Page 50 of Cherished Union

“How’s Ade?” she asks softly. That’s the first thing anyone asks me now, how my wife is, and I know it’s because they understand how fragile she is at the moment.

“Better,” I respond. Truthfully, I saw a glimpse of the woman I married today, and I know it’s going to take time before she can fully push what happened behind her, especially with the constant reminder on her face staring back at her every time she looks in the mirror.

“That’s good. Hopefully we’ll see her soon,” she tells me, and I smile. Since Viviana’s funeral, neither Rocco nor Jade have been to see Addie. Dario stops by once a week to check in with her, whereas Elio comes by at least three times a week. I’m pretty sure if he didn’t think I’d punch him, he’d try and have her move in with him. Addie goes nowhere but with me.

“Your ma wants to have dinner,” my da says. “Make it happen.”

“We’ll see, old man. Now, are we ready for this?” I ask and watch as Rocco clenches his jaw. “Christ,” I bite out, “will you relax. I’m not going to kill him.”

“When you do off the bastard, I’m going to have a hundred men wanting revenge,” he says as though that explains why he’s worried about the cunt dying. “The last thing we want is a war.”

“There’ll be no war,” Jade says. “The Italians will never know that it was Hayden who killed him.”

I shrug, not giving a fuck who finds out that I’m the one who’s going to kill him. He shouldn’t have hurt my wife.

“We’ll kill Aldo before we kill Garrant. That way, we can play it off as those bastards killing more of us,” Da tells us. “It’ll be the best way for everyone to continue on as normal. We’re all in agreement that Aldo and Natalia need to die. The shit they’ve done is irredeemable. There’s no way out for either of them.”

Jade nods in agreement. “Telling Ade that she’s the reason Vivi was killed when she was the only one who looked after that girl is unforgivable. Ade has been through Hell and back. Losing Vivi hit her hard. She was the one who practically raised her.”

Rocco nods. “I know, that’s why Nonna’s staying with us. She doesn’t want to be around our parents. I’m pretty sure if we gave her the chance, she’d kill them herself.”

Addie’s grandmother moved in with Rocco and Jade when she found out what her son was doing to his kids. She was beyond livid at the discovery.

Jade grins. “Yep, Nonna has taught me swear words in Italian. That woman has such a colorful language. I love it.”

I take a deep breath. “Are we going to stand here all day or are we going to get shit done?”

Da chuckles. “Impatient fucker,” he grunts.

I straighten my jacket and move toward the door, Rocco and Jade laughing as I do, but they’re one step behind me, both ready to take my back if need be.

“What the hell?” Natalia shrieks as Rocco lets us into the house.

Aldo makes an appearance, his steps uneasy as he moves toward us. His face gaunt and gray, and his suit hangs from his body. In the past month, he’s lost an unhealthy amount of weight. I guess the cancer is taking its toll on him. I can’t say I’m sorry about it, but it does mean it’s time to bring my vengeance closer. Aldo may be praying that the cancer takes him, because when I get him, it’s going to hurt.

“What are you doing here?” he demands, and I laugh. “Haven’t you done enough?”

I step up close to him, getting in his face. “The calls stop, Aldo, because if you continue to harass my wife, I’m coming for yours. I’ll make you watch as I take strips of her skin from her body. You’ll watch as her blood seeps from her body until there’s none left.”

His face reddens as I describe in detail everything I’m going to do to Natalia. “She didn’t get it nearly as bad as others have.”

My hand slams down on his shoulder, and I squeeze it tightly. His knees tremble as the pain I’m causing him shows in his eyes.

“He’s sick,” Natalia tells us. “He would never have hurt them if he wasn’t sick.”

“That is bullshit, Natalia. You and I both know he was beating Dario long before the fucker discovered he was sick. You hid it well. Showed the world how amazing you were as the head of the Famiglia, what great parents you were, but the truth is, it was all a facade,” Da snaps, his voice thick and harsh. “It was all a lie. Aldo beat that boy throughout his childhood, and as soon as he was old enough to fight back, he switched his attention to Adelina.”

That’s something we discovered after Viviana’s death. Adelina and Dario told us everything, and it finally made sense as to why Dario was always so cocky. He was rebelling. But as soon as Rocco started to take over, he settled his ass down and became the man everyone knew him to be.

Natalia’s eyes fill with tears, but unlike my wife’s, they don’t affect me. I have no sympathy for the bitch.

“I’m going to say this only once. The calls stop. Adelina no longer exists for you.”

Natalia nods, her eyes on the floor.

“None of us do,” Rocco hisses. “The next time you try to contact one of us, you’ll pay the price. The same goes for my men. They are mine, not yours. You speak with any of them, you’ll face the consequences.” He doesn’t wait for a response. He’s made himself clear. He takes Jade’s hand and leads her from the house.

“This is all your fault,” Aldo hisses. The man raises a frail finger at me, his hand shaking, and I can only laugh at his feeble attempt at trying to act like the boss again. “You’ll regret tangling with me.”

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