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Queen Of Killers

Secrets Of The Famiglia, Volume 3

Shan R.K

Published by Shan R.K, 2021.

This is a work of fiction from the Author’s imagination.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner without the written permission from the author except in the

case of brief quotations for reviews or fan-made articles.

Any names resembling any living person is purely coincidental.

First Edition.

February, 22nd 2021

Written by Shan R.K

www.shanrk.com

Also by Shan R.K

Catch Me, If You Can

Shock Me Twice

Love Hate and Billions

Kylie Bray

Secrets Of The Famiglia

Capo Dei Capi

Union of Death

Queen Of Killers

Conception Of Truth

The Angel Descendants

House Of Legions

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club

Beggar

River's Keeper

Zero

Beauty's Breath

Killer

Sienna (Coming Soon)

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Book Bundles

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Book 1 - 4

Standalone

Faces Of You

Watch for more at Shan R.K’s site.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Also By Shan R.K

Playlist Link

Dedication

Queen Of Killers

Prelude

PART I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

PART II

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Note from Shan

Further Reading: Killer

About the Author

Playlist Link

For your ultimate enjoyment

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLznsrl4GGTV9PY8SCCEhZlWwi8op6w8xz

Dedication

This book is dedicated to you. We don’t always have a perfect romance, but sometimes it is our reasons that keep us moving forward.

I have tried to write the story as best as I could, and each time I started I ended up deleting it. So I wanted to write a different kind of story and maybe I really messed it up or maybe I did a great job, either way, this is how it all went down. Thank you so much for reading my work and for your support, not just in buying the books but sending me those emails and encouraging me to continue writing. You are the hero in my stories.

Queen Of Killers

Shan R.K

Secrets Of The Famiglia

Book 3

Prelude

Aliyana Capello Catelli

Present-day

The path to paradise begins in Hell

Dante Alighieri

“Salvatore, I need you. Salvatore,” I scream through the empty church. My heels click on the wooden floors as the harshness of my breath sounds the air with the extent of my madness. My mind reels as I rush down the aisle.

“Salvatore, I know you’re in here,” I yell. His tall form comes from the back door. His black pants and a black shirt with his clerical collar, a stark reminder of all that has happened. The ring on my finger weighs heavily on my hand as I face the man who served me for years, without knowing the demon he chose to protect. His scar stands out as he stops in front of me, intertwining his fingers tightly together.

“It’s been almost a year Aliyana. What did you do?”

I drop to my knees, “It is what I didn’t do. Forgive me, father, for I have sinned,” I say, as my body releases the tightness that has weighed upon it these passing years.

“Oh Aliyana, what have you done?” I look up at the Priest from St Anthony’s church who once served me as a loyal soldier and earned his freedom.

A tear betrays me as I stare into his harsh, unyielding gaze as I once did many years ago. Only then I was a girl touched by the poison of my father and the cruelness of a king. Now I am a queen, wrapped in the robes of hell, soaked in the blood of the innocent and owned by a Venomous King. How far into hell have I fallen?

“Aliyana, tell me.” Salvatore does not know what he seeks when he utters those words. But I look up at the innocent Priest.

“I killed them all.”

There comes a time in life, where even the damned must own up to the truth. There is that moment when we get away from everything. That specific second, where you are standing there and it all hits you. All the lies, the stories you spun, the people you’ve hurt. The ones you betrayed and ruined for absolutely no good reason other than a hope that by doing it your heart will lessen with the pain and maybe tomorrow would be a brighter day. Only it is not the case. I have lived, loved and felt every emotion they taught me not to.

In my 29 years on this earth, I have done things that no sane person could even fathom. My story is not one filled with the love for one man, but the love for many men. A love for a father who always wanted the best for me, even if his ways of showing it were misguided.

I loved him for all that made him. Be it the sliver of goodness that rests in his deep soul, or his thirst for power that caused many to enter the gates of the afterlife. My love for him is... was everlasting, even if he was the snake leading me to temptation.

Then there was the love I had for the 4 boys who grew up with me in Chicago. The brothers I never knew I wanted until they showed me how it felt to belong to something that wasn’t defined by the blood in my veins or the gender that made me. Romero, Michel, Gabriel and Lorenzo were the brothers, who became a part of me until one of them fell and one of them betrayed us.

