Divine Obsession (GodHood #2)

Chapter 7

Present

The wind bit at my skin as I descended the stairs of my private jet and got into the SUV awaiting my arrival. More planes, personal and commercial, zoomed through the sky, appearing to be shooting stars in the night.

My trip to Tokyo had been last-minute and unexpected. Father was usually the one who handled business there since that’s where he was born and raised.

However, after I carried drunk Kali to her bedroom after last week’s party, he called me into his office and told me it was now my problem. When I’d asked why, surprised since he’d previously told me I wasn’t ready, he asked sarcastically, Didn’t you say you wanted more responsibility in the family business?

The whole week I’d been negotiating with the Yakuza regarding weapons, prices and distribution.

Now I wasn’t so sure if dad really wanted me to grow, or was trying to kill me.

Luckily, Zane helped me settle the deal. He was already in Japan for business when I called.

Zane Takashi, a highly sought-after assassin, had not only been my friend for years, but also a loyal connection to my family, with ties to other trusted criminal organizations.

The SUV left the Teterboro Airport behind and headed towards my family’s mansion in Queens. After an hour of New York traffic, I was finally home.

I’d left last week, the same night of the party, and hadn’t had the chance to talk to Kali since she’d been passed out drunk.

However, now I had more than enough time.

I headed straight for her room and banged on the door.

“Come in! Jeez .” The moment I stepped inside, Kali gave me an annoyed look from where she was hibernating in her bed, covered by a thousand fluffy blankets and pillows. “You’re in a good mood.”

“Don’t think you’re off the hook just because I’ve been gone a week. What the hell were you thinking bringing Natalia to that party?”

The party I’d caught them at last week, was not just any party. It was one of Antonio DeMone’s parties. That meant every parent’s nightmare multiplied by a thousand. Only those from other organized crime groups were welcomed.

Like with all five families, Tony and I went way back; so did my sister. But just because Kali was allowed to be there, didn’t mean she should’ve been.

She made a frustrated, strangled noise. “Why do you care?”

Why did I care?

“She’s not one of us.” Not the reason, but not necessarily untrue either.

“Seriously?”

“You can’t just bring anybody to those parties. You’re lucky no one asked questions.” They must’ve all been too drunk or high to notice an outsider.

“Why? She’s a Moretti.”

I paused. “What did you just say?”

Kali scoffed. “Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? I thought you would’ve figured it out by now.”

“Are you telling me she’s actually related to the Morettis?”

Our families hadn’t gotten along for generations. Salvatore and my father would even go as far as to call each other rivals. No one knew why, but that didn’t stop the feud.

“You making friends with the enemy now?” Kali just always had to rebel.

“For the record, she had no idea when we met. She only found out after the Christmas Charity Gala.”

I ran a hand over my face.

Of course, the possibility had crossed my mind even back then, the moment I heard her name, but I crossed it off as a coincidence.

“Whatever. I’m hungry.” With that, Kali threw the covers off and stormed out of the room, heading towards the kitchen like a ‘hangry’ gremlin.

My eyes landed on her nightstand. Walking over, I picked up the pink envelope.

You’ve been invited to celebrate Natalia Moretti’s 19 th birthday.

I wasn’t the stalker type.

If I had a problem, it was clear.

My presence was always known. Always feared. And if they were smart – always avoided.

I didn’t fuck around.

If I had something to say, I said it.

I didn’t care about feelings and shit. As long as I got what I wanted, I didn’t really give a fuck about who got hurt in the process.

I wasn’t patient.

If I wanted something, I took it.

So, sitting back in the shadows was, to say the least, out of my behavioral pattern.

I’d never enjoyed observing someone until now. Their relaxed movements, natural and soft, unaware of the danger lurking behind.

Watching them, while they had no idea they were being watched.

But I’d always been an impatient man, and I was sick of watching and tired of not touching.

So, I stepped into the light, basking in my natural form, until I stood right behind her.

The moment she turned around, a gasp escaped her delicate neck and the empty cup in her hands fell, promising to shatter into a million pieces on the marble floor.

I caught it with ease, leaning low just enough so our eyes were at the same level, before straightening to my full height and towering over her.

Her chest raised with shallow breaths, luring my eyes there. A pink loose T-shirt flowed down the swell of her breasts. My jaw ticked.

She breathed out in relief. “You scared me.”

