CHAPTER 9 #3
“No,” I shook my head, but tears filled my eyes as I realised the real reason for the blood and the bruising.
How could I tell them I had sold my body to get a discount off some fucking drugs?
What would they think of me then? “I w-wasn’t there…
at the apartment. That was…it was consensual, Okay?
It just….I guess it got a little rough, but I…
.I wasn’t raped….at least not then.” Images of the night before, outside Jewels, flashed through my mind and I felt like I had no control of the endless stream of horror that seemed to be on autoplay in my head.
“Stop or I’m gonna cut up that pretty face!”
I jumped badly in Rafe’s hold as I heard the words hissed into my ear, the tip of that cold, sharp blade pressing to my face. It felt so real.
“That’s enough,” Rafe snapped as he pulled me closer into his body and wrapped both arms around me. “Just breathe, Cara. You’re alright now,” he soothed softly as I clung to him.
“Fine, but I’m heading right back to Chicago in a couple of days and I’m going to need the name of the prick who got rough with you before I go,” Dio growled angrily.
“Dario! Enough!” Rafe barked. And that was the end of that. Clearly eleven years had taught my brother how to find his terrifying side, and God help anyone who disregarded it.
***
The cold was the first thing to hit me as I stepped off of the plane and on to the top of the metal steps down.
I had expected it to be warmer than Chicago, but if anything it felt colder.
It was around nine A.M. in the UK with the time difference, so there was still a layer of fog in the air, and it was dull and overcast. Just the way I always remembered it.
“Here, Piccola.” I turned at the sound of Dio’s voice behind me and realised he was draping a heavy, charcoal grey, wool overcoat over my shoulders. It ran down to below my knees, and I was grateful for it as I grabbed the lapels of the collar and pulled it tight around me.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“Do you need a hand?” he offered as he stepped past me and held a hand out to me.
I looked down the steps and saw two guys stood at the foot of them , just waiting for us.
They were both tall and intimidating, dressed in dark colours and watching us with so much scrutiny it set me on edge instantly.
Behind them, there were three black Range rovers parked one behind the other.
Each car had blacked out windows and was pristinely clean.
Beside those cars stood more men, all of varying ages, sizes, and levels of intimidating, but there was no mistaking they were intimidating as a whole.
They were in dark colours too, some in suits and overcoats, some in jeans and jackets.
They were watching all around them, their hands held loosely at their sides.
I had lived in Chicago long enough to know they likely had weapons – probably guns - concealed under those jackets, and were keeping their hands loose and ready to grab those weapons at the first sign of a threat.
These were Rafe’s men, I realised. These were the men Rafe had told me would protect me, and who put their lives on the line to take care of what remained of my family on a daily basis.
They were loyal to Rafe, and had to respect him to feel that way, I was sure.
Suddenly as I took them all in I felt the need to hide my terror of them all surrounding us, and the weakness I had been allowing to overcome me for too many days already.
These men didn’t know anything about me, except that I was a De Santis.
I didn’t want to start off with them pitying me, or seeing me as the broken shell I really was.
“I’m good,” I told Dio. I took a deep breath and lifted myself up, straightening my posture as much as I could.
It caused pain to ricochet through my body, but I pushed through it and followed Dio down the steps with my head held up, looking past the men all watching me, knowing that if I met any of their eyes, it would rattle me, and possibly trigger another meltdown I could not allow to happen.
I knew I was likely coming off as a royal bitch, but that was better than me looking weak.
“Glad to have you back, brother,” A deep voice spoke, and I glanced ahead of me to see Dio was now at the foot of the steps and shaking hands with the biggest guy I had ever seen in real life.
I took another discreet breath, bracing myself for having to bypass the giant in a moment.
I wasn’t ordinarily so jittery around people.
Growing up the way I did, I had become tough, and I didn’t used to scare easily.
But that was before I found my mother’s dismembered body spread over our blood bath of a living room.
Before three men attacked me in that parking lot, and that sonofabitch violated me.
Since then I didn’t think I had stopped feeling scared except for the moments Rafe had held me in his lap and protected me.
“Everything good?” Dio asked.
“We need to talk, but it can wait for now,” the huge guy answered.
“I’m here, Tesorino. Keep going. You’re doing so well right now,” Rafe spoke from behind me.
More than anything I wanted to turn and clutch on to him so I wouldn’t be so afraid, but I didn’t.
I didn’t even turn. Knowing he was there would have to be enough.
I gave a single, discreet nod, then continued down the last three steps, stepping off the last and moving to stand beside Dio.
I would have walked right to the car if I knew which we were supposed to get into.
“Cara, this is Dante,” Dio said as he nodded to the giant standing opposite us.
And giant was an accurate word. He was easily over a foot taller than me, and he was enormous.
He had to have muscle on muscle to be as broad across his chest and shoulders as he was.
He was wearing dark trousers with a white shirt, a black overcoat that came down to mid-thigh, and I could see tattoos peeking up out of the collar of his shirt, black ink against dark, olive toned skin.
“Welcome home,” he told me with a nod, and his voice seemed to rumble through me in the strangest way.
