Page 9 of Ruthless Rival

I glanced over at a picture frame on Martin’s desk. I reached forward to grab it and take a better look at it. “I’m sure your wife wouldn’t mind a nice vacation. Maybe your daughter would like a new phone for Christmas,” I commented as I gestured to his pretty wife and teenage daughter in the picture. Family was a touchy subject. I would know. However, sometimes it was the best way to nudge people toward the right decision.

Martin paused to stare at me. “Fine,” he said as he sat back down at his desk. “How do we get started?”

“I’ll have someone take a look at your casino and dictate the best place to put the slot machines,” I replied as I rose to my feet. I’d gotten what I wanted out of this meeting. “We’ll be in touch soon to handle the rest.”

Martin looked between Adriano and I in confusion as we strode out of his office without another word.

“Too easy.” Adriano chuckled low as we headed to the elevator, hearing the loud bells and chiming from the slot machines nearby.

“Good work, mio figlio,” I told him with a proud nod. My children turned out just fine. If only Sienna was around to see how amazing they had become. If only she hadn’t been ripped away from me, leaving me on edge and all alone. It just reminded me that danger and disaster lurked around every corner, and that lingered in my mind the entire day.

A month later…

I tossed and turned, squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my jaw in a struggle for sleep. During the day, I could busy myself with various tasks and meetings to keep my mind off the things that haunted me. However, at night, I was defenseless. I raced for sleep, but my thoughts often beat my mind to the punch.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the looming threat of the Castillos and their desire for revenge against my family. Not only were two of their members dead because Michael took them out after they tried to kidnap my sweet Alessia, but Carlos Castillo was in a coma that could last the rest of his life.

Santiago Castillo would scramble to protect his legacy and reputation, and that probably meant taking down the people who’d wronged him. Honestly, he should’ve been grateful that Storm didn’t allow Michael to finish Carlos off. The Rebel Saints could be violent, but they refused to be lethal.

Carlos had been spared and I wasn’t really happy about it. I didn’t wish for needless death, but Carlos deserved to die for harming Guilia and trying to steal Alessia away. He’d crossed a line twice with me. If he managed to survive the coma and wake up, that would be strike three and I would make sure he was buried for what he did.

If he died in that hospital bed, I would call for a truce. The score would be settled.

I didn’t care how upset Santiago was about his son. Carlos started the fight and I wanted to officially end it. The morning following the shooting at the plantation house, I had called Luis Castillo and warned him that Carlos deserved to die for the violence he’d caused.

Luis pleaded with me, scrambling to convince me to not make a move until Carlos’ fate was set in stone. When he realized I wasn’t going to stop unless the Castillos did, he managed to convince his Uncle Santiago to agree to a cease fire and keep the cartel out of the west side of the city to refrain from causing trouble on the east side until they had more news about Carlos’ health.

So, we continued to wait and wait, seeing if Carlos’ body fought hard enough to draw him out of his coma or not. I felt angry at what the man had caused to my life but I agreed to stay back until nature took its course. It had now been months as the man laid in that bed and the waiting was torture for me, although I imagined it had been worse for his father. Good, the man deserved whatever he got. ‘You reap what you sow,’ as the old saying went.

It became torturous waiting, though. I felt suspended between the past and the future, not able to move forward and unable to escape the years behind me. Nights like these were when I needed Sienna by my side the most. She would’ve stroked my hair and caressed my head against the softness of her chest, easily lulling me to sleep.

Why did she have to be taken away from me?

Between grappling with my loneliness and longing for Sienna along with my worry and frustration over the Castillos, sleep refused to come to me easily. I had to trick my mind into believing I was in an environment of peace and comfort, so I pictured a family dinner.

I imagined the rich, fragrant smell of freshly made spaghetti, the bold, sweet taste of wine, the laughter of my children and grandchildren. Soon, I slipped from consciousness into my dream state, sleep taking hold of me without me even realizing it.

This family dinner was like all the others that happened twice every week. Everyone was in their rightful seats with Alessia by my side with her glowing face and melodic laughter. Michael sat next to her, gazing at her like she was the light of his life. Every one of my children was sitting next to their other halves, holding their own children or expecting their first.

Such a beautiful scene. Our family would grow more and more, adding more generations of Mancinis. I couldn’t imagine anything better. Pride and happiness swelled in my chest like balloons. I almost felt like I could burst.

However, one thing made me feel deflated. I didn’t have my other half by my side. It made my heart ache when I thought about being alone for the rest of my life. I didn’t plan for that to happen.

“Here you go, papà.” Alessia’s voice made me turn toward her, reattaching me to the moment. She held out a basket of bread for me to take.

“Grazie, tesorina,” I said as I took the basket from her and reached inside to grab a piece of flaky, baked bread. I could feel the heat of it in my hand and just the savory smell of it made me hungry.

I placed my bread on my plate next to my tasty pile of spaghetti, steam floating up into the air. I reached for my fork, but I paused when the chair to my right slid out as someone took a seat. As I grabbed my fork, a gentle pressure rested on my thigh, making me pause. It didn’t take me long to make out slender fingers and a small palm. My mind immediately shot to Sienna, and I turned my head with a smile on my face.

Instead of seeing Sienna’s familiar hazel green eyes, I saw eyes as dark as burning coal peering back at me. More details soon flooded my vision, as I saw bold red lipstick adorning the pretty mouth of someone very familiar.

With a shaky breath, I shot up straight in bed, gasping at the dream turned nightmare. Details started to slip away as they usually did, but there was no way I could forget the woman with dark eyes and red lips seated next to me. Without a doubt in my mind, I knew she was the woman hanging on the arm of the governor at Adriano’s wedding.

The feeling of her hand on my thigh lingered, leaving a tingling pressure on my thigh. I swallowed hard as I brushed a hand through my damp hair. Her hand had been so warm and comforting as it rested on my leg. It even felt like she had done this countless times before.

I didn’t know what was wrong with me and why I was so hung up on this woman. Maybe it was just desire. She was a beautiful woman with curves in all the right places and lips that were downright sinful. Perhaps my time with the escorts poisoned my mind, making me mistake lust for genuine desire.

I glanced out of my bedroom window, seeing the faintest hint of light in the sky as sunrise loomed ahead. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to get my day started early. I had plenty of people to talk to and quite a few meetings to attend today.

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