141

PROLOGUE
Gianna I stared at my image in the mirror. My chin was covered with blood and more blood was dripping from the cut on my lower lip and shirt. My lip was already swelling, but I was happy to find my eyes dry, without any sign of a single tear.
Matthew appeared behind me, towering over me, his dark eyes scanning my screwed-up face. Without his typical shark grin and arrogant amusement, he seemed almost tolerable. “You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” His lips turned into a smirk, but it seemed somehow wrong. There was something disturbing in his eyes. Their appearance reminded me of the one I had seen when he had dealt with the Russian prisoners in the basement.
“Neither did you,” I said, then winced at the pain that pierced my lip.
“True,” he said in a strange voice. Before I had time to react, he grabbed me by the hips, spun me around and hoisted me onto the sink. “That’s why we’re perfect for each other.”
Behind it was the arrogant smile. The bastard got between my legs.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, moving away from the edge of the sink to create more distance between us, and pushing myself against his chest.
He didn’t move, too hard for me. The smile grew bigger. He grabbed my chin and lifted my head. “I want to take a look at your lip.”
“I don’t need your help now. Maybe you should have stopped Father from breaking my lip in the first place.
“YES. I should have,” he said darkly, his thumb lightly brushing over my wound as he opened my lips. “If Luke had not restrained me I would have plunged the knife into your father’s bloody back, consequences be damned. Maybe I’ll do it again.”
He let go of my lip and pulled out a long curved knife holstered under his jacket before turning it over in his hand with a calculating look on his face. Then his eyes darted to me. “Do you want me to kill him?”
God, yes. I trembled at the sound of Matthew’s voice. I knew it was wrong, but after what Dad had told me today, I wanted to see him beg for mercy, and I knew Matteo was capable of bringing anyone to their knees, and it thrilled me horribly. That was exactly why I wanted to get out of this life, because I still wanted to get out. I had the potential for cruelty and this life was the reason for it. “That would mean a war between Chicago and New York,” I said simply.
“Seeing your father bleed to death at my feet would be worth the risk. You’re worth it.”
Matteo The first time I saw Gianna, she was a skinny 14-year-old with an oversized mouth, a sprinkling of freckles on her face and untamed red curls. She was everything a real Italian girl should not be, which is probably why I found her funny. But she was a little girl, and even though I was only four years older, I had already been a Made Men for five years, had killed several people and fucked my fair share of women. By the time Luca and I returned to New York, busy with mob affairs and society’s easy girls, I didn’t think twice about that crude redhead, I had pretty much forgotten about Gianna when Luca and I returned to New York three years later for his marriage to Aria.
Luca had gotten it into his head that he wanted to see Aria before the wedding. Officially because he wanted to make sure she was on the pill, but I knew it was really just because he was anxious to see how she had grown. And damn, the girl had well and truly satiated herself. When she appeared behind her sister Liliana in the doorway of their suite at the Mandarin Oriental, my eyes didn’t know which part of her to check first. She was hot. She was also Luca’s girlfriend so she was absolutely off-limits. Not to mention that she was a little too reserved for my taste.
But damn, the moment I entered the suite, Aria was the last thing on my mind. My gaze landed on the flame-red-haired girl who sat on the couch, her long legs crossed casually and resting on the coffee table. Immediately the long forgotten memory of her rudeness resurfaced and with it my interest in her. She was not the awkward, skinny girl she once was.
Definitely not skinny.
She had developed all the right curves in the right places, and her face had gotten rid of freckles. Unlike most girls, I knew she did not seem impressed with me. Actually, she looked like I was a cockroach she wanted to squish under her boots. With a smile, I headed straight for her, never one to back down from a challenge. Especially a hot challenge. What was life without the thrill of getting burned ?
Gianna straightened up immediately, her black boots landed on the ground with a thud, and then she looked at me, half-closing her eyes. If she thought this would stop me, she was completely wrong. Unfortunately, the youngest of the Scuderi got in my way and gave me her version of a flirtatious smile . “Can I see your gun?”
If Gianna had asked that question, I would have had a myriad of inappropriate answers on the tip of my tongue, but Liliana was a little too young for them. What a wasted opportunity.
“No, you can’t,” Aria said before I had a chance to come up with an answer suitable for younger ears. Always so correct, that girl. Thank God, Father had chosen her for Luca and not for me.
“You shouldn’t stay here alone with us,” murmured Gianna, shifting her gaze from Luca to me. Damn. She was something else, really. “It’s not appropriate.”
Luca did not seem very impressed with her. It was obvious that she was getting on his nerves. Already something she and I had in common. “Where is Umberto? Shouldn’t he be guarding this door?” he asked.
“He’s probably on a bathroom or cigarette break,” Aria said.
I almost laughed. What kind of idiots worked for Scuderi? Things in Chicago seemed to follow very different rules . You could tell Luca was on the verge of a temper tantrum.
He had been nervous for days, probably because his balls were bursting.
“Do you often get left unprotected?” he asked.
