Chapter 3
Maria
Ifeel his eyes on me before I even see him. A slow heat crawls up my spine, an unshakable awareness that I’m being watched. I turn my head slightly, and there he is.
Massimo Messina.
Seated near the front, looking like sin in a perfectly tailored suit. His jaw is sharp, his dark hair pushed back just enough to seem effortless. He’s not even trying, but he commands attention without saying a word, just like his dad next to him.
I swallow hard, forcing my hands to stay steady as I finish lighting the candles.
This is not happening.
Not here. Not in my uncle’s church.
Uncle Dominic steps forward to begin his homily his voice filling the space. "We must guard our souls against temptation, for sin comes in many forms. It is easy to be led astray by those who walk the wrong path…"
I know he’s talking about them.
About the Messinas.
I glance up, and Massimo is still watching me.
A slow, knowing sneer curves his lips.
My breath catches. I turn away, gripping my hands together in my lap, praying to God that he doesn’t see what’s happening inside me. Because it is everything that shouldn’t be there.
Throughout Mass, with every fiber in my body I keep my head down, so I don’t glance towards him again, and try to push every thought to the back of my head.
The moment Mass ends, I bolt toward the back of the church, hoping to slip away before—
"Maria," my uncle calls, and I freeze. Slowly, I turn to face him.
He stands near the altar, speaking with a group of men dressed in dark suits. Powerful men. Dangerous men. Men maybe my father, a man of the Lord, shouldn’t be talking to, but is.
When I returned home last month, I had only heard their name in passing, whispered at the church, spoken in my uncle’s sermons about corruption, muttered in warnings from the older women in town.
But it was Jo who told me the truth.
"The Messinas own this city, Maria. You don’t see it because your father kept you away, but trust me nothing happens in Blackstone Hollow without their say-so. Every business, every police officer, every goddamn thing you see. It’s theirs."
"And Massimo?" I had asked hesitantly.
Jo scoffs. "The worst of them. He’ll chew you up, spit you out, and laugh while he does it. Stay away from him."
I wanted to believe her. I really did, because before Uncle Dominic sent me away, she was my best friend. We grew up together, and talked all the time, even when I was away.
My parents died when I was young, and in the will it was written that I would live with my uncle and not my mother’s family.
The moment I came, he sent me away to a boarding school.
He always told me it was the best for me, and to keep me safe.
Safe from who, I don’t know and every time I tried to ask, he would change the subject.
Now I’m back and standing here, meeting him properly, feeling the weight of his gaze on me.
Massimo Messina is standing in front of me, looking at me like he already owns me.
Jo’s words replay in my mind. Stay away from him.
But I already know I won’t, or he won’t stay away from me.
Because something tells me Massimo Messina isn’t the kind of man you can stay away from, nor is he a man who doesn’t get what he wants.
I recognize Massimo’s father, Giovanni Messina.
His reputation alone makes most men fear him, but standing in the house of God, he wears a mask of civility.
My father speaks to him like an equal, but I know better.
My father preaches about sin, but Giovanni controls it and I’m sure his son has learned from him.
Massimo leans slightly back, hands in his pockets, watching me. The smirk from before is gone. Now, his expression is unreadable except for the sharp glint in his eyes.
"Come here, Maria," my uncle says. "I want you to meet the Messinas properly." I step forward, swallowing hard. "This is my niece, Maria," he introduces. "She come back home now, and will finish the last few weeks here."
Massimo’s lips twitch slightly, but he doesn’t speak. His father, Giovanni, nods approvingly. "A pleasure, Maria."
I force a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, sir."
Then, uncle Dominic turns to Massimo. "And this is his son, Massimo."
I already know who he is.
I’ve known him from the moment he touched me last night at the party, his voice dripping with sin when he whispered Hello, Angel.
But now, I have to pretend I don’t know him. I say nothing, but a small smile spreads on my lips.
Something flickers in his gaze, and then a devilish grin appears.
Like he knows this is a game, and I’m already losing.
I wasn’t supposed to meet them. This wasn’t meant to be how my life was going to be planned out.
My father has already got me married to someone he has approved of, but I don’t think Massimo is going to let that happen.