Chapter 4 #2
A shot cracks through the dining area and a second later Pietro screams.
The bullet tears through his arm, blood exploding across the tablecloth, across the plates, onto Sienna. Her sisters cry out, but Sienna doesn’t say a word. She just watches me, bathed in Pietro's blood.
The idiot clutches his arm, knocking over his chair as he stumbles sideways.
Chaos erupts instantly.
Luca shoots to his feet alongside two of my guards, moving toward Pietro. I fire another shot into the air. The sound detonates through the backyard.
Everyone freezes.
“Go to him,” I say softly, “and I will put a bullet through your head.”
Silence crashes down.
Pietro is still screaming.
Blood pours between his fingers onto the marble floor beneath him.
My pulse pounds hard and steady beneath my skin.
Violence claws through me like hunger.
I want someone to test me.
One wrong move.
One. Fucking. Move.
Please.
But nobody does, damn them!
Luca stares at me with pure hatred now, but even he isn’t stupid enough to push further.
Slowly, they back away from Pietro, leaving him there crying and cursing through clenched teeth.
I slide the gun back beneath my jacket, calmly. Then I turn toward Massimo like none of this is unusual. Oddly enough, he doesn’t look angry. If anything, the old man looks impressed. But I didn’t do this for him.
No one speaks to Sienna that way. No one makes her shrink. No one makes her flinch.
Except me.
And I plan to make her flinch a lot in two weeks.
“My apologies, Massimo,” I say evenly. “Let’s continue. There will be no more disturbances.”
A strange beat passes.
Then Massimo clears his throat like we merely suffered a minor inconvenience.
“Yes,” he says. “Dessert.”
Servants immediately rush to obey and dessert is placed in front of us. Chocolate cake. Espresso. Fruit.
I expect Sienna to excuse herself and go clean the blood splattered across her dress, her neck, the side of her face. But she doesn’t move.
She sits there calmly with Pietro’s blood drying against her skin like she can’t even feel it and I can’t stop looking at her.
The blood against her olive skin is ruining my fucking sanity.
She lifts her fork delicately, takes a bite of cake, then reaches for her wine glass with those slender fingers stained red.
Fucking hell.
My cock hardens painfully beneath the table and I’m one second away of fucking her right on this table with our families watching us.
There’s something deeply wrong with me.
Across from me, Sienna finally looks up and our eyes lock. And slowly—very slowly—her tongue slips out to lick a tiny streak of chocolate from the corner of her mouth.
My grip tightens around my fork hard enough to bend the silver slightly.
Fuck this lunch.
Fuck this table.
Fuck everyone here.
I need her alone.
By the time the meal finally drags to an end, Massimo pushes his chair back as if nothing happened.
“I’ve had the grounds expanded,” he announces, casual as the breeze. “There’s a golf course being built out back. Let’s go see it. We can walk off our food.”
Like Pietro isn’t groaning on the floor, bleeding out.
Like this is a normal afternoon.
We rise.
The group filters out through the rear doors into the open air. The estate stretches out ahead of us—fresh-cut grass, half-finished landscaping, and workers scattered in the distance. Everything is designed to look peaceful, while everyone walking through it is anything but.
Massimo leads. His men follow.
Before I can take a step, Salvatore De Luca and Vittorio Moretti close in. They’re the two elders who came with me.
“Alessandro,” Salvatore says, his voice barely a breath.
I exhale through my nose, finally glancing at them. “What?”
Salvatore’s jaw is tight. “Pietro needs a hospital. Now.”
I don’t respond immediately. I already know that. But part of me wants him to bleed out. To die. Finally.
“He’ll die if he waits,” Vittorio presses.
I look ahead. Massimo is still walking, his shoulders relaxed.
I give a short nod. “Take him.”
Salvatore exhales as if he’s been holding his breath since the gunshot. They both dip their heads and turn immediately, signaling the Gallo guards behind us. Within seconds, the order spreads quietly.
I start walking again. A few steps later, a hand snatches my arm.
I turn sharply. Luca. Of course.
He stands there like he owns the air between us, his eyes hard and mouth tight with controlled anger. “You’ve lost your mind,” he murmurs.
I don’t stop walking, forcing him to match my pace. “Have I?”
“You shot one of your own men in front of Massimo Caruso,” he says. “Do you understand what that looks like?”
“I suppose you’re here to tell me.”
Luca scoffs. “It looks like instability.”
