Chapter One Drea #2
After Marco kissed me on the lips, Vittoria smacked the back of his head. “That’s enough of that, lover boy.”
Vittoria then grabbed my hand and dragged me into the bathroom. I threw one fleeting look back at Marco, and he waved. Once I was jerked into the bathroom, Vittoria slammed the door.
After shoving the toothpaste and toothbrush at me, she grabbed the hairbrush and started taming my bed hair. After one harsh pull of my hair, I winced.
Ignoring my pain, Vittoria demanded, “How could you be so foolish to sleep with a man under your father’s roof?”
“I’m sorry,” I genuinely replied.
“And with my nephew! Do you know what could happen to him and to me if the two of you were discovered?”
I spat out the toothpaste and fought not to vomit. “Yes,” I murmured.
“Then how could you endanger us like that?”
“I’m sorry.” As a tear slid down my cheek, I said, “I love him.”
Vittoria stopped tugging the brush through my hair. “Dios mio,” she muttered again while once again making the sign of the cross, but this time while holding the hairbrush.
“And he loves me.”
Vittoria slammed her eyes shut. “Enough. I cannot talk about this anymore. The two of you are going to give me a stroke, and then I’ll never get to be a grandmother.”
Since I didn’t know what else to say, I muttered miserably, “I really am so, so sorry.”
After twisting my long, dark hair into a tasteful bun, she pursed her lips at me in the mirror. “Somehow I don’t think you are.”
When she whirled around and stomped into the bedroom, I followed her. Marco had apparently dressed in record time because the suite was empty.
Vittoria produced a demure dress from my closet. Although I hated dresses, I obediently went about pulling it over my head. As Vittoria fluffed it out, I met her gaze. “I swear on the saints I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or Marco.”
With an exasperated sigh, Vittoria countered, “You know who you are, Drea. And you know who Marco is.”
I slanted my brows in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“It means there is no place for love when you’re the capo’s daughter. Least of all with a lowly soldier.”
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with him. It just happened.”
Vittoria opened her mouth when Mother once again appeared in the doorway. “Now, Andrea,” she commanded.
Nodding, I crossed the bedroom to her side. Appearing like she didn’t trust me to make it to Father’s study, she walked beside me down the stairs. When we appeared before his door, she jerked her chin at me. I dutifully responded by knocking.
“Enter.”
Drawing in a ragged breath, my sweaty, shaky hand fumbled on the doorknob. Once I finally twisted it, I flung open the door. Father appeared as an imposing figure sitting at his enormous mahogany desk.
He waved a hand at one of the studded, leather chairs in front of him. “Sit, Andrea.”
Since I couldn’t find my voice, I merely nodded. Once I was seated, I clasped my hands in my lap and stared at him.
“I’m sure you are curious as to why I summoned you here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Father took a long drag on his cigar. “As my oldest daughter, I’ve always intended for you to be given in marriage to nothing less than a capo.”
In our world, a capo was like the Vice President.Their power was only second to the boss who reigned over all the family.
A plume of smoke curled from his lips as he narrowed his eyes at me. “Anything less would be a disgrace to our family name.”
Shifting in my chair, I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”
He cocked his brows in challenge. “So you do agree that sullying your body with the hands of anyone but a capo is a disgrace to our family name?”
Every molecule in my body shuddered to a stop. As air wheezed out of my lungs, I fought to catch my breath. He knows. He knows. He knows. “Yes, sir,” I echoed, but this time in a whisper.
When a knock came at the door, I jumped in my seat like a gun had gone off. My hand came to clutch the fabric of my dress over my heart.
“Enter,” Father commanded.
Oh God. Was I about to meet my future husband today? Was Father going to send me away today because he’d discovered my affair with Marco? I didn’t think I could face having to interact with the man who stood in the way of my happiness with Marco.
When the door flung open, my heart dropped to the floor at the sight of Marco in the doorway. Although his face was a mask of indifference at the sight of me, I didn’t miss the flicker of fear in his eyes.
“You requested to see me, Mr. Caruso?” Marco asked.
With a flick of his wrist, Father beckoned him inside. Each footstep across the floor felt like the lash of a whip. I didn’t know when I’d ever experienced so much dread in all my life.
“Sit down,” Father instructed.
Marco eased down in the chair beside me. I didn’t dare look at him. Instead, I kept my gaze on my lap.
“You’ve always been a loyal soldier of mine, have you not?”
“It’s been my honor to serve you, sir.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I have always given everything I had to this family.”
A mirthless laugh rumbled through Father’s chest. “Oh, I’d say you’ve been giving more than enough to my daughter.”
I was right. He did know.
Mortification shot through me at the vulgarity of his statement. Jerking my head up, I snapped, “Since you want to be crude, you’re right. I am fucking him. But it’s not Marco’s fault. I’m the one who sought him out.”
Horror rocketed through me the moment those words left my lips. My blood ran cold as the amusement faded on my father’s face, only to be replaced by rage.
Oh God. Why had I let myself be baited by Father?
“You will remember who you are speaking to, Andrea. I’m not above lashing you like I did when you were a petulant child.”
The skin on my back prickled in memory of his whippings. “I’m sorry, sir.”
With a contemptuous grunt, Father mused, “And all along I’d thought you were just dumb enough to give in to the first man with balls enough to pursue you.”
“Drea is not dumb, sir,” Marco argued.
“Is that right?”
Marco nodded. “She’s intelligent and witty. With her brains, she’ll go far in life.”
As Father narrowed his eyes, a shudder ran through me. Jabbing his finger at Marco, he snarled, “The only thing Andrea is expected to do is be a good capo’s wife and mother to her children. Nothing else matters.”
Turning his fury to me, he added, “And you’ve already gone and fucked it up for your future marital alliance by fucking around. If you don’t fake your virginity on your wedding night, your groom will definitely annul the marriage.”
Although I knew it was the worst thing to say at the moment, I cried, “I don’t want an arranged marriage. I want Marco!”
“Over my dead body,” Father snarled.
With a defiant jerk of his chin, Marco challenged, “You can fire me, beat me, or send me away, but you’ll never stop me from loving Drea.”
A sadistic gleam burned in Father’s eyes. “I know a way to stop you.”
Although the world around me slowed to a crawl, it also moved at hyper-speed. A gun appeared from Father’s side. As Marco jumped up to shield me, Father aimed the gun at him, causing me to scream in alarm.
At the crack of a gun, I shuttered my eyes in terror. Something hot and sticky sprayed across my face before the sound of a body slamming onto the hardwood floor.
As my body jerked and shook, I forced my eyes open. Blinking, I tried clearing my eyelashes of the stickiness that weighed them down. When I could finally focus again, my vision blurred with my tears.
Marco lay at my feet. The gaping wound in the back of his head had blood and brain matter oozing out onto the floor. My shoes were covered in it.
Guttural sobs tore through my chest, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to catch my breath.
As Father came over to me, I tried to roll into a fetal position in the chair. After grabbing my chin in his fingers, he jerked my gaze up to his. “If you ever think of disobeying me again, you’ll end up the same way.”
And then he left me all alone with the man I’d defied my world to love.