And lastly, there was the love for two men, both belonging to the Shadows. One set on becoming the most powerful villain of all and the other - who only wished to be with me. But jealousy, hatred, revenge and honor twisted all the goodness and my story became a bitter tale of falling in love with your enemy and honoring your promise to the ones that I swore to protect. My story is no tragedy, nor is it a happily ever after, but it is mine and here I am, still alive, so I can finally tell it.

“Salvatore, I must confess.” I remain on my knees as his fingers unlock themselves and his roughened fingers grip my chin. I lift my head.

“I will listen. Do you promise to confess in all honesty and tell only the truth?” He asks the question he once asked me years ago. Only then I turned away from him, ashamed of all those that I hurt. Now I am no longer haunted by the decisions of my past, I am ready for atonement.

“Yes, I will tell you everything. My confession begins 13 years ago, when we made a pact to take over Chicago, and Elisa Russo was going to be our bait.”

“What was so bad about then?”

I look at Salvatore in his priest attire, a holy man who once almost fell from the crutches of god.

I smile, but it is not happiness that brings the look to my face, more like shame, embarrassment and guilt.

“I lied.”

PART I

The past, pain and perception

Chapter 1

Aliyana

13 years ago

The past should never be made in the present

And the present should never throw haze on the future.

Lies, a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive, an intentional untruth, a falsehood.

“What on earth are you devils up to?” Gabriel asks as he sits next to Mero on the carpeted floor. It felt great to be back in Seattle. It wouldn’t be much longer until the day arrived when I could finally say I was putting Chicago behind me.

Chicago was what I would describe as a prison, made specifically for the 5 of us. We were meant to only charter a flight first thing tomorrow. But I couldn’t bear another night in a city treated as one would a rat. It wasn’t the adults that surrounded us who made our stay in the city so unappealing, but the teenagers who would one day control it. I knew better than to tell my father, so did Gabriel, Mero, Michel and Ren when Capo Stagio Russo said that a teenager problem was a teenager problem. His words weren’t just words, they were a warning that what happens in his territory stayed quiet.

It was summer break and Papa would only land tomorrow from his trip to East Africa. Which made our early arrival the perfect time to finally release some tension we kept locked up these passing months. A lot was going on right now, and Gabriel and Ren were both out for some serious Russo blood. They were the top crime family in Chicago and also primarily our guardians until we graduated from high school.

It was a rule in the 5th State that a group of boys be sent away to their allies’ territory. It was meant as a sign of good faith. But my father sent me a girl to Chicago and our Famiglia. The Catelli’s insisted we granted them the same respect, so the Russo’s sent Elisa. Who was meant to be their offering but turned out she was my father’s daughter. Talk about a messed up family. And mine was right there on the top.

It wasn’t just Elisa, who wore the title of an illegitimate daughter but another, not so nice girl named Alice. She was already an adult and sister to Matteo Di Salvo, a much-hated member of the Russo family. Or if I were honest I should rephrase, I hated Matteo Di Salvo the most. The others never really disliked him, they merely just hated what they presumed he stood for.

“Where did you rush off to? Gone to play good boy by your uncle or did you decide to take a detour to a certain redheads house?” Michel asks Gabriel. Michel is comfortable at the bottom of my white comforter, playing with his switchblade he bought off a guy on our way from the airport. Ren and I take the top left of the bed, going through the hundreds of photos scattered on half my bed.

We were deciding, as we always did, which of the photos were best to show our parents. We tried to keep up the appearance of happy kids, for the sake of not starting a war. And also for not looking like we were made of ice. My father said that a made-man need not burn when he walked through fire. I wasn’t so sure how someone didn’t burn in the fire when a fire was meant to burn.

We were already burnt in the fire many times. The only difference is our scars were on the inside, and the windows which were our eyes were too small to notice.

In reality, we were so used to the bullying and the plots and plans Alec and his crew came up with to try to get rid of us. But cutting Gabriel’s car breaks set the record. They played dangerous games, and while we outsmarted them most of the time, we knew that our clock was ticking.

“How long do you think we can keep this shit up?” Ren questions us, lifting a picture with the 5 of us at Pizzeria.

“I say we make a stand, we’re leaving that shit hole next year. It will be the perfect time to teach the Russo’s a lesson,” Gabriel says from the floor. His blue eyes dilated and focused on Ren as I feel his anticipation and hunger for revenge vibrate across the room.

