Chapter 1
LEO
Sitting at a table in Nicolo Romano’s backyard for the man’s sixtieth birthday, I’m tired as fuck. Everyone’s dressed as if they’re attending a fucking presidential ball.
“Just another thirty minutes, then we can head home,” Massimo, my right-hand man, murmurs beside me.
Letting out a huff, I glance over the guests. I recognize most of the people, most of them giving me cautious looks. My gaze comes to a stop on Nicolo. Watching him laugh makes the urge to kill him grow deep inside my gut.
I’ve hated the man since I was sixteen because my gut tells me the fucker played a role in the attack that changed my life for the worse. But, I can’t kill Nicolo until I have solid proof, and it grinds against my soul that I haven’t been able to find any.
After I survived the assassination attempt, it was to learn my father had been killed. Just like me, my mother survived the gunshot wounds meant to kill her.
While I suffered a crippling blow, Romano tried to take over the organization, but Massimo was a powerhouse none of the fuckers saw coming.
My guard ran the organization and taught me everything I know until I was able to take over as the head of the Italian mafia.
Now he’s my right-hand man and the only person I trust one hundred percent.
He saved me in more ways than one. Without him, I wouldn’t have survived the attack and the harrowing years that followed.
I lost my best friend and his parents during the attack, and Carina vanished without a trace.
Carina. Stellina mia.
Even after seventeen years, my heart still squeezes painfully in my chest. Not knowing what happened to the precious little girl, who held my heart in her tiny palm, will haunt me until the day I die.
If it weren’t for the photo I have of her and Diego, which has an honorable position on my bedside table, I would’ve forgotten what she looked like over the years.
I was also able to take a few things like Carina’s stuffed unicorn, Bella, from the Messinas' house.
Every once in a while, I look at everything, wondering what things would've been like if the Messinas hadn't been killed because of me.
“Did you get a gift for your mother’s birthday?” Massimo asks.
My eyes flick to him. “I got her a shit load of those diamond-dot things she loves.” She has an unhealthy obsession with that hobby of hers. She framed a few and tried to get me to hang them on my walls, but that’s where I put my foot down. So now she donates them to the local charity.
He lifts his eyebrow at me. “Is that all?”
“No. I also got Mamma the handbag she asked for.” I glance around at the festivities again. “What did you get?”
“Perfume.”
I let out a chuckle because he gets her the same thing every year.
After the attack, I only had Mamma and Massimo. The three of us had to build a new life together. My mother lives on her own, not too far from Massimo. I wanted her to stay with me, but she refused, saying we both needed our privacy to do our own thing.
While I stare at a group of women who are dressed to the nines, my thoughts jump from one topic to the next.
Suddenly, Massimo asks, “Are you thinking about marrying Liliana?”
Drawn out of my deep thoughts, I give him a what-the-fuck look and grunt, “Huh?”
“You’re staring at her and her friends.”
There’s no fucking way I’ll ever tie myself to Nicolo’s only daughter. Shaking my head, I check the time on my wristwatch. “You know I’m not interested in getting married, and even if she were the last woman on Earth, I wouldn’t consider her.”
“Are you enjoying yourself, Leo?” Giada, Nicolo’s wife, asks as she comes up behind me.
“Of course,” I murmur politely, glancing up at her as she comes to a stop beside my chair.
There’s a woman I haven’t seen before at Giada’s side, and before I can wonder who she is, Giada says, “I’d like to introduce you to Dakota. She’s Santo’s widow.”
Not recognizing the name, I mutter, “Santo? Should I know who that is?”
She playfully touches my shoulder while letting out a chuckle, which annoys the living fuck out of me. “Nicolo’s brother. He died of a heart attack recently, so Dakota and her daughter came to visit us.”
This is such a fucking waste of my time, but remaining polite, I just smile at the women.
Honestly, I wasn’t aware Nicolo had a brother.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Dakota says with an American accent.
“Likewise,” I murmur, before glancing at Massimo and adding, “As much as we’re enjoying the evening, we have to go.”
Giada’s face falls. “Are you sure? It’s still early.”
As we climb to our feet, Massimo says, “We have a meeting to attend.”
Yeah, the only meeting I have tonight is with my bed.
I give the women a nod before we walk toward Nicolo. When he sees I’m heading in his direction, he quickly excuses himself from the couple he’s talking to.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving,” he says with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand.
“I have a meeting,” I give him the excuse Massimo came up with.
“Such a pity.”
Yeah, right.
