Don't you just love the relationship between Cris and Nev? ππ
I can't believe that asshole. After kissing me the way he did, he had the nerve to spend the night with his whore while I spent all night tossing and turning wondering why he did that. For a second there I thought it was because he felt... I don't want to say sorry because that's worse. I think maybe he felt something for me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kissed me like... God, I don't even know how to explain it. The few times I've been kissed, the men didn't care. They were after my body not to make me feel anything. And up until yesterday, I didn't know a man with a reputation like De Luca's could kiss like that. Fuck, I would have gotten on my knees if he'd asked me to. Now I see how stupid I was. He's doing the same thing Padre sent me here to do. And if I hadn't seen him with that slut I would have fallen for it. Damn, I need to be alert or De Luca will turn the tables on me. "You look disappointed Mari. Do you like him?" Simona asks "Yes. Because I'm stupid enough to fall fo
No. My mind screams but my lips are ready to receive his. When they finally touch, I sag against him opening my mouth. If there's one thing I can't deny it's that this man can kiss. Of course, he's had a lot of practice and that should bother me. I don't want to end up on the list of women he's had but I can't stop myself. Last night's kiss was sweet, slow, and decadent. Today he's kissing me like someone who's trying to prove a point. Either way, I'm enjoying it while telling myself this is the last time. I can't let him keep doing this. "I think you're enjoying this more than you should" he mutters pulling his head back. The smile on his face takes me by surprise and I blink up at him, forgetting what I was about to say. He looks so handsome when he smiles like that. Before, I thought he was hot, like my concentration was on his body, not his face. But now it feels as if the curtain has been pulled down and I'm looking into the man he really is. The man the world doesn't know exist
This bitch thinks she's some kind of goddess or something. God, I missed her stinky attitude. Do you know what else I missed? Bringing her back down to earth. I'm gonna have a lot of fun doing that. I've been here for five seconds and she thinks she can order me around. Like who made her my boss? Shaking my head, I walk to where she dropped some of the bags she'd been carrying and kick one of them. A box of shoes slips out. Knowing her, they're probably the latest design and I hate her for always having everything she wants. Don Lombardi doesn't have favorites but it's clear Marianna always gets more of everything without even asking. "Leave? But I just got here. I missed you so much big sister. How have you been?" "I swear to God I'm going to cut you into tiny little pieces and mail you back to Padre if you don't leave" "Why should I? This isn't your house Mari where you have the authority to kick anyone out. And De Luca said I could stay if I wanted to. So I'm definitely stayin
"Whatever it is you're planning, don't even think about it," Paulo says, barging into my room. His loyalty to her is sickening. But I also have to admit that I wouldn't mind having someone like him by my side. He would die for that bitch in a heartbeat. "Hello Paulo. Long time no see. Still not tired of that spoiled brat's cunt?" "I won't hesitate to kill you if you do anything to her. You know me" "What will it take to get you over to my side?" "Nothing. You're not half the woman she is so nothing you offer will ever get me to betray her. Get that straight through your head" "Everyone has a price. I just have to find yours" I tell him unzipping my dress and letting it fall to the floor. His eyes darken and I know I'm right. At the end of the day, he's still a man. A bisexual one but still a man "I was going to take a nap but on second thought, I think I'll take a shower. Wanna join me?" "I've seen better Carina" he's referring to Marianna. That witch. I admit she's blessed
This woman is a feisty little thing. I got that when we bumped into each other at the party but I thought it was because she was a spoiled brat. Except she's not which makes me wonder why she's acting like this towards her only other family. She hasn't stopped pounding on my chest for allowing her sister to stay. I don't get what the deal is between them. If anything I thought Marianna would be happy to see another familiar face. I wanted her to be comfortable in my house and Carina said she couldn't stay at the Lombardi mansion on her own with the men left behind. She was scared the guys might take advantage of her. And what do I get for trying to help? A hysterical woman. Grabbing both her wrists, I say "Stop it, Marianna. You're acting like a spoiled brat" "I am a spoiled brat you asshole. Tell her to leave, I don't want to stay in the same house with her" "Where will she go?" "She's free to do whatever she fucking wants. I don't care where goes but she has to leave" "Firs
The next few days pass by slowly. Marianna has been picking fights with Carina every chance she gets and they're driving me insane. I understand why their father shipped them off to different continents. On top of that, Fausto is nowhere to be seen. That bastard disappeared after stealing a huge amount of money from me. I'm trying to keep a cool head so I don't end up blowing his wife's brains out but it's not easy. It takes guts to steal from me and disappear, leaving your wife and children behind. I sent some of my guys to his house and wasn't surprised that they didn't find him there. I want to know where he got the audacity to steal from me and why he left his family behind. Normal thieves pack up everything and move before they're caught. This guy didn't even take his clothes. I'm inclined to think something happened to him but I can't make decisions based on my thoughts. I need proof. Sometimes people surprise you and I hate surprises. I need to make sure he didn't skip town wi
