Chapter-7 Party (Part 1)

Nico

“Lit the fire…Nico…” his voice was cold as ice, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of the terrified little eight-year-old boy. “Be a man…lit the fire. You’re Alessandro Baldocchi’s son. Don’t be a pussy…”

“Please…don’t do this….” the young woman tied to the pole wailed. “Please Alessandro…I will leave…I will take him and go away…please…”

“Too late for that bitch,” his father sneered. “You have caused me enough pain in the ass. You really thought I would be interested in making a fucking whore like you my wife? You dared blackmail Alessandro Baldocchi…you fucking whore. Go ahead Nico, light the fire.”

“No…I…I can’t.” the boy whimpered, trembling with fear.

“What?” he roared, his eyes blazing with fury. “What did you say?”

“Please le…let me go…go…father. Pl….” the poor boy couldn’t complete the rest as a resounding slap landed on his right cheek, shaking his entire world with appalling pain. It almost sent him flying across the floor. His father grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, his eyes burning with anger.

“Listen you little piece of shit,” he hissed. “You’re Nicholas Baldocchi, don Alessandro Baldochhi’s son and the heir to the Baldochhi legacy. I won’t have you raised as a sissy. You have two choices, Nicholas. Either you do as I ask and light the fire or…you watch as I beat your mother to death. What would you want?”

“No….” the boy sobbed, trembling with fear. “No, don't hurt mommy…”

“I don’t want to but if you don’t man up and do as I ask, I will be forced to,” his father said. “Now my son, are you going to light the fire?” The boy swallowed, glanced at the wailing woman tied to the post and slowly nodded.

“Yes,”

“Good boy…then do it,” He let him go and one of his scary looking men handed him a burning log of wood.

“Good luck, little capo…” he gave him a dark smile.

“Just throw the log in the pile of hay, Nico. That’s all you need to do,” his father whispered in his ear. “Go…do it.”

“No…please no! Please no…I have a little boy…he will be alone without me…please…” the tied-up woman shouted, trying her best to break free.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that bastard too,” Alessandro laughed. “Now, Nicholas…do it. On the count of three, okay?”

“One…” everyone started to count.

“Two….”

“Three…” the boy threw the burning log into the pile of hay and in split second terrifying screams erupted through the air. Nico stood there, trembling and sobbing and watching as the fire…

Engulfed the woman alive.

I pinched my temples, the annoying headache just refusing to let me catch a breath. It’s been going on since I woke up at five, drenched in sweat, thanks to the same, old fucking dream. And now I have to get dressed and go to a damn party. All I wanted was to go home, pour myself a fucking good drink and well… that’s it. I hissed as another painful tremor throbbed through my temple and then glanced at the photographs lying on my desk, my eyes fixating on that weird symbol for the hundredth time today.

“Any idea what that might be?” Domani demanded. I had almost forgotten he was sitting here.

“You are my advisor, shouldn’t you be telling me that?” I raised a brow at him. His handsome face scrunched up in distaste as he gave me a look.

“I am your advisor, not a secret agent,” he grumbled. “But I can say it’s some kind of warning, so we must decipher it.”

“That’s genius, Domani. How come I couldn’t think of that?” I said sarcastically. “I know that’s a warning, idiot. What I want to know is what is it trying to say and who has suddenly grown the balls to leave a warning to me?”

“It isn’t anyone local…as in from our area of control,” he said. “None of the other families have anything to do with a symbol like this. None of them have any insignia like this, or any trademark…nothing.”

“You have checked thoroughly?”

“Yes capo,” I took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing my face hard.

“Keep looking. And I believe no update on finding those who destroyed our shipment?” I demanded and at least Domani had the curtesy to lower his gaze and look embarrassed as he shook his head.

“No, no leads. My men searched it all,” he answered.

“Well, they didn’t just appear out of thin air and then disappeared, Domani. So, either your men are idiots or ghosts destroyed our goods and killed over a dozen of our men,” I snapped. “Don’t feed me this bullcrap,”

“I will keep’em looking,” Domani mumbled. “But Nico…we really need to find another way because trust me, my men have tried.”

“I have another way,” I said. “But it’s not something any of us are going to like. That’s why I am asking you to figure this shit out.”

“Ohkay…and what is the other way, just curious,” he inquired. I stopped whirling the paper weight between my fingers and finally dragged my eyes away from the photographs lying on my table.

“Then we monitor the shipment ourselves…discreetly. And at the right moment, catch whoever is messing with my business red handed,” I answered.

“That can be risky, capo,” Domani warned.

“That’s why I said you aren’t going to like it,” I rolled my eyes. “Your men better do a good work of finding the smugglers out within the next three days, Domani because the next shipment leaves in three days. If I don’t get the bastard locked and chained in the torture room before that…then you know,” Domani looked a bit pale, his face scrunching up in distaste as he gave me a subtle nod.

“Yes, capo,” he murmured.

“Good. Now go and get ready. We would be leaving for the party in an hour and half,”

“Right. Forgot all about that,” he shook his head. “Are you going to tell Leonardo and Xavier about this?

