40. Massimo
Chapter forty
Massimo
C ornuto .
I didn’t let her get a reaction from me, but I was burning inside to wring her little neck and fuck her silly.
Tullio will likely be displeased to find out about my independent actions and the delayed notification. But dealing with Alessia takes precedence. She faces severe punishment.
Right now, though, I can’t even look at her. I had to jump inside a separate vehicle from the airstrip to go home. I cannot stand her dry tone and bitter remarks as if none of this holds any weight. Her stupidity and immaturity and lack of self-preservation…
“Oh, shit!” my guy behind the wheel shouts and slams on the brakes as we all brace ourselves.
My head whips around to the vehicle Alessia is in behind us, watching it roll. My heart plummets, and I’m already out the door before we’re even safely on the side of the road. I run towards their vehicle as it does one more roll and comes to a stop on its side.
“Alessia!” I slide down the slight decline in the grass. Vinny kicks out the windshield and starts crawling out with blood coming from his head. I ignore him to climb up on the car.
“She fucking attacked Bruno,” Vinny groans.
“Fucking—” I growl and punch out the broken glass of the side window so I can peer inside. If she isn’t dead, I’ll fucking kill her. The little psychopath. My hands around her slender neck are getting more and more enticing. Choking her until she passes out, only to let her wake up to do it again. “Alessia!”
“Shit.” I hear her whine and see movement under the limp body of one of the guys riding with her. “I didn’t exactly think that through,” she utters under labored breath.
“Can you move?”
“I think so. Hold on.” I see her push the guy off her and then put her fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. “Got a live one!” She has the audacity to try and lighten the mood with humor.
Shaking with rigorous rage, I lean my upper body over the edge of the broken window and reach down for her. She hisses when she gets up to her knees and goes to reach her arms up but quickly snaps them back down with a look of pain on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“My ribs are definitely broken, and possibly my arm too.” She moans in pain and falls to her butt.
“Well, suck it up and give me your fucking hand,” I snarl, patience long gone.
“Oh, let me just hop to it,” she sasses. “Give me a fucking second.” She gets up on her knees again. “Can you at least throw the key down so I can uncuff myself? It’ll make this a hell of a lot easier.”
“Should’ve fucking thought about that before you decided to try and kill yourself.”
She glowers up at me in response and is quick to realize I’m not fucking around. So, she ungracefully gets up to her feet and lifts her elbows so I can scoop her up from under her arms. When I begin to lift her, she chomps down on her bottom lip and whimpers some.
“Is everyone else okay?” she murmurs as I cradle her and begin making our way to the vehicle still in one piece and right-side up.
“Like you fucking care?”
“Just asking,” she mutters, refusing to look at me.
She doesn’t deserve a fucking answer, so I don’t give her one. Let her sit and wonder. Even though I’m infuriated and want to fucking kill her, I’m gentle with her as I place her into the car.
Vinny didn’t look good when I passed him, but he’ll have to stay back to clean up his fucking mess because it’s he who let it happen. He knew to keep a close eye on her.
As soon as I’m settled in next to her, we’re on the move, and I call the doctor to demand he meet us there as I tune out Alessia’s ragged breathing. As soon as I hang up, I uncuff her wrists. She’s not going anywhere for a while.
Pulling up to a stop in front of the estate, I gently cradle her in my arms again, and she has the nerve to fucking chuckle. “This totally backfired on me.”
An avalanche of words tumbles from my mouth, their content lost to me in the heat of the moment. I have never been so angry in all my life and never thought I could be so angry at her . I thought I could lock her inside my bedroom, removing anything and everything that could be used as a weapon, but her complacency has pushed me beyond my endurance. She wants to act like an insolent ingrate, then I’ll deal with her the same way I would a prisoner, until she’s begging for me to restrain her to my bed instead.
“Wait, where are we going?” I don’t answer. “You’re not really going to keep me down here,” she says as I descend the basement stairs. Her voice is hoarse, and she’s obviously in a lot of pain since she’s not struggling against my hold.
“Until you come to your senses.”
“And by senses?”
“I mean, until you’re ready to behave.” Meaning begging and pleading because that’s what it’ll take for me to let her out.
“Then I guess this is home sweet home for me.”
One of the things I love most about her is her ferocity, but does she have to be so fucking bullheaded? I can’t tell if her lack of fear of death comes from courage or a belief she’s untouchable.
