โI need to check out her car Valentina.โ Val lifted her head and looked at him, the fire flashing in her eyes and he had to smile, for no matter what, she really wanted nothing to do with Celeste. โDo I need to go with you?โ โNo, we can drop you off and you can invite Luciana over if you like.โ Vinny brushed her hair away and she nodded. โGood, maybe you girls can go for a dip, and spend the day as you wanted.โ โYou donโt mind?โ โWell, you know I donโt have many women around, but Iโll let it slide this once.โ She gave him a smile and for that beauty, he would give her anything she wanted. After the day she had, she deserved to have something good today. Frankie closed the door on them and then walked around, climbed into the driverโs seat, and took off. Vinny kept his arms around Val the whole time, who kept her head buried in his chest. He wanted answers and badly, and though he was going to go talk to Celeste, h
Donatello Constantini stared down the barrel of the gun that was pointing at his head, taking his eye off for a second to look down at the gun that was pointing to the heart of his enemy, Rafael De Luca. This war between the two families had been brutal and long standing and honestly, Donatello was tired of it. They both had buried enough men, enough friends and enough family; personally, he would be glad to call a truce. His problem, he didnโt trust the man standing across from him; but mafia men didnโt trust easily either. Truth be told, no mafia trusted a rival family; that just wouldnโt happen. Donatello let out a breath and then dropped his gun, much to the surprise of Rafael, who tilted his head to the side as he looked at the man and finally lowered his own gun. Rafael had never shot a man point blank who wasnโt armed and he wasnโt going to start no
โValentina, is that you?โ She rolled her eyes as she walked into the house; her dad knew who it was but he just liked to pretend that he couldnโt see her walk in. But their house was protected, that would be something any mob boss made sure of, so of course he always saw who walked on his land or through his front door. โYes, itโs me dad.โ โGood,โ he said as he walked out of the living room. โCome join me, I want to talk to you.โ Val sat her purse down on the table by the door and followed him into the cozy room. Most of their house was formal, as befitting who he was, but mom made sure there were rooms of comfort and coziness and not hard and cold. Her mom often felt that more people would open up if they were in a comfty place, unlike her dad, who bel
They sat outside in the car, looking at the restaurant and Valโs stomach was in knots. She hadnโt spoken to Donatello before and it had been four days since she had seen Vinny, since her dad told her the news. And here she was, meeting them both so they could talk about contracts, about what each party wanted or would like. In here, she was going to have to be the perfect mafia princess; her father had already warned her. No yelling, no acting bitchy; she promised. But would Vinny hold true to not being an asshole? That part to her was doubtful. โAre you ready, bella (beautiful)?โ Valentina glanced at the building and then at him. โNo, but I donโt have a choice, right? Letโs go.โ He helped her out of the car and she t
Valentina stared out over their pool, her hand playing with her long black hair as she thought over everything. When they had gotten home, Rafael had made it known to his daughter just how she was to be, how she wasnโt to make scenes, something she didnโt normally do and it only led to a fight. The pair of them hadnโt spoken in three days, and that was unlike them. But with her dayโs outburst, she couldnโt help the thoughts rolling around in her mind. She was a duty bound daughter, behaved how she should and respected those who respected her; which Vinny didnโt, so therefore, she struggled in giving him the proper respect when they had run ins. She had followed her dadโs rules, and in fact at 22, had never had a boyfriend, even being in her senior year of college. So, why did he feel the need to yell at her? Was Vinny right? Did he hate having
The men stood up after agreeing on everything and walked over to the kids, laying the paperwork before them. Valentina reached for the pen and signed her name and then handed the pen to Giovanni, which he took. But before he signed it, he looked up at the two men. โCan you give us a moment?โ he asked them. โIf you donโt signโฆโ โDad, Iโll make him sign.โ She glanced at Vinny and then back at her dad. โBesides, I trust him enough that he will follow through with this.โ The older man nodded and walked off. Vinny cleared his throat and then took something out of his pocket. &
