The Accardi Twins: A Mafia Romance Duet

Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Caleb

T he girls disappear into the bedroom with a bunch of bridal magazines, giggling excitedly, and I wish Lili was also looking at dress ideas. The more I think about the double wedding suggestion, the more I like it.

“So, you set a date?” I ask, pouring two cups of fresh coffee and handing one to my brother.

He nods and smiles. “Gia wants to get married on New Year’s Eve.”

That gives me plenty of time to propose to Elisa. Propping my elbows on the island unit, I eyeball my brother. “Would you be opposed to a double wedding?”

He arches one groomed eyebrow. “Have you proposed and forgotten to tell me?”

“Not yet, but I’m planning to do it on Lili’s birthday. I’m taking her to Paris.”

“Canada and now Paris? You’re turning into quite the romantic, little brother.”

I shove my middle finger up at him. “I’m making Lili’s dreams come true, and you can’t throw shade because you’re as gone for your woman as I am for mine.”

His features soften. “I’m happy for you, Caleb. Elisa is good for you. I have never seen you so at peace within yourself.”

“She was the missing piece, J.” I sip on my coffee as I consider how the answer to my unhappiness was always right under my nose.

“I’m not opposed to a double wedding,” he confirms, “but it’ll be up to the girls. Whatever they decide is fine by me.”

“It’d be cool to get married together though, right?”

“Seems fitting because we’ve always pretty much done everything together.”

“Love you, broski.” I round the island unit and pull my brother into a hug.

“Love you too.”

We separate, and I return to my side of the counter. “Tell me about last night.” I was in bed, doing all kinds of naughty things with Lili, short of full sex, when everything went down.

“The lockbox was at Barron Financial and Investment.”

I roll my eyes. “Typical. We should have just called Charlie Barron and asked him to check.” A friend of a friend introduced us to the CEO of the bank years ago, and though he’s older than us and married with a family, we’ve become good friends. Charlie is based in Boston, where the bank HQ is, but he would have made arrangements to get us into the branch here.

“It’s a moot point now. We have the box and the goons Cruz hired. They were saying jack shit when we ambushed them, so they were taken to the bunker. Ben and Massimo are going to question them today.”

“What was in the box?” I ask, peeling an orange from the fruit bowl.

“A USB key. It’s password protected, so Fiero took it to see if he can crack it.”

“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. I doubt the tech Gino used is anywhere near as sophisticated as the tech we have now, and Fiero keeps his skills updated.” I pop an orange segment into my mouth.

“Agreed. It must be something special if he went to so much trouble to hide it.”

I shrug, not really caring now it’s safely in our grasp. “Cruz must know by now we’ve thwarted him. What’s his next move?” I muse out loud.

“Nothing good, I’m sure. But one thing we definitely know is he won’t back down.”

We’re two blocks from Lili’s apartment when her cell pings, cutting us off mid-conversation. I’m keeping one eye on the road and one eye on my sweet, sexy girlfriend so I see the moment all the blood drains from her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Pull over.” Her voice trembles, and her hand is shaking around her cell.

I spot a loading bay parking space on my left, outside, ironically, a bridal dress store, and I flick the blinker and drive into the spot. As soon as I kill the engine, I unbuckle my seat belt and swivel in my seat. “You’re scaring me, angel. Show me.”

She hands the phone over without hesitation, and my blood instantly boils when I see the threatening text message. Sluts deserve to die is the caption beside a montage of photos of Lili and me. One was taken last night as we exited the restaurant where we had dinner with the Salerno family.

“Who sent this?” I ask though one suspect instantly springs to mind.

“I don’t know the number.”

“This reeks of a spurned ex, and considering you only have one, my money’s on Sebastien. He’s a fucking dead man.” I forward the text to Fiero and ask him to trace the number. I was going to send it to Philip, but he’s Ben’s guy, and word may get back to Alesso. I want to gather all the facts before I call Elisa’s father because he’s going to go crazy, and he’ll want to take immediate action. I need to be sure my personal bias against fuckface isn’t clouding my judgment in case something else is at play here.

“I had a feeling someone was watching me,” she admits in a quiet voice.

“What the fuck, Lil?” My eyes dart over her face. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought I was imagining it because there was never anyone there!”

“Has anything else happened I need to know?”

She knots her hands in her lap and wets her lips.

“Spit it out, Lil.”

In a quiet voice, she tells me what went down the night she broke it off with him.

“He hit you?” It takes huge effort not to raise my voice. “That fucking degenerate raised his hand in anger toward you, and you told no one?” I slam my hands repeatedly down on the wheel, wishing it was Sebastien’s neck so I could wring it.

“Don’t be mad, Caleb. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d kill him, and I didn’t want his death on my conscience.”

