Chapter 4

• GISELLE
• "That piece of shit!" Aunt Adrienne hissed. "I can't believe he'd do something like this. And your mother agreed to this? Disappointing!"
• I smiled, opening my mouth to take another bite of soup that she held in front of me. "Mother would do anything if it means she gets to live her lavish lifestyle."
• "I honestly expected nothing from Lucia. She's such a despicable woman."
• "It's fine, Aunt. This is my life."
• "It's not okay, honey. You shouldn't have to suffer this way."
• "He cheated on me on our wedding night," I admitted, my heart shattering even more at the memory.
• Aunt Adrienne gasped, anger flashing in her eyes.
• "I expected it. Just not so soon. When he talked to me on the phone before the wedding, he made it clear it wouldn't be a genuine marriage. He just wanted to make me suffer for taking the love of his life away. If he's not getting sex from me, he was bound to get it elsewhere."
• "Oh, my God. This is very cruel of him. How can they blame you for Gianna's death? You loved her dearly."
• "My parents spread the news, so of course, there's no convincing people otherwise."
• "I'd punch him if I could right now. He's a bastard. A complete difference from his mother. That woman was the nicest person I've ever met. It's so sad that she's dead."
• "I talked to his mother's sister briefly after the wedding. She lives in Greece, I think, and only came for the wedding. She seemed like a nice person. I guess the apple fell far from the maternal tree."
• "Would you like to get out of here?"
• I bobbed my head vigorously, glad for the chance at an escape. I could deal with Nicholas when he got back.
• ***
• "I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to leave the house," the guard positioned by the front door said, blocking our path.
• "Except you're going to put your hands on me, then I don't see how you're going to stop me. Did my husband ask you to manhandle me?"
• "N-no," he stuttered.
• "Then I don't see what the fucking problem is. If that's sorted out, you need to get out of my way."
• "I can't. I have strict orders to keep you inside."
• "And you risk losing your job in ten seconds if you don't move. All I have to do is say a word to Nicholas, and he'll fire you for not only manhandling his wife, but for also disrespecting her. I'm sure you don't want that. All it takes is a phone call."
• I was bluffing, and I hoped for my sake that he didn't know my marriage was nonexistent. Nicholas would've had them toss me over their shoulders and tie me up in my bedroom.
• Fear struck the guard's face at my threat, and he scuttled out of the way. I guess I just had to bring Nicholas up to strike fear in them.
• "Come on, Aunt," I said to Adrienne, who remained quiet throughout the interaction.
• We made it safely into her car and out of the compound before I threw my head back in laughter.
• "Did you see that? They were so scared I'd call their boss on them. I plan to use that threat a few more times until they figure out their boss hates me."
• Adrienne shot me a sympathetic look at the last part of my sentence, making me roll my eyes at her.
• "Oh, come off it, aunt. There's no room for sadness here. Until we return to that mansion, we're having all the fun we can think of. Now, I wish I'd stolen his credit card. I'd have spent his money on some rather... inventive things."
• Aunt Adrienne finally managed a grin. "I'm down for another girls' day when you get your hand on that credit card."
• Everything was going well. We shopped, ate, shopped some more, went to a spa to get the full treatment, and had a few drinks, even though it was still midday. All the things we got were for Aunt Adrienne, or my little sister, Cara. I wasn't allowed to see her, so this was my way of telling her I still thought of her.
• We were on our way to lunch after I'd bitched at Adrienne for minutes. What could I say? I was a hangry woman.
• She chose a restaurant she frequented, and just as she stepped foot into the building, she collapsed.
• "Aunt!" I screamed, dropping to her side. "Somebody call an ambulance," I yelled at no one in particular.
• What was wrong with her? Just a few minutes ago, she was fine, and now she was unconscious.
• Please, don't die, I thought as the paramedics carted her away. Somehow, I knew. I just knew she would not be alright.
• ***
• NICHOLAS
• The basement smelled like shit, all thanks to the whimpering coward in front of me.
• Really, why do the crime if you can't do the time? I knew my definition of 'time' was way fucking different, but it was an effective way to take care of traitors.
• I didn't believe in that second chance shit. If you were loyal to a person, why fuck them over in the first place? The anger multiplied when that person was a man you trusted with your fucking life.
