I froze, gingerly touching the diamond earpiece covering my missing earlobe right now. Valerio had an expression of childish curiosity that gave me the strength to open the ear clip. Valerio’s mouth forced an O when he saw my ear. The cut had begun to heal and once I started the laser treatment it would hopefully be even better, but right now it still wasn’t a nice sight.
“So cool!” Valerio said, moving closer so he could take a good look at it. I resisted the urge to cover it up.
“Why is that cool?” I asked, hoping he didn’t notice the slight tremor in my voice.
“My friends and I all compare our scars. They are battle wounds.”
“You think this is a battle wound?”
“Definitely. It’s like a medal for bravery. It shows you won a battle.”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t feel like I won,” I admitted. I wanted to slap myself. I shouldn’t unload my emotional bullshit on my little brother. He should worry about bike races and schoolwork, not my messed-up problems.
“Of course you did,” Valerio said aghast. “They are dead. And we Vitiellos showed them who’s boss.”
I nodded, but still felt emotional. I wasn’t sure why a tiny piece of ear and a soon-to-be-covered insult were taking such a toll on me. The men in my family had survived worse. Even Mom had already survived a bullet wound. I needed to be strong.
“Don’t you have homework to do?” I asked.
Valerio was clever enough to take the cue and left. The moment I was alone, a heavy feeling settled in my chest.
I felt alone in a sense I couldn’t explain. A loneliness only one person could disperse.
I picked up the phone but hesitated. I didn’t want to appear needy or weak. I had drawn certain boundaries for our relationship and I didn’t want to tear them down yet, but I needed someone who knew what had really gone down.
I wish you were here, I typed and sent the text off. Right afterward, I wished I could take it back.
I stared at my face in the mirror. I’d put on makeup for the tattoo appointment today, the first time since Earl’s death. Makeup always made me feel more like myself.
The sound of a bike engine made me perk up. I hurried toward the window in the guestroom across from mine just when Maddox pulled into the street with his Harley. My eyes grew wide. How could he be here already?
I hurried out of the room and downstairs where I came across Dad who was about to open the front door. His eyes cut to me, his expression hard. “What is he doing here? Did you ask him to come?”
I nodded, my throat too tight for words. Dad scanned my face and whatever he saw made him pause.
“Marci?”
“Can he please come in?” I got out.
Dad hesitated. I could see the battle in his eyes. Of course, Gianna picked this moment to arrive in her Mini Cooper, faster than allowed and coming to a halt with screeching tires.
“Great,” Dad muttered.
I could only agree. Gianna wasn’t always the most discreet person, especially when she thought someone should know something, and she definitely thought Maddox should know I was worried about being pregnant.
I’d been riding my bike in the blocks near Marcella’s home for about an hour, not even sure why except to feel closer to her when I got her message. I didn’t even pause to reply, instead I headed straight for her. I didn’t give a fuck if Vitiello wanted me there or not. Marcella needed me. That was all that mattered. If I had to ram a blade in his thigh again to see her, then I wouldn’t hesitate.
I got off my bike and glanced from Marcella’s old man to a woman with red hair getting out of a ridiculously small car. She was trying to usher her bodyguards away who tried to shield her from me. One of them had his gun drawn and looked ready to put a bullet in my head. I smiled grimly. I was feeling more and more welcome in the Famiglia every day…
“My God, stop hovering,” the woman thundered.
I wasn’t a hundred percent sure but I guessed she was Matteo’s wife. Earl had shown us a few photos from Vitiello family members once, but my main focus had always been on the men. I’d never had any interest in attacking the women. Until Earl decided to kidnap Marcella.
Luca said something to Marcella which made her take a step back, hovering inside the doorway. Her eyes darted to me, and in them, I could see the same longing that had made me drive around the area. Luca walked down the steps to meet Gianna halfway. He still had the slightest limp and I still felt sick satisfaction about it, especially after he spread the information about Earl’s death by my hands.
Her bodyguards finally returned to the limousine they must have used to trail her. I decided to stay by my bike until the bodyguards were gone. I didn’t trust them not to put a bullet in my head the second I turned my back on them.
The redhead glanced my way, more curious than hostile. Luca motioned for her to go inside but she waved him off. His face flashed with anger and finally she moved toward Marcella.
Luca headed for me. His expression left no doubt what he thought about my presence.
“You don’t follow rules very well. In our world my word is law and you can’t see my daughter when you see fit, White.”
I smiled tightly. “She asked to see me, Vitiello, and Marcella’s wellbeing will always matter more to me than your word.”
Luca narrowed his eyes at me. “Why did she want to see you? If something is the matter, she should ask her family for help.”
“You’ll have to ask her why she didn’t come to you. I won’t discuss anything she entrusted me with.”
Luca glanced back at Marcella who still hadn’t moved from her spot in the doorway. Gianna was right beside her. With obvious disdain, Luca nodded. “You can come inside, but only in the living room. You won’t go anywhere else and you definitely won’t approach my wife or youngest son. Do you understand?”
“Understood.”
Luca’s eyes bored into me with warning. “My promise to Marcella doesn’t extend to the possibility of you causing harm to anyone else from my family. Then I’ll slaughter you without hesitation.”
I gave him a grim smile. “I won’t bother your wife or son.”
Luca led the way and I followed a few steps behind him, casting the occasional glance at the bodyguards in the car and in a guardhouse next to the mansion. Marcella’s face lit up when I ascended the steps.
Luca ushered her and the redhead into the house. I hesitated on the doorstep, overcome with a sense of surrealism that I was about to set foot inside Luca Vitiello’s home. Not too long ago the only way this could have happened was through a home invasion. But even Earl had never been insane enough to consider attacking the Vitiello mansion. The street bustled with bodyguards and several of the surrounding houses were owned by Vitiello too.
I stepped into the brightly lit entrance hall of the mansion. Everything was modern and bright, a contrast to the old age of the building.
Gianna never took her eyes off me as I closed the door behind me.
I didn’t know much about interior design but even I could tell that only the best material and furniture had been chosen for the place.
Marcella hovered beside the redhead, glancing at her father who still stood guard beside me. I had a feeling he had no intention of leaving any time soon.
“Can Maddox and I get privacy?”