Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
EMILIANO
W e landed in New Hampshire about ten minutes ago. Valentina slept the entire flight. Romiro walks toward her, but I stop him and shake my head. I pick her up, making sure that I support her head.
She’s easier to manage when she’s asleep. I head to the jet's exit, and when the flight attendants see me, their eyes widen in shock, but they don’t say anything. They are under strict instructions not to involve themselves unless asked.
I slowly take the steps to make sure that I don’t wake the little hellion in my arms. The gravel crunches under my shoes, the sound of a plane taking off in the distance as the soft fall breeze blows a strand of Valentina’s long black hair onto her face.
Izaak opens the door of the car once I reach the ground. I thank him and lower Valentina onto the seats, removing the strand off her face. Adjusting her blanket, I make sure she’s covered.
Romiro follows closely behind us and sits in the front seat. That leaves me with the seat next to Valentina. I slide in, making sure to keep some distance between us. The car seats are uncomfortable to lay on, so I reluctantly move her head onto my thigh. With her hair splayed all over my lap, I feel an urge to wrap it around my fist. Pulling me from that thought, Izaak moves into the driver's seat and starts the car.
“Lucio called when you were in the gas station,” Romiro informs me. I meet his gaze in the rear-view mirror.
My fingers toy with the ends of Valentina’s soft black waves as I ask, “What did he say?” Romiro must have stayed quiet because he didn’t want to speak in front of Valentina when we were in the car.
“Dom is on the verge of waking up,” he tells me, but I know that’s not the only thing Romiro has to say so I wait for him to finish talking. “He also mentioned that girls are dropping dead one after the other, and all of them have had sex with Lucio recently. Absolutely skinned.” What the fuck. Who would target girls Lucio just fucked for the fun of it?
“Get Costa on it. I want to know who the fuck is pulling this kind of shit in my territory,” I say as I rake my fingers through the soft curls attached to Satan’s spawn. I wonder what noise she’d make if I tugged on her hair as I fucked her. Clenching my jaw, I shake my head, pissed my mind keeps going in that direction.
“Will she stay at Tartarus?” he asks, tilting his head in Valentina’s direction. I shake my head at him. Rom nods once before opening his mouth, but our conversation is cut short when a little groan comes from the brat laying on my thigh. I yank my hand back to my side as she stirs before she slowly sits upright.
She looks around, a bit dazed, her wavy hair getting in her face. When I reach forward and push it back, her face morphs into a scowl.
“Don’t touch me,” she spits out before turning toward the window. I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to grab her by the throat and teach her how to speak to me. But I opt to ignore her.
It doesn’t take long for us to reach the house. The iron gates open inwards, and we drive in until we stop in front of the fountain. Opening the door, I step out, giving Valentina my hand, but she opens the door on the other side instead.
I run my hand through my hair and pull a bit, trying to release some frustration. We head up the stairs, toward the entrance doors.
Romiro reaches the security pad that’s embedded in the wall and enters the security details. A beeping noise alerts us that the doors are now unlocked.
The door opens to the entrance hallway, the floors made of marble and the walls a soft celadon. I can hear the voices of Lucio, Mara, and Matteo speaking as they make their way out of the living room and into the hallway.
“Of course not, Lucio. You can’t expect me to be happy about you going after my friends.”
Mara probably had to give Lucio another lecture about backing off her friends. It never works. Lucio opens his mouth to argue, but they spot us and head our way. Lucio and Matteo come closer, but Mara stays behind. her eyes darting around the room.
“You finally made it. What took you guys so long?” Lucio seems to have the answer to his question as soon as his eyes land on Valentina.
“Oh, uhhh…Hi. I’m Lucio.” He rubs the back of his head as he introduces himself to her. She gives him a small smile.
“Hi, I’m Valentina.”
Matteo doesn’t seem like he’s going to introduce himself to her any time soon.
So, Mara decides to take a tentative small step forward and says, “Hi, I’m Mara, and this is Matteo.” Valentina gives her a bigger smile than she gave Lucio. Something bitter swirls in my mouth as I watch them interact.
“That’s enough, she’s not a guest. Mara, I want to have a word with you soon.” I cut their little get-together short and grab Valentina’s arm.