• Who would have thought that my second-in-command would work with the FBI to bring me down? One thing I knew? It all stemmed from one thing; greed for power.
• He wanted to fuck me over so he could take my place. A position I'd killed my stronzo father for. That wasn't happening soon, and Ivan was about to learn firsthand what happened to traitors who messed with me.
• "Do you think I should chop him into fine pieces and feed his body parts to the sharks? Or maybe saw his cock off?" I mused, cocking my head to the side. "No. Too easy. What about peeling his fingernails off? It's messy, but is all worth it at the end of the day."
• "I think a sledgehammer to the brain would be a good idea," Evander spat, eyeing Ivan with disgust.
• He was an easygoing man, more than happy to drown in booze and pussy, but whenever a question of loyalty arose, he raged out, turning hungry for blood. That probably had something to do with his old man's betrayal, but you could never tell with Evander. It was one thing I admired about him.
• It wasn't often that we had traitors, so his beast rarely came out to play, but on those rare occasions, yeah, Evander was a fucking animal.
• "Not before driving a knife up his ass."
• Ivan whimpered, fighting against his bindings like that would save him from us. There was nothing that could save the fool from us.
• "Let me handle it. You have a new bride. You should be at home, pleasing her."
• My lips curled up in anger at the reminder. Giselle Fanelli was my wife, and I had to get used to hearing that more often.
• "Don't want her," I replied, my tone gruff.
• "Doesn't mean you can't fuck her. Pretty thing like her. I bet she sucks cock like a champ."
• I growled at him. "Watch it."
• Even though I didn't give two shits about Giselle, it'd look bad on me as a capo if I let my soldiers disrespect my wife. My grandmother would come out of her grave just to slap me for not defending her.
• That was one thing about us, Rossis. We never let others disrespect us, and like it or not, Giselle was one of us.
• Evander chuckled, holding his hands up in front of him. "Sorry."
• My phone rang in my pocket. "Fanculo," I cursed as I reached for it. I thought I had the thing on silent. "Yes?" I barked into my phone without checking the caller ID.
• "Nice to hear from you too, Niko."
• Doctor Fitzpatrick. He was one of the doctors on our payroll that attended to my men in case they got injured. We couldn't go to the hospital, for obvious reasons, and the last time I heard from him was one month ago when he was fishing a bullet out of Matteo's side.
• "Is anything the problem?" I asked, skipping the greetings. He wouldn't call me if there wasn't something urgent he needed to discuss.
• "Not really, no. You got married a few days ago, correct?"
• "Sì."
• "Well, I met your wife."
• Giselle left the house? Where were the fucking guards when she escaped? Somebody was going to be at the end of my barrel tonight. How hard was it to follow simple instructions?
• "Where did you meet Giselle?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral. He wasn't my therapist, and he didn't need to know how angry I was.
• "At the hospital."
• My breath rushed out of my lungs. "Giselle got hurt?"
• Did she finally pass out from starving herself, and Sara had to take her to the hospital?
• "No. The woman she brought with her is. I believe she said she's her aunt. Something about Adrienne."
• Quella fottuta puttana!
• My vision turned red in anger. First, I'd put a bullet in the guards' heads, and then I'd make sure Adrienne could never use those legs of hers anymore.
• "I just called to let you know. This isn't usually how you handle business, and I was wondering if that changed."
• I balled my fist. "No, Fitzpatrick. Nothing changed. My new bride just has a few things to learn. Keep an eye out for her until I get there."
• "Sure."
• I hung up, shoving my phone back into my pocket.
• "Trouble with the missus?" Evander asked.
• In my haze, I'd forgotten he was even here. The bastard was casually slicing away at Ivan's arms while the latter tried to hold back his screams.
• I grinned to myself. He was in expert hands. Evander would make sure he experienced hell on earth before he finally went to hell.
• "She has a few lessons to learn. Tell Matteo to report to my house tonight with a few soldiers."
• Evander grinned at me. "Oh, snap." He knew what that meant. Those men at my house wouldn't be living past today after they blatantly dismissed my orders.
• I was doubting if marrying Giselle was even worth all the headache.