Chapter 18
Massimo
“ Gesù! ” I curse out.
Hadley’s face tightens with anger, “Like I said. I’m going—end of story. I don’t care what you think; this has to do with me, and I’m going. No fucking way—”
“Stop,” I demand, putting a hand up.
Hadley’s hands move to her hips, posture ready to argue if she needs to. “I’m—”
I cut her off, “You can go.”
Her mouth snaps shut. When her shoulders ease up, and before she can say anything, I turn, grab Hadley’s arm, and guide her to my truck.
My heart pounds, thrumming in my chest as I struggle with mixed feelings about having her come with me to the shed. She will see the final side of me, the monster, the killer , but deep in my heart, I know she can handle it. In the end, this is about her, and we all need an answer, so I guess it’s going to come out here. Plus, I won’t have to figure out how to tell her about her family, and I will finally find out what she knows.
The tension grows between us as we silently head to the shed.
At least I know these two fuckers haven’t cut their tongues out. I have a feeling Gio wants to spill it all to me. The smug bastard prides himself on what he has or has not done and always brags about himself.
As I lead Hadley into the shed, I find both men tied to chairs next to each other. Big John, Emilio, and a few others are surrounding the room; they’re waiting for me to bring retribution.
How deep does this treachery go? Has anyone else been involved with Gio all these years?
Gaspare’s face lights up when he notices Hadley move from behind me and murmurs, “Mi manchi, principessa?”
What the fuck does he mean, ‘ Miss me, princess ?’
Hadley’s expression turns murderous. It’s a look I have yet to witness from her before. She’s usually scared or angry, but this is pure hatred.
“Vaffanculo, Gaspare. Perché sei qui? Come mi hai trovato?” she spits out.
Her speaking fluent Italian has me snapping my head in her direction.
The way she told him to fuck off and why he was there clued me in that she knows him well, but when she asks how did he find her, it makes me see red. Did he hurt her too? Was she running from him?
Gaspare laughs while my men and I stand there in shock. Who is this woman?
I ask Hadley, “How do you know this man?”
“He works for my father,” she answers without hesitation while keeping her attention pinned on Gaspare.
Gio laughs, “Fucking finally. Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to figure out, Massimo? How is she linked to all of this? You’re fucking stupid.”
Fresh anger erupts inside me, so I punch him, knocking him out. I need to focus on Gaspare and my woman before I can deal with his treacherous ass. “Talk to me, Hadley,” I growl, losing my patience.
She turns to face me. “Isn’t this what you’ve been pushing me to talk about? I don’t discuss my father, ever. Remember what you told me, ‘ My past is in the past ?’”
I scoff. “Well, I need you to tell me how you know this guy. He’s involved with an international trafficking ring.” At my words, there’s a glimmer of shock flashing across her face before she’s able to mask it.
Fuck it—it’s now or never. I have to speak up. “Do you know about your real parents?” I blurt out and wait for her reaction while I keep my stare on my girl’s face. Gaspare starts to chuckle, rambling shit off in Italian, commenting how she’ll always be Colton’s princess and that no one can have her.
I’m ready to knock him the fuck out next, but Hadley pulls a gun out from the back of her pants and shoots him. The shot lands between the eyes, stunning me.
Everyone reacts, pulling their guns as well. My heart constricts with pride and affection. Love that I never knew could grow inside me begins to fill my soul. My lips tilt into a grin, so unlike me in a situation like this, but I can’t hold it back.
She drops her arm, turning her body toward me, and I can’t speak. I’m proud of her, and with the emotion, my smile continues to grow. She admits, “Colton is my father, but he was never really my father. I have no one I truly claim in that aspect. Or a mother, for that matter.”
Reaching for her, I tug the woman who’s managed to capture my heart to me. Face to face, I say, “ Bella , Colton was never your father in the first place. You were taken by Gaspare and Gio from your biological parents and then sold to Colton.”
Shock, followed by tears, fills her eyes as she takes in what I’ve shared, and her chin starts to shake. When I see hope begin to take root in her eyes, I rush out, “They were killed trying to save you. Your real name is—”
“Halona Tsosie,” Gio blurts out.
I hadn’t known he had come to. We both twist to look at him. His evil grin makes me itch to kill him, but we need answers before I can finish him off.
Hadley glances from Gio to me. When I don’t answer, the tears that had been gathering moments ago break free, strolling down her cheeks.