“I don’t see Alec ruling Chicago, he will cause an all-out war that the Capo Dei Capi would eventually have to intervene. Cassio and Camelid are henchmen, neither screaming Capo, I doubt either of them has the brain capacity to brush their teeth properly let alone rule a city as big as Chicago. Matteo, however...” Mero voices the same thing we are all thinking. Neither of the Russo boys was fit to handle a city as big and as dangerous as Chicago.

“Matteo is going to be the Capo of the Di Salvo, his family is close with the Moretti’s in England and the Di Salvo’s have always run L. A with the Gallo clan. I doubt he wants to rule a place filled with Russo’s. Chicago is nothing to him, but the land his father dropped him off at,” Michel says, getting up from the ground and stretching his lean body. He was getting buff in his late teens. I could see the promise of his athletic legs through his dark wash jeans that he currently wore like they were made to fit every part of his build.

I was the only short one left, with only a pair of breasts and an ass to show for it.

“Do you remember the story about Massimo Catelli?” Ren asks, standing to his full height pacing the room.

I frown, but respond, “Yes, in the later 1800s Massimo and his 2 brothers, came to America with nothing but a fake passport and a pack of cigars. No crime syndicate wanted to be joined with the three of them. They were weak because they were only part Sicilian.”

“And he and his brothers didn’t appreciate that, so they slowly turned their cards, taking out every crime family that stood in their way. Until the Catelli’s controlled New York, it was 40 years later when the Castellammarese war took place. And John Gotti took the fall as a Capo. A legendary story and one that can be repeated in a much more civilized manner with careful planning,” Ren finishes the story, taking a seat next to me. I place one of the pictures next to the bedside table, sit up and look at him.

We all look at him. He is crazy to even consider doing what it is he is thinking. It is a suicide to all of our names. But it isn’t impossible, just madness.

“What are you suggesting, Catelli?” Gabriel questions. And I wonder the same thing because it sounds like he has finally lost all senses of his sanity.

“We take over Chicago. Our Famiglia is big, but we aren’t the biggest in North America. There are a lot of players on the board. If we took Chicago, we will not only cement the Catelli name further, but all of our families would benefit in the long run. Everyone would remember the 5 of us. If we manage that, we create Allies with the Di Salvo and the outfit. It’ll make us the biggest crime family in North America.”

“You are talking about a war, the Russo’s will never play fair. They aren’t going to just shut up and let a group of teenagers take their City,” Gabriel warns, shaking his head in disbelief that Ren would even suggest it. I hate to admit it, but I agree with how absurd it sounds.

Us, take over Chicago? I doubt Ren is thinking logically. So I laugh and throw myself on the pillow as he gets up. His lanky body makes me want to snicker as he slides a hand through his long hair.

“No, but taking their youth out and killing Stagio is a power play they can’t deny,” Ren suggests.

“Too dirty. A war against the Russo’s would mean their allies, which equals the Outfit. My Papa has only said bad things about the Outfit, they are ruthless,” I say. It is true, the Outfit was a group of undignified Italians that didn’t belong to a crime family to call their own. So they made their own family and the Sanati’s ruled the Outfit with an iron fist.

“If we take out Alec, and maybe one of us marry Elisa, we could be half-way there. I know Lucca Sanati. He is next in line to take The Outfit under his command. He used to be close with Marco and Deno,” Ren informs us.

“What do you think we should do?” Mero asks Gabriel, who says nothing but stares worriedly at Ren.

“Maybe wait for him to become the Outfit boss?!” Ren answers.

“No, Lucca is crazy. He hates the Catelli’s too much after Katrina died. This entire plan is ludicrous. If we want to do this we are going to need a smart plan, a long-term one that doesn’t involve Lucca or killing Stagio,” Gabriel says finally agreeing to Ren’s ridiculous plan a bit too quickly. Going by the fact that a second ago his face revealed how against it he was, I would say he had a plan of his own.

“How about getting a Russo to do our bidding? Take out Stagio, or kidnap Alec?” Michel suggests.

“You mean Elisa? No, absolutely not, she is 15 and my sister. This entire plan is ridiculous. If we agree to do this, I think we should keep our hands clean on the outside. We would have to be smart, as Gabriel says,” I voice out, becoming a player too.

“So what are you thinking, Miss Capello? Play unicorns?” Mero asks with exaggerated sarcasm and I roll my eyes, giving him an exasperated sigh.

