Chapter 30
THIRTY
Lissia
The expression on Marchello’s face when he took that phone call looked disturbing. If my father had taken out another of the Accetti shipments, Marchello would have to retaliate, and I would have to stay out of it.
I couldn’t get in the middle. As much as I hated it, I had to control my impulses and stay out of this war. I had to let Marchello figure it out.
Hmm… when did I become so mature?
I wish I didn’t have to be an adult. It was much easier being a clueless brat.
After a steamy, relaxing shower, I slipped on a pair of comfy pajamas, crawled into bed, and waited for Marchello. He better have one hell of a reason for keeping me waiting twenty minutes after we got engaged.
Despite the time difference, I called my mother. I was too excited not to share this news, but she didn’t answer. She was either passed out from too many martinis or she’d found a hot Greek god to spend the night with.
I hoped she’d had too many martinis and then passed out in the arms of a Greek god.
I gazed at the incredible rock on my finger. Lissia Accetti. Mrs. Accetti… Mrs. Marchello Accetti. Mr. and Mrs. Marchello Accetti.
Holy shit. I’m getting married!
What would my father think?
Why do I care?
Because no matter what, he was still the man who raised me. The first man I ever loved.
What had changed him? Had he always been so self-absorbed and power-driven? The answer to that question was yes. I was just too spoiled and too busy throwing tantrums and spending money to see it.
It wasn’t until Marchello called me out on my behavior and made me take a long, hard look at myself that I realized I had plenty of growing up to do. I didn’t always like the woman I had become, but I could move forward. I could be a better person.
Impulse took over when I grabbed my phone and called my father. This was supposed to be the happiest night of my life. Marchello and I should be celebrating with our families. Instead, his father was off to parts unknown and my father was responsible for bringing a man into our lives who now wanted to sex traffic me.
How the hell did we get here?
The call went to voicemail. “No!”
Was he ignoring me? Had he really cut me off? Did he mean it when he said he wouldn’t forgive me?
“Daddy, it’s me,” I said. “I know you don’t want to talk to me right now, but I have a few things to say, and I hope you’ll not only listen, but you’ll hear me. Because I think that’s all I’ve ever really wanted from you.”
Oh wow. More adulting.
“Things got out of control when you demanded I marry Danny. I acted out when I went to Marchello. I never expected all of this to get this crazy, but here we are. I don’t want to rehash everything. We both know what has happened, and I don’t know if we’re ever going to come back from this.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted him in my life. Not after he tried to kill Marchello. It might take a really long time to heal those wounds.
“I do know that I don’t want to be in the middle of this war. I don’t want there to be a war. Marchello says there can be no peace as long as he and I are together, but I don’t believe that. The optimist in me wants to put all of this behind us.”
I glanced at my spectacular ring, letting the meaning of what it represented sink in. It was a new future. A chance to move forward.
“He asked me to marry him tonight, and I said yes. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to accept that, but I need you to try. If you can’t ever forgive me for the betrayal you think I committed, that breaks my heart.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes. This conversation was too much.
“If you can’t be happy for me, I’ll accept that, but if you want to do something for me, back off and leave the Accettis alone. Because if you come for them, you come for me. I love him.”
My breath caught in my throat because I understood the finality this message would cause. Once I hung up, there was a possibility that I would never hear my father’s voice again. He was too proud to forgive such a betrayal, especially coming from one of his own.
“Anyway, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I want Marchello to be wrong about us never having peace because I want that for all of us. Bye, Daddy.”
I ended the call before I sobbed into the message.
My father is there somewhere. I wasn’t sure how, but I wished with all my heart that someday we could find a way to come to an understanding. We wouldn’t have the relationship we once had, but I refused to believe that this was it for us.
I didn’t think I could ever forgive him, but maybe there would be some kind of chance for us in the future.
* * *
Marchello
The first job my father took me on, I was sixteen. Vulnerable and impressionable, I wanted more than anything to be just like him.
“Don’t tell your mother,” he’d said as we turned the corner. “She has other plans for you.”
At thirty, I was still striving to be him. And tonight, he proved I wasn’t there yet. Because if I was, Gian would have been looking into my eyes before he died. My father would not have had to come home and finish the job I started.
“Chello.” Milo’s voice pulled me from my grim thoughts. “What’s our next move?”
I had forgotten I was on the phone with him.
Fuck! I had to stay focused.
“We have to take responsibility for this,” I said. “The other families will fall in line once they realize the Accettis ended this war.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
I didn’t want to have to do it, but I had a responsibility to my family. Lissia was my family too. Once the dust settled, she would understand why this had to be done.
“It’s what I have to do.”
