Ciao Bella

Chapter Sixteen

“Lying is harder than the truth. The truth releases you from captivity, freeing you, lying binds you and never lets go once it has its tentacles around your neck.” —King Campisi

Ivan

We were early for the party, but a few more minutes in that dorm room with her and I would have lost all control. Every ounce I had left.

Red leather. Really?

I thought she’d put on a mini skirt and kitten heels, not dress like a hotter version of Elektra in her slutty popstar era.

I was wearing a black tuxedo jacket with silver and a vest beneath it that showed off all my tattoos with matching loose trousers and decided last minute to match her with red combat boots.

I finished the outfit off with four rings on each finger, the De Lange one on my right hand, and decided to go a bit wild and actually keep my studded earrings in both ears.

Normally for school events I was told to dress the part of mob boss, then again Bellas’s dad had a friggin’ lip ring, so studs?

Probably safe.

Plus, I was the boss now.

My chest squeezed as we walked. I purposefully ran my hands through my hair when we walked by some of the girls on the sidewalk, then wrapped an arm around Bella.

If there was ever a moment to bow down to royalty, this was it, except this walk was different, this was no king claiming his queen.

This was the thief stealing both the crown and everything precious to the other kingdoms.

This was the villain rising up from the fire as it refined his body and daring to claim heaven after a lifetime suffering in Hell.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good.

Right.

I kissed down her neck briefly, then kept walking. “Look infatuated.”

“Hate and infatuation are closely related,” she said through clenched teeth. “But if you want a show…” I wasn’t prepared for her to grab my ass or suddenly throw herself into my arms, wrap her legs around me and start kissing me.

I was caught so off guard that I wasn’t paying attention, only focusing on her tongue massaging mine, daring to tempt me to do more, to strip her naked in front of all of her… oh shit.

I stopped kissing her and smiled against her mouth. “What’s that?”

Something cold and sharp pressed against my neck.

She grinned at me. “You said to seduce first, I was just following orders.”

I chuckled, still holding her in my arms. “I honestly don’t know whether to spank you or kiss you right now.”

Slowly, she slid down my body and paused.

Yeah, she’d done that.

She’d made me want her so bad that I’d forgotten my role in this, my purpose, all I’d felt was her, all I’d seen was the fire in her eyes, and selfishly all I’d wanted was to capture it for myself.

“Little problem?” She tilted her head.

“Large problem.” I shook out my jacket and wrapped it closer around me, then pushed her in front of me. “Walk.”

“Must be painful.”

“Don’t make me strangle you.”

“You’d like it.”

I held in my groan, just barely. Was I that horrible of a person that she didn’t even expect me to grieve Junior? Talk about what happened? She hadn’t even asked for an explanation. She just assumed I was the villain in this scenario, her a victim. Hadn’t she learned how webs of lies were woven yet? Of deceit?

She laughed. “I bet you like rope too.”

“Shit.” It was seriously getting hard to walk.

“And I bet if I bent over right now.”

I spun her toward me and kissed her again, this time pressing her against the nearest tree while people watched. My hands were everywhere. I wasn’t acting.

I was losing control.

I was supposed to tonight.

And I knew after tonight, I would never touch her again. Was my kiss punishing? Maybe.

But it was punishing to both of us, she would just never know because I’d never tell her. Our kiss felt like my grave, I would either survive this, or I would die while the dirt piled on to me.

That was, after all, the price I would have to pay, the one that was asked of me, the one that was trained into me.

And part of me knew this was the last time I’d be able to convince everyone—and as per my oath to her father, the last time I’d get to actually touch her without losing every ounce of honor I had left.

It was all I had at this point. That one word and the belief that it still existed in my soul, no matter how many people thought otherwise.

Her mouth was swollen when we pulled apart. My men were already near the abandoned warehouse where all the parties on campus were held, and lo-and-behold, the rest of the cousins, the ones who were either at university with us or in grad programs were standing there looking shocked as hell.

Lydia, Sergio’s daughter, who was a total riot, slow clapped. “Wow, the killer has a heart, or maybe just a dick? Not sure.”

“Crass, Lydia, even for your mouth,” Anya, Andrei’s daughter, said. She was wicked smart, liked driving everyone around her crazy, she was also one of the top ballerinas in the nation. Everything about her screamed innocence and perfection, ask me how many times Andrei had actually threatened to lock her in her room and throw away the key. She was the epitome of a black widow in a nice, cute white dress with small heels and nude lipstick. Today she was wearing a short white dress and a white cardigan.

I shook my head, he’d trained her well, too well. She was twenty-three and could outsmart almost every guy she met, much to Andrei’s amusement.

And then there were Raven and Tempest, Dante’s twins. Both graduated from high school after testing out at the age of fourteen, then decided to triple major, so at just eighteen we still consider this their freshman year at Eagle Elite. Both were absolute headaches.

Raven was always smiling like she knew something you didn’t; it was extremely unnerving and like she knew everyone’s secrets, also unnerving. Her jet-black hair was cut to her chin, and she was currently leaning against the student union building wearing nothing but a short black halter top, low slung ripped jeans and flip-flops.

Clearly, everyone had come out to play the roles they had been given.

Tempest was on her phone wearing a baggy black sweatshirt with no pants, and combat boots showing Ariel, Chase’s youngest, something most likely extremely inappropriate.