“Of course, I’d kill him! He fucking hit you, Elisa!” I take her hands in mine and force myself to calm down, remembering I’m not angry with her. I’ll reserve my rage for fuckface. “How badly were you hurt?”

“I had a bruise for a few days, but I was fine.”

“I’m going to kill him for daring to put his hands on you in anger, and you’re not going to stop me.” I drill her with a challenging look because I’m not backing down from this.

“If we find evidence he’s behind this, I won’t stop you.”

“Good.” Her words take the edge off my rage. I gently clasp her face and kiss her softly. “Promise me if anything like that happens ever again you’ll tell me immediately and trust me to handle it the right way. If someone hurts you, they deserve to die, Elisa. End of.”

“Okay.”

I thread my fingers through her silky hair. “I know you have the best heart, Lili. I know you want to see the good in everyone, but not everyone is good. You need to trust me to take care of you and know that I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety.”

“I trust you, Caleb. I’m just not a fan of slaughtering everyone in cold blood unless it’s warranted. Then I’ll cheer you on from the sideline.”

“Good girl.” I crash my lips onto hers. “Let’s get you packed up and moved out. You’re not spending another night in that apartment.”

I go to take a piss in the bathroom while Lili heads into her bedroom to begin packing. I am lowering the zipper on my jeans when a loud scream rips through the apartment, and I rush out of the bathroom, racing to Lili’s bedroom with panic blaring in my ears. “What the—?” I stumble over my words when I see the mess waiting on Elisa’s bed.

“Oh my god.” She’s visibly shaking, and I pull her back, bundling her in my arms and pressing her face into my chest.

“Son of a bitch.” Blood is all over her pink and white comforter, but it’s the picture of Lili with a bullet hole in her head stuffed in the dead pig’s mouth that sends chills racing up my spine.

“What’s—” Beatrice screams, and I turn around with Lili in my arms, narrowing my gaze on her roommate.

I make a split-second decision and dart toward the girl, grabbing her by the throat and shoving her against the wall. “Who the fuck did you let in here?”

Her eyes pop wide in fear as she grabs my wrist and tries to free herself. “No…one,” she croaks.

“Caleb.” Lili comes up to my side and touches my waist. “Let her go so she can speak.”

Reluctantly, I loosen my hold on her throat while still keeping her pinned to the wall. “Talk,” I snap.

“I didn’t let anyone in, I swear.”

“You’re lying.” I dig my thumbs into the side of her neck as a tear spills from her eyes. “I will give you one last chance, Beatrice. Lie to me again, and I’m throwing you out the window.”

“I’m not lying,” she says, sobbing as she peers deep into my eyes. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Caleb. I love you!”

“What?” Lili says, sounding as dumbfounded as I feel.

“You think you were the only little girl with a crush?” she hisses, glaring at Elisa.

“Look at her like that again. I dare you.” I squeeze her throat for extra measure as Lili pulls up my zipper.

“Please.” Her voice is strangled as I choke the air from her lungs.

“Let her speak, Caleb.” Lili tugs on my arm. “She knows something. I’d prefer we find out what it is before you toss her out the window.”

I let go, and she slides to the ground, gasping for air and clutching her throat. Draping my body around Lili’s, I hold on to her to stop myself from making good on my threat.

“I didn’t let him in,” Beatrice says in between sobs, “but I saw Sebastien leaving as I was coming back from the grocery store. He didn’t see me, and I just presumed he’d come looking for you and left when no one was home.”

“How did he get in if you didn’t let him?” I growl, not trusting this bitch one little bit.

“He stole my spare keys.” Elisa turns to look at me. “I kept a spare set in my locker at school, and they went missing months back.”

“He’s a dead man when I get my hands on him.” I clasp Lili’s hand in mine before shooting daggers at the bitch cowering on the floor. I jab my finger in her direction. “And if I find out you had anything to do with this, you’re dead too.”

“Get out,” Lili says, pointing at the door. “I don’t want to see or speak to you again.”

Beatrice scrambles to her feet, sniffling and wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. I feel her eyes glued to me as she leaves, but I ignore her. I hold Lili’s face in my hands. “Are you okay?”

She bobs her head. “I’m fine. I just got a fright when I first saw it.” She grinds her teeth. “Now I’m just mad. Fuck that asshole.”

Lili rarely curses, and it shouldn’t turn me on, especially in this moment, but it does. Then again, everything about her turns me on these days. “I’m going to make him pay.”

“Good. I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

“Grab enough stuff for a few days,” I tell Lili. “I’ll send someone over to pack up the rest of your things. We’re not staying here any longer than necessary.”

Elisa removes a bag from her closet and begins throwing clothes into it. I snap a pic of the pig’s head on the bed and repocket my phone.

“I’m done,” my girl says ten minutes later, and I grab the large duffel bag from her hand and sling it over my shoulder.