As I quickly walk ahead, our steps ring out against the marble floors. I turn to the left door to the side of the living room entrance and let the scanner scan my face. After entering the code, the door opens with a click into the dim hallway, which has six different doors. Each door leads into four cells. The white marble turns into dark granite and the walls become a deep forest green. I open the door to the far right and motion for Valentina to get in. She does, but only after sending a scowl my way.
“How creative, I’ll be staying in a cell. Again.” Her voice drips with sarcasm, but I can hear a hint of fear in her voice. Ignoring her, I walk to the nearest cell and unlock it.
“Get in,” I order. Valentina crosses her arms over her chest.
“No.”
“No?” My mouth twists into a snarl as I repeat what she said back to her. She doesn’t seem fazed by the look on my face as she tips her chin up again in that fucking holier-than-thou way.
“Yes, no , I will not go into that cell just because you want me to.”
“Listen here, you little brat, getting in the cell isn’t an option. Now get in there, or I will drag you kicking and screaming.” I pause for half a minute to see if she’ll walk in by herself, or I’ll have to pick her up.
To no one’s fucking surprise, she doesn’t listen and glares at me. I throw her over my shoulder for the second time in the span of forty-eight hours, which she insults me for.
“Put me down, you imbecile.”
“Deal with it. You brat!” I throw back. It takes me two seconds to get her into the cell and to set her down onto the concrete floor.
“You son of a b-” I cut her off before she even thinks of insulting me and my Mom.
“I’m warning you, if you call my Mom a bitch, I will gut you like a fish. Behave yourself, you’re not a guest in this house.”
She recoils at my tone and goes to sit on the slab of concrete with a sheet over it that she’ll call a bed tonight.
“I didn’t do anything. I have nothing to do with the Outfit’s business,” she says once I reach the cell door. Her voice is meek and small.
I don’t turn, but tell her, “You may have nothing to do with the Outfit’s business, but your Dad is the Capo of the Outfit.”
“So that is enough to deem me guilty. Tradition says to not involve women and children in the wars.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about tradition. The Outfit violated my territory and killed my men. For that, someone has to pay.” I don’t wait for her reply. I lock her cell door and leave.
Romiro is waiting just outside. He’s leaning on the wall, as if he’s on the cover of some magazine.
“How’d it go? I heard you guys shouting at each other.”
I don’t answer him, so he follows me into the living room. I head toward the glass doors, which lead into our back garden and the pool area.
The house is eerily quiet since it is close to two-thirty in the morning. Everyone is asleep and the bite of the mid-October wind nips at the tips of my fingers. I run my palm down my face. Exhaustion will definitely play a hand in my decisions tomorrow morning.
I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do with a brat like that. I thought that she’d be docile, but instead I got a bitch specially carved and raised by Satan himself.
“Hey. You should probably rest,” Romiro says, standing in the doorway. I nod and tell him he should head home as well. Which he does, after a moment of hesitation. I decide it’s time I get out of my suit and head toward my wing.
Taking two steps at a time, I find myself standing in the hallway of my wing, which has different pictures of me and Ma from when we were younger. There are also other pictures of me with other family members. I don’t understand why Ma insists on hanging these pictures in my hallway.
I finally reach the double doors at the end of the hallway, which open into a personal living room. I loosen my gray tie and throw it on the couch facing the fireplace, heading to the mini bar near the far wall, but then decide against it and step back over to the couch.
I grab the water pitcher and down the warm water as I sit down. Wiping my mouth, I grab the remote that controls the fireplace and turn it on. Then I reach for my gun holster and plop it down onto the coffee table in front of me. I turn the TV on next and go to the news channel. The corners of my mouth lift as I listen to the news anchor speak.
“The daughter of businessman, Alvize Moretti, has been kidnapped. It is unknown who the kidnappers are, but the young Miss Valentina Moretti had been last seen at the Chicago City Country Club in Chicago for the celebration of Moretti Industries.” Businessman, my ass. I roll my shoulders and put both my arms on the back of the couch, but my hands hang off the edge. I need to get a bigger couch.
I decide to go change and have a shower. Flicking the light switch on, I wince at the state of my room. Papers are all over the room, my bed sheets dangling off my California-king bed, and clothes are spewed all over the place.