I stepped closer, forcing Natalia’s back against the counter. Abandoning the cup, I rested both hands on either side of her and caged her in.

I’d gotten back from Tokyo yesterday, Friday night. Tonight, my sister and Natalia were having a pre-birthday sleepover at our parents’ house in Queens, since tomorrow was Valentine’s Day – her birthday .

It was close to midnight and I’d heard them giggling and gossiping over a romcom they were watching in Kali’s room. I’d come to the kitchen for some peace and quiet, but it wasn’t long before I wasn’t alone anymore.

“ Trevor .”

“Mhm?”

Natalia looked around, as if we were doing something wrong. Her pouty lips parted, her voice a whisper. “What are you doing?”

Good question.

One I didn’t have the answer to.

I didn’t want anything from her. I didn’t have anything to say to her. I didn’t need to be this close to her.

But I seemed to stop thinking rationally when she was around.

The moment she entered the kitchen earlier, completely unaware of my dark presence in the shadows, I felt my eyes darken.

We were so close, I didn’t know whose air I was breathing anymore, though I was pretty sure it was hers, since it tasted sweeter than usual.

“Happy birthday,” I murmured. We were so close, I could tell she felt my words more than she heard them.

Natalia looked up into my eyes; hers, honey brown – so much softer than my onyx ones. It took her another moment before she glanced at the electronic clock on one of the appliances, and the red digits reflected in her dilated pupils.

00:00.

She looked back up at me, something elusive in her eyes. Something that made the beast inside me snark at the cage bars of my ribs. Something that made a dark, twisted need coil like a snake in my chest. Something that was tempting me to say fuck it .

“You’re the first to tell me.”

First.

I always did like winning.

“What’s my prize?” My words came out deep and smooth, masking the darkness beneath.

Natalia’s lips parted for a moment before she spoke. “What do you want?”

The sweet tone of her voice seeped through my skin, clouding my thoughts and judgments.

What did I want?

Something I shouldn’t.

So I settled for something close.

“An answer.”

She nodded softly. “Okay.”

“When I asked what you were doing at Columbia, you failed to mention it was because you got adopted by the Morettis.”

The warmth left her eyes, her words sharp like ice. “They didn’t adopt me.”

“ Right . They left you at an orphanage, then decided they wanted you back almost two decades later.”

“Fuck you, Trevor,” She hissed, emotion bleeding through.

She pushed at my chest to get me to move away.

I didn’t.

“You can’t trust these people, Natalia. You have no idea the things–”

“I know–”

“No. I’m talking about–”

It was her turn to interrupt me. “ I know everything .”

I tilted my head. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Doesn’t seem to bother you,” She retorted, looking me up and down.

“Yeah?” I stepped even closer; closer than I should’ve. “Well, I was born into this. Raised in it. You weren’t .”

Her eyes turned to slits. “I grew up on the streets of the Bronx. Think I can handle a little organized crime.”

The fire in her gaze didn’t match the frost in mine. Though, there was a fire deep inside me she had no idea she was fueling.

Forcing myself to step away from her, I ran my tongue over my teeth. “Guess I had you all wrong.”

“Guess so.”

And with that she disappeared, leaving me alone and pissed off in the dark kitchen.

Everything was pink.

The decorations, the balloons, the cake. Even the goddamn punch.

Natalia’s birthday party was the event of the year.

Every single one of the elites was here. People I didn’t know she already knew. People she was thanking for coming who she’d never met before, Salvatore introducing them.

They were all dying to meet Don Moretti’s mystery daughter who he’s kept hidden for so long. The story of the past had been sweetened to seem more socially acceptable. She hadn’t just been discovered. No, she just chose to be in the shadows until now.

Bored, I watched from the bar as Natalia welcomed billionaire after billionaire guest. The event was hosted at the Plaza, in their Grand Ballroom – a New York City landmark. I’d come in through a different entrance, so she hadn’t seen me yet; had no idea I was here.

I had no idea what I was doing here either. But it had everything to do with the honey-brown-haired girl standing on the other side of the room.

Silvia and Enzo DeMone showed up. Not only were they too in the one percent, they were also heads of one of the other five Mafia Families of New York. Natalia turned her back to the entrance to hug Silvia as they greeted each other.

The moment they pulled away and waved see you later , Natalia’s soft brown eyes found me at the bar. She froze, shock – and slight horror if I’m being completely honest – on her face.

