Chapter 3
Marcello
Iwiped the blood off my hand, and after the body fell to the ground, I stepped over it as if I hadn’t just killed Aldo Pisano. I’d been looking for him for a week after taking care of Benito, and now that I’d finally caught up with him, that was done.
Nicolo sighed before shaking his head. We were in a Pisano family warehouse, and Aldo’s body would be left for his father to find—a message from the Vittone family.
I opened the office door, stepped over the body of one of his bodyguards that was utterly worthless, and then walked across the warehouse.
Just outside were two more bodies, both in their current state because of me.
It was what I did, and I couldn’t change who I was.
A body count of four for the day wasn’t my highest, but it was higher than I’d had in a while.
I slid into the passenger seat of the car, and after Nicolo got in behind the steering wheel, we left the area. Nicolo drove for several minutes before he said something. “Have you thought about why it is you feel as if you need to take over every enforcer’s job in the coven lately?”
I looked at Nic, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Nic said in response.
I stared at him, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything else.
I stared out the window at the scenery as it whizzed by while Nic drove us back to the villa.
Like always, my thoughts turned to Abel, and I shook my head.
I’d just killed four men without a thought with my bare hands.
I certainly wasn’t for him and didn’t understand why the fates had decided they were going to pair me with him.
It wasn’t as if I was going to suddenly change.
I was part of the Vittone family. Vincent had saved me, and in return, I’d pledged myself and my life to him.
The car slowed, and when it did, I focused on where we were. We were back at the villa, and I suddenly felt a sense of unease. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt as if something significant was about to happen. I glanced at Nicolo, who was barking at whoever was on the other end of the intercom.
I was on edge, but if he picked up on it, he didn’t let on. It wasn’t as if Nicolo was going to drive me to some remote place and off me. That would be quite the match, but we were back at the villa. His chance to do that was gone.
“What?”
“I don’t know,” I told him. “I feel a sense of dread. I’m not sure why since I’ve only ever felt it once or twice before in my lifetime.”
Nicolo sighed. “Probably because you know Vincent is going to want to talk to you once you get into the villa.” Nicolo parked the car, and I wondered if that was it.
The last time I’d been out and had dealt with Benito, Vincent had certainly talked to me after.
He’d told me then that I needed to fix myself.
He wasn’t wrong; I probably did. I couldn’t begin to figure out how to do that though.
Where did one start to fix themselves when the main root of the issue was completely out of their control?
The car came to a stop just behind Vincent’s, and I sat there for a moment before I reached for the door.
Nicolo was already out and at the base of the stairs when I opened my door.
He walked in as I reached the stairs. I trudged up them, wondering just what was causing such a heavy feeling in my chest.
I closed the door and made it exactly two steps before Vincent’s familiar voice stopped me dead. “My office.”
I didn’t flinch or hesitate. I simply walked toward Vincent’s office. I heard the door close behind me and found Vincent standing against it when I turned around.
“How many today?”
“Four.” I knew exactly what he was asking.
“And how long is this going to go on? What are you going to do when you cross the line?”
I tilted my head. “Didn’t we cross that a long time ago?”
Vincent sighed. “You’re going down a path that even I cannot protect you from, Marcello. I understand you are hurting, and you are fighting with yourself. But this isn’t sustainable. What if you slip up and you lose?”
I smiled slowly. “Then I will no longer be miserable without him. He will be gifted someone else. Someone who is deserving of him. It isn’t that I do not want my own beloved.
I would love to have a warm, loving person to spend my life with.
But it should never have been someone as innocent as Abel. ”
Vincent looked as if he was going to say something else but instead pushed away from the door and opened it. “You need to get cleaned up before dinner. We have a guest tonight, and you looking as you do isn’t exactly welcoming for company.”
I nodded. I knew what I looked like. I was covered in blood once again. That was a hazard of my job. Well, what used to be my job. I still did some of the family’s dirty work, but for the most part, that job belonged to others now.
I stepped out of the office and headed for the stairs. I was stopped by Naldo and Mazzi. “That won’t do,” Mazzi said as he gestured to my clothing.
