red tint to his face as he huffed in rage. “I’ve worked for this family my whole adult life. That position is MINE!”
Matteo wasn’t bothered by his anger, holding his ground as he spoke calmly. “And he started working for me as a child. Almost as long as you. He’s earned his place.”
Something suspiciously like pride lit in my chest. I always thought of myself as alone. I’d avoided this city because it held only the tattered pieces of my past. But now it showed me I had a future. I had a family. A brother. A woman I loved.
“He…” Gio jerked his finger at me. “You…” His hand fell as he stared at the both of us. His face turned a deeper shade of red as he focused on me.
“You can pretend all you want. Have the big title. Line your pockets with money. Kill the most men. But at the end of the day, you’ll always be the little street rat begging mommy to love you. We don’t outgrow our roots. I just hope you don’t take my daughter down with you when you eventually end up in the gutter again.”
I tasted bile as I tried to ignore the truth of his words. “I’ll see you in the gutter first.”
“Seiuncretino.” You’re a fool.He whispered before stomping away.
A part of me didn’t disagree. The other Capos weren’t going to like this. Matteo was risking everything he’d lived for. Everything he’d sacrificed.
I shook my head as we stared at his retreating back. “What did you just do?”
Matteo closed the distance between us, grasping my shoulder. “Took our first steps towards true loyalty in this family.”
31
Ariella
The sound of the rain beating on the windows woke me. But unlike in the past, I was in no hurry to get up. There were no nightmares plaguing me. No demons I needed to excise onto paper.
Instead, I burrowed further into Adam’s warmth. I took a deep breath, inhaling his woodsy scent. This is how I fell asleep and woke up now, wrapped in the arms of the man I loved.
He never let me get too far. Never let me sleep unless we were pressed together. It was like he thought the closer we were, the more time he could make up for. I didn’t mind. I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
My stomach grumbled. I guess sometimes there were other things I wanted. I pressed gently on his chest, creating enough space to slide out from under his arm. I wiggled down the bed, but just when I thought I was free, his hand shot out.
Adam curled his fingers around the back of my neck and dragged me up his body. My insides heated as I felt all that hard muscle against me. His chest and biceps were chiseled. And his abs were unreal. It was like he’d done nothing but work out in the years we’d been apart.