I can't stand living in the same house with that witch. She's driving me crazy. Already, she has everyone eating out of the palm of her hands. Aside from baking cupcakes for these morons, she's been serving them and playing miss goody two shoes. Yesterday she dressed like a slut and opened a car wash. These idle assholes spent all day watching her wiggle her ugly ass while she cleaned their cars. The day before that? She asked them if they had any dirty laundry so she could wash them along with hers. It's an act. She's pretending to be the good sister to make me look mad. And I hate that she can do whatever she wants. All the men in this house have been keeping a distance from me because De Luca told them to. He doesn't want anyone getting close to me so they wouldn't spill any secrets. Which would make sense if they acted like members of one of the biggest criminal organizations in this country. But they don't. I've been here for over a week and if I didn't know who they were I would
I knew this was some kind of trap. When Marianna told me what she heard, I told her it would be best to verify everything before reporting back to Lombardi. Men like De Luca don't go around talking about their plans openly. This might be his house, but I'm sure some deals require a great amount of secrecy in order for them to push through. In this business, there are enemies everywhere. Even walls have ears. The amount of listening devices I've found in the Lombardi mansion over the past year has been unbelievable. That's why I know De Luca wouldn't go around blurting out anything unless he was setting a trap. The plan was for me to go to the location Mari heard them talking about and see if there really was a shipment. Chances are it's a batch of drugs or guns. If we get lucky, I would follow them, see where they hide it then text her the location. After that, she would decide whether to tell her father or not. Mari is clever. I especially love how she keeps some things to herself. U
This doesn't look like a funeral at all. I haven't seen a single person shed a tear or even look sad. Then again, this was to be expected. Everyone is dressed in black as is custom but instead of crying they're holding glasses of champagne and wine, toasting each other. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a party, which works for me. I can take people's condolences but they shouldn't expect me to act like a grief-stricken daughter. Deep down I'm happy Padre is dead. I hope he rots in hell. "My condolences, Miss Lombardi. Your father was a great man and he will remain in our hearts forever" a man says. We both know he's full of shit but since he is one of the men in the file Giovanni gave me, I just nod and offer him my thanks. "Thank you, Signor Conti" "Ah so you do know me" "Yes, Padre told me everything about his business partners. I hope to continue working with you in the future" "The rumor is true then? You will be taking over?" "No, I won't be taking over" I look h
I blink my eyes open. It takes a few seconds for me to recognize my surroundings which is funny because I'm home. At least that's what this house is supposed to be. My home. The place I grew up in and which should have a lot of memories. But the ones I have are those I'd rather forget. Growing up here hadn't been easy. Many are the times I wished for a family that would at least care for me. A mother that would tell me everything would be okay. I always imagined her taking my side every time Padre got mad and took his anger out on me. I try not to hold a grudge against my birth mother. I've never met her but there had to be a reason she couldn't be with me.Maybe now that Padre is dead...No. I'm not going down that road. Not when I have so much to do. I managed to get Giovanni to leave me alone yesterday but I know he's going to barge in here any minute now. I still can't believe he's dead. It all seems so surreal, like I'm dreaming and someone is going to wake me up soon. I
I take a bullet for her and this is the thanks I get. Why the hell do I still like her? I've met and been with a lot of women. I guess I'm drawn to her because I've never met anyone like her. She knows she's beautiful so flaunts it. She's unapologetic about what she did even though she should be asking for my forgiveness. Lombardi and De Luca organizations have been on opposite sides for a long time. I could easily take advantage of our rivalry and wipe her out. Even with Giovanni by her side, she's no match for me. All I have to do is convince their clients and business partners to join me. Seeing as Lombardi is dead, who would want to put their money in the hands of a woman? It wouldn't take much to convince them. But there's a part of me that hopes she succeeds so she doesn't have to be under anyone's control anymore. Lombardi never cared about any of his daughters. I'm glad Marianna has finally gotten her freedom. "How long until Nev gets here?" I ask following her into the hou
