Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
What’s wrong with me? Sometimes I behave irrationally, especially when it comes to Matteo. “She followed you here,” he barked out to my father. But that wasn’t the truth. I followed him. Slowly I’ve come to the realization that my interest in Matteo wasn’t to be like him, but a desire to be with him.
“Matteo,” I sigh. Tall, strong, and handsome. His dark eyes are always penetrating when he stares, even when he’s looking to scold me. The brooding way he carries himself, the entire room always takes notice. The women surely pay attention to the heir, the underboss of the Conti Crime Family. Every man wants to be him and the women want to be with him. I’ve just become one of those ladies, and I think my heart’s cracking.
There’s a knock on my bedroom door. Gasping, I adjust my robe and wipe my eyes with my palms.
“Who is it?” I call out. My voice cracks, catching me by surprise. Clearing my throat, I repeat myself a little louder.
“It’s me, Vee. Can I come in?” Hearing my brother’s voice does me some good, but I’m not ready for him to see me.
“Give me two minutes.” I slip on a tee shirt and shorts that I’d planned on wearing before I wasted time feeling sorry for myself.
Before I open the door, I steal one more look at myself in the mirror and gratefully, there is no sign of my pain. When I open it, he’s smiling at me with his arms wide open. “Gio, how are you?”
“I’m good. It’s you I’m worried about. Pops just told me what happened. Damn, killer. You are one tough cookie, but you could have been killed.” He squeezes me tighter, and I welcome it. Usually I’m not the hugging type, but frankly, I haven’t been myself.
He’s right. For the past two weeks, I’ve hardly left my room and the house because of the fear. Things with the Moreno Family have calmed down, but it’s only a matter of time before things start up again. Maybe I’m not as tough as I thought I was. Or maybe it’s my heart that has the bigger problem. I’m afraid of seeing Matteo again. It’s only a matter of time before I do and then I’ll have to face my new demons, learning how to act like a girl a man would want, especially a man like Matteo.
“Mom wants you to go to dinner with us,” he says.
“Go to dinner? Where?”
“At the Conti Mansion.” I mask my expression, but I want to fall out.
“Yeah, well. Maybe not tonight.”
“I don’t think you’re going to get away with it that easily. I saw Aunt May over here earlier gushing about you coming tonight.” Yes, I’ve already received a beautiful necklace from her as a thank you gift for saving her husband.
“I know. Thanks for the heads up. I might be on her good graces, but I’m on Matteo’s shit list.”
“That’s because you’re like a little sister to him and he’s worried about you. Give it time. He’s grateful that his father’s alive too, and that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for you, killer.” He kisses my cheek and leaves. I think I’ll fake sick tonight for sure.
Chapter One
Matteo
I pound away at the punching bag, attempting to alleviate the violent tension in my shoulders. Each strike of the bag is supposed to take some of it away, but nothing seems to do the trick. Adrenaline courses down my body as I pummel the damn thing to death, sending the contents spilling out onto the wooden floor.
The racket echoes in the room, sending one of my men in to see if I need any assistance. “Are we going hunting today, boss?” Whenever I’m on edge, which is almost always caused by the same person, we go and terrorize some shit, but today isn’t that day.
“No—just clean this up,” I command, heading to grab another bag from the supply closet.
“Yes, Mr. Conti.”
“Fuck. Calm down, killer,” I grunt to myself, carrying the heavy bag to the hanging rack. Unhooking the ruined bag, I replace it with a new one and continue where I left off, this time removing my soaked shirt and wiping my face.
In just my boxers and sneakers, I throw punches left and right. My shoulders are starting to feel the effort, but my mind is still running wild. Sweat drips down my bare chest as I knock the bag harder than ever, reminding me of what now covers it. A smirk spreads over my face. She’s going to love it.
Tonight has to be perfect because it is the night I’ll claim and capture my little viper and set her up in her new home. There’s a lot riding on the success of my mission. I’ve never wanted anything more than this, and I will succeed.