I need to tell Ginevra to clean up my room soon. For now, I step over the chaos and head to the doors that lead into my bathroom. The bathroom’s state isn’t any better than the bedroom, but it's less of a mess that I’m able to shower and dry off.
I open a cupboard which I keep extra clothes in and pick a set of gray sweats and a wife beater. Leaving my hair wet, I go to my home office to get some work done. The clock on my office wall reads four-thirty now, which means I have a couple of hours before everyone is awake.
* * *
It’s already eight in the morning and over forty-nine hours since we successfully kidnapped Valentina Moretti.
Before going downstairs for breakfast, I open the system that’s hooked to the cameras in the cells. Valentina is pacing the cell like a trapped wild animal, and I suppose she is, in some sense.
With a sigh, I close the tab and head out of my office and toward the dining room, but the noise from outside indicates that my family is outside eating breakfast since the mornings in New Hampshire have a nice cool breeze. Before I reach the glass doors, I can hear the voices of Romiro and Lucio behind me.
“Sup, Eli. I called Costa like you wanted. He’ll be here around eleven for the thing you asked,” Romiro informs me once he sees me. Lucio looks confused at what I might want from Costa that he can’t know. I nod at Romiro and open the glass sliding door and step outside, both of them trailing behind me.
I spot Ma and Aunt Clarissa both sitting at the garden table, talking. They enjoy sitting outside in the mornings and evenings year-round. I guess they enjoy the scenery. Our garden is still lush, even though it is the middle of October.
My Mom spots me as I head in their direction, and her face breaks out into a wide smile, her blonde hair in a braid on her shoulder.
“Mio figlio, where have you been? I miss you.” I bend down and kiss my Mom’s forehead.
“I had some business to deal with, Ma.”
“You always have business to deal with. Spend some time with your poor Mom.” She’s trying to guilt trip me because I’ve been gone for two weeks since their vacation started, but I ignore the little remark and sit across from her next to my aunt.
“Hello, Aunt Clarissa,” I greet her and lift her left hand to place a kiss on her knuckles.
“Always a charmer, Emiliano,” she says as she places her right hand on her cheek.
“Boys, why don’t you join us?” my aunt asks both Lucio and Romiro. They both look at each other, then look at my aunt and Mom, then shrug and sit in the two chairs between my Mom and me.
“How’s Dante been?” I direct the question at my aunt, since I know my Mom will try to sugarcoat the situation.
“He’s been improving, but the issue is, he keeps trying to move his arm and do heavy lifting around the house. The doctor said he’s not allowed to do that. He risks opening his stitches and causing more internal bleeding.”
I shake my head. Dante Folonari has always been a stubborn man.
Mara and Matteo both stand near the glass doors, staring at us for a second before deciding to join us. Mara stops near Ma, but Matteo goes and sits near Lucio.
“So, why is that girl in our house?” Mara knows who Valentina is, but she’s acting coy. She’s trying to inform our ma and aunt indirectly.
My Mom looks at me with a raised eyebrow and asks, “What girl?”
“No one important,” I say at the same time Mara also says, “Valentina Moretti.”
Ma’s eyes widen at the mention of the eldest daughter of the Moretti’s. I shake my head and send a glare at Mara.
“Why is she in the house, Eli, and what will you do with the girl?” Ma’s question comes quickly with a hint of warning.
“She’s staying in one of the cells in the house instead of the Tartarus. She’s what we’ll use for an exchange with the Outfit for her cousin,” I answer.
“We don’t use women as bait, Emiliano. Women and children are innocent in the wars between the Camorra and the Outfit. Honorable Made men don’t use women to punish the men in their families,” my aunt says, and I can see my Mom agrees with her as she nods.
“I don’t care what honorable Made men do. I am the Capo of the Camorra, nothing less and nothing more. And I will do all that I can to protect my territory, my people, and avenge those who died in the name of the Camorra. If I need to use a woman to extract my revenge on the Outfit, then so be it.” My voice holds no room for argument.
“Romiro, we’re leaving,” I tell him as I get up out of my seat. ??
I head inside and make my way into the kitchen, where the staff are making food.