“I have to. We are allies and who knows, it could be a matter of time before they start attacking the Ammassari as well,” I murmured. “I will talk to them after the Council meeting tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Domani agreed. “See you at the party then.”

“Ciao,” I said, lightening a cigarette.

“Aren’t you leaving? Please don’t tell me you will be attending a party at the Ammassari mansion looking like that?” I threw him a look and he held up his hand in defense. “Just saying,”

“Daria will bring in my suit. I am getting ready here and then picking up Gianna later,”

“Why?” he gave me a suspicious look.

“Because I want to,” I snapped, irritated by his and Caelian’s never-ending questions. “Now get out please.”

Domani murmured something under his breath but thankfully walked out of my office. I rubbed my face and then rang Daria, my assistant, to bring me my suit bag while I took a quick shower in the built-in bathroom in my office. Standing under warm torrents, I tried to think of ways to deal with Gianna after last night. I keep hurting and disappointing her over and over again. But then she keeps pushing my buttons too.

Why can’t she just be? Why does she have to know more? And why can’t she just see me for who I was instead of looking at me with those rose-tinted glasses of hers where everything in the world was just good and pure? I was not the right person for her, and it terrified the daylights out of me when she looked at me with her eyes brimming with love. She was just making this harder for both of us.

“Do you need anything else, signor?” Daria peeked into my office.

“No thanks,” I muttered, adjusting my tie. “You can leave.”

I noticed her gaze lingering on me for way longer than I appreciated before she murmured good night and left. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. It was high time she stopped batting her lashes at me. Especially now that I was married. Regardless of whatever the situation this marriage was, I was married to one of the most gorgeous women I have seen in my entire life.

Sharp at 7:30 I was waiting outside the Baldocchi mansion for Gianna. Her three personal bodyguards whom Caelian introduced to her earlier this afternoon—Carlo, Matteo and Carina were also waiting along with me, standing still as bloody statues. Even their eyelids barely moved. But they were extremely good at what they did and that was the whole point. With everything going on, I couldn’t take a risk on Gianna’s safety. And she wasn’t like….I halted before the name could prop into my brain.

No, Nico…don’t go there. Not now.

Just then, the double doors opened and as my eyes fell on her, everything else just faded away on its own.

Gianna stepped outside, and for a second, I forgot how to fucking breathe.

That dress—if I could even call it that—was sin stitched into fabric. Gold, liquid, clinging to every dip, every curve, flowing over her like it had been poured onto her body. The soft evening light made it shimmer, highlighting the way it hugged her waist, the way it dipped low on her back, teasing bare skin and delicate laces I suddenly wanted to undo with my teeth.

Heat coiled low in my stomach, sharp and unwanted.

I shouldn’t be looking at her like this.

I shouldn’t be thinking about how easy it would be to slide my hands over the soft material, to slip the delicate straps that barely held the shimmering material together down her shoulders and see if she was wearing anything beneath. I shouldn’t be imagining her pressed up against the car, her breath hitching as I feasted on her lips while my hand explored her soft, smooth skin—fuck.

I clenched my jaw, forcing the thought away, forcing myself to focus on anything but the way her hips swayed with every step as she walked over to me, her beautiful golden hair bouncing. Man, I really still didn’t understand why she would want someone like me when she could simply have anyone.

“I am sorry I’m a bit late,” Gianna murmured, her voice even. She was still angry and rightfully so.

“It’s a party thrown for you. You can’t ever be late,” I said.

“Thrown for us…” she rectified and I could feel her hesitation, something nibbling at her as she lower her gaze and bit her lips, bristling with tension. What was she so worried about? I gently clasped my fingers on her chin and lifted her face to meet my gaze.

“What is it?” I asked softly.

“We better…do a good job at the party tonight,” she mumbled. “Leonardo will be watching and I…I don’t want any mess. Just play along for tonight…please.”

The way she said those words, how small and defeated she sounded, made me feel fifty shades of disgusted with myself. She shouldn’t have to beg me to play the role of a doting husband in front of her family. I took the vow to be that, to care for her, love her and yet here I was, messing up at every step of the way.

“What do you want from me?” I demanded. “Tell me and I will try my best…” Innocent, dark eyes peeked up at me and she looked so sad as she gave me a shrug. I really didn’t like the way she looked at me.

“Just pretend like you care and that I…matter,” she whispered. “And that there is some love, some chemistry between us. That would be enough.” She gave me a look and started to climb into the car. But I grabbed her hand and halted her, and Gianna blinked as I pulled her closer, crashing her slim, delicate frame against mine.

“Do you really think that little of me?” I said, holding her gaze. “That I don’t care at all?”

“I don’t really know what to think, Nico,” she said, her eyes filled with disappointment that felt like a knife twisting in my chest. “Let’s go, we are getting late.”

She moved away from my grip and climbed into the car, and I took a deep breath, settling myself before following suit. Gianna immediately turned her focus out of the window, sitting far away from me, not saying a single word. I knew I owed her some clarity and a really good apology. But how many times was I going to apologize to her anyway? What can I even say? She wanted honesty, she wanted to know about her. And this was one truth I could never tell her.

Gianna cannot find out who I was in love with because if she did…things would go very, very wrong.