Giovanni watched the three people as he sipped on his own wine, although his eyes kept straining back to her, with her long black hair pulled up into a high ponytail and the nude colored dress tight on her body. Again, he couldnโt quite explain it, but he was grateful that all of that was, and would remain, his. โVinny?โ He let out a soft sigh as his eyes broke away from her and turned to look at his cousin, and his best friend, along with his second. โWhat is it Salvatore?โ โJennifer came in, caused quite a scene. Your dad took her to the library.โ &nbs
Giovanni and Valentina watched the retreating back for a few moments before Giovanni turned to look at her. โOne of your many admirers, huh?โ Valentina rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. With his loud mouth, she recalled Jennifer and his wonderful conversation. โYes, Dante had tried to get me to go out with him plenty of times. In fact, I think he was waiting for me to graduate before talking to my dad about pressing for my hand.โ โHa, your dad wouldnโt have aligned with that family.โ โYet he aligned with the Constantiniโs, go figure.โ Valentina shot him a glare
โI need to check out her car Valentina.โ Val lifted her head and looked at him, the fire flashing in her eyes and he had to smile, for no matter what, she really wanted nothing to do with Celeste. โDo I need to go with you?โ โNo, we can drop you off and you can invite Luciana over if you like.โ Vinny brushed her hair away and she nodded. โGood, maybe you girls can go for a dip, and spend the day as you wanted.โ โYou donโt mind?โ โWell, you know I donโt have many women around, but Iโll let it slide this once.โ She gave him a smile and for that beauty, he would give her anything she wanted. After the day she had, she deserved to have something good today. Frankie closed the door on them and then walked around, climbed into the driverโs seat, and took off. Vinny kept his arms around Val the whole time, who kept her head buried in his chest. He wanted answers and badly, and though he was going to go talk to Celeste, h
Vinny blinked a couple of times as he stared at Valentina, his anger deflating like a balloon, all the air gone, at least towards her. Why would her dad call them to come home when he knew his daughter was out? And he knew he couldnโt be mad at her enforcers; when the Boss calls, you answer, and you donโt ask why. Vinny let out a breath and walked over to Val to hold her, but she pushed him away, her eyes glaring at him. โLeave me alone Giovanni,โ she whispered, stepping away from him. His brow wrinkled as he watched her walk over to Joey who wrapped his arms around her. โDo you know why her dad would call them?โ Vinny asked him and Joey shook his head. โNo, this is news to me. I knew he was upset last time so I canโt see why he would do this.โ Vinny watched Val, his gut twisting at the sight. Family or not, it should be him holding her and comforting her, not Joey. โVal, have you ever had anything like this happen
โYou donโt think Val would have done something, right?โ Vinny looked over at Frankie. โLike spy and then ratted us out? No, not at all.โ โYour dad thinks that.โ Vinny took a sip of his whiskey and shrugged. His dad could go on thinking whatever he wanted, so long as he didnโt say anything. However, if he did, then Vinny would have a problem. โWhat would Val have gained? Itโs not as if she has a lot of offers for marriage or a lot of time for anything anyway. And if not that, then what, freedom from me? It wasnโt as if I was there. And sheโs smart enough to know that if this was her, this would only start back up a war we are trying to stop.โ Frankie laughed and Vinny just stared at him. โWhat is so God damn funny?โ โNever thought I would see the day that Giovanni Constantini would claim that Valentina De Luca was smart; usually you were pretty good at putting her down.โ Vinny would actually agree with that. Not that
โAre you okay?โ Val looked up from her menu at one of her long-standing friends, a daughter of another family that worked under her dad. โYesโฆnoโฆI donโt know Luciana.โ โIs it the prick again?โ Val looked at her friend and shook her head. Throughout all the history with her fiancรฉ here, Luciana knew it all. And the night that Val got the news; she had to call her best friend. To say that Luciana was livid was understating it. Every mafia child knew their place in the world; very few got to marry for love. Your one hope was that the man was kind enough to you. And well, they had both never thought that Val would be married off to her enemy. And here came the fun part, trying to change her friendโs mind. Some were way more open but some, like Luciana, believed Vinny to be the devil and as such could never be good to Val. Of course, some of their moments were still tense, but overall, they had seemed to be working on it.
