Chapter Six
Lorenzo
I still had the scars on my body from where the belt had struck me all those years ago.
They were faded and hidden beneath the myriad of tattoos that covered most of my back but they were there.
I didn’t notice them anymore, and the physical pain that had caused them faded away a long time ago into a distant memory.
But for whatever reason, Bianca bringing them up made me acutely aware of each one of those scars that I kept hidden.
She had a way of doing that to me; maybe it was the reason that she was able to get under my skin so thoroughly that nobody else could. Her nearness set my veins to boiling; it had since the day I started to notice her as a girl instead of a little sister like I always saw Giana and Nicoletta.
I’d fought my urges where she was concerned for a long time, ignoring them, keeping my distance from her, and irritating her just to ruffle her feathers.
When Luca Morelli called us into that meeting and told me that he would be offering his daughter up in marriage as a sacrificial lamb to the Arias cartel, I wanted to pull out my gun and shoot him in the head then and there.
The thought of her marrying another man was what sent me over the edge.
I wasn’t going to fight against my need for her anymore. I was going to embrace it.
The only thing that saved the head of the Morelli family was the fact that Romeo and I were outnumbered and most likely outgunned in that meeting.
We might have been able to get rid of one or two targets, but there was no way we could have survived them all, which would have left his sisters vulnerable to the men in the room anyway.
I took a deep breath to regain focus, then pulled the SUV back onto the highway toward Atlantic City.
The two and a half hour drive seemed to last forever.
Bianca and I didn’t talk about our past or the future; one was painful, and the other was uncertain, so I talked to her about the thing she loved most, dance.
“You don’t talk about the people you dance with much.” It was a statement more than a question, but I was curious as to why.
“There’s not much to tell since I don’t associate with them outside of dancing.
” She shrugged it off, but I glanced away from the road and at her gorgeous face.
Damn, she was beautiful. She had full lips that I wanted to see wrapped around my cock.
Her eyes were the color of warm honey, and her chestnut brown hair had caramel-colored highlights which complemented both her eyes and her complexion.
There wasn’t a woman more beautiful than Bianca Morelli.
I’d always remembered her as quiet and reserved after that incident happened when she was six, but I didn’t think it affected her in the way it obviously did.
I tried to remember her before that, when I had gone to the Morelli family home with my father.
At the time, I didn’t interact with her too much; I would mainly hang out with Romeo while our dads did their business dealings and meetings with Gino.
“That’s why you’ve always been so reserved and quiet except when you’re around your sisters, brother, and me? Because of what happened when we were kids?”
“It was my fault he did what he did.” Her voice cracked. “I was going to step forward to tell him that it was me and not you, but Romeo stopped me.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she delicately wiped it away. “I never apologized to you.”
The Obsidian Shore Casino Romeo and I had dealings with them in the past, but for the most part, we were at peace with them.
Most importantly was the fact that they had a grudge against the Arias Cartel.
The enemy of my enemy was my friend, for now at least. That was my thought when I booked the room.
I wasn’t about to announce to the Russians we were there, so I used a fake name just in case, figuring it was an added layer of protection knowing that the cartel wouldn’t be bold enough to fuck with the Russians on their own turf.
We were in line waiting for the valet when I said, “You don’t owe me an apology, and Rome did what I would have wanted him to. He protected you and your sisters. It’s always been our job to keep you girls safe from your dad.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t have had to, Lorenzo. That’s the point. That’s why I wanted out. It’s never been your job or Romeo’s to protect us. That was our father’s job. We shouldn’t have needed protection from him.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have,” I agreed with her.
“But you act like the only bad parents are the ones involved in the mob. It’s not true.
Watch the news, and you’ll see stories about kids being mistreated, and their families have nothing to do with mob life.
There are just shitty fucking people in the world, Bianca.
There are preachers and teachers who abuse children, and they have nothing to do with this life. ”
She was quiet for a moment. “That’s true, but someone who’s involved in a violent world to begin with has a greater chance at being violent toward someone they love.”
Her thinking was skewed thanks to her dad. I sighed. “Do you think Romeo would ever hurt you or your sisters?” I asked her point-blank to make her really think about what she was saying.
“No, Romeo would never hurt us intentionally.”
“Do you think I would hurt you or your sisters?” I held my breath, hoping she would answer the same way she did for her brother.
“No, you wouldn’t hurt us either,” she admitted.
I let out the breath I was holding while I waited for her answer.
“There’s a lot of shades of gray out there, Bianca.