“No, I was talking about chess, dumb nut. We play allies against allies. Not just in the Russo’s tight circle, but in ours too. How pissed off do you think our parents need to get before they retaliate?” I tell them, and Gabriel is the first one to smile.

“Like play the one against each other? Technically, we won’t be getting our hands dirty. But we create a war. Question is, how do we use the war to take over Chicago?” Mero asks, scratching his neck, frowning at me as the room fills with the taste of power. Because let’s be honest, we are spawn from the 5th State. We all want to have more power.

“We get someone to marry Elisa, one of us is better than any fucker Stagio will choose,” Ren says nodding his head in agreement to his plan.

“And Alec?” Gabriel queries.

“We leave him for now, if things get really bad, then we get our hands dirty. The question is, how the fuck do we start a war?” Ren says.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Michel asks with his attention on Gabriel.

We all stare at our friend, and he smiles.

“We go to our Underboss and tell him our plan, of course.” A plan forms as he says those words and it is on this day that the 5 of us, the Misfits that were shoved into Chicago, decide on a plan that would cost many of us more than we could ever have imagined.

Chapter 2

Aliyana

12 years ago

Blank spaces in a tale are sometimes

Necessary when someone is lying

––––––––

“Mero, Micky!” Gabriel yells as Ren, and we stand by the door of their tech-class with our backpacks, waiting. Bunking last period wasn’t the best decision we were making today, with finals approaching soon. We were all accepted into UW about a week ago. Since receiving our acceptance letters, Gabriel had not lifted a book to study.

I informed my friend finals were still a big part of getting in. To say he didn't care was the understatement of the year. Neither of them has cared, well apart from Ren. He was always in the books. I knew he got accepted to Harvard. Why he turned it down to come here was beyond my understanding. He swore to me that he will do two years here, then fuck off to Harvard.

He was the better one, smart and funny. I wanted more for him.

“I am done with Matteo fucking Di Salvo, why couldn’t he stay in England like a good fuck boy?” Gabriel states as he walks out with Mero and Michel joining us. His face is flushed, his eyes are small and promising death. This is the thing about having only male friends. There was too much testosterone, and though I knew for a fact that Matteo pushed his buttons, Matteo wasn’t as bad as Gabriel made him out to be.

I wonder what the others would do if they knew Ren and Matteo were friends. It was a secret I was keeping since I found out 6 months ago. I stumbled into the music room one day after 2nd break and I saw the two of them sitting and chatting about Quantum Physics. It shocked me. Obviously, they both decided that their broody friendship needed to be kept a secret, and I agreed. Sometimes secrets were necessary for all our sakes.

“Because pussies don’t know how to stay in one place,” Michel responds, sliding his hand through his gelled brown hair. He is the shorter of the four boys and the most muscular now. He filled out these last 8 months.

“That pussy better be careful,” Mero says as we all laugh. But my gaze goes to Ren, who didn’t find it funny. And although he laughs, I know, like me, he is just laughing for no reason at all but to appease his friends.

“So where to? We should sneak Yana into the gentlemen’s bar again. That was funny,” Ren suggests, earning him a smack on his arm in response. The sneaking part wasn’t much fun when I had to creep in through the men’s bathroom window. It also wasn’t fun when I walked in on my history teacher half-naked. I try to think of the name I said when he asked me who I was.

Gabriel puts his arm over my shoulders, reminding me of how short I am and how tall he is. A reminder that I was also a girl, a Made-Man’s daughter, who was breaking a million rules by just allowing him to put his arm over my shoulders. Skipping school and the rest was a lot of frosting on a flat cake, even for me. I tried to hide it, but in the end, my sanity won and I slipped my Papa a text when I went to the bathroom. I was after all my father’s daughter.

He responded with a thumbs up. Which was his way of saying, we will talk about it later and telling him was good. Yes, a thumbs-up said a lot when it came from my father.

“I was thinking of somewhere a bit further,” Gabriel says as his usually straight face mutates into a smiling one. I love these guys. They were far from perfect and overflowing with trouble, but these boys made me feel alive.

“Where?” I ask him as my stomach twists with an anxious thrill of what we were going to do.

“My Uncle is around attending some business. He’s given us free rein of his Jet until 7 this evening. I took the liberty to have Constantine clear a flight plan for us to Seattle.”

“What are we going to do there?” Mero queries as he furrows in an almost hesitant wonder.

