Chapter Fifty Six

Romero decided it was time to talk to Juliette, it was only three days until the wedding and he arranged for three designers to bring their wedding dresses for her to look at and chose the one she wanted. He had arranged everything else and was feeling very pleased with himself as he strode up the stairs. Her bedroom door was wide open and he frowned, he had not posted any Guards because she was so ill and they were more use to him elsewhere. He cursed as he walked into the room,

‘Cagna intelligente’ [Clever bitch]

He growled through gritted teeth, she had fooled them all even his fucking Doctor, spinning on his heels he took the stairs two at a time into his office. Calling his Guards he snapped,

‘Get her found and bring her back’

Angelo came into the office,

‘È uscita di qui verso le 2 del mattino, abbiamo le telecamere a circuito chiuso e la sua amica Carlotta la stava aspettando proprio sulla curva della strada, pensavo fosse ancora malata per la sedazione’ [She walked out of here about 2am, we  have the CCTV and her friend Carlotta was waiting for her just on the bend in the road, I thought she was still sick from the sedation?]

Romero met his eyes,

‘Sì, ci ha ingJulietteto tutti’ [Yes. She fooled us all]

When the knock on her door came Carlotta was ready, her Guards were heavily armed and they flanked her when Romero and Angelo walked in,

‘Dove si trova?’ [Where is she?]

Romero demanded his eyes dark and stormy,

‘Al sicuro e lontano da te. Ti avevo avvertito. Questa volta l'hai davvero persa, fottutamente idiota’ [Safe and away from you. I did warn you. This time you have really lost her, you fucking idiot.]

Her Guards tensed as he growled,

‘Dille che ha ventiquattro ore per riportare il suo bel nella mia villa. Se devo venire a prenderla, sarà severamente punita, così come ognuno di voi che la aiuta’ [Tell her she has twenty four hours to get her pretty ass back to my villa. If I have to come for her, she will be severely punished as will every single one of you that helps her]

Carlotta lifted her chin unafraid challenging him and his eyes narrowed,

‘Mettiti sulla mia strada e ti ucciderò’ [Get in my way and I will kill you]

He snarled at her then turned and left. When the door slammed shut Juliette ran into the room and hugged her friend,

‘I am so sorry’

She said,

‘I am not afraid of him’

Carlotta lied, she wasn’t afraid of him,  she was terrified but she hid it from her young friend. This was going to be hard enough for her and she did not want her worrying about others.

They hit him where is hurt the most, his businesses, it wasn’t difficult to persuade them to come under their protection instead of his, very quickly they sealed off a whole area.

Juliette was in her office three weeks later, he had been furious when she ignored his threats and he had tried to get Carlotta but she was a wily ex Mafia wife and she stayed one step in front of him. He had cancelled the wedding saying he was to ill and stayed out of circulation for a week. So far they were foiling him at every turn and he was getting more and more enraged at her audacity. She had taken up her Fathers reins and was now a Don in her own right, he had been shocked when the Mafia Elite Council approved her right of succession. It was almost unheard of for a woman to step into this patriarchal world, she was only the third woman he knew of who had been granted the privilege.  She was working on her laptop and picked up her phone absently without checking the caller ID,

‘Juliette’

She answered and froze when she heard his voice,

‘We need to meet’

It was cold and full of suppressed anger,

‘Come to the Piazza Carlo Alberto. [Catania] at nine tonight’

He put the phone down before she could refuse giving  her no choice, she called a meeting of the Dons and told them what he had demanded. They all knew she had to go and discussed safety measures, Carlotta insisted the Square had to be surrounded by their Guards she did not trust Romero at all.

Juliette dressed to kill, she wore a deep sea green silk Stella McCartney Dress that fitted her body like a second skin, it was strapless, her arms and shoulders were bare. It was low cut at the front and back skimming her ass and the skirt was long brushing the floor with side splits that ran to her slender hips. She wore matching Jimmy Choo heels that made her legs look even longer, it was a warm night but she looked cool and calm as she walked towards him. There was a table set out on the centre of the Square, and faery lights adored every available tree, lamp post, and fence as well as the windows of the surrounding properties. They were interspersed by huge candles that wafted a scent of lavender and vanilla around, it looked beautiful, Romero had clearly gone to a lot of trouble. He stood as she approached the table and he looked so darkly handsome in is black Armani suit, crisp white shirt and a tie the exact same shade as her dress.

‘Juliette, thank you for coming’

He took her hand and kissed the inside of her palm sending electric shocks straight to her core, it did not matter what he had done to her his touch still exited and aroused her. She saw his eyes flicker with lust but he controlled it and held out her chair,

‘Please sit down, have some champagne’

He opened the bottled sat in the ice bucket and poured her a large flute,  his nearness flustered her and she drank deeply without thinking,

‘You look very beautiful’

He said softly his eyes roaming greedily over her body,

‘Why are we fighting my little English Rose? There is no need for all this unpleasantness. I know what you want, how to please you’