For the first time in a very long time , I felt my coal eyes burn .

When she blushed, something rewired in my brain. Like a new code that changed the direction of everything in my being.

But then my eyes snapped to the man heading straight for her. Someone I knew very well.

He grabbed her upper arm.

Gìovanni touched her and I saw black.

When she turned around, I expected her to slap him. Instead, she smiled and threw her arms around his neck.

Blood roared in my ears. My heart rate decreased, slowing down until it was almost as if I was forty meters under freezing water.

Something dark, twisted and possessive – something that had no place being there – coiled beneath my skin like a black viper. It wrapped around the hand I was holding my tumbler in, squeezing tight, ready to strike at any point. To clutch onto his throat and rip it apart.

I wasn’t a violent man.

But in that moment, I was one second away from taking the knife out of my jacket and slicing his throat open in front of everyone.

The only thing that stopped me was realizing how happy Natalia was to see him.

He wasn’t touching her. She was touching him.

They pulled apart and he offered her a large bouquet of red roses – like she was his girlfriend or something. Not only was it Natalia’s birthday, it was Valentine’s Day. They both laughed at something before Gìovanni walked away with Salvatore to join his parents.

The fire in my eyes simmered, before cracking back to ice.

My feet pulled me to her before I could stop myself.

“You made now or something?”

“What?” Natalia faltered, noticing me by her side as she looked after Gìovanni.

“Last time I checked you weren’t deaf.”

That got her attention.

She turned her full body towards me. Even stepped closer to deliver her words with more viciousness. “What is your problem?”

“ You are my problem.” I stepped into her at the same time I faced her, causing her to take a few steps back and out of the main room.

We stood alone in a hallway, hidden from the rest of the party, though anyone could have walked past at any moment.

She scoffed, glancing at the ground before looking everywhere but me. “You’re not even supposed to be here.”

“No?” I stepped closer, surprised to see her not move away.

The earlier fire returned.

She never pulled away from me when we were alone.

“ No. ”

“How so?” Testing her, I took another step until we stood as close as it would be comfortable for a couple. My suit jacket grazing her dress. My breath fanning her face. Energy buzzing between us.

She didn’t cower before me.

On the contrary, she stepped closer, until her tits under that tight, pink dress brushed against my shirt-covered abs. Raising her chin, she spoke with a venom I didn’t know she was capable of. “ I didn’t invite you .”

I chuckled darkly. “Not personally, no. But the invitation you sent was addressed to the Su Family. Not just my sister.”

“Did you come here just to ruin my day?”

So, Gìovanni was making her birthday by buying her some shitty, cheap roses, but I was the one ruining it? Okay.

My hand shot out, grabbing her waist in a steel grip and pulling her into me. She lost her balance, her hands shooting out and holding onto my stone-hard abdomen for support. I leaned low, until my lips brushed the shell of her ear.

“I came to deliver a message.”

A violent shiver rocked through her and my blood warmed knowing I was the reason.

“You want to play Mafia? Fine.”

Bringing my other hand up, I brushed my knuckles over the exposed skin of her cleavage. Small, soft pants left her pouty lips, accentuating her collarbone. When I felt her long, sharp, glittery-pink nails dig into my six-pack, I moved my hand lower.

“You should know, however…”

My index finger dipped inside her dress, right in the tight gap between her tits, and my hard-on pressed painfully against my zipper.

“That the Sus and Morettis have a long-lasting rivalry.”

Pulling on the material, I ran my finger along the margin of the dress until my knuckle moved over one of her small, hard nipples.

She gasped.

I pulled my hand out, fisting her hair instead.

“That puts you in my way.”

My jaw ticked the same way my hand flexed in those caramel strands.

Fuck. She even blushed pink.

“Watch your back.”

She panted up at me with those pink, pillowy lips and fuck if I didn’t want to taste her.

To see if she was as sweet as she smelled. As soft as she looked.

To scratch that itch that wouldn’t shut the fuck up since the moment I met her.

“Natalia!”

As I let go of her hair, Natalia stepped away from me like I was on fire.

I looked over my shoulder just in time to see my sister, who must’ve just arrived, turn the corner.

When she finally looked our way, Kali narrowed her eyes at me. “Trevor? What are you doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” I smoothed an absent hand over my tie. Turning back to Natalia, who looked like she’d seen a ghost, I leaned down one more time before pulling away. “Happy birthday, Natalia .”