Vincent Vasati, Deno, and Marco Catelli run Washington State. It was also home for Ren and me.

Well, for the most part. I didn't have a home since I was thrown into Chicago. But I still liked to consider the possibility of Seattle one day becoming my home. My mother and father bought their home in Seattle and for years before I even existed they lived there. It was the same house I kept returning to during the holidays. I refrained from going to New York for the sole reason of my father’s wife Illaria who lived there. The woman hated me before she even knew my name.

She was the reason I came to Chicago. The reason I was not embroiled in a brewing I wasn’t necessarily thrilled about. I love these boys, but sometimes loving them wasn’t easy because their love for me came with a condition and that was loyalty.

“Deno has the new exclusive club opening this weekend. The bottom floor is a restaurant, thought, we’ll christen the place and enjoy a meal.” Ren’s glee is unmasked as Gabriel lets us in on his little plan. Ren loves Deno, his older brother. Brotherly love was always good to have, especially when that brother was our Underboss.

I wasn’t so sure about his relationship with Leonardo and Marco. While I swooned over Leonardo, and from afar professed my undying love for him for all eternity, I never set eyes on Marco. Marco was the first-born son of Capo Marcello, then Deno, Anya, Leonardo and lastly, Ren.

While Deno kept close tabs on us and knew most of everything that happened in Chicago, Marco was always MIA. Leonardo dropped by every odd occasion to ‘check how are things’ but we all knew it was Deno’s doing that sent Leonardo here.

Anya however didn’t need to be asked to visit, she always showed up at the most random of times.

His sister, Anya, I liked the least out of his big family. She was false and always had an agenda. I didn’t like people who could do something cruel to those they claimed to love.

I didn’t like to think about what she did to Ren, but sometimes it got my blood boiling. Ren had secrets, we all did, but when people like Anya knew them, sometimes the price of keeping them just became too high.

“Don’t we get an invitation?” I hear that voice, and we all freeze at the sound of Alec Russo.

Straight ahead of me and down the hall are the Russo boys and their new BFF, Matteo Di Salvo. Alec and Matteo stand side by side, while the twins, Cassio and Camelid, take them back.

“No,” Gabriel responds, his fingers tensing on my arm as he stiffens next to me, all casualty gone.

“Too bad, I was hoping to see my cousin,” Alec says as his evil smile implies otherwise. Yes, that was the thing about Alec, he was a creep and after a year of just sitting by and doing nothing, I was ready to solve the problem named Alec permanently.

“Yeah, too bad. We're full up, try the airport,” Ren recommends.

Mero nudges his head to say let’s go, and I think his timing is impeccable. Sometimes walking away is better than the alternative.

“We will do just that. I should probably call your brother too, wouldn't want to start a war now,” Alec yells as the others laugh at his stupid joke. I see Matteo’s gaze scatter from Ren to me and back again.

“I am not sure which one I hate more, Matteo or Alec,” Michel mumbles.

"I thought Di Salvo’s are supposed to be our closest allies," Mero states as his brows draw down into a scowl I know too well.

"Allies? What the fuck is that?" Ren's sarcasm makes us burst out laughing.

We ignore the irritant foursome as we turn our backs and walk toward the exit.

I should’ve known it wasn’t over. Far from it.

We get on the plane in the next 40 minutes. I wait till the red light turns green and unfasten my safety belt. The beige leather interior and red marble skirting scream ‘notice me.’ I never admitted this to anyone, but I didn’t like Gabriel’s uncle. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Papa always told me my intuition can never be wrong.

Ren follows me when I walk to the back of the plane where the bathroom is.

He places his arm around my shoulder and practically shoves his phone in my face. I have to hold his wrist to prevent him from hurting me. I read the message he wrote.

Don’t hate me, but Deno let me know Gabriel was planning the trip, so I asked Matteo to charter another plane 20 minutes after us. Alec has done some really bad things, we need to stand together. The others won’t agree with Matteo rocking up. Do you think you can stand with me on this?

That was a question I didn’t see coming. What was the right thing to say? And how good of ‘friends’ were Ren and Matteo. Was this going to cause a problem with the plan? There was a lot about the plan I didn’t like. Mostly the part where Mero marries Elisa.

If I did this now, were we drawing an invisible line between the others and us? Is that what I wanted?

