Chapter 38
The way Mom is looking around the office with trepidation tells me she’s been here before. After all, Dad was only twenty fucking miles down the road from us all this time.
When he wasn’t popping in and out of New York, being a fucking menace to society, that is.
“I didn’t want this life for you,” she breathes.
I nod, trying not to let the new hardness this life is already breeding inside me slip out. “Well, the inevitable happened, I guess. I just…” I trail off, not knowing where to go with this conversation that I know is necessary.
“You want to know what I know. You want to know why I lied. You want to know why I made life such hell on you when I had all this at my fingertips,” she recites easily.
All I can do is nod my head in affirmation that all she’s said is correct.
“Because, Brynne, you wouldn’t be you if I’d have let him into your life fully. If I had let him mold you into what he wanted, you wouldn’t do this job better than him. I assume that’s why you’re in his chair, right? He’s dead?”
Smart as a whip. She always has been. It’s where I’d gotten it from.
I sigh. “Yes, and by my hand.” I lower my eyes in shame, knowing that there’s a Mom-sized freak-out to come.
But it doesn’t.
Sobs wrack her body and she covers her face.
I can’t stand it, my chest feels like it’s going to break into a million pieces, and my heart will land on the ground at her feet.
I stand and let the rolling chair move away from me as I round the desk and crouch in front of her. “Mom, it’s alright. It had to happen. Even though it’s more blood on my hands, it had to. The things he was doing, the way he so flippantly mentioned kidnapping and trafficking… I couldn’t let it happen. He put the gun between us as an offering of peace. So, I’d know that he would not hurt me, but I think he knew it was him or me. I really do.”
Her eyes find mine, the dampness of her tears still trailing her face. “He was testing you.”
“It felt like it, yes. I don’t know if I passed, Mom, but I know that another woman won’t be harmed with my last name attached to the action any longer.”
“My name…”
She looks me directly in my eyes. “Is Bianchi,” she finishes for me. “I faked your paperwork, or rather…”
“Dad did.” I stand, crossing my arms over my chest. Not in anger, but more in defense of self. There’s too much information being thrown around, and I don’t want to get fucking injured.
“You grieved him.” It’s a statement I regret as soon as it’s out of my mouth because her face twists with sadness.
“I did. And now I’ll do it again. Do you know how many times I pictured him coming back for me? How many times I thought he wouldn’t be able to live without us, and he’d walk through the front door? It’s why I never moved. And here he was, right down the road all this fucking time.” Her sobs choke off her words.
She’s not a hugger, and I respect she doesn’t like to be touched. So I move to her side and rest my hand on her shoulder. One of hers reaches up and wraps over mine.
“I think he loved you, too, Mom, but I think he wanted us safe more than he wanted us in his daily life. That has to mean something.”
“Safe.” She scoffs. “Only for you to end up behind his desk.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. A family merger between the Bianchis and the Riccis will solidify more power for both, and we can focus on the future of running the families safely and properly. Sure, it’s still a criminal organization, but the way he was running it…”
She stands abruptly, turning toward me. “Family merger? The Riccis?”
Have I said too much?
I might have skipped the details of Slate and my relationship, jumping to other details far too soon.
I clear my throat, standing a little taller even though her stare makes me feel small.
“You’re dating Lucio Ricci? Oh, Brynne, he’s an amazing man.”
My laugh has an edge of malice in its tone. “Hell no, I’m not! And no, he wasn’t a good man.”
“Well, I mean, sure he’s got his… Wait, did you say was? But that means that Ardesia…”
Her knowledge of the families and their family tree is extensive, as it would have to be to be who she was to my father.
Her face contorts. “Brynne, you will absolutely not be dating the fucking Reaper of New York!”
I should be angry with her for flinging around his nickname, annoyed at the fact she thinks she can prejudge him, let alone tell me what to do with my life. But thinking about being with the Reaper of New York only sets my soul ablaze. The things that man is capable of, and the facets of him he’s yet to let me see, are astounding, immeasurable. And I can’t wait!
“I most certainly am. I love him, Mom. He’s the best man. Don’t judge him off what he’s done, or what he still will do. Judge him off his heart when you meet him.”
She backs away from me. “I most certainly will not be in a room with Ardesia Ricci!”
Her fear is understandable, but it’s also misplaced.
I roll my eyes. “You will if you want to be in my life because he is my life, Mom.”
“You’re being ignorant, Brynne. Just plain-out…”
The door opens, and in walks the reaper himself, donning a full suit and a stunning smirk with his surrounding beard trimmed nearly to his face.
His piercing eyes find my mother as she backs into the wall-to-wall bookcase behind her, her hands looking for anything that could be deemed a weapon.
“You stay away from my daughter!” she seethes, lifting the head of some dead mafioso made into a bust.
Ardesia rolls his eyes, breezing over to my side and gently turning my face toward his with the slight touch of his menacing hand. The one that could kill just as swiftly.
“Bunny,” he grumbles huskily.
“Hi, my love.” His lips press to mine softly, but I don’t let the moment go too far. After all, I’ve already nearly killed my mother by letting him this close to me.
“Ardesia,” I say, clearing the rasp from my voice. His pupils dilate, as they always do when I use his true name. “This is my mother, Susan.”
