Page 4 of A Vendetta That Ruins

“The Gallinis and Sarones who captured Anna tonight, if one of them had made it out alive after they saw our faces we’d have to shift plans, but they didn’t Nicolo. They’re fucking dead. Maybe they got radio messages out to Bastian that they captured her before we got there, but nothing to tie us to their death that I can tell, am I wrong?”

He looks thoughtful. “You’re not wrong. So far,” he adds with smirk.

Fucking smartass younger brothers all three of them, but he’s the worst. “The way I see it the first place Bastian will go is to the Roselli’s and you told me yourself that Massimo moved Anna’s sister Sophia into the property on the ocean for better security.

“Massimo Roselli did not get to be the boss of Jersey City by being meek, mild, or not being able to assess a situation and get his troops in front of danger before it gets to him and his family. The way I see it, yes, Massimo is going to be pissed as hell when he finds out I’ve been holding Anna, and learns she wasn’t taken by the Gallinis from the car that night but at the end of the day he’s going to be grateful we’re keeping her safe, no matter how we chose to do it.”

Nicolo squints. “You think?”

I take a draw of the Dalmar and put the glass of amber liquid back on the desk. “It’s a gamble I’m willing to take. Put yourself in their place. If it were Lanah?”

“The fuck. If someone took Lanah captive, we’d fucking burn this city down until we found and annihilated the bastards.”

“All of which the Rosellis have been doing, is that not right?”

“What am I missing here?”

So much that I can’t tell you yet brother, but soon, the entire family will know. “If the Gallinis are watching and you know that they are, they already know that Massimo Roselli and his family are looking for Anna. After tomorrow, Bastian going to have every one of his soldiers watching the Rosellis like a hawk to see if they were the ones who swooped in and rescued Anna and more than likely form an attack.”

Nicolo’s tracking.

“So we have a very short window of time to make Anna mine, make sure Mom is okay and that Lanah has what she needs. The minute Anna is mine, says I do and has a ring on her finger and a document that says she’s legally mine, then I make a call to Massimo.”

“We have a meet set up.”

I shake my head. “No, after we say I do, he needs to know the Gallinis are coming for him to find Anna or at least who they think took her.

“While they’re busy with that, we’ll be working to ensure when they head our way, that they don’t have a fucking play. Capiche?”

Nicolo takes another drink from his coffee, mulling around what I’ve said. “Yeah, basically either way, we’re heading into a multi-family war.”

I nod. “It was always coming, Nicolo. You knew that. We all did, it was just a matter of time, but this, it puts the Rosellis and the DeLucas in alignment rather than at odds.

5

Anna

A light knock on my bedroom door causes me to look up as Vincenzo opens the door and walks in. Guilt floods my chest as he walks in and closes the door. “You’re still up, princessa?”

I’m not sure if this is going to be a friendly chat or a scolding of enormous proportions because I’ve certainly misjudged him and after all the trouble I’ve unintentionally caused tonight, perhaps I deserve his wrath.

Instead, he sits on the side of the bed. “My brother seems to have a soft spot where you’re concerned. Nicolo doesn’t like the idea of me forcing you to marry me without your consent, no matter that it’s to keep you safe. What do you think, princessa?”

His question shocks me. I slide up in bed a little, leaning against the headboard as he shifts to face me. “I’m serious, I’m interested in what you think.”

All the emotions of the night, the realizations that no matter what terrible things I thought about this man, everything he did was to protect me and keep me away from Bastian Gallini. He certainly didn’t deserve any of what I accused him of, or the way I treated him. But still, he brought it on himself by not telling me the truth from the very start. Right?

No matter how I’m feeling right now, Vincenzo does deserve an honest answer to his question. “I feel horrible for thinking you were the one who was going to give me to Gallini, and for hitting you in the head and most of all for causing you to leave your mother’s side as she was going into surgery. I’m embarrassingly sorry for that, Vincenzo.”

His finger tips my chin. “You saved her life, princessa. She’s out of surgery and doing well all because of you. But don’t forget hitting me in the groin, you should be most sorry for that.”

I know Vincenzo is trying to lighten the night but the raw emotion waging war in my heart right now is making it difficult to not only articulate my thoughts but to even contemplate what tomorrow is going to look and feel like.

Vincenzo takes my hand. “You saved my mother’s life, and then you ran right into the enemies’ hands. The only way I can keep you safe is by giving you a ring and my name.”

My eyes burn trying to keep the tears at bay. “A wedding day, it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days in a woman’s life. A time to celebrate love with your family and friends. Instead, it feels like one of the sham weddings we’ve both been to where the bride and groom smile for the cameras and their pappas are toasting in the background to more territory, power, and control.”

His eyes darken. “You think it’s a power play on my part? Do you have any idea what I went through knowing you were gone? Our guy on the inside over at the Sarone’s sent Nicolo a message. If we hadn’t got that message we wouldn’t have known where to start looking for you, they would have taken you and god knows what your life would look like after Bastian got his hands on you. Are you comprehending any of this, Anna? If it makes you feel better then you can consider it an arrangement to keep you alive.”