I glanced down. “This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that you have seen me covered in blood. We are vampires. Well, you are mated to one. You know that blood is very much a part of our lives.”
Mazzi sighed. “Sì. Perhaps not the very first meeting though? First impressions are lasting.”
I didn’t know what exactly he was getting on about, but I offered a smile before I started up the stairs.
I heard them behind me, which wasn’t necessarily unusual, just unexpected.
Once we reached the landing, there was a third set of footsteps, and I turned to find Vincent. I raised an eyebrow at all of them.
“I’m getting cleaned up. What?”
“It was for the best. Just know that. Our family all loves you, and we want the best for you,” Vincent said.
I was confused. Until I opened the door to my room.
The scent that I had experienced as a phantom scent every so often in the past several months hit me like I’d walked into a wall.
Then I felt a bundle plow into me. Instinctively, I looked down into blue eyes that I had only ever seen from a distance before now.
“Mio amato.” Instinctively, I pulled Abel closer to me. I closed my eyes, experiencing the feeling of my beloved in my arms for the first time. The only time, because he did not belong in my world. “Cos’hai fatto?” I asked the others.
“What we needed to do,” Vincent said. “We will see you in a week.”
Abel and I were pushed into my room, and then the door was shut behind us. I looked down at my sweet angel and felt my heart break. What had they done to him? How? Why?
“Mio amato, mi dispiace tanto,” I told him.
Abel looked up at me with sad eyes. “I don’t understand what you just said. But I know you’re my mate and that I’m not in Montana anymore. Where are we?”
Right. English. “I said I was so very sorry, my beloved. I did not know they were going to bring you here.”
“Where is here?” Abel looked back to the room. “It’s a very nice room, and I could look outside, but the balcony door wouldn’t open. Neither would this one.”
“We are at the villa in Naples, Italy.”
Abel’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?” He pulled from my arms and glared. That was what I would expect from someone who had been taken halfway around the world and away from their home.
“I will make it right.” I held out my hands, hoping to calm my beloved as much as I could.
“I will get you back to Montana, and hopefully, in time, you will forget that this ever happened.” I turned to open the door and found it unmovable.
Mazzi. I didn’t even need to question it.
I already knew that it would be pointless to try and open the door because it was closed magically.
“You’re my mate though. Are you going to move to Montana? What is it that you do? And how did they know who I was? Or even where to find me?”
“I am Marcello Grassi.” Abel’s face paled, and he took several steps backward. He knew who I was. I nodded. “I see you know who I am.”
“You’re a…you…” He glanced around, and I could tell he was starting to panic.
I held up my hands again. “I would never hurt you,” I told him.
“I can’t. You are my beloved, and it would pain me greatly to hurt you.
” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“This is why I did not approach you when I scented you when I was in Montana last. I knew then that you and I could never be together. That you would not fit into my world. It is too ugly, and you deserve an alpha that…”
“Isn’t a mobster?” Abel said quietly.
I nodded. My beloved was here, and he was backing away from me.
I didn’t blame him because I wasn’t a good person.
My fangs ached though, and my chest hurt as Abel put more distance between us.
I slowly slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor.
“I…I never wanted you brought here,” I said.
“Your response to my name alone is more than enough reason for me to stay away.”
“You kill people.”
I nodded. “It is what I do, mio angelo.”
“You’re a bad guy. Master Ambrosius even said that your boss is not to be trusted. That you kill people. And we all needed to stay away from you when you were on the mountain.”
I snorted. I had three enforcers on me while I was allowed on Treasure Ridge. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without one in the room with me and the other two waiting outside.
“What you say is true. We kill people. It is what our family does. We eliminate those that cross us in some way. Yes, that includes killing them. But you, I could never harm. You could cause me the most intense pain, and I could never hurt you.” I sighed again.
“I had come to terms with living half of a life, one never being fulfilled, because I knew I could never allow you to be part of my world. It is ugly, Abel. And you have already seen enough ugly in the world.”