Page 120 of Beautiful Desire

“Vedi, cugino, non era poi così male. Hai già ucciso un fratello. Cos’è un altro?”See, cousin, that wasn’t so bad. You’ve already killed one brother. What’s one more?

What the fuck is he talking about? I scowl at him as I furrow my brows.

“Non ho mai ucciso nessuno dei miei fratelli. Ora, dov’è mia figlia?” I spew at him through clenched teeth.I never killed any of my brothers. Now, where is my daughter?

Nero chuckles nastily as his laughter fills the warehouse. “Non l’hai fatto? Non ti sei mai chiesto perché tuo padre ti odiasse così tanto con Massimo?”You didn’t? Did you ever wonder why your father hated you hanging around with Massimo so much?

Hearing his name spoken out loud sends a pang to my chest. His words roll through my head as my brain tries to dissect what he’s saying. I’m too confused, tired, and on edge to properly understand the words he’s saying.

“You mean to tell me you never wondered why his nickname was ‘the bastard child’ growing up? Or why he had the same color blue eyes as you,Arturo?”

I stand staring at him as his words wash over me.

Bastard child.

Best friend.

My brain frantically puts together the pieces of the puzzle, and I feel all the blood drain from my face when realization kicks in.

Massimo…he wasn’t just my best friend. He was mybrother. My father’s bastard child.

I feel bile rise in my throat, and I think I’m going to be sick. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that mybest friendwas mybrotherwhen Nero speaks.

“Ahh, I see you’ve finally figured it out.Iwas supposed to be the one in charge, not your papa – and, subsequently, your brothers and you. I would have been, too, if my dumbass father hadn’t gotten himself killed,” he says, spewing hatred with every word. “I thought it was over for me. I was going to have to live with being a foot soldier and nothing else until one night I overhead dear old Zio bragging to his men how he’s still got it and knocked up the maid,Bianca. The very same maid who was the mother to your best friend.”

He stops talking as a wicked smile overtakes his face.

“I knew getting your brothers out of the way was going to be the hardest part, but if I could at least get you out of the way, it would make things easier. So, one night, I decided to follow you. I almost turned around when you entered an old, abandoned winery. I couldn’t understand what you were doing there until your sidekick showed up. Call me surprised when I saw you hand him a wad of cash. You set the ground for his death and didn’t even know it.”

He's smiling so big, you’d think someone just told him he’d won the lottery.

A chill runs through my body as I hear him talk. I want nothing more than to shoot him and end all of this, but I alsoneedto hear it. I’ve beaten myself up for the last twenty years over what I did to Massimo and all the ways I could have done things differently that night, only to find out it didn’t matter what I would have done, because Nero was determined to do anything to bring me down.

“I waited in the shadows until after you both left, and that’s when I went to tell Zio how I saw his bastard child stealing money from the family restaurant, and if he didn’t believe me, to check for himself. I knew that even though Massimo was his son, he wanted that to stay hidden and he would have to treat him as the poor civilian he was. Sure enough, when he went to Bianca’s room that night, he found him shoving the money underneath an old floorboard. And, well, you know the rest,” he says with a sinister look.

I’m trying to keep my anger tamped down, but it’s getter harder the more he talks. I’ve had to live with what I did for the last twenty years. But somehow, finding out he was my brother makes it worse and brings along all new feelings.

“How did catching Mass and telling my father he ‘stole’ lead to him becoming…” I can’t even finish the sentence without wanting to throw up.

“Becoming your sacrifice for your initiation?” Nero finishes for me.

All I can do is nod in fear of what might come out if I open my mouth.

“You have me to thank for that. Zio took him to the dungeon, where he let a couple of his men loose on him. He was going to let him go after that, but keep the money. Thankfully, though, I convinced him if he really wanted to teach him a lesson, he would make him yourbirthday gift. He wasn’t sure about it at first, but then his men agreed. And, well, that was that. I knew how close you two were and you wouldn’t go through with it. Zio would have killed you for disobeying him, and then he would have killed Massimo. I would have had two of the four brothers out of my way without even having to lift a finger. Or so I thought. But then you surprised me and killed him like it meant nothing to you. Just like you did with Fabrizio. I guess you’re not as noble as you say you are,Turo.” A sly smile crosses his face.

Unable to control the anger inside me any longer, I raise my hand and aim the Glock right at him as I tighten my grip and squeeze the trigger. The gun fires and hits Nero between the eyes. I watch as he falls to the floor, blood starting to pour from the bullet wound in his head. His eyes, wide open in shock, turn cold and lifeless in an instant.

“That one’s for you, Mass.” I say as I lower my arm.

Chaos ensues around me as Nero’s men start shouting and trying to make a run for it, but Fabi’s men are hot on their heels. Marco moves like the speed of light, quickly getting hold of Nero’s second and pinning him to the ground.

My only thought now is,I need to get to Fabi.

CHAPTER36

DOM

Moving quickly,I make my way to Fabi, where he lies motionless. Shaking his shoulders, I call out to him.

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