Vinny ended the call and tried to control his anger once again. How the fuck did this go wrong? That was the biggest question. But he didnโt have time to dwell on that right now. He needed to call his dad and their doctor to have them both come here as Salvatore couldnโt go to the hospital. โItโs going to be okay,โ Vinny said, reaching out his hand to a trembling Val. He wrapped his arms around her once she stood up, her hands clutching tightly to his suit jacket. โThey will bring him here, so I need to call my dad and our surgeon. Will you want to go to bed?โ โNo, Iโฆ.want to stay, make sure heโs okay. My dad has had problems in the past and I would stay to make sure everything was okay.โ Vinny nodded, reaching for the phone to call his dad, praying that he wouldnโt get the yelling then.----- โChe cazzo รจ successo (what the fuck happened)?โ Donatello asked as he burst through Giovanniโs front door. Valentina glanced up at him
Vinny walked into the house, almost tripping over the shoes that were left by the door. He glanced down at the problem, his teeth clenching. God, what a spoiled ass if she thought she could leave her shit lying around and he wouldnโt be upset. He bent down and moved the shoes and walked further in, finding a jacket on the floor. His eyes finally glanced up and he saw the trail of clothing leading down the hallway. He quickly picked everything up and tossed it in her room but frowned when he didnโt see her. โVal?โ He waited for a response but heard none and headed back down the hallway and to the library, seeing her in a pair of shorts and a tank top, sitting on the couch, a tumbler of amber liquid in her hand. She kept her gaze outside the window that overlooked the backyard. โVal,โ he repeated. He knew she had heard him, knew that she knew he was there, yet she did nothing but lift the glass to her lips and took a small sip. โYes, Giovanni?โ
Val gave her mom a look as she ran through the house and to her fatherโs meeting room. It really wasnโt her fault that she was 20 minutes behind, she had done her best to be here, but she knew that wouldnโt fly with him. So, as she walked in, she was ready for the rather nasty look he tossed her way. โMi dispiace papร (sorry dad),โ she told him as she took the seat next to him. โSorry gentlemen,โ she told the other four men who were sitting around the table. Joey offered her a smile and she felt better, but it was short-lived as her dad grabbed her arm. โYou think itโs okay to be late and that a fake sorry and some pretty smile will make it okay?โ โNo, of course not father, I am sorry, but things happened at schoolโฆโ โI donโt want excuses, figlia (daughter),โ her dad growled out, effectively cutting her off and making her wince. โNaturalmente (of course),โ she said, rather meekly, her head down, w
They both heard the door open but couldnโt pull back far enough before Salvatore started talking and then stopped, looking between the two. โIโm sorry, please donโt let me stop you two.โ โPlease Salvatore, itโs okay, whatโs going on?โ Vinny took another step away but made no move to let Val go. And though it wasnโt common for women to be privy to the workings of the business, he had every intention of Val looking over some of this stuff. โI just got a call about the deal.โ โOkay, and?โ Vinny urged his man. Salvatore shot a look at Val, but Vinny wasnโt releasing his hold. โAccording to my sources, we are all set.โ โAnd you are sure I donโt have to be there?โ Vinny confirmed. โNo boss, I got it all under control. The shipment will be in at 11:30 and the men will be ready to roll.โ Val looked between the two men and crossed her arms. โMay I ask what
โIs everything ready for tomorrow night and the gun drop?โ Vinny asked as he glanced over at Salvatore. โMy dad is leaving me in charge of this run, and I want to make sure itโs good.โ โAs far as I know, everything is on course. The truck should be in at 11:30, we have a crew of six unloading and dispersing.โ Salvatore stopped talking as Sofiaโs name popped up on the caller ID in the car, which Vinny quickly declined. He was in the car, driving home and talking business, the last thing he wanted was to talk to his mom right now. โGood, and you will be overseeing everything?โ โLike I always do, boss.โ Vinny shot a look at Salvatore, and he laughed. โEverything is set up and ready to go as planned.โ โAnd we have eyes on Dante?โ โYou trust him soโฆ.โ Before Salvatore could finish the question, there was another incoming call from Sofia and once again, Vinny declined it. โI donโt trust hi