After the doctor’s assessment, I help her change into some clean clothes. Broken ribs, a broken arm, and a shit ton of knots, bruises, and cuts up and down her body. But she’ll live. Doc gave her some pain pills, and as soon as I got her settled into her tiny cot, she passed out without any more of her caustic sass. The woman’s tongue is the most wicked thing I’ve ever had to tolerate. But I do because she’s still mine. My love for her remains in every bone and blood cell in my body, no matter how tempted I am to kill her.
“How is she?” Komodo’s voice rings out when I close the door to Alessia’s cell and slide the lock into place.
Heading over to his cell, I crank the latch and open it. Gesturing with my arm, he walks out. “She’s home, and other than the consequences of her actions, she’s safe. I’ll help you get out of the country.”
Some in my position may want to tie up loose ends, but Komodo, although not entirely ethical, is straightforward and reputable. Completing every job with discretion and immediate precision. He’s still useful.
He claimed that if he had taken the hit on Alessia’s head, it would’ve caused him more grief than to disobey The Organization. I call bullshit. I know I am not an enemy you want, nor are the Bonetti’s, but everyone knows there is no going against The Organization. Whatever his ulterior motive may be, I couldn’t give two fucks, because Alessia is alive and now home.
So, I sit and have a drink with the man. “You do understand that they will not just forget about her.”
I nod as I stare at the condensation forming on the glass in my hand. Even though they failed to eliminate Alessia, and she has returned to De Luca territory, they won’t cease their efforts to send more for her.
“I would offer to stick around to assist in any way, but I’m afraid they’ll sis their enforcer on me.” That catches my attention. “They’ll send whatever other mercenaries they can muster up to come at you guys, which I know you can handle, but you won’t be able to shake their ultimate weapon.”
“And you can?” I arch an eyebrow.
“I’ve been studying her for years now. It’s best to know your competition well.”
“Her?” He nods once, and I cast him an appreciative glance. So, Russia’s most infamous assassin is a female. I snort when Alessia immediately comes to mind.
After we finished our drinks, I sent him on his way with what I could give him. Then out of respect, I plan to meet with Tullio in person to update him on the latest with his lovely sister.
We’ve been on great terms for the last few years, and I’d like to keep it that way. We’ll once and for all become family in the very near future.
“Massimo. How are you?” Tullio says as I take a seat in his office the next day.
“I’ve been better.” More so now. “I’m here to let you know that I have Alessia.”
“Excuse me?” He leans forward with a deep frown on his face.
“Do you know what your sister has been up to over the years?”
He sighs and rubs at his eyes, looking aged and overworked. “I have a feeling I won’t like it,” he mutters.
I recap on the last two and a half days, from Komodo’s impromptu visit to Alessia’s new profession to the attack on her and to the part where she almost killed herself in the car accident.
“How the fuck didn’t we know what she was doing?” he spits as he paces on his feet. Then he comes to a stop facing me. “And why the fuck am I just finding out? You needed to fucking tell me as soon as you knew!”
I keep my cool. “There wasn’t time, Tullio.”
“ Cazzata ! A phone call would have sufficed!”
“My mind was a little preoccupied.” I couldn’t focus on anything else but getting to her in time.
“Where is she now?”
“Home.”
“ This is her home. I want her here.”
“No,” I don’t skip even a fraction of a beat. “She’s perfectly safe with me.”
“She’s my fucking sister, De Luca. She isn’t yours anymore. You gave her up, remember?”
Exhaling, I stand to my feet and button my suit jacket. “And you did too.” If I don’t extricate myself from this office soon, I will lose all self-restraint and elicit every bit of resentment I’ve had towards him since he talked me out of going after her as soon as we let her go. “We were wrong sending her away the way we did. Because of that, she almost got herself killed.” She did try to warn us all, as did Santino.
“I want to see her,” he says more calmly, giving in and consigning his sister over to me.
“Sure. Come by tomorrow.”
“No, I want to see her now.”
“She’s resting. Tomorrow will be better.”
“De Luca,” he growls. “I need to see for myself that my sister is safe.”
“I think you should be worried about the safety of your mother and the others first. They could be planning to get to her through them.”
His eyes widen slightly as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to him yet. “ Cazzo .”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I excuse myself and head back home.
I have a scorned woman I need to tend to.