That word makes my jaw click. Instability. Funny. I’ve survived war, betrayal, and my dead brother’s legacy being shoved onto my back, but this is what they call unstable.
We move past a row of hedges. Massimo and his group are just ahead, chatting about real estate.
Luca lowers his voice further. “You’re giving him reasons to fear you.”
I don’t answer. I’m not listening anymore. Something shifts in my peripheral vision. I turn slightly and freeze. Sienna is here. I thought we left the women at the table. Apparently not. She’s here, and she’s not alone. She’s laughing.
With fucking Valerio.
My jaw tightens so fast it aches.
Valerio stands relaxed beside her, hands in his pockets, his posture easy. Sienna says something I can’t catch and lightly touches his arm.
Is she flirting?
A second touch.
Oh yes, she’s flirting. But there’s a calculation to it. The placement of her fingers is intentional, deliberate. She’s trying to plant something on him. I'm certain of it.
My vision sharpens. The noise of the crowd drops away, taking my sudden flare of jealousy with it. Luca is still talking behind me, but I’m already gone, walking straight toward them.
Valerio sees me first. His expression drops instantly, and he takes several steps back as I close the distance.
“Boss,” he murmurs, already retreating.
Sienna tries to follow his lead, but I move too fast. My hand catches her wrist, hard enough to anchor her in place.
She goes rigid. Her hazel eyes lift to mine.
“What?” she asks, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Really?” The urge to drag her into the bushes and show her exactly why she shouldn't play with fire claws at my throat. “Are you trying to test me?”
She attempts to wrench her arm away, but I tighten my grip until she winces and goes still. Stubborn, as always.
“What is wrong with you? Are you jealous?” Sienna snaps at me, her long lashes fluttering upward as she smiles coquettishly at me. “We’re not even married yet. Does that make you feel like a man? Hmm?”
My gaze drops to her face again.
Everything about her stokes my anger. I don’t have the best temperament, but I’ve spent years honing my control. In Sienna’s presence, it all goes up in smoke.
With my other hand, I reach up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “If I searched him right now, would I find a microphone on him?”
Her eyes snap to mine instantly.
That reaction alone is enough.
Sienna exhales through her nose, like she’s deciding whether to lie.
Then she lifts her chin.
“No one would believe you,” she says. “And I will do everything in my power to ruin this farce before two weeks are up. You won’t get an ally out of the Carusos while dining with the Kuznetsovs.”
There it is.
Fire again.
I should be annoyed.
I should tighten my grip.
Instead, I find myself explaining myself.
“Relax. I’m not interested in the Kuznetsovs.”
Her brows twitch slightly.
“But I do need them,” I continue. “For information. Luca is trying to take my place, and I think he’s working with them.”
I don’t know why I just told her all this.
Her expression shifts, but I already regret letting my words slip, so I change the subject. I cup the back of her neck with my hand and slide her closer, stopping just before her body touches mine. She doesn’t struggle, and I swear it sends more blood straight to my cock.
“Let me go,” she says calmly. “We’re in public.”
“You’re right,” I smile. “I do remember you saying you prefer to have fun in private. Or something like that.”
Her eyes lower, and for the first time ever, I see nerves in them. Interesting. She really was out of her depth showing up at that party. I’m not letting her off easily, so I lean close.
“Do you think about my hands on you when you’re alone at night?” I ask.
Her eyes widen.
“That’s inappropriate. Anyone could see us.”
“Is that right?” My gaze drops to her mouth, and hunger thrums beneath my skin. “If we were in private, would you be honest?”
“Alessandro…”
“Hmm. My name tastes like sin on your tongue, Sienna.”
There are too many things to look at. Her full lips. Her breasts as her chest heaves up and down. The way her hair glistens in the sun. Her skin beneath my hands.
“Let me go.”
Her words cause me to glance at her mouth again. She stills in my arms, and I swear she wants it too. A kiss. Her eyes flicker to mine, and for a moment it feels like we’re both suspended in time.
I drop her wrist and lift my hand, sliding it once through her hair. Her breath stutters again. For half a second—just half—her gaze rakes down my body, setting it ablaze with lust.
If I don’t cut off contact with her now, I’ll do something she’ll regret. So I step back. The moment snaps.
Her hands curl slightly at her sides like she’s catching herself from something.
I look at her properly now.
“Be careful,” I say quietly. “Wife or not… I won’t be kind the next time you try to spy on me.”