Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
CIRO
I can’t wipe away the smile from my lips as I touch the shock collar around my throat. I meant it when I told Verona that I’d give her the remote, and she’s now in the next aisle looking for sheets.
The only person who noticed the collar was Pablo when I kissed him before I left. My black button down is open, and it appears as if I’m wearing a choker. While it doesn’t completely work with my more casual look with my black pants and loafers, I don’t give a fuck what people think of me.
I only gave Nico shit for his outfit choice the other day because I live to stir the pot. I’ll gladly continue to wear the shock collar for Verona if it keeps the peace between us and maybe helps her feel as if she’s in control of something.
The nesting store Verona and I are currently at is huge. There’s all kinds of things here, and some of the knotted toys make me grin, while Verona turned bright red. That’s adorable.
Being a single alpha male, sex toys and I have become intimately familiar with each other.
We started the morning with Rosalia’s favorite pastry, much to her surprise. Dario easily pivoted and went out to the bakery that makes them the way she likes them, and Verona told Rosalia that her father didn’t deserve to ruin the important things.
So we are having a do-over day. This is also helping Dario’s need to fix things through motion and acts of service.
He needs to be a part of some of it while he goes through his day to settle his fear of missing out.
I haven’t told anyone about my late night, rain soaked conversation with Verona, and I don’t think I will.
She’s so desperate to feel like she’s capable of being what Rosalia needs, I’m considering broaching the topic of self defense. Maybe it’s something I can do with both her and Pablo to get them to spend time together.
Grappling with each other by getting sweaty on the ground could lead to some seriously hot moments, right?
While Dario fixes things, I enjoy throwing gasoline on the fire to see how pretty the flames look.
I find myself straining to hear Verona as her sandals walk along the floor, wanting to give her a little space to think. I keep noticing that Verona is choosing miniature sized items, and I suspect that Rosalia is serious about wanting a small, contained area for her nest.
Ruminating on that, I wonder if her nest in our home in Michigan will have to be a hidden area so that she can feel safe.
I had a moment early this morning to talk to Nico, and he mentioned that he noticed Rosalia and Verona are careful to lock the bathroom and bedroom doors.
Rosalia lost the “privilege” of privacy, and the burrow of a nest may revolve around having space she can control and protect against intruders.
Presented to me like this, it makes more sense.
I’m about to pull out my phone to add another item to Dario’s to-do list when a shock hits me through the collar.
I put it on the second strongest setting when I was checking how intense they were, and my vision darkens as I collapse onto the floor.
Gritting my teeth, I drag myself to the end of the aisle, managing to stumble to my feet before turning the corner.
Something is seriously wrong. There’s no reason for Verona to shock me unless she needed help. Her finger must be mashed against the fucking button, because continuous shocks pulse through my body as I fight to keep moving.
“Verona!” I yell, seeing that she’s being dragged away by an angry woman.
Glancing over her shoulder, I see relief shining in her eyes, along with tears, and only one of them pisses me off. Her finger slides off the remote, and I take a deep breath as I walk closer to the altercation happening.
“Verona, stop making a scene, or I’ll have to get the police involved,” the woman with cruel eyes says. Verona is silently pulling away from her, shaking in fear. “Your stepfather is looking for you everywhere! He said you ran away after the wedding. Be obedient and heel!”
“Signora,” I growl, catching up to them. Verona doesn’t seem as if she can speak, though she continues to struggle against the older female alpha’s grip. “I believe there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“Stay out of this,” the old woman snaps. “This is a family matter.”
Well, that’s not going to be possible.
“You see, I am going to need you to send back a message to Don Accetta,” I croon, my fingers pulling back one of the bony fingers digging into Verona’s skin. “Verona, I need you to take a breath before you pass out, okay? Now, where was I? Oh right.”
A quick, strong twist snaps the finger I’m holding like dry kindling, while I keep an amiable smile on my face. We’re in a section of the store that’s currently empty, but that could change at any time.