The appearance of Giovanni makes perfect sense. Every piece fits into the puzzle perfectly now. On my way here I kept wondering how she could have done it on her own. She only had Paulo and those two girls. Alone, they wouldn't have accomplished anything. Stealing merchandise from me required them to have a lot of money to begin with. They'd need trucks, a place to store the stolen goods and men. The kind that are trained and won't make mistakes. She would have also needed to pay them a good sum to work for her. I know she's Lombardi's daughter, but there's no way she would have had the money to do all that. Unless she'd been in cahoots with Carina. Now if they had my five million dollars, this could have been done easily. It wouldn't have been a problem. Except I've seen just how much Marianna hated her sister. She didn't want to live in the same house with her. Let alone striking deals with each other, I think they'd rather die than work together. But having Giovanni Balistreri on
So Padre is dead. Which means whoever gets to the house first, will have the upper hand. Most of the documents about shipments and deals are in a safe at the mansion. Everyone who knows that Padre is dead will try to get there before anyone so they can take over. The men that worked for Padre can easily be turned once they find out he's dead. They need jobs and would work for anyone who offers to pay them. Besides, anyone who refuses is bound to die. You can't be loyal to a dead man. Unless we're talking about Giovanni. He was Padre's right-hand so maybe he'll resist? Who will he pick? Right now he's the only one who can sway Padre's men. "How long until we get there?" I ask smoothing my hair back. I have absolutely no idea what I'm walking into. I don't know what I'll do if I actually get there first. Padre didn't exactly teach me anything about running an organization as big as this one. We all know how he looked down on women especially me. I would really like to give him the mi
I think I'm still in shock. Padre shot Carina. I shot him. He killed Carina. She's dead. I don't know why that is so unbelievable when this is what I was hoping for. Ever since she showed up at the house, she's been nothing but a pain in my ass. She even tried to kill me once, and I promised myself I would kill her instead. Why then can't I believe that she's dead? Before we left, I saw the light go out of her eyes. She was looking right at me when she took her last breath. It's the kind of look that will forever remain in my mind.We grew up hating each other. It was so natural to hate her because I thought she got the better end of the deal. While I was busy running around doing Padre's bidding, she was in New York, living the life I wanted. Doing what I wanted to do but couldn't. She had everything I wanted, which is funny because she thought the same thing. Carina wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. Whenever she wanted something, she came right out and said it. I know just how much
"He just shot her. He killed her" she says referring to Carina. Damiano is kneeling beside her putting pressure on her wound but she's losing a lot of blood. I don't think she's going to make it. Even so, I still ask Fabian to ask around for a doctor. "Stay out of this, De Luca. None of this is your concern" Lombardi barks. He's bleeding too because Marianna shot him in the arm but I couldn't give a flying fuck. He could drop dead for all I care. I'm afraid for Marianna. If Marino and Russo decide to retaliate, she won't walk out of this room alive. Lucky for her, those assholes have moved to a corner, separating themselves from Lombardi. "I've always known what a bastard you are and this just serves to prove how right I was. How could you shoot your fucking daughter?" "Please, let's not pretend that she's related to me in any way" he scoffs and I want to finish what Marianna started. It would be so easy to kill him right now. He's not some kind of immortal being, if he bleeds th
Stepping out of the car, I button my suit jacket and look at Fabian who nods, understanding my silent message. I don't have to tell him to be alert. We're walking into a house we've never been to before and since I sent most of my guys to go look for Nev, we're kind of at a disadvantage here. Not that I expect a war to break out here or something but it doesn't hurt to be careful. The party is well underway. I don't know why Marco went to the trouble of throwing one when he rarely does that. Something's fishy and I'm hoping I'll find out what it is before it's too late. I still haven't figured out why he met with Marianna. Did Lombardi send her? If so, why? Marco only gets involved when there is a conflict that needs resolving. We try to avoid fighting because the aftermath isn't pretty but sometimes it can't be avoided. Like now, the only reason I'm here is to ask him to stay put when I go after Lombardi. I don't want anyone getting in the middle trying to defend that bastard. It's
Later as I'm applying my makeup, I wonder how this night will end. Padre left for a business trip earlier this week which makes me feel at ease somehow. Although Marco had promised not to invite him, he still has loyal men in the circle. To avoid a heads-up, everyone's invitation was sent this morning. It gives them enough time to prepare but not enough to call Padre back. Even if they do tell him, he'll arrive there when it's already too late. At least that's what I hope. I also refrained from telling Carina anything because I know what a blabber mouth she is. Her locations were a bust which means Padre isn't happy with her. She'd do anything to get back on his good side. I'd call her a people pleaser if I didn't know she was only trying to survive. At the end of the day, she didn't ask for this. None of us did. I pick red lipstick because it's hot and I like it. Looking at myself in the mirror, I wonder if Paulo was right. Is it too much? Would it be enough to convince those bast