“Oh, all the time,” blurted Gianna, then rolled her eyes at her sister. “You see, Lily, Aria and I sneak out every weekend because we have a bet on who can pick up the most guys.”
Big words for a girl who had probably never seen a dick in real life. From the look Luca gave me, he probably thought the same thing. And Gianna really didn’t know anything about my brother if she thought it was good to provoke him like that.
Luca approached his little girlfriend. “I want to have a word with you, Aria.”
Gianna leapt to her feet like a tiger determined to protect her cubs. “I was joking, for God’s sake!” She actually tried to come between Luca and Aria, which was a bad idea. Before Luca could lose his temper, I grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.
Gianna’s blue eyes flashed with fury. I had been wrong.
Her face had not shed all the freckles. From this close I could see the soft dusting of freckles on her nose, but somehow they made her look even more beautiful.
“Let me go or I’ll break your fingers,” she hissed.
‘I’d like to see you try. I let her go with a smile that only seemed to infuriate her further if the narrowing of her eyes was any indication.
Luca began to take Aria away. “Come on. Where’s your bedroom?”
Gianna looked at Luca and me. “I’m going to call our father! You can’t do that.
Luca obviously didn’t give a shit. Scuderi would have given him Aria years ago; he certainly wouldn’t care if Luca tasted his products a few days before the wedding. The door closed and Gianna headed toward it. I shook her hand again before she could piss Luca off even more. This girl really didn’t know what was good for her. “Give them some privacy. Luca won’t tear Aria’s clothes before the wedding night.
Gianna shook me. “Do you think that’s funny?”
“What are they talking about?” asked Liliana.
The suite door swung open and Umberto walked in, giving me a dirty look. The old man still hadn’t forgiven me for insulting his wife three years earlier.
“Gianna, Liliana, come here,” he said abruptly. I raised an eyebrow. Was he worried that I might hurt them? If that had been my intention, surely they would not have remained unharmed beside me. Romero rolled his eyes behind Umberto’s back, and I smiled smugly. Of course the old man grabbed him and his fingers went a little closer to the knife holder.
Do it, old man. It’s been too long since I had a good fight .
Liliana immediately obeyed and approached her bodyguard. As expected, Gianna stood by her sister’s bedroom door. “Luca dragged Aria into his bedroom.
They are alone in there.”
Umberto made to head for the door but I blocked his way. Romero was behind him. Not that I needed him to stop the old man. Umberto tried to stare at me . He was at least ten centimeters smaller than me, and no matter how good a knife fighter he was, I would have slashed him with my blade before he could even blink. My fingers really itched to do so.
“They’re not married yet,” he said as if this was news to me.
“Her virtue is safe with my brother, don’t worry.”
Umberto’s lips thinned. I had a feeling he wanted to start a fight as much as I did. Before things could get funny, the bedroom door opened and Aria came out. She looked like she had seen a ghost. I glanced at Luca. Did he really have to scare his fiancee to death a few days before their wedding?
“What are you doing here?” asked Umberto.
“You should pay more attention in the future and minimize your breaks,” Luca told him.
“I was only gone for a few minutes and there were guards in front of the other doors.”
Bored by their discussion, I turned my attention back to the redhead.
Gianna put her hands on her hips, somehow pushing her chest out. She really did have a body to die for. I wondered if Scuderi had already set her up with some losers from the Outfit .
Gianna met my gaze. “What are you looking at?”
I let my eyes roam the length of her. “At your warm body.”
“Then keep looking. Because that’s all you can do with my hot body.
“Stop it,” Umberto warned.
Gianna really shouldn’t have said that. I always liked the chase. While Luca didn’t mind once a girl showed work, I always preferred to chase a difficult conquest.
Gianna’s half-closed eyes followed me as Luca, Romero and I left the suite. I smiled to myself. The girl was on fire.
Luca sighed. “Don’t tell me you have your eye on the redhead. She’s a big pain in the ass.”
“So what? She would definitely make my life more interesting.
“What would? Killing Russians and having a new girl in your bed every other night isn’t the right solution for you?” “I like to change things up from time to time.”
“You can’t have her. She is off-limits. I’m not going to tell Dad that you started the war against Outfit on us because you groped Scuderi’s daughter. There is only one way you could have the redhead in your bed and that is to marry her , and that is not going to happen.
“Why not?”
Luca paused. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to get married yet, or ever, for that matter, but my father had been following my case for months.
Every woman he had suggested up to that point had been boring as hell.
Luca grabbed my shoulder. “You will not ask Scuderi for his daughter’s hand tonight.”
“Is that an order?” I asked quietly.
“NO. A suggestion.” Luca smiled. “If I ordered you , you would only do it to annoy me.”
“I’m not a stubborn teenager,” I said, then smiled because Luca knew me too well.
“I just want you to take your time. You might find Gianna’s bitchyness fascinating now, but I doubt it will last more than a few days. I know you. The moment the hunt is over and you get what you wanted, you will lose interest. But this time you will stay with her forever.”
“Don’t worry. I have every intention of scoring tonight.
This will make me forget Gianna completely.