“How did you find Verona?” I ask, keeping the old woman from fleeing. Pain fills her eyes, but I have no compassion for bullies and assholes.
“This is Rosa’s aunt,” Verona rasps. “She is very influential in the community.”
“So she’s a gossip with lots of eyes in this city. Got it.”
I snap another finger for shits and giggles, my eyes narrowing in disapproval and anger.
“Here is where the misunderstanding occurs,” I drawl, adopting a southern accent I don’t have and never will.
“You are attempting to kidnap a member of the Domino pack, which could be considered an act of war. Verona is now part of my family, for better or for worse through Rosalia’s wedding to my eldest brother, Nico.
Do you want to be responsible for turmoil in such a tender and new merge of families?
If you do, I can start with snapping your neck and ending your miserable life to really get that party started. ”
“I’m not important enough to start a war over,” the woman says quickly, tears of pain rolling down her weathered skin. She’s wearing too much makeup, and reminds me of a skeleton.
Worse, she’s still touching Verona, and that simply won’t stand.
There’s no soul in this body to set free, but I think I make a damn good attempt at ending her life.
“I suppose we’ll have to see if that’s true or not.”
Without another word, in between the bedsheet and wallpaper aisles, I snap her neck. It’s a damn sight better than she deserves, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Oh shit,” Verona whispers, watching as I catch Rosalia’s aunt’s body and lift her into a bridal carry.
“Be a gem and open the door, would you? It’s right past the aisle you were just in.”
Whenever I’m in a building, I search for the exits. It’s simply good practice because you never know when you’re going to need to duck out.
My long legs eat up the distance to the exit, and Verona follows beside me. She’s taller than her stepsister, and just manages to keep up.
“We need to discuss how to get away from someone attempting to drag you out of a public place, Verona. I’m glad you got my attention by shocking the fuck out of me, but why didn’t you yell? I would have heard you.”
She cringes as she shoves open the door, and I’m thankful it’s not an emergency exit. Pulling a box with my foot, I push it into the open space of the doorway so it won’t shut completely behind us.
“My voice froze,” she admits, her dress tangling in her legs as she bites her bottom lip nervously. “It was all I could think of to push the remote control you left me. Did I hurt you?”
“You definitely got my attention,” I mumble, walking toward the dumpster.
“If you’re in a public space, I want you to scream, drop your weight to the ground, kick and flair.
Pretend you’re a toddler having a tantrum.
Be too much trouble for them to take you, and get as much attention to yourself as possible. Why did you freeze?”
“That woman is the reason Rosa was raped by her father’s men,” Verona snarls. “I froze because she scares the fuck out of me. She’s a small degree of separation from my stepfather, and I just survived an attack from him.”
Goddamned it. Rosa and Verona are both going to need so much therapy.
“She died too fucking fast,” I sigh, tossing the alpha in question into the open dumpster like the trash that she is. I make certain she doesn’t make it all the way in, because I want her to be found. Her arm flops out of the top, and there’s hair in view.
I need to tell Nico about the stand I just made. It may accelerate our plans, but I doubt he’ll be angry. We have a lot of people pissed at us, and Don Accetta will already be in line to get either his pound of flesh or cash.
Oh well, when in doubt, a photo of a body is worth a thousand words. I send it to Nico, smirking as he sends me a middle finger and a request to be debriefed when I get back.
“Why did you claim me as part of your pack?” Verona asks, pulling my attention as I tuck away my phone. “I don’t understand.”
“Don’t play dumb, Verona.”
Her eyes widen at the way I purr her name, and I decide I may not dislike her as much as I once thought. Her company is quiet but comfortable in the silence, and she tends to sing under her breath to the radio.
The holier than thou attitude she gives off must be a protection tactic, but it doesn’t do her any favors in our pack. We’ve had to rub elbows with a lot of people who think they’re better than us, and it grates on our nerves.