I gazed down the hallway, dreading what I had to do next. Telling Lissia that her father was murdered tonight wasn’t going to be easy, especially not after the way they left things. She was going to need a lot of therapy after this.
“Once we restore order to the organization, we’ll regain control,” I said. “The Feds will back off, and we can start moving shipments again. We have to get both cartels to trust that we can do what they need us to do.”
“I’m sure Dad knew we would figure it out and take the next steps.”
“He would be disappointed if we didn’t.” I cleared my throat. “I’ll bring Lissia to the main house tonight. It’s more secure there. I don’t want to take any chances.”
“With Collins?”
“He might use Gian’s death as an opportunity. He’ll think we’re too distracted to protect her. She’s going to have enough to deal with.”
“I don’t envy you,” Milo said.
“Just make sure we have enough security.”
“I’m on it.”
“Thank you.” I leaned against the banister. “Have Lucas meet us there. It’s going to be a long night. We have to make sure the other families know we’re not after them. I want business as usual.”
“I’ll call Ricardo too. He’s still at his mother’s, but I’m sure he’ll want to be here for Lissia.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “She leans on him.”
“Do you think I should make sure Dad’s room is in order?” Milo asked. “In case he comes home.”
I wanted more than anything to have him back on the throne, but we weren’t there yet. We still had much to do to save this fallen empire.
“Don’t alert the staff that he’s back in town. Wait for him to contact us and see what his next move is going to be.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “If he did make it back to New York, he was focused on the task at hand.”
“That’s what he does.”
“He may have gotten out of the city already. If the cops come sniffing around us, we don’t know where he is. We haven’t seen or spoken to him.”
“I’ll have them contact our attorney.”
This hit had our father’s signature all over it. He knew how to be discreet. He didn’t alert me or Milo for a reason. He got in and out. Now, it was my job to make sure his efforts weren’t for nothing.
“Did you pop the question?”
“Yeah.” I should have known happiness wasn’t in the cards tonight. “But now I have to go and tell Lissia she has to plan a funeral instead of a wedding.”
“Go do what you have to do,” Milo said. “I’ll be at the house when you arrive. We’ll take things from there.”
I ended the call and shoved my phone into my pocket. The news of Gian’s death would break soon, and I needed to shield Lissia from the details as much as I could. No matter what had occurred between them these past few months, he was still her father. I had to be sensitive to that.
When I entered the bedroom, her phone was ringing.
“Don’t answer that.” I hurried to the bed and snatched it from her. “Not now.”
“What?” She held out her hand. “It’s my mom. I want to tell her our news.”
I sent the call to voicemail.
“You can do that later.” I sat on the bed across from her, taking her hand in mine. “I have to tell you something, and you have to hear it from me.”
“Oh no.” She twisted her hair around her fingers. “Did my father do something to provoke you again? Did he intercept another shipment? Really, Marchello, this has to stop. We can’t live like this.”
“No, we can’t.” I placed my palm on her cheek. “Men like your father, my father, me, Milo…we deal in a brutal business. Things we do come back to bite us. There are consequences we have to pay. Regrets we can’t come back from.”
She turned and kissed my wrist. “My father is on his own. I won’t plead his case. After we left the other day, I told him whatever happens between the two of you is business. It has nothing to do with me.”
“You don’t have to plead his case.”
There would come a day I would have to plead my father’s case if I wanted to keep her by my side. But right now, I wanted to spare her the immeasurable heartache that was headed her way. The pain my family caused her.
Her phone rang again, then the text messages began coming in at a rapid pace.
“Who is blowing up my phone?” She tried to get a glance at the screen, but I turned the phone off and tossed it on the bed. “What are you doing?”
“Listen to me.” I was never one to stall, but saying these words to her face, knowing I was going to hurt her, wasn’t anything I ever wanted to do.
“Marchello, tell me what’s going on. What did my father do?”
“He didn’t do anything.” I placed my hand on her shoulder. “He’s never going to do anything again.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was killed tonight.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Lissia.” I studied her blank expression. “He was murdered.”
“I just left him a message. I told him we were getting married. He didn’t answer. I thought he was ignoring me.”
Her voice was steady and her expression calm. Was she in shock? Did she expect this? Was she trying to be strong?
“Come here.” I pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”
She looked up at me, searching my eyes for answers. Would she ask the one question I wasn’t sure I could answer?
When she rested her head on my shoulder, holding me like she might never let go, relief settled inside my gut. I accepted my role as her protector, her lover, and anything else she needed me to be.
No matter how ruthless our world could be, I would stand with her in her darkest days ahead. Once her grief subsided, I would still be there.
But when she learned the truth, would she want me there?
The End for now.
Continue reading the Cruel Empire Series with book three, Dangerous Intent .
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