Page 55 of Immoral

"It's okay," I try to reassure him.

His nostrils flare. When he speaks again, my blood turns cold. His controlled voice is emotionless. He speaks with such confidence, there's no way anyone would ever doubt that what he states is a fact. And I've never heard his tone carry so much hatred.

"My tesoro, I won’t lie to you. There's a war, and it's officially started. And I promise you on my life that when it's over, there won't be any Abruzzos left."

13

Gianni

"Make yourself at home,tesoro. You know your way to our wing. I'll be up shortly," I instruct, give her a chaste kiss, then nod toward the staircase.

She hesitates, glances nervously at Papà and my brothers, then gives me a tiny smile. "Okay."

I watch her climb the stairs and disappear down the hall. As soon as she's out of sight, Papà seethes in Italian, "My office. Now."

For the past few months, I've not been in my father's good graces. I grind my molars, bracing myself for the lecture I'm about to receive. Dante shakes his head at me. I don't need to ask him why he's pissed. He's still unhappy I kept my location from him. It's the only time in my life my brother didn't know my whereabouts. Looking back, I should have told him, but there's nothing I can do about it now. So I mutter under my breath, "Get over it," then follow my family into the other room.

Papà motions for Massimo to shut the door. His dark flames pin mine. I should be used to them by now, but they still make me uneasy. I don't like upsetting him, but nothing was going to stop me from trying to give Cara the honeymoon she deserves.

God. I fucked that up.

I curse myself again for not making a better choice. I don't know how the Abruzzos figured out where we were, but it was stupid of me not to assume we should have protection.

I'm going to kill every one of them or die trying,I silently vow.

"When are you going to learn?" Papà seethes.

I sniff hard, cross my arms, and don't respond.

Papà steps closer, shaking his head. "Don't you dare give me the silent treatment."

All the rage I've felt over the last few months, and especially last week, floods every inch of my blood. I spout, "Why? Do you even care that my wife was on the Abruzzo auction stage? Do you care that they drugged her, stripped her, and would have done the vilest of things to her?"

My father takes a deep breath. His nostrils flare so wide, I can imagine steam coming out of them. He lowers his voice. More disgust spreads across his expression. "How did she end up your wife?"

Guilt mixes with my anger. I know how I got Cara to marry me isn't kosher, but I'm not admitting that to anyone. "My wife and my business are exactly that—our business."

"When you use Luca without my permission, go off the grid and abandon your responsibilities, then leave your brothers and me in a shit storm, I beg to differ," Papà scolds.

I turn to Dante, assuming he'll cover for me. "Didn't you agree to cover any work issues that popped up?"

Without flinching, he does what he's always done. I know I'm going to owe him and hear about it later, but he firmly states, "Yes."

"Was there anything you couldn't handle?"

His eyes narrow. "Of course not."

I spin back toward Papà. "You worry about things that aren't issues. And how did I leave you in a shit storm? Has something happened I'm not aware of?"

Papà belts out in Italian, "You let all the Abruzzos see Luca buy Cara. Then you end up with her. There's no way to utilize him with them anymore!"

"Not true. I bought her off him," I admit and try to contain the smile forming on my lips. I'm a bigger bastard than I knew. It's a mixture of satisfaction for staying a step ahead of my father and the twisted happiness I feel about paying for my tesoro. Nothing has changed since I transferred the money to Luca. Something about technically owning her after all the ways she punished me over the last few years, including dating that Abruzzo pig when I told her who he was and to break it off, gives me great pleasure. It's as if it's a little bit of karma. She was always meant to be mine, and now there's no going back.

She's going to flip when she finds out.

Maybe I should never tell her.

Of course I'm going to tell her.

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