“Let’s finish shopping so you can set up her nest, even if it is just in the closet,” I say wryly, pulling open the door to allow her to enter first.
“Maybe I should shock you again,” she mumbles, returning to her abandoned cart. “I didn’t get to enjoy the flopping around you must have done.”
“A Domino doesn’t do anything so undignified,” I laugh.
It does cross my mind that never once did I think about ripping off the collar, but I refuse to think too hard about that.
“What’s next on your list?” I ask, brow raising.
“It’s hard to imagine the space without photos,” she admits, and I pull out my phone to procure those for her.
Dario sent me the listing on the drive over here, and I easily hand over my phone to her.
“Anything else?” I ask.
“You’re kind of insufferable.”
“Careful, my head inflates when complimented.”
The words fall off my tongue without care, while Verona shakes her head as if refusing to allow them to land.
“Why is it you’re so insistent on disliking us?” I ask.
“You’re mafia men, and therefore can’t be trusted.” I imagined she might think that, so I follow her once she has an idea of how large the closet to the room she’ll share with Rosalia is.
I made sure to give her the room with the larger closet, because Pablo, my brothers, and I can make do with whatever is available.
“That’s quite the broad stroke you’re using to paint with,” I muse.
“You should sit in on our meetings with the other crime families we’re talking to about the trouble we plan to stir up in Savannah.
I bet you’ll see how wrong you are. You may find you know more people than you think, and they hide in plain sight.
Not everyone is as bat shit crazy at the Accetta’s, or at least we’re a different brand of it. ”
Verona’s shoulders hunch as she nods, and we spend the rest of our time silently shopping.
We haven’t been asked once if we need any help, and I think people have been actively avoiding us. My guns are well hidden, but I’m also not hiding the fact that I’m dangerous.
It’s probably for the best that we haven’t had anyone approach us, as Verona is perfectly capable of finding what she needs, while I’m not in the mood for the worried staff.
I feel a buzz in my pocket, and I pull out my phone to find that I have a text from Dario.
Peacekeeper
Did you kill each other yet?
“My brother wants a proof of life,” I chuckle.
“Which one?” Verona asks, twisting around to face me. Her navy blue sundress shows off her body well, and I take the photo sending it to Dario before telling her who requested it. “Oh. He doesn’t like me. Is he disappointed that I'm still alive?”
“No. Keeping you alive is simply good pack politics,” I tease her. “Can’t have one at all if we manage to lose both the females within it.”
“That’s not true,” she says, rolling her eyes. “If you mention breeding Rosa in my presence, you’re going down like the sack of shit I believe you to be.”
“Please, continue to fight with me. It gets my dick hard.” I ignore the shocked glances around me as I begin placing our items down to be rung up by the cashier.
My cock loves it when I fight with people, and I refuse to acknowledge that it might have something to do with Verona as well.
“Ew. Cocks are gross.”
The cashier has difficulty not smiling as she concentrates on her job, and I shrug.
“I have a hand, Verona. I don’t need you to think it hangs the moon. I’ll be jerking off in the next room while you’re setting up the nest.”
“And they say romance is dead,” she murmurs, surprising a bark of laughter out of me.
Hmm. I guess this isn’t romantic, but I’ve been single a long fucking time. Romance is an atrophied muscle inside of me, weak from never being used.
I wait until we’re in the privacy of the SUV with all our things packed away in the trunk before continuing our conversation. Entering the address to our new rental into the GPS, I say, “Personally, I think murdering people who touch what isn’t theirs is plenty romantic, but what do I know?”
Turning up the radio, I decide to call this a draw as I’m met with stunned silence.
There are six people in this pack, multiple personalities and prejudices. Nothing about this is easy. While Dario is content to ignore Verona and Rosalia, I know that isn’t going to last for long.
Sometimes, the drawing of first blood leads to really good sex. All I know is that we’re in for some rough waters. It’s a good thing I can swim well.