AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glance at her from the corner of my eye to find her observing the dark night outside the window, the street lamps that dimly illuminate the narrow sidewalks. Her hands shift, pulling her appealing blue dress further down her slim thighs and crossing her legs in an attempt to ward off the unseasonal chill. When I notice the goosebumps breaking out across Tia’s legs, I turn up the heat in the car, and she gives me another grateful look.
A short time later, I turn down the long driveway of her family’s estate, a thrill going through my chest as I dare to enter the enemy territory with blatant disregard.
Even in the dark of night, I can see the Guerra house is a grand one, with creeping ivy climbing up one stone wall and the classical flavor of a New England mansion gracing its corners and edges. Older than the structures on the Moretti estate, but no less grand.
Tia worries her lip nervously, her face paling slightly as she looks up at the darkened window like a child about to get caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Something wrong?” I ask, a hint of amusement slipping into my tone.
“I should have thought to ask you to drop me at the end of the drive,” she murmurs, casting an embarrassed glance my way.
“First time sneaking out?” I tease. I can’t help myself. I shouldn’t play with my prey. But after tonight, she’s going to hate me regardless of what I say now.
Tia releases a soft, nervous laugh. “Is it that obvious?”
I shrug, pulling up right outside her front steps. “Look, Tia. I want you to know that tonight… well. You’re a beautiful girl, and it’s nothing personal…”
Her demure flush from my compliment fades as quickly as it came, her mind deciphering my words at a rapid pace. “Nothing personal?”
The blood drains from her face, turning even her lush lips a chalky white as I blast my horn relentlessly, my eyes never leaving hers.
“What are you doing?” she screams, her eyes shifting to my hand on the steering wheel as if she’s contemplating whether she can physically remove it and rectify the situation.
But it’s too late.
Lights flick on throughout the house, casting a golden glow across the lawn and pillared front porch. Horror consumes Tia’s face as she realizes the full gravity of her situation, and her eyes level me with a penetrating hatred.
“You’re a monster,” she states. Then she scrabbles for the door handle and flings the car door open.
The armed guards that pour out of the front door aim their guns, freezing Tia in place. Then Don Guerra and his wife step out onto the front porch of his home. His face is livid, and it fills my soul with wicked satisfaction.
Daring to tempt fate, I open my door to speak to him over the roof of my car. In the absence of my horn, the night is deathly quiet.
All that I can hear are Tia’s sobs as she stumbles toward the porch—where her mother waits with open arms, a look of torment on her face. I grind my teeth to drown out the sound, doing my best to ignore the painful scene.
Instead, I turn my eyes on my mortal enemy.
“What have you done?” Don Guerra growls, his eyes shifting between me and Tia until I’m unsure of who he’s posing the question to.
“Your time is over, old man,” I state, my voice carrying across the space between us with the confidence of my success to back me. “The Guerra family’s reign is over. You need to face the music and accept your fate.”
“You can go straight to hell if that’s what you think,” the don snarls.
I scoff. “Thanks for the fuck. I hope you didn’t have any grand plans for your little girl. Though I heard you’ve been trying to barter her off for an alliance that might be strong enough to stop me. Good luck with that now. I doubt any of her prospective husbands will want her now that I’ve been inside her.”
Tia’s mom gasps as her daughter buries her face in her mother’s shoulder, her entire body trembling with her sobs.
“Shoot him, god damn it!” Don Guerra bellows at his stunned guards.
Looks like that’s my cue.
Dipping back into my car before they can get a clear headshot, I throw my car in gear and punch the gas, peeling out so quickly that it closes Tia’s still-open door. Bullets ping off the sides of my yellow sports car, and on any other day, I would be furious about someone punching holes in something that’s mine.
But tonight was worth it.
Fuck Don Guerra.
Seeing the look of apoplectic rage on his face is worth more than a Ferrari.