But his voice was so deep, with a rough edge to it, and it instantly sent heat to my core.
What even was that? I gave myself a shake, knowing I needed to get a grip.
Clearly, I was exhausted and overwhelmed, maybe losing my fucking mind.
“Thanks.” I gave a single nod in return too and tried not to stare into his wide, dark, enticing eyes as they studied me.
His hair was equally as dark, almost black in fact, and it was cut short and neat, waxed in place, I was guessing by how perfect it looked.
He was a beautiful man. No one could deny that, in a very rugged sort of way.
“And this is Arran. He and his brother, Callan, and Dante all live with us at our place.” I looked to the other man who stood beside Dante and warned myself to keep my damn head this time, because these guys, they were too much.
Arran, as Dio had introduced him, was just as sexy and handsome as Dante, but in very opposite ways.
While he too was tall, standing just an inch or two shorter than Dante, he was lean.
He wore jeans and a dark sweater beneath a thick winter jacket, but even beneath the layers I could tell he was muscular.
You could see the veins and muscle in his neck and the power in his hands as he pulled them from his pockets.
His skin was on the paler side, but not in a bad way.
It suited him perfectly, and only added to his unique attractiveness.
It complimented his reddish brown hair perfectly.
He had his hair pulled up into a knot at the back of his head, and I found myself wanting to know what it looked like when he let it loose around his face.
He smiled at me, obviously realising I was staring hard – too damn hard!
But his smile was full and bright, and it made his pale grey eyes sparkle like they were almost something other-worldly.
“Like what ye see, do ya, lass?” he teased with that grin in place, and I was taken aback by his Scottish accent. I hadn’t expected it, but that didn’t stop my core from clenching at the sound of it. Why was that turning me on now? I really was losing my mind!
“Arran! Don’t you fucking dare!” Rafe barked from my left, and I turned and saw him standing on the last step from the plane, just watching us, rage on his face as he glared at Arran hard. “I shouldn’t need to tell you that my sister is off fucking limits!”
“Apologies, boss. I was just pissin’ about wi’ the lass,” Arran explained, the smile not even slipping from his face.
“Not with Cara,” Rafe said more calmly, but the glare did not drop from his face as he stared Arran down.
I wanted to tell Rafe that it was fine – that I could take a joke, but I knew better than that.
My time growing up with Marcello had taught me that you never questioned the head of the family in front of his men.
Instead I shivered, and exaggerated it a little, knowing Rafe would see it. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, surrounded by so many armed, and probably dangerous men. I just had to get out of that so I could drop the bravado.
“Let’s get in the car,” Rafe said as he stepped down and came to me, wrapping his arm around me, and pulling me into his side. I was relieved to be able to lean into him and ease some of the pain in my bruised body as he led us to the middle car.
“It’s so cold,” I told him, wanting to break the silence between us.
“Did you forget how cold and miserable the winters are here?” he asked.
“I guess I did,” I nodded with a yawn I hurried to cover.
“I know you’re tired, but I’m so proud of you for how you just rallied, Cara.”
“I think the De Santis in me just kicked back in,” I shrugged. It wasn’t like it hadn’t been drilled into me enough for the first years of my life, that a De Santis never showed weakness or behaved in a way that would shame the family.
“You don’t need to be that De Santis anymore. I don’t give a shit about that crap. Remember, I’m not Dad, and things around here run very differently now. Be who you are, but the strength you just showed out there, it amazed me.”
“I’m stronger than I look, Rafe. These last days have been hell, but usually….I can be tough. I had to be.”
“I know, Gioia, but I hate that you ever needed to be.”
“Sorry to interrupt, Rafe, but we should get moving. There’s been some trouble lately and we’re sitting ducks out here,” Dante said, appearing at Rafe’s side so suddenly I startled and found myself clutching Rafe’s coat tightly in my fist.
“We’ll talk later,” Rafe said, basically dismissing Dante.
Dante just nodded, then moved around us and opened the back door of the car, holding it open as Rafe led me over and helped me to climb up and into the seat.
I watched Dante as Rafe stepped back so he could close the door.
Dio had told me he was Enzo’s son, and just thinking that man’s name sent a chill down my spine.
I had been most terrified of Enzo out of all of the men who worked for Marcello, or my father as I had known him then, when I was a girl.
There had always been something about Enzo that made me feel cold inside, even when I was too young to understand what that even meant.
He rarely spoke, and never to me, but there was so much darkness in his eyes, and when he would stare at me sometimes, I would always start to tremble right there on the spot.
If Dante had been around with his father, then I probably would have at least seen him in our home, but I didn’t remember him from back then at all.
I damned sure wasn’t going to forget about him now I’d met him though.
There was something about him too that gave me instant feelings, but they weren’t of fear, they were lust and heat – things I had never felt to such an extreme degree before.
And I’d felt it for Arran too. And Dio to some degree, though I hadn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders during my time with Dio to that point.
The main issue, I reminded myself, was that clearly I was affection starved or something, and that was why every handsome face in my vicinity was making me all hot and bothered inside.
I had just been alone for so long that so many people being pleasant had sent my hormones wild. That had to be it, right?