Chapter 12 - Marco

Walking away from Angela’s warm kisses and soft body to go straight into that day’s attacks was pure hell. That was the last thing I would’ve chosen to do, but since it was my fault the attacks were happening, I had to deal with it now.

“How did they break into our warehouse so easily?” I demanded, staring at the video footage showing the Cosa Nostra men invading one of our drug warehouses, killing our men and looting our merchandise.

“The staff was reduced, there wasn’t supposed to be any movement scheduled for today.” Nero was the brave one who answered, and I huffed, wanting to punch every single one of them. “They took two soldiers and half a ton of cocaine that was there.”

Fuck! That shouldn’t be happening — not in the middle of the hell we were already facing with the Russians and the Japanese. We couldn’t afford to make mistakes like that!

“Do I need to draw every single thing you have to do?” I slammed my fists on the table. “After attacking the church, every one of our places — posts, bars, clubs, gambling houses, every damn place that belongs to us — should have doubled security!”

That shit could have been easily avoided, and that only made me angrier.

“We’ll take care of it right now!” Frank finally spoke up, but the fact that he wasn’t leaving my sight told me there was more.

“Out with it — what the fuck else do I have to deal with today?” I sat down, feeling like the day was endless.

It was already late afternoon, and I hadn’t even slept the night before, calculating every detail of the invasion at the wedding. Nothing could go wrong — we had to kill their soldiers, get in, and take Angela, humiliating everyone there, not the other way around.

I couldn’t breathe properly until she was behind my mansion gates — because only then I knew no one could take her from me.

“Mancini wants a meeting; they left a message written with our men’s blood at the warehouse. He wants to negotiate the release of his daughter.” My eyes locked on Frank, with the same intensity I wanted to bury a knife into someone at that moment.

Now I understood why they had taken so long to tell me the real reason they pulled me out of the room — they knew Mancini’s moves were all I cared about.

“Of course that bastard wouldn’t waste time trying to play the hero for his daughter, just to marry her off to that scumbag.” I clenched my teeth, already thinking about what I would do to him.

Hearing that shit only made me angrier. Did he really think I’d be dumb enough to negotiate the girl with him? If I wanted a deal, I wouldn’t have done any of what I did — all I wanted now was his downfall, and I would get it!

“The meeting will take place in their territory; this can only be a trap. He’ll try to ambush us or capture one of us to use as a bargaining chip.” Nero stated the obvious, but I was already thinking about what I’d do.

I would never negotiate my little angel’s return to those vermin’s hands — she belonged solely and exclusively to me, even if she didn’t know it yet!

“We’re not going anywhere! If he wants to talk to me, he’ll have to do a lot more than attack one of our warehouses and kill a couple of soldiers.” I growled, standing and grabbing a drink. “I want Mancini crawling at my feet and begging for mercy.”

I tossed the amber liquid down, feeling it burn from my throat to my stomach, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything. I was about to call Giovanna to bring me some food when my sister’s voice came from behind me.

“And what does Angela think about that?” she asked, and even though I knew I didn’t owe her an explanation, I never lied to my siblings — and I wanted my sister to get close to Angela, as friends, so it would be easier to bend my little angel.

“She’ll learn to hate him, though I think she already does after everything she’s seen and been through.”

“Just don’t make the poor girl suffer more in this cat-and-mouse game.” Melissa approached her husband, resting her hands on his shoulders and receiving a soft caress in return, but her serious gaze stayed fixed on me. “Her father is definitely a monster, and I don’t doubt that she despises him, but don’t play with her or try any damn brainwashing. All I ask is that you be honest with her. Angela’s been lied to and used as a doll for far too long.”

I frowned, surprised by her tone — it was almost as if my sister sympathized with the girl even after just meeting her.

“What did she tell you?” I asked bluntly. The two had spent so little time together between the bath and my return to the room that I found it strange they were already exchanging confidences.

“She didn’t tell me much — it was what I saw that made me sick. Her back was marked from how tight her corset was, and it wasn’t something that happened just today — there were old marks too.” I set my glass down on the bar and approached the table, wanting to hear that up close, even though my ears didn’t want to believe it.

“Why would she wear something like that? Are women stupid or what?” Nero said, and our sister gave him a good slap on the head, making the idiot shut up.

“When I asked why she did it, Angela simply said it was her father who forced her to wear it to make sure she wouldn’t get fat — and that it was normal. And she almost didn’t believe me when I told her I was never forced into anything like that, nor were any of the women I know here.” With every word Melissa spoke, my urge to put my hands on that bastard grew. “That’s why I’m asking you not to make her your toy like they did. Respect her as a real person.”

“You don’t have to ask that, Mel. I haven’t lied to her for even a second since she arrived, and I don’t intend to. Her father already did a great job making her hate him.”

I left the room without another word, my focus entirely on her. The thought of my little angel’s skin being scarred for that bastard’s satisfaction burned inside me until I was climbing the stairs fast and heading straight for her room, wanting to see it with my own eyes.

I didn’t expect to find her there sleeping peacefully, looking like a true angel — eyes closed, hair spread across the pillow, and her cheek pressed against the white sheet.

I approached quietly, not wanting to wake her or make her afraid. I couldn’t resist running my fingers over her soft skin, just to see her stir on the bed, mumbling incoherently.

But that reminded me of what I had come to do. I walked around the bed to her other side and climbed up carefully, making sure not to wake her. If she saw me like that, Angela might very well think I was the rapist her father had warned her about.

I gently brushed her hair aside and pulled the robe that covered her skin, remembering that half an hour earlier, she had almost let me take it off completely.

Damn it, if I hadn’t decided to play the perfect gentleman, I would’ve made her moan until she begged me to bury myself inside her… My thoughts died when my eyes focused on the marks Melissa had mentioned.

There was a mix of red and dark ones; in some places, it even looked like her skin had been cut by the friction. My blood boiled, and I had to hold back my rage so I wouldn’t speak or move and wake her.

I touched the edges of her skin lightly, feeling the grooves left by the corset’s rods, and decided right then that I’d mark her father for it! He would pay for everything he’d done to me and to my little angel.

I left the room with a new plan forming and went straight to the office. My hunger had vanished — or turned into bloodlust — and I would satisfy it tonight.

“We’re going to Mancini’s meeting!” I announced as I entered the office again, finding my brothers and Frank still there.

“I already said it’s a trap — it makes no sense to go there!” Nero protested, lighting a cigarette to control his anxiety, because he knew that once I made up my mind, nothing could change it.

“What changed in these last few minutes to make you change your mind?” Frank asked, looking unshaken by the news as he held my sister in his lap.

“He went to see her — I told you that’s what he was doing. And now he wants to make her father pay.” Melissa said with a smirk, shaking her head in disbelief. “He does need to pay for a lot, just don’t be stupid and end up dead. I don’t want to be a widow yet.”

She planted a quick kiss on her husband’s lips and left, knowing that what was coming next didn’t concern her at all.

Despite Nero’s protests, our plan went forward. He never handled war well — if it were up to him, none of these confrontations would be happening.