I squeeze her, needing to comfort her in some small way.
With a shaky voice, she begins to piece things together one by one. “You knew. Is this why you’ve been coming to the diner? Have you been watching me? But why ?”
I’m about to answer, but Gio bursts out, interrupting again, “He’s been trying to find out who the traitor in his ranks is.” He lets loose a laugh; it’s more sinister than anything I’ve heard before. “You call yourself the Boss , but you didn’t even know that I’ve been running this other enterprise behind your back. We’ve both been running this.” With the confession, Gio’s gaze falls on his brother. It’s at this moment that he finally realizes his brother is dead, not merely knocked out. I’d punched him out cold before Hadley shot his brother.
“No! What the fuck? Gaspare, Gaspare!” Gio’s face morphs from shock to downright murderous. “They will come for you. You will pay for this.”
His claim immediately has my attention peaking. “ Who will come for me? Please, Gio, do tell me. I thought you ran the show?”
Gio furiously spits, “I’ve been running the trafficking since before you became Boss.”
I can’t hold onto my cool any longer; I snap. “ Cazzo ! That can’t be.”
Gio laughs, mockingly once again. I really fucking hate this guy. “Yeah, you and Miro were too fucking stupid. Matteo knew his family would disapprove, so he set up a side hustle that no one could link back to the Uccello family. Gaspare and I have been running this ring for years.”
I interrupt him, “So if you run it, who will come for me?”
Gio keeps chuckling, gasping in between while I lunge forward and plant my fist into his gut. “The buyers,” he finally confesses after I’ve inflicted some fresh pain on him.
“Who else works with you or knows about this?” I demand.
“It’s all me and my brother. I told you already. We trust no one,” Gio says with pride. This stupid fucker has signed his death wish, giving me all the details I’ve been searching for.
Big John is on his phone, nodding to silently let me know he needs to talk to me.
Hadley steps forward, leaving my embrace. I let her go, even though the last thing I want is distance of any kind between us. She shifts closer to Gio, her gun thankfully still in her hand. “Did you know Gaspare used to visit me at all my foster care homes? He would—” she makes quotation marks with her fingers and the gun, “ check-up on me .”
Gio’s lips lift into a smirk once more. He’s too cocky for his own good. “Who do you think sent him?”
She steps even closer to him. “So you know he would terrorize me? I was so afraid my dad or Gaspare would find me for years.”
He snickers, wheezing from my hits. This motherfucker needs to die. Everyone in the room is stone silent, watching the events unfold in front of us. I hate this for my woman, but at the same time she needs to know.
“I guess I have nothing else to say to you then.” She straightens, her spine suddenly turning to steel, and she momentarily meets my gaze. I’m about to reach for her but pause as she lifts her hand and lets multiple bullets pepper him.
A tense but relieved breath escapes me, and the worry I’d been wearing fades once more. The next time she flicks her eyes to mine, I offer her a gentle smile. I love her, I’m proud of her, but worry over how everything is affecting her also plagues me.
“I’m sorry.” She whispers the apology. She has no need for it.
I reach for her as she lowers the gun. “Why would you ever be sorry? I’m more in love with you now than ever before.”
My admission shocks her. “You love me?” she asks, her voice shaky with emotion.
Pulling her to my chest, my arms circle her as I admit, “More than I’d like but fuck yes.”
She drops the gun to our feet, her arms moving to embrace me. Staring over her shoulder, I order, “Clean this up. Afterwards, go home for the holiday if you can.” We’ve been snowed in, but it’s beginning to melt enough for people to finally be able to leave.
Big John strides toward us, pausing, so I give him a nod to say whatever it is he needs to tell me.
“It’s done,” he says after a beat.
Hearing that makes me squeeze Hadley tighter. The man she thought was her father is now dead, as are these two brothers… in fact, everyone involved with her being taken and sold or in hurting her has been eliminated. I’ve expunged the traitors from my organization while, at the same time, protecting my woman.
“Thank you. Go home and be with your woman,” I order.
Emilio walks up next and pats me on the back. He knows how stressful this has been. We can finally catch our breath and spend the rest of the holiday with my son. They all deserve more than this nonstop danger, and I plan to do my best to give it to them.
I break our embrace just a bit so I can see Hadley’s face and say, “Let’s go home.”
