Page 26 of Reign of Hope

“We’re guessing,” Dante chimes in. “It could be any of these scenarios.”

“Not an MC,” Sebastion confirms as he comes back into the room. “Risk and Satan’s Pride has our backs and has made it clear that any word on the street even mentioningNostra Casaneeds to be brought to their attention. Guard, their president, made some calls and came up with nothing. To be on the safe side, Demon and Orion are hitting the streets to make sure, but they’re confident that it’s not an MC.”

“That leaves three options. One, someone in your own family is creating chaos by attacking Elena and making a power play. Two, a rival family is stirring up shit to create problems. Three, the gang from Philly is looking to get Allegra and her brother back. But for what reason? What do either of them know or have that would be of value to their crew?” Alessio says, asking very important questions, with many unknowns.

“Drake is the leader of the Skulls. He was putting the pressure on Allegra to accommodate his needs and using her brother to manipulate her. This I know to be true. Even Spike, his head idiot, said so,” I tell them.

“Lots of women out there to fuck. Why settle on Allegra?” Leo asks.

“Because her family once belonged toUltimo Morte,”Raffaele says. “I think we have a bigger issue here.” He sighs, tapping his fingers on the arm of the leather chair.

“Christ! This can’t be happening!” I swear, pacing the room. The last thing I wanted was to bring drama to Reno’s doorstep. “All I wanted to do was give Allegra a chance at a real family.”

“Calm down,” Reno commands. “Allegra is ours. Victorio is ours. We are only surmising at this point. We’ll find out the truth and deal with what comes.”

“I’m in. This may involveUltimo Morte,”Raffaele says.

“This involves all of us if this is a rival family,” Alessio adds.

“Then it is settled; we work together on this. Regardless of the findings, presenting a united front will deter others from trying to divide and conquer,” Marco finishes.

Each capo has a task. Our families will put out feelers and gather intel and regroup with our findings. As the others head out to join the women, Reno calls my name.

“A moment, Zano,” he says. He waits for the room to clear, then comes around his desk to meet me in the center of the room. “Our weakness is our women. Our enemies will use them against us. Allegra needs a bodyguard. I’ll choose one for her. In the meantime, she goes nowhere alone. Victorio is with Leo and is well protected for the moment. It’s your decision, of course, but I believe telling Allegra what we suspect will make her more alert and prepared if this has to do with the Skulls.”

I nod in agreement. “I’ll tell her tonight, after we get home. I don’t want to ruin the day.”

Reno clasps his hand on my shoulder and guides me out of the office to join the others.

SIXTEEN

Friends Make Everything Better

ALLEGRA

Several days later…

When Zano explained the theories that the capos have come up regarding the incident that occurred on our wedding day, in my gut I know it’s the Skulls. I wear my guilt like a heavy cloak. Zano tells me not to worry, but that’s impossible. This isn’t only about me. If they had succeeded that day, Elena would have been caught in the crossfire, not to mention the men who could have gotten hurt.

Since that day at Reno’s, I haven’t left our condominium. There’s a bodyguard standing at the door, and instead of having him follow me about, I decide to stay home. For the first couple of days, it’s great. It gives me a chance to unwind after the wedding, and thanks to online shopping and the new laptop Zano gave me, I’ve been able to indulge in retail therapy, buying what I need to make our place homey. I think Iggy, short for Ignazio, is tired of accepting packages out in the hall, but on Zano’s orders, nothing comes inside unless inspected.

However, we’re on day four, I’ve already put a dent in Zano’s credit card, and I’m feeling guilty that I’m not contributing to our finances. Zano tells me repeatedly not to worry about it and that as soon as our little problem is resolved, I’m free to get a job as a hairdresser at any of the shops in our area, provided he’s vetted them. That seems a long way off since Reno is still on the warpath and nothing of note has been found.

Leo and Victorio have become very close, and my brother hangs on every word he says. I guess that’s to be expected when Leo has been the only real male influence he’s had in his life for many years. Zano tells me Victorio couldn’t have a better mentor, and Victorio seems happy. This makes me happy.

When my husband comes home, I have a nice meal ready for him, and we relax in front of the television for the evening, in between phone calls from Sebastian, Dante, or Leo. At the end of the night, Zano takes me to bed and makes love to me. Soft and sweet, or decadently wicked, but always ending in not one but two supreme orgasms.

I’ve fallen in love with my husband. It’s not the lovemaking, although that’s pretty awesome. It’s the way he makes me feel about myself. Zano talks about our future and wants to know what I want and what I think. He asks about my hopes and dreams. The other night, he said, “You’ll open your place, babe, but you need to hire decent staff because once we have kids, you won’t be able to be there all day. Family comes first. That’s what my parents did, and look how well it turned out for them.”

He wants kids, and I do too. A little boy with his piercing blue eyes and dark hair running around the apartment would be a dream come true. Zano will be a fantastic dad because he’s learned from his father what’s important and never loses sight of it. Dario and Gina have not been by our new place, mainly because Gina spent so much time away from the restaurant that she needs to focus her attention back on her kitchen, but they call every night to check in. The conversations are short but very sweet. Gina has decided on a family dinner on the weekend, so that’s something to look forward to.

When the doorbell rings, I nearly fall off my chair. Iggy usually knocks, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it ring. Immediately, alarm bells go off. Did something happen to Iggy? I grab my phone, poised to hit the number one for a direct dial to Zano as I move to the door.

“Who is it?” I ask in a shaky tone.

“Ally, it’s us. It’s me, Anna, and Olivia and Elena are with me,” I recognize Anna’s voice and unbolt the door to see the biggest gift basket in Anna’s hands. I’m speechless, but Anna’s not. “Sweetie, this is heavy. Can we come in?”

I jolt out of the way, opening the door wider. Anna sets down the basket on the coffee table. Olivia has baby Marcella in her arms, while Elena is carrying all sorts of baby paraphernalia.

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