Page 3 of A Vendetta That Ruins

If Massimo and Vincenzo’s crews hadn’t forced him out of hiding that night and found me, I would have died in that hellhole. My mind swirls with memories that after half a year are just beginning to surface, perhaps some of the things the therapist Massimo and Sophia hired for me told me, and I’ve tried to push from my mind.

Vague memories of Vincenzo lifting me when I was near death, a whispered word of encouragement as he carried me out of Barcelo’s lair and kept me cradled in the protection of his arms on the helicopter. The strong whirring sound of the helicopter blades permeates my memory, and the smell of Vincenzo’s scent, male, masculine, and protecting as he held me tightly in his arms.

This feeling for Vincenzo, it’s only getting stronger. No matter what Delz, the trainer my father had for both Sophia and me, would have warned against. The enemy will take you; they’ll try to elicit feelings from you that in the end they can use against you. Do not trust those feelings.

My toes look wrinkled from the water, but instead of getting out I add more warm water. It’s far too late for me to pretend that this is all one sided. The thought of being married to Vincenzo, of being his wife. I wipe a tear. I guess a marriage to protect me is better than most mafia family daughters can expect. At least I know that Vincenzo cares and would never hurt me.

I try to picture what tomorrow will look like. A small, intimate ceremony and no one from my family will be there, not even my sister. Who knows who from his family will be able to attend with his mother lying in that hospital bed post-surgery.

A twinge of guilt hits me right in the heart. Instead of being with their mother, Vincenzo and Nicolo were out looking for me tonight.

I close my eyes trying to rationalize my actions. Not once did I think they would leave their mother and come after me. I saw it as the perfect time to escape without notice and get as far away from everyone I care about as possible. To protect them.

Vincenzo wouldn’t have left his mother to search for me if he didn’t care for me, no matter what that little voice in the back of my mind that Delz drilled into us from childhood says.

The dark rage in Vincenzo’s eyes when he fired the fatal shot that set me free, killing the man who held me against my will. I’ve never seen someone so mad in all my life, and the way he cradled me in his arms, holding me against him all the way back to the casino. Just like the memories of him lifting me from safety six months ago from that living hell.

And the decision to make me his wife…

No matter what this is between us, there’s no longer any doubt in my mind that Vincenzo DeLuca meant every word he said when he told me he wouldn’t hurt me and that I belong to him now.

All the terrible things I thought about him flit through my mind, one after another, while in the swirling of the warm water all the pieces of the puzzle begin to drop into place.

My chest fills with embarrassment and remorse for the things I’ve said, how I’ve acted without even giving him the benefit of the doubt. He was guilty because of his last name. The minute I found out he was a DeLuca every word that came out of his mouth was a devious plan or plot to outfox a Cassone.

I close my eyes, hoping his mother will be okay after the heart surgery, and that one day she and her other kids will be able to forgive me for bringing a war of immense proportions to her family’s door.

4

Vincenzo

I take a pull of the Dalmar in my glass as Nicolo stares into the half full cup of coffee on his desk. “Nicolo, there’s much to do tonight. Tell me what’s on your mind already.”

His eyes meet mine. “Why’d she run, again, Vincenzo? Why did Anna run? We don’t hold women captive just because we want them, right? We didn’t start that, right? It was to protect her, but now, everyone fucking knows she’s alive and if the Gallinis know she’s here, how long do you think it’s going to be until Massimo finds out and we’re at war with every family out there?”

I start to say something, and he just keeps fucking talking. My jaw tightens, and the tension in my head is just getting stronger. Only for Nicolo after what we just went through with our mother, and in the woods, will I allow such disrespect.

“You can’t just keep a Cassone and make her marry you if she doesn’t want to wear your ring or take your name. You have to give her back to Massimo and her sister. He’s got his soldiers out burning the fucking city down looking for her, you know that, Vincenzo.”

“I do fucking know that, Nicolo. But the fact still remains that she’s safer here, and safer yet if she wears my fucking ring. I’m not letting those fucks get to her and if forcing her hand is the only way to keep her safe, then so fucking be it.”

He shakes his head. “Did you see her eyes when you said she was no longer going to be a Cassone but a DeLuca tomorrow? Tell me you didn’t see it?”

My blood heats with fury. “Did you see her eyes when that fuck had her captive, the terror of getting dragged right back into a life of brutality and abuse again? Do you know what that fuck did to her?”

He starts to say something, but I don’t give him a chance. “I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow, officially, she’s going to be mine. Finito!”

Nicolo runs a hand through his hair, and his dark eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry, Vincenzo. Maybe in all of this, I lost perspective on exactly what she went through with Barcelo and your feelings for Anna. You saw the damage firsthand, and I’m sure that stayed with you both. Whatever you need, Vincenzo. I’m in, but her reaction? I just had to get the shit off my chest.”

It’s not like I didn’t see her reaction too. She was running from me; danger be damned for a reason and I want to find out exactly why far more than Nicolo, but whatever the reason, it’s not going to keep me from protecting her from those fucks and it’s not just that she wanted to protect me and my family. That can’t be the only reason.

“You’re the best brother and underboss I could ever have and I hear what you’re saying and you’re not wrong. We don’t traffic women, we don’t take and torture women like the other fucks out there, but I love her Nicolo, and I’m not letting her go. This wedding, it’s not for profit or gain, it’s going to protect her, but the timing has to be fucking perfect for it to work. It has to be tomorrow. We have a very small window of time. Trust me.”

His eyes narrow. “What aren’t you telling me, Vincenzo?”

“The rationale for keeping Massimo in the dark about Anna’s whereabouts was simply to keep her protected from the Gallinis. If the Gallinis wanted her and all the rumors about her being promised to Barcelo by her father had been true, I didn’t want anyone to find her until we could get her out of the country.”

Nicolo takes a sip of his coffee.