He turns and smiles, and it’s the same one he gives me. He’s on his best behavior today, which means later there’ll be payment owed. One I’m happy to give.
He steps toward her slowly, giving her time to put her weapon back on the shelf. His hand comes out toward her.
Her eyes look it over before she lifts hers, letting it slip into his. He bends and kisses the top of her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says, and even I am swooning.
I watch her soften as his intense gaze keeps her pinned to the bookshelf.
When he moves out of the room, he turns and throws a wink over his shoulder at me.
Show-off.
Mom pushes away from the bookcase, straightening her shirt that’s already straight.
The Reaper has that effect.
I fight a chuckle.
“Well, I can see why you’re intrigued,” she says.
I laugh. “More than that. I love him, Mom. He’s…more than I ever thought I’d find in a man.”
Something passes over her eyes. “Wait, did you say more blood?”
I sigh, waving my hand toward the chair she’d been in. “We have a lot to catch up on now that you are in the know.”
She sits hesitantly.
* * *
Slate holds me tightly,spooning into me from behind. We fit perfectly together, like two puzzle pieces that had been looking for one another our entire lives.
“So, the meeting tomorrow…” He covers my mouth with his hand, and I almost laugh into it.
“It’s going to be a fucking shit show,” he says.
“Well, I know that. But don’t you think we should prepare? Discuss what things we want to cover. Topics of interest?” I ask.
We’d arranged a sit down between the men who mattered on both sides, me still getting used to my regime, of course.
To think of myself as in control of anything is insane. Of course, Alyssa had jumped at the chance to live this life with me, and was now my right-hand man, so to speak.
“It’s going to dissolve into name-calling, territory arguments, and bullshit, all within the first twenty minutes, bunny. Mark my words.”
“Well, how are we going to merge successfully, then? Or is this a big fucking joke? Is it not going to work? Should we just hand this shit off to someone else and let them do what they will with it? The cabin sounds so good right now.” I finish my rant, and he chuckles into my ear.
Goosebumps rise at the feel of his breath on my skin. “No, we shouldn’t, because I see now that it’s my obligation. I didn’t want it before, but I didn’t have what I have now. Now, I have a reason to fight the world. And one to make it a better place. We’ll merge the families just as any other time it’s been done.”
He says it as simply as breathing, yet it seems impossible to me with pig-headed men who are going to want to do nothing but beat each other’s asses tomorrow around a massive table. I know we won’t get a thing done.
“How?” I ask.
He sighs, lifting over my body and reaching into the top drawer of the nightstand. When he’s done rummaging around, he clicks the light on, blinding me for a split second as my eyes adjust to the intrusion.
“This way,” he says, and he hands me a velvet box.
It’s the size of a ring, and my heart patters as I creak it open. Inside, sitting within a small slit in a pillow is a gorgeous, princess-cut diamond. One solid stone on a white-gold band.
“But this, but we…”
“It was my mama’s. Lucio didn’t want to use it for Alessia, so I saved it. I didn’t think I’d ever used it. I never thought I’d find a woman worthy enough of donning it on her finger. Not until you, Brynne.”
He doesn’t use my name often, but when he does, my toes curl.
He turns me onto my back, breasts jiggling beneath the covers. Crawling over me, his cock slides against my leg. “I’m not good with words, love. I never will be. But, I’ll try, for you.”
My ass he’s not good with words.
How do I tell him every fucking thing he utters melts me into a puddle for him? Why does he think I’ve let him slice me open, strap me to tables, and fuck me against walls?
“You don’t have to try at anything, Slate. I love you for you. I love the reaper in all his glory, even if it’s deep crimson and a little dark.”
He takes the box from me, taking the ring out. Sliding it halfway over my finger, he says, “Brynne Bianchi, from the first day I saw you in the woods, I had to know you. From the first day you spoke to me, I loved you. And from the first time you let me touch you, I was changed. I will love you for the rest of my dark life, and even though I know it’s a big ask, I’m going to ask it, anyway. Will you marry me?”
Tears have formed and slid over my bottom lids. I nod without thinking twice. “Yes, Ardesia. I will marry you. Of course, I’ll marry you. Not good with words…” I scoff and feign annoyance.
He slides the ring down the rest of the way, and it’s a perfect fit.
“You were always meant to be,” he whispers as he kisses my ring finger solemnly, no doubt thinking of the finger that used to wear it.
“I don’t want a big wedding,” I say abruptly, thinking of all the mafia movies I’ve seen and how big their weddings are.
“As you wish, little rabbit. Though showing you off to everyone in attendance would’ve been nice. While you’re with me, you’ll have whatever you want.”
“Won’t that make me spoiled?”
He rolls his eyes and then his hips, his hard length sliding through my folds.
I moan.
“Bunny gets what bunny wants, or the streets run crimson in New York,” he groans, cock nudging my entrance as I let my legs fall open.
“I’m a big shot now myself, you know?” I moan out as he pushes inside me.
“Oh, is that so?” he asks.
I nod, whimpering at the slow pace he’s keeping.
He flips us, and his cock sinks deeper as the angle changes. I’m on top, straddling his wide body, barely. “Show me then, Don Bianchi. Show the reaper what you’re fucking made of.”
I smirk, leaning over him and using his shoulders for leverage. “Don’t mind if I do.”