Page 1 of Massimo

Chapter 1

Massimo

Twelve hours earlier

Frustratedrageclingstome.

Silvestro Mancini… thesnake… my enemy.

He had struck at us, more than once. I had him in my hands.

And I needed to let him go.

For a man like me, who demands retribution for anyone who wrongs the Santoro mafia, this is pushing my control to the brink. I value calm and control, so I do my damnedest to maintain it and take a deep breath to ease my storming fury.

My phone dings with my cousin Gemma's text.

On the plane

The effect is instantaneous.

That message and those three words cause excitement to replace my rage, but I remain unreadable to those around me. Other than Gemma and my head bodyguard and closest friend, Gabrielle Ricci, or Gabe, no one knows what's happening. And no one outside of them can find out about the plans I've put into motion.

Did the princess give you any trouble?

The three dots appear, showing Gemma is replying. Those three dots continue to dance as I watch and wait. They finally disappear, and hermessage arrives, but I frown. From the time it took Gemma to type out her reply, I expected a much longer message.

No

My index finger taps the screen of my phone, the Don's ring myPapàgave me when I took over leading our family's criminal empire gleaming on it. Gemma had agreed to the plan—to befriend my enemy's daughter while she vacationed in the Lake Como area of Italy and help me kidnap the spoiled little princess. But something changed once Gemma actually met her.

She hasn't said as much, but I strongly suspect that's the case.

Don't tell me the snake's spawn has fooled you

The princess is a viper, just like her father

Remember that

Nova Mancini may look like a soft, innocent beauty with doe-like eyes, but nothing from Silvestro Mancini's loins could be good or even redeemable. And if she's managed to fool Gemma—who is sly and cunning herself—in just a few days, then the princess is even more like her father than I initially gave her credit for.

My phone dings with another text from Gemma.

You're a dick

I frown, staring at the message. I hate communicating by text because you can't be sure of the message's tone.

Is Gemma being her sarcastic self? Or is she pissed at me, which confirms she's been fooled by the princess?

Calm and control are my approaches to leading our empire. It's innately who I am, but these traits were also carefully instilled in me by my father, whose role modeling and guidance shaped me as I was groomed for my role. The leader must remain level-headed. Chaos and mayhem are more my brother Vito's way of doing things.

I'm rarely reactive; I pride myself on my calm and control. And to avoid being reactive, I need to know what I'm dealing with.

Once the Mancini Princess arrives, she'll be enough to handle—fangs and fight is what I'm expecting. I don't need to add my feisty cousin to the mix.

I call Gemma to get a better read of her and the situation, but her phone immediately goes to voicemail. I text her to call me, but the message doesn't show that it's been delivered, so I assume she turned her phone off for the flight.

I check my watch. They should arrive in San Francisco early tomorrow morning, and I still have things to prepare.

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