I shrug my shoulders and push him aside as I head to the bathroom. I can’t give him an answer. I don’t know.

When I get out, Gabriel is sitting in the front seat staring at me. He’s always been quiet, never saying too much. I admired that about him. But the quality I admired was also what made me wary. My papa told me a quiet man is a waiting man, and that makes him patient, and those who are patient are the most lethal. Would Gabriel prove to be a problem, eventually? I hoped not. I liked to think of him as our secret weapon.

I sometimes secretly wished he would be that weapon when it came to Alec. The guy made me mad in ways that were not sane on any level of the word. He knew how to push my buttons and he pushed them mercilessly.

He chose to pick on Gabriel and me. Gabriel was the tallest and the son of a DeMarco. The same DeMarco’s who killed his mother’s brothers. Yes, revenge in the Mafia was a real pain. And the sins of the father fell heavily on their sons and, in my case, daughter.

Which was the reason a made-man was taught to kill the children too because kids grew up and a made-man's son would want his flesh of meat when his time came.

"I can’t believe he actually asked to join us,” My temper is still boiling after our flight, mostly because all I managed to do was think about Alec Russo and all the vile things he chose to do.

We jump out of the black Mercedes as the six soldiers Deno sent for us surround the vehicle.

The building known as Azure is a tall face brick architectural dream. Dark-tinted glass going right up to a 5-floor height serves as a front wall. I am sure it's bulletproof.

"He's a Russo. What do you expect? There is a reason they are our enemies," Gabriel replies as he slips on a black blazer over his white school shirt.

To passersby, we resemble a group of wealthy kids. We are, but the four boys are all Made-Men.

They have killed, and the ring on their index fingers shows that they would do it again.

"It looks like there is a drop zone on the roof. Why couldn't we land there?" Mero asks as he straightens his tie.

"It isn't ready. Deno is making a greenhouse," Ren answers.

"What green are we talking? In house? Purple heads?" Michel goes from mildly interested to very interested. Big hazel eyes widening with glee. His hair is cut short and his once baby face has now sharpened over the last year. His jaw still not quite as sharp as the other boys, but Michel’s hardened exterior in certain places gives off a ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe that closely matches Gabriel’s broody self.

"I should have stayed in a girl’s only school," I mumble as I push my hair back from my face.

"And miss the time of your life? I doubt you would. Your father almost castrated my father when he asked him. He almost castrated me for even talking that day. Fuck, my nuts still twitch from that." Ren shakes his head in mock horror as the 5 of us walk toward the doors of the massive club laughing.

“But he still agreed,” I point out as Gabriel opens the door when the soldiers line up next to the entrance.

“Yes, he did, and thank fuck for that,” Ren’s deep voice is loud as we enter the dark place.

“I am calling dibs on the sound,” Gabriel declares as we enter the Azure.

“As long as I don’t have to listen to that damn classical shit,” Ren says, putting on the lights. The smell of new leather and paint hits my nose as the blue glow brings life to the darkened space.

“The glass is remote controlled. I need to get the remote, give me a minute. Help yourselves to a drink,” Ren states as he disappears to what looks like a big ballroom.

“I have a little present for you guys. Wait here,” Gabriel declares, and I watch him walk with ease and familiarity through the back of the club. His big shoulders and tall body are a wonder to the short kid with keen eyes I met all those years ago. It isn’t the first time I consider how lucky I am to be one of them. Even if that luck came at a price.

“What are we drinking?” Mero asks as his big muscular body comes closer toward me. He is built like a linebacker, but he doesn’t just play football like the other guys, he is a professional boxer. His family is big on cage fighting and martial arts.

“I think brandy to begin with,” Ren replies as he walks back into the room with a familiar guy following carefully behind. It still surprised me at times, especially ones like these on how in-depth to the inner circle of the next generation of Capos I was.

If my father found how I spent my free time I was not supposed to even have, I don’t think he would share in my gratitude that I was, in fact, the only girl amongst four dangerous guys. It was a good thing I mentioned it to him today, else I don’t think I would win this one without a massive blow.

Right now, I wasn’t just alone with them; I was in the company of my future Capo, the Underboss to the Catelli Famiglia, Deno Catelli, and it wasn’t the first time.

“Aliyana. You are always a sight when I see you.” Deno Catelli’s voice is loud.