Hadley
I am Halona Tsosie, and I had parents who loved me. They loved me so much they died for me. Tears drip down my cheeks with the overwhelming emotions those thoughts provoke. I’m standing under the showerhead, letting warm water cascade over my body. I needed something to break the chill I couldn’t seem to shake after learning of their fate.
After everything happened in the shed earlier, we came back to the house and checked on Amos. Once we saw him with our own eyes and knew he was okay, Massimo took me to his office, where he showed me all the intel he had found on me. He told me Colton had been killed recently and that his men had eliminated everyone else who may hurt me or has hurt me in the past.
We were both able to put the pieces together once he was honest and my true identity came out. The truth was more than just a name; it brought answers, some closure, hope, sadness, and more questions. The reality of my past won’t be an easy future for me to work through.
Shockingly, Massimo already knew almost everything about me, not just the information he’d been digging for, but the pieces of me now—my accomplishments, my goals, the debt I struggle with. He promised he’d send me back to school so I could get my cosmetology license if it was what I truly wanted. I was mad and happy at the same time. He knew so much about me, but I knew nothing about him.
He told me I had a lifetime to get to know him.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that I’m not born from evil but from love.
I am somebody. I’m Native American. I came from a good, loving bloodline, and not a monster.
Now, I need to let it all sink in—to find my inner peace.
We also told each other we love each other. Massimo already knows my feelings, but I had to remind him. I asked him if I would be able to go home, and he agreed. However, his stipulation is it’s to get my things and nothing more because Massimo wants me to move in with him. He can’t stand the thought of being away from me.
My heart is full, with my mind all over the place, but I do know one thing—I want to be with him. He makes me feel the safest when I’m with him, as well as if I’m truly seen by someone. There is so much we don’t know about each other… well, too much I don’t know about him, anyway.
We leave in a couple days to return to the city to his main home.
With the warm water from the shower still running down my body, I close my eyes, thinking about everything that has happened. How this man has stolen my heart and awakened something inside me. Seeing Gaspare made me face my fears and thankfully conquer them all at once, with Massimo by my side.
Thinking about Massimo, my body starts to hum with need. I wash over my face first, moving both of my hands down my neck, over my breasts, squeezing them, before moving down the rest of my body to cup my pussy.
“Ah,” I quietly gasp with the burst of sensation. Needing to relieve myself, I start to slide my fingers between my folds slowly.
Christ, I’m so aroused.
My pace speeds up, imagining it’s Massimo touching me at the moment. I close my eyes and bite my lower lip, feeling my release already building after only a few strokes. My breathing picks up as my heart beats double time, and moans escape me. I lean forward, placing my free arm against the shower, letting the water trickle and warm me as I pleasure myself.
Lost in the blissful sensations from my touch and the echoing of the shower as water pounds over my flesh to the floor, I don’t hear the shower door open. However, I feel his presence before he moves behind me.
Gripping my breasts in each of his hands, he pins me against the wall with his hard body. He confesses, “ Gesù! Bella! I need to be inside you now.”
Reaching behind me, I find his cock, gripping it. I guide it to my entrance from behind while pushing my ass out. In one hard, impatient thrust, he’s deep inside me.
We both cry out in ecstasy, then Massimo starts hammering into me. He’s needy, lost… almost possessed in his pent-up desire for me.
“Oh… yeah…” I purr. I’m so turned on, I’m panting, and with my other hand, I finger my clit. I lean forward against the wall to steady myself, needing the extra support.
Massimo thrusts faster, digging his short, blunt nails into my hips. He growls, “Fuck yes…” The resounding slap echoing in the shower from the water each time our bodies meet has Massimo unleashing his fury on me.
I cry out, whispering dirty words and thoughts to him in Italian. I remember what it did to him when he heard me speak in his native tongue, the excitement and pride that lit up his irises.
Massimo's breathing becomes labored with grunts and moans as his climax builds.
That’s it. Almost …
“Come, Bella . Come.”
My legs almost give out, but Massimo holds me up. Stars dot my vision from the intense pleasure hitting me full force, all at once. My body locks up, muscles turning to steel from the explosive orgasm as I brace, riding the wave. My pussy clenches around him, flooding his cock with my juices, and it sends Massimo over the brink.
Slowing his movements, his thrusts are long but gentle as we ride out our climax as much as we can.
“You’re mine,” Massimo claims breathlessly next to my ear.
My hand moves for him again, reaching behind to grip his neck. I pull him down a bit more for a kiss and reply, “Yes, and you are mine.”