Chapter 3
Romero’s new fiancée looked every bit the part of a grieving widow at Carlo”s funeral days later. Black suited her. But he was sure any color suited her.
Lucrezia quietly cried, and parts of him chafed against not being able to soothe her the way he wanted, at least not publicly.
Another part of him wanted to march over to her, demanding to know that her tears weren”t for the coward in the box who got her into this mess in the first place.
Of course, Romero could have been the cause for those salty droplets he was aching to lick from her round cheeks.
He took the honor of saying some words at the church podium, pulling stirring compliments and kind endeavors regarding Carlo Russo right out of his ass. The undertaker did well to cover up the bullet hole in the man”s head. But of course, hundreds of crisp bills newly in his pocket would ensure that; and a closed casket so as not to upset the poor widow.
The view from the stand gave Romero an exemplary angle of Lucrezia with the sun casting down over the stained glass from her right.
God, where had she been his whole life?
All of the alcohol, money, and power in the world couldn”t compare to her face behind that sheer, black veil. He had decided there that he would instruct her to buy a beautiful, flowing veil with the money he would give her to purchase a wedding dress.
Lucrezia would absolutely fight him. But he wanted her in the finest he could afford.
Once the burial was complete, Romero offered her an embrace, whispering in her ear that she would meet him at his gymnasium no later than seven p.m.
Just as quickly as he ordered, he left her sweet arms and disappeared. But he adored how her perfume clung to his suit.
Romero wanted to test her to see if she could follow his commands.
Being the wife of a boss had its glitz and glamor, but Romero had enemies everywhere.
Rivals were easy to accumulate when the majority of boat captains and rum runners were on his payroll. He had his secret clubs, restaurants, his tailor shops, of course, his warehouses where he employed the finest brewers.
The gambling business is where Carlo Russo got in trouble with him, though. But if he hadn”t, then he supposed he never would have met Lucrezia.
He hoped the bastard was rotting in hell right now.
Romero tapped his fingers against his chair with each tick of the wall clock in the gymnasium. The sound of his men knocking their boxing gloves faded in the background behind his thoughts of his new fiancée. If she was late, he’d redden her ass until she cried.
Of course, not without holding her and making it all better afterwards.
But lucky for her, right on schedule, the heavy door of the gym swung open, and there she was, still in her black get-up.
Her gaze instantly fell on Romero, and he crooked his finger at her when he stood.
He watched as she took a deep breath and straightened her back, approaching him with careful steps.
Romero kissed her in front of all his men, deciding sooner rather than later would be best to show them who she belonged to. There would be no question in her mind as well, as her delicate hands were pressed to his chest. Not strong enough to completely shove him away, of course, since one of his hands was held above her tail bone, and the other on the back of her neck.
Romero drowned her with himself, caging her in like a frightened dove; or now perhaps a raven in her black clothing.
He opened his mouth and swallowed her soft gasps, pulling her in deeper by her lower back.
Lucrezia frantically pulled away, his aggressiveness becoming too much for her. So, he backed off. But he hated how quick she was to leave his arms.
”Mr. Mancini!”
When she nervously looked around, she saw that his men wisely made themselves scarce now that she was here. Not to mention the bullet lodged in red-headed Dante”s skull saw to it that not one of his men spoke to her in a menacing way or so much as even looked at her sideways.
Romero tutted.
“That isn’t what you’ll call me, piccola perla, but we’ll get to that later. You listened, though. That”s a good girl.”
He caught how she pressed her thighs together, as much as she thought her skirt would camouflage it.
”Did I have a choice?” She straightened her dress and rubbed her kiss swollen lips.
”Of course. You could have chosen not to come, but then I would have driven to your house, thrown you over my shoulder, and brought you here myself.”
”How romantic,” Lucrezia grumbled with a cross of her arms and an eye roll.
So, Lucrezia had an attitude. It seemed out of character given her upbringing with those God awful parents of hers. She would hardly take a breath in their presence.
”It wouldn”t have been about being romantic. It would have been to see to it that you follow my orders, willingly or unwillingly. You”re safe in my company, but I can”t be everywhere all at once, perla. This city is filled with men who want what I have. Some are just boys trying to make their mark with this ridiculous liquor law. Others will do whatever it takes to see me out of power.”
Lucrezia worried her lip. He hadn”t meant to scare her, but he wouldn”t start this marriage based on lies.
She was smart, so she must have known what he and his men were. And there was an infinite number of ways he could make money by giving people the liquor they wanted.
”Am I going to be in danger by being your wife?”
”Not as long as I”m fucking breathing.”
He gripped her hips and pulled her close. No more screwing around. When she struggled, he growled in her ear.
Romero heard a tiny squeak, and she ceased her fight. It was better that she knew he would never let her go. Not now, not ever.
”When I tell you to do something, chances are it”s because I want you to be safe, Lucrezia. So if I want you to get down, I need you to do that. If I want you to come, you come. If I say stay, you stay. You hearing me, perla?”
Lucrezia”s eyes began to well, and he forced himself not to be moved by her tears. At least not right now. This was for her own protection.
”Let me hear it. Say, ”I understand, Daddy.’ Say it. Not Mr. Mancini.”
He cupped her chin again, just waiting to hear those words.
”I understand…Daddy.” She breathlessly obeyed him, her breasts heaving beneath that dress that he was dying to rip off of her.
He rewarded her with more kisses. This time, she melted into him like he had been aching for her to do from the moment he laid eyes on her.
She was learning to submit to him.
”Come up here with me. We”re going to watch the fights from my office.”
Romero took his fiancée’s hand and led her up the rusty metal staircase to his office overlooking the boxing ring.
”Wait, what fights? Why did you bring me here?”
Lucrezia struggled to keep up with his stride in her pumps.
Before he could shut the door behind him, one of his men called for him from the lower level.
He was pulling on the chain to open up the loading dock. One of his drivers was backing up a truck filled with the stock that was due to be delivered days ago. When he narrowed his eyes, he saw that there was fluid leaking from one of the boxing bags, and his blood boiled.
Romero cracked his knuckles in agitation. The bags were supposed to be fucking idiot proof. He didn”t need the feds breathing down his neck.
His capo was already giving the driver an earful for him.
”Damn it to hell. You wait here, I have to go deal with shit-for-brains down there. I want you right in this spot when I come back. ”
He pushed her down by the shoulders into a chair somewhat smaller than the one behind the desk. She didn”t know it yet, but he”d be bringing her here often and sitting her right there by his side where she belonged. Like a queen”s chair next to a king.
He pointed to the ground.
”Stay.”
With a turn of his back, Romero flew down the stairs, shaking the whole joint with his weight before he prepared to knock his runner”s teeth out.