“Lydia, please make me a plate of food,” I tell our head kitchen maid. Everyone continues their work, but Lydia and Ginevra stop what they’re doing. Lydia, to do what I have asked of her, but Ginevra comes toward Romiro and I and bats her lashes at me while giving me a coy smile. Ignoring her, I don’t return the smile.
“Emiliano, when did you get back?” she asks me.
“Ginevra, go back to your work, and next time you don’t ask me questions that don’t concern your job.” My voice is icy. Ginevra needs to understand that just because I slept with her once doesn’t mean we’re an item. It's been three months and she’s married. Not that I cared in the first place, but still. ??
Lydia heads our way after she’s done putting together a small plate of two eggs, some goat cheese, turkey bacon, and two pieces of toast. I grab the plate and kiss her cheek. Lydia has worked for the family before I was even born, for my pops before he married Ma. As I head toward the left hallway, Romiro follows me.
“Are you going to follow me around like a lost puppy?” I mumble once we reach the door that leads to Valentina’s cell.
“Whoa, just say you want some alone time with the beauty you have in one of the cells and I’ll leave. Besides, you asked me to follow you.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me when I turn to glare at him.
“Go, make sure that the cameras are working around the house. I want to know how that little shit Mara was able to leave the property without anyone noticing,” I order him. He shrugs and heads out of the hallway. Opening the door, I walk in to see her still pacing around the small cell she’s in. Her heels have been ditched in the corner of the cell, her hair frizzy and all over the place. She doesn’t seem to notice me until I’m unlocking her cell door.
“I brought some food for you. Eat.” I lift the plate to emphasize my point and take a couple of steps toward her. She was short when she was in heels, but now she’s even smaller.
“Would you like me to get on my knees and beg for mercy?” she asks me, my stomach tightens at the image. I ignore her and hand her the plate, which she takes and turns to sit on the concrete slab. I’m still standing in the same spot when she looks up at me.
“Are you just going to watch me eat?” she asks condescendingly. One day, I’m going to teach this brat a lesson. Swallowing roughly, I turn and head back to her cell door. ?
After locking it and leaving, I head to my office to make some calls. To no one’s absolute surprise, the Outfit has spread their soldiers on the borders of their territory. Waiting to strike back.
* * *
My phone rings around an hour after I've gone back to my office. It’s a Chicago number. I guess the Morettis are tired of waiting.
“Capo of the honorable Outfit is calling me himself, that’s a surprise.” Each word drips with sarcasm after I pick up the phone call.
“You fucking bastard. Give me back my daughter, or you’ll pay the price.” His threat doesn’t faze me. In fact, it bores me. I was expecting better than this. What a shame.
“Now, now, no need to throw a temper tantrum. You are a grown man and Capo of the prideful Outfit. I’m hoping you enjoyed our little show. I sure did.” I end the call, but before I do, I make out some cursing and a woman crying in the background.
A knock sounds at my door.
“Enter.” My command is loud and clear. I don't look up to know who has entered my office. Ginevra. Her lavender scent fills the room. She rounds my desk and comes to stand before me.
I push my chair back, and she bends her right knee, resting it between my legs as she hovers with her face inches from mine. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, trying to appear seductive, but she looks anything but. Wrapping my hand around her throat, I give it a small squeeze, at which she moans. Her breath skitters over my lips, and she tries to close the distance, but I don’t let her, holding her in place by her neck.
“You want this?” I ask her to make sure she knows what she’s getting into. She nods eagerly.
“Use your words, Ginevra, or I’ll throw you out.” Her eyes widen at the threat.
“Yes.”
“Yes what?” I ask.
“Yes, I want you to fuck me,” she breathes.
“So vulgar.” I tsk before pulling her to me. Our mouths fuse together and my tongue darts out to run over her bottom lip, which I tug at. I swallow each moan that leaves her mouth, but something doesn’t feel right. Reaching for my sweats, I shove her hands off me. I don’t know what I’m doing until I’ve dragged Ginevra halfway across my office and have the door open with her over the threshold, and me slamming the door in her shocked face.
Romiro calls me, and I pick up with a groan.
“Costa is here,” he says.
“Send him to my office, and I want you here as well. Also, tell Silvio to set up the camera and sound system near the front and back entrances.”