” The sports car in front of us moved as one of the valets took off to park it, so I pulled forward, and another valet in a navy vest with gold accents and a gold tie stepped up to my door.
“Wait for me to come get you,” I muttered to Bianca before opening the door and handing the valet cash, along with the keys. “Park it as close as you can.” I added another bill to the ones I’d already given him.
“Yes, Sir. May I get your bags first?” he asked, eager to please in hopes of getting an even bigger tip than the one I’d already given him.
“No. I’ll grab the bags,” I assured him as I moved to walk around the front of the car and to Bianca’s door.
I opened her door and held my hand out for her. She took it and expected me to let her go, but I didn't. I pulled her in close to my side and nuzzled her hair as I whispered, “There are cameras, and we’re in love, remember?”
Technically, there was no reason for me to hold her so close; the cameras were just an excuse.
Nobody knew where we were or what we were up to.
I’d disengaged the GPS in this SUV a few days ago and reported that it needed to be fixed so that I would have an excuse for why they couldn’t track us by the SUV.
They would have to track us with the phones, and I’d hacked both to show we were staying down at the Blackwater Crown Casino, which belonged to the D’Angelo family, another Italian family that had worked with the Morellis for years.
The father died in a car crash years ago, and the son took it over.
The father had been a good man, but the son was just as bad as Luca Morelli, so we didn’t trust him as far as we could throw him.
I walked to the back of the SUV and opened it, reaching in for my duffel bag and her hard suitcase. “Did you pack enough?” I winked at her, and she blushed.
“I didn’t know what to wear to my wedding since I don’t have a wedding dress, and we aren’t getting married in a normal way.
” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
I made a promise to myself that one day I would give her the actual wedding she deserved.
She should be treated like a princess on her wedding day and not like a dirty little secret.
“You’d look good in a paper sack, Bianca.” I handed her the handle of her rolling case and shouldered my duffel, then reached for her free hand. To the world, we looked like an ordinary couple and not a couple being forced into an impossible position to keep each other safe.
“May I get your bags?” another hotel employee asked as we walked through the automatic doors, our hands linked, our arms and shoulders touching.
“You can take hers if she wants, but I’m good with carrying mine.” I gave the woman a nod of thanks.
“No, thank you.” Bianca smiled politely. “I’m fine.”
The employee walked away to offer assistance to another patron coming in behind us.
It was the first time I’d ever been in the casino.
The polished navy marble floors with gold veins.
Front and center was a large curved reception desk where a few employees were helping guests.
The marble from the floor extended onto the desk, but had warm wooden and brass accents and soft gold lights.
The logo for the resort was in brass behind the two employees.
There were several couches in the lobby that were long and curved around a massive electric fireplace. They were plush and looked inviting; several guests were sitting and talking as they sipped on drinks that were likely free to encourage the spending of more money.
By the looks of this resort, the Russians were making bank. It made me wonder why they would ever have dirty business on the side.
“Welcome to Obsidian Shores.” The woman behind the desk smiled with genuine warmth as we approached to check in.
“Mr. and Mrs. Reed,” I said, pulling out the clean ID and credit card to match.
“Sure.” She quickly typed the information into the computer and smiled.
“I have you down for the Onyx Suite on floor forty-two.” She quickly magnetized the cards to open our room, then stuck them in an envelope.
“This is a map of the resort, along with a brochure with all of our amenities. If you need anything at all, just let us know. The number for the front desk, as well as for your floor butler, will be by the phone in your room.”
“Thank you.” Bianca smiled at the woman and accepted the folder as I signed the receipt with an illegible scribble.
“You’re welcome. Do you need assistance with your bags?” she asked, and Bianca giggled and covered her mouth.
“No thanks, we’ve got them.” I gave the woman a small smile and headed toward the bank of elevators that was just off the floor of the casino.
When we stepped away from the front desk, Bianca laughed again, not bothering to hide it. “They really didn’t want us carrying our own bags.”
I smirked, glad she sounded more relaxed than she had in the car.
Bianca was stressed over the fact that we were getting married in the morning, and the fact that decisions for her life were being made by everyone but her.
I couldn’t say I blamed her, but I would try to ease the burden of it from her shoulders as best as I could.
She would have more freedom with me than with the cartel for sure.
“I will say this for Obsidian Shores, if nothing else, they are worried about customers' right to carry.” It was a double entendre for the gun that I had hidden in my duffel. Bianca must have picked up the meaning because she chuckled softly as we entered the elevator hand in hand.