Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“You’re giving me too much credit,” I replied. “I was collateral damage when Duarte’s cartel was attacked. I couldn’t get to Massimo before I was shot.”
“But you’re choosing to be with him despite what happened to you. And it’s not about his money.”
I lifted my chin. “I won’t leave him. I don’t think I’m capable of it.”
I gave him raw honesty. Massimo’s friend had to understand that I truly wanted to share my life with my dark protector, and that meant Enzo’s opinion mattered to me.
He lifted his drink, tipping it in my direction in a small toast. “Welcome to the family, Evelyn.”
My chest warmed at his acceptance. He’d interrogated me to make sure my intentions were pure. I’d never trusted in a friend who had my back like that. Maybe one day, I would earn Enzo’s friendship too.
“Grazie,” I replied in Italian.
A small smile played around his mouth. “Do you speak Italian?”
“I’m learning,” I admitted. “It would help if I practice.”
“Then we’ll practice,” he encouraged. “Tell me what you want to see most now that you’re in Naples.”
I switched into Italian, haltingly telling him how I’d always wanted to visit the Amalfi Coast and Capri. I shared my passion for photography and how Massimo had sweetly gifted me with a camera. He believed in my art, and I wanted Enzo to know how much that meant to me.
As we spoke, his handsome features lit up in a bright grin, transforming his demeanor from the forbidding mask to an expression of genuine approval.
My heart soared with hope for my happy future and appreciation for my new home.
Chapter 7
Massimo
Violent tension instantly gripped my muscles when Gian and I stepped into Salerno’s study. It wasn’t hatred of our sadistic boss that put me on edge; it was the man who was seated in one of the black leather armchairs as though he belonged there.
Rocco Abate leered at me, a vicious baring of teeth rather than a true smile. The expression twisted his scarred features, the ruined left side of his face puckering into a nightmarish mask.
I barely suppressed a snarl of soul-deep hatred as I stared down the man who’d killed my parents. The sight of his horrific face didn’t quell my murderous loathing—I’d inflicted that damage with the broken bottle I’d used to defend my family. His blood had dripped from the jagged glass as I watched the light leave my mother’s eyes.
“What is he doing here?” I demanded of Salerno, the question little more than a growl.
Rocco was a member of the Nardone clan, our rivals who controlled the territory to the north of our own turf. We’d established a tenuous truce over the years, neither clan willing to incite a war. That would be bad for business.
But now that my friends and I had forged an alliance with Duarte and Rodríguez, we would be powerful enough to take on this motherfucker. Gian would overthrow Salerno in his long-awaited coup, and then I would be free to finally exact my revenge on Rocco. Gian would support me in the violence against the Nardone clan, but it would be over quickly now that we were responsible for the lucrative new trafficking route into Europe.
Gian had aspirations that extended beyond Naples, even past the Italian border. Soon, he planned to reach out to our Irish and Dutch counterparts. More alliances would be formed, and power would be consolidated. We would be kings, and the piece of shit who’d murdered my parents would be in the ground.
“Rocco has a proposition for us,” Salerno drawled, a small smile ghosting around his thin lips; cruel pleasure at my expense. The sadistic bastard relished the fact that I barely harnessed my rage out of deference to him.
Gian placed a restraining hand on my shoulder, a firm reminder of all that was at stake if I defied Salerno and attacked Rocco now.
Soon. I would kill him as soon as Gian came to power. My fingers already itched with the need to wrap around his throat.
“He wants in on our new deal with the cartels,” Salerno continued. “He’s willing to betray his boss and pledge his loyalty to me. The Nardone clan’s territory will be ours, and Rocco will be rewarded for his part in our victory.”
Gian didn’t bother to hide his disdain, his upper lip curling in a sneer. “Any man who would betray his brothers isn’t trustworthy. We should send him back to his boss and force him to confess his traitorous plan. Massimo can make sure to leave his tongue intact so that he can tell his brothers exactly what he tried to do.”
I wasn’t certain if I was capable of the restraint required to make him bleed without taking his life. But the prospect of hearing my enemy’s screams elevated my pulse, adrenaline flooding my system in anticipation of the violence.