I pulled Bella closer to my side. “You know your job.”

“United front,” she repeated under her breath with a forced smile while she bit down on her bottom lip.

I gripped her by the chin with my free hand. “The Abandonatos are in bed with the De Langes, literally, figuratively, and all the rest of your cousins are so thrilled. There is no power struggle, only balance, now do your job and do it well, little mafia princess.”

I didn’t shove her forward; I didn’t need to.

She was meant to sit on the throne.

Years ago, our older cousins—and the rest of the heirs to their Family thrones held one party the first week of school. It used to be invite-only until we started going to school and changed the rules.

It only made sense to welcome everyone so they could see for themselves where we sat and where they watched.

Slowly, Lydia reached for the door.

I was the only guy going to school who people looked at like I was their leader most years. Because of that, they were the idiots. This year, however, I was walking in as a boss.

The metal door creaked open.

Everything was as it should be.

Five blood-red wingback chairs had been placed on a black stage toward the front of the room. Booze lined the walls along with glow-in-the-dark paint. Music pounded through the sound system and the crowd of hundreds of students parted as we walked straight through to the stage.

Bella led the way, and I followed behind her, to show that while boss of the De Lange Family, I was still owned by the Abandonatos; we were still on good terms, and I wasn’t leading her anywhere she didn’t want to fucking go.

The other girls walked behind me.

Slowly, we walked up the stairs, each of us taking our thrones.

I was in the middle, Bella to my right.

Tempest and Raven sat on the other side of her, while Lydia sat next to me. Ariel and Anya waited at the bottom of the platform, pouring drinks for the free show.

The music didn’t stop, but all of the people in attendance and the ones still waiting outside to get let in did.

Music filled the air, along with the smell of fear.

Rumors ran rampant that we always had a volunteer willing to sacrifice themselves in order to hang out with us, which was ridiculous, but what wasn’t ridiculous was what we did every year in order to prove to them why we would always be in power, why this school was so prestigious, and why they would owe all of us favors in the future.

The minute the De Lange Family was brought back into the fold of the Five Families a new tradition rose.

Everyone was of course invited to the party, but not everyone accepted, because to accept your invitation you had to give us a secret for the world to see.

A picture or a video, a confession even, and then you’d be invited to every party for the rest of the year, and you’d earn protection from the Five Families. Some kids were desperate enough to sell their souls, but what would we do with those?

Nah, we knew who these guys were.

They were trust fund babies, spoon-fed by their rich parents, and everyone had something they wanted to protect.

I nodded to the DJ and then stood, holding my hand out to Bella.

She looked up at me, her clear green eyes so captivating my breath caught in my throat.

She leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to my mouth.

I would have preferred rough.

The gentle kiss was too intimate.

Vulnerable.

And a reminder of what I would never have with her. Ever. What I gave up the minute I said yes to Junior’s request.

She ran a hand through my hair and turned toward the crowd. “Lights.”

The lights completely shut off, revealing all of the video screens on the walls, videos, pictures, and below them written in glow in the dark paint, the names of all of the people who were confessing.

Everything was recorded previously for us to keep account of.

“I cheated on my boyfriend with my best friend.”

“My mom and dad are embezzling money from the city.”

“My family is broke.”

“My family is involved in a drug trafficking ring.”

“I cheated my way to get to Eagle Elite.”

“I think I’m a vampire and my parents put me on medicine, but I can’t tell anyone because my dad is running for senate.”

“I poisoned my professor.”

On and on the confessions went, we allowed at least ten minutes of them. Bored, I finally lifted my hand and nodded to the other girls. We all grabbed the red paint cans next to our chairs and walked back down to the corner of the room, some called it haunted, others refused to even look at it.

It was an outline of a fallen De Lange. A relative.

The outline was from the time when the notorious Mil De Lange was killed by her own brother for betrayal, for keeping secrets in order to profit from them—she betrayed Chase Abandonato, Bella’s uncle, she betrayed the Five Families with her secrets, which is why it was so important that they were confessed here if you wanted protection and loyalty from us.

The exchange was high—but the power and prestige the students received was higher, and in the end, it gave us little soldiers around the school doing our bidding, protecting us because they knew in the end we protected them.

Bella walked up to the white outline with the small white candle on the table next to it and grabbed the brush from her paint can and drew an X over the body. “Blood.” She swiped.

“In.” Lydia followed.

“No,” Raven whispered, making another X.

“Out.” Tempest finished.

When it was my turn, my hand shook as I grabbed my own brush, knelt down and drew a final X over theirs, as if to represent the Five Families, and made a cross in front of me. “Amen.”

Anya and Ariel stepped forward and poured vodka over the floor, then each of them tossed a match into the alcohol.

“Your sins,” Anya whispered.

“Are now accepted and forgiven…” She looked up and smiled. “Let’s have a great year.”

The videos clicked off, and the music started again. We left the paint cans as students started dancing once more.

I still stared down at the outline of her body.

She’d been young.

Stupid.

Greedy.

She was my blood.

And I hated her for it even though I never knew her.

The ending of my story wouldn’t be like that, if I went out it wouldn’t be because I betrayed the Families or my own.

If I died—when I died.

It would be because I did what she couldn’t.

Save them all.