I stare at him for a few seconds before I murmur, “Enjoy the rest of your party, Nicolo. Tell Luciano I’ll see him on Tuesday, and he better not be late.”
“He’ll be there.”
A look of warning tightens my features. “He better.”
Walking away from Nicolo, we head toward the veranda, and as we enter the house, a young woman I’ve never seen before comes down the stairs.
Her brown hair has blonde highlights, and she has big, brown eyes that make her look fucking beautiful. She’s wearing a shimmering pink dress that fits her full body like a second skin. Desire ignites in me as I take in every sexy and fuckable inch of her.
Christ. Wouldn’t mind having her in my bed for one night.
Those big brown eyes of hers lock with mine, and I feel a punch to my gut. There’s an innocent air about her, which is something you don’t find easily in my world.
The image of those big eyes staring up at me as I fuck her senseless has a fine layer of sweat breaking out over my body, and my cock hardens at the most inconvenient time.
“Haven,” I hear Liliana call from behind me, making a smile spread over the woman’s face. When a dimple appears in her left cheek, a stab of pain squeezes my heart, and the burst of desire vanishes real fucking fast.
Carina had a dimple like that.
“Our moms want to take a photo with us,” Liliana says. “You look so gorgeous in that dress.”
“Thanks,” Haven replies, her eyes darting to me.
When she sees I’m looking at her, she quickly smiles at Liliana again, a nervous expression tightening her features slightly.
I rip my eyes away from the beautiful woman and walk toward the front door.
She must think I’m out of hearing distance, but I can hear when she asks in a soft tone, “Who’s the man in the blue suit?”
Hmm. American accent. She’s probably Liliana’s cousin.
“Leo Toscano,” Liliana answers, her voice tense with caution. “Hot as hell, but not someone you want to get involved with. Come, let’s go.”
“Hot is the understatement of the year,” Haven murmurs.
The corner of my mouth lifts as I leave the mansion and take the steps down to the driveway.
“Hot as hell,” Massimo scoffs before chuckling.
“I can’t help that women throw themselves at me.”
He rolls his eyes as we reach the Ferrari. “Next time I have to attend anything with you, bring the Porsche. I struggle to get in and out of this fucking car.”
“Old man,” I taunt him while opening the driver’s side door.
Folding his body in half to get into the sports car, he grumbles, “Old man, my ass.”
Massimo is the furthest thing from an old man, but I like to give him shit. He’s one of the best fighters I know, and he never misses a shot. The man is nothing short of a killing machine, and I’m lucky to have him by my side.
Once I’m seated behind the steering wheel, I press the button and the engine roars to life. I steer the Ferrari past all the other cars, then mention, “I wasn’t aware Nicolo had a brother.”
“If I remember correctly, the brother left Italy to live in the US when he was young. The family was upset because he married an American woman and didn’t want anything to do with the business.”
His phone beeps, and it has him struggling to pull the device out of his pocket. He reads the message, then says, “Franca says the kids want pizza. Will you stop at Basile’s?”
“Sure.”
Massimo married Franca the year I took over as head of the mafia. She’s the only woman he has eyes for, and she has him wrapped around her pinky.
Even though I’m twelve years younger than Massimo, he’s made me Leandro and Amara’s godfather. I love the kids like they’re my own.
I listen as he calls the local pizzeria and places an order so it’s ready for us to collect on the way home. Tucking his phone back into his pocket, he asks, “What were we talking about?”
“Nicolo’s brother.”
“Right. I think the woman we saw coming down the stairs is Nicolo’s niece.” He glances at me. “Santo’s daughter.”
“I guessed as much, but it’s difficult to believe,” I mutter as I take a left at a set of traffic lights. “Haven looked nothing like the American that Giada introduced us to, and I assume Santo resembled Nicolo.”
“Liliana didn’t turn out too bad, and she’s a Romano.”
“Liliana got her good looks from Giada.”
“True.” He shrugs. “Maybe the niece takes after an aunt or uncle on her mother’s side?”
“Yeah.” As I drive toward the coast, Haven’s beautiful face pops into my mind. I’ve seen my fair share of gorgeous women, but there’s just something about her that draws and holds my attention. It’s actually unsettling.
It’s her big brown eyes that are filled with a world of innocence.
And the dimple.
“She must’ve made one hell of an impression on you for you to remember her name,” Massimo teases.
“I might not be interested in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind.” Shaking my head, I force my thoughts away from the woman and think about the upcoming attack on Vito Santoro. “Do you think Luciano will come on Tuesday?”