He opens his arms as his dramatic entrance comes to a complete halt when he gathers me in a big hug. Deno has always smelt like leather and a mixture of something forbidden, dangerous. We had enough of those going around in our world. But Deno Catelli was in a league of his own.

I think I have always had a certain amount of respect for our future Capo. I’m not sure if it was due to the fact of his willingness to help us, or his ability to control a situation without making it known that he was the one in control.

It still boggles my mind even now as I stand here wrapped in the arms of this important, dangerous man. He is well over 6-ft tall with hard, sinewy arms that have brought many men to their deaths, and right now, he is kissing me on the cheeks and holding me toward his hard chest.

Yes. I am well aware my father would not be pleased by this. Then again, the thrill is something I find quite liberating.

“I am glad someone remembers I am a lady,” I point out, knowing Mero and Michel can hear. Deno winks at Mero as he releases me when Mero groans.

Mero greets Deno with a hug and a kiss before Michel.

“When Gabriel called me this morning, I was fucking glad you misfits were showing up. Until I got a call informing me the Russo boys were joining. I suppose you don’t want them coming by?” He gives us a knowing look that is evil in intent, and I am glad he is on our side. But exactly who is ‘our side’ since I knew he knew Matteo was invited by Ren. And Matteo didn’t fall in the category of ‘friends’ in the eyes of the others, and if I was being honest, he didn’t fall in my category of friends either.

“Well, considering they are the reason we are here, no.” Gabriel walks in, there is something about his voice that is different. I hear the undernote of a badass he is giving off, which meant something spectacular was bound to happen. Spectacular meaning we were going to do something dangerous.

Behind Gabriel walks in a familiar boy, though we never got to see him often enough I squeal as I run and throw myself in the arms of an old friend, Dexter Kent.

As I predicted the last time when I saw him 6 months ago. He was now as tall as Gabriel. If not a bit taller. Dexter Kent was hardly a boy any longer. He walked with an air that screamed old money, and a powerful bloodline.

He was confident, with broad shoulders and an alertness in his gaze that I didn’t see often in people. Well, not to that extent. Dexter has always been a part of our lives. And maybe he wasn’t someone I would classify as a BFF, but he was a person I would trust.

“Fuck, Dixie, you've grown so tall. You’re like Captain America after his transformation,” Mero informs our outsider friend as Dexter extracts himself from me, long enough to shake hands with Mero, Ren and Michel.

Dexter puts his arm over my shoulder, “It has been a while, but considering the call I got from Gabriel, it was time we had a little reunion.”

“Can I come out now, or have you forgotten about me?” The female voice coming from behind me has all of us jumping into action, walking toward the sound behind the bar.

I hug her close, and the guys follow. I inhale her sweet scent and look at her tanned cheeks. She has grown so much. Her hair is now a dark red and her face is covered in quite a bit of make-up. Not enough that it is too much, but enough that she looks way older than her 15 years. And of course, she is beautiful.

“How could we forget a beauty like you,” Deno responds as he encompasses her into his side and touches her nose lightly with his finger. That is odd. I notice, but I am wise enough to say nothing.

“How did you, I thought you were... when did...” My words are all coming out half said as I am speechless. I thought she was halfway to Europe by now.

I stare at her; it has been so long, a year almost, and I want to cry, but I don’t. We have kept this secret for so long. Her life was counting on it. But her life was also counting on her leaving, which she didn’t do.

"No, my father changed his mind. I'll be staying here and finishing school and if I am lucky, maybe study English."

“That is great news, Elisa,” I say with a big smile that I hope tells her exactly how I’ve missed her. A part of me finds the complete 360 change so sudden. I haven’t seen her in so long that I’ve forgotten the reason we stopped.

“It has been a long time. I'm sorry I couldn’t see you sooner,” Elisa says, and I try again to wrack my head as to why we couldn’t see each other. I mean, we hardly saw each other as it stood. Our meetings were mostly during school breaks. We stole a few days here and there. It was easy for Elisa to remain in Seattle during her holidays.

Her father, Stagio, and her mother never batted an eyelash. Secretly, Elisa told me that her parents both wished she’d disappear. I found it hard to believe since I saw how Capo Stagio doted on her, and her mother continuously called her. But what did I know? I was a motherless teenager whose father sent her away. Even if it was for my own good.

“No need to be sorry, Eli, Aliyana knows that your cousin is around,” Deno says. I sense a slight note of mockery and I brush it

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.03.2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-3500-6

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