Kiss Of Death: A Dark Mafia Romance

8

Nero

I wake up in the morning and stretch my arm out looking for Una. The bed is still warm, but she’s gone. I check the bathroom first, but she’s not there. When I open the bedroom door I find Louis crouched in front of Frank who’s slumped against the wall, clutching a broken nose. Blood pours down his chin, spilling down the front of his white shirt.

“Where is she?” I sigh.

Louis flinches when he meets my gaze. “She said she was going to the kitchen.”

I swipe my hand over my face and head down the stairs in search of her. The second I step into the hallway, Zeus greets me. George is nowhere to be seen which means he’s with Una. Opening the kitchen door, I push aside the plastic dust sheets hanging on the other side. Footprints, accompanied by paw prints, mark the fine layer of dust coating the floor. I round the corner and find Una sitting on the kitchen island in the destroyed kitchen, the dog at her feet staring up at her. She’s clutching a mug in her hand and taking marshmallows from a bag beside her. One goes in her mouth before she offers the next to George, completely unbothered by the total destruction surrounding her. The exterior wall is halfway through being re-bricked, and the plastic sheeting covers the gaping hole that leads outside.

“Admiring your handy work?” I fold my arms over my chest and lean against the counter.

She glances at me briefly before turning her attention back to George. “If I’d known it was going to be your house I might have blown more of it up.” Her lips pull up at the corner as she strokes George’s head. “Or mounted Arnie’s head on the front gate.”

“You shouldn’t be in here. It’s not structurally sound.” She ignores me and I push away from the wall, approaching her. I glance inside her mug and see hot chocolate, marshmallows swimming in the brown liquid. “Marshmallows for breakfast?” She just shrugs. “And there was me thinking you liked blood in the mornings.” I wrap my fingers around her wrist and bring her hand closer, stealing the sugary little lump and wrapping my lips around her finger. Her eyes darken and narrow as she tries to glare at me. “Did you really have to break Louis’ nose?”

“If you want me to stay here, then you should probably warn your men what will happen if they touch me. He’s lucky it was just his nose,” she snaps. I love that she can’t tolerate anyone’s touch but mine. “Now, I let you off yesterday, but now I want to know where the fuck my sister is.”

“I told you, she’s safe.”

“Where? Because I don’t see her, and all your best men are here with you, so how can she possibly be safe?”

“Nicholai knows about her.”

Her eyes snap to mine. “Says who?” I hesitate and watch her jaw tighten in aggravation.

“It doesn’t matter…”

“No, if you know anything about Nicholai, that means you have someone on the inside. Who is it?” She glares at me for long moments. “Who?”

“Sasha.”

She presses her hand against my chest and pushes me out of the way, hopping down off the counter. I watch as she paces backwards and forwards a few times, leaving little tracks in the dust. “You went behind my back?”

My temper spikes, manifesting itself with cold efficiency. “You weren’t exactly around and he came to me.”

“Where is Anna?”

“Mexico.”

She slowly lifts her head, and if looks could kill…. “You left her with the fucking cartel?”

“She’s with Rafael. She’s safe.”

She laughs humorlessly and tilts her head back to the ceiling. “It’s the cartel. They aren’t like your precious Italians. They don’t have ethics or a code. They’d sell their own mother for more power. If Nicholai knows about her, she is not safe.”

“Even Nicholai won’t go to war with the cartel.”

“People can be bought, Nero. And Nicholai will pay any price, because if he gets her, he knows he has me.”

“No.” I move into her space. “No, he does not have you. And if he gets Anna, he still won’t have you.”

“I want to talk to her.” She sounds tired, almost hopeless, and it annoys me, because she doesn’t get to give up. She doesn’t get to be anything other than the indestructible force I know her to be.

“Come on.” I walk us out of the kitchen and close the door behind her. A few of my soldiers linger in the hallway. Una drops her face to the ground as we walk past them. Maybe it’s habit, years of hiding her face and not wanting to be recognized, but she can’t hide from them. They’re my men.

The dogs follow us into the office and I close the door, taking a seat behind the desk. Una perches on the edge, my oversized tracksuit bottoms dangling over her feet. She looks so delicate wearing my clothes, her stomach subtly protruding in front of her, but her body language sings a different song. Her shoulders are tense, eyes surveying everything and taking in minute details. I put the office phone on loud speaker and call Rafael. He picks up on the third ring. “Nero. How are you?”

I’m fond of Rafael. His loyalties are solid, which is why I sent Anna to him. And despite the fact that he’s slightly unhinged, his reputation is enough to keep others away from him, and in turn, her. “Good. I need to speak to Anna.”

There’s a pause. “Nero, my friend. I love that you’re a ruthless bastard, but I’m not sure little Anna is ready to speak to you.”

“It wasn’t a request, Rafael.”

He laughs, long and hard, until Una leans over, growling over the phone. “Listen, you malparido.” Subtle as always. “Put my sister on the line before I come to your shithole town myself and shove my gun down your throat.”

He laughs again. “Is that your way of flirting with me, Ángel de la muerte?”

Una sighs, turning her fierce gaze on me. “Her foreplay tends to involve knives, Rafael. Now, get Anna.”

He laughs, and then, the line goes silent for a few moments. I stand up to leave, but Una’s hand shoots out, grabbing my forearm. We both glance down at the spot where her hand is locked on my wrist, and I don’t know who’s more shocked, me or her.

“What if…what if she doesn’t remember?” she whispers, and my chest clenches.

“She’ll remember, Morte. You’re family.”

Her hand slips from my arm as she nods. I grip her chin and place a hard kiss on her lips before leaving the office. Zeus follows me, but George stays with her.

The second I step outside, Gio is next to me. “You know she’s going to run at some point, right?” he says.

“I know. Make sure the men are ready.”

He nods and peels away. Gio organizes everything so I don’t have to. And of course, right now, I’m busy with Una. I know she wants to make sure I never see that baby, and maybe it’s wise, but I don’t care. She’s going to run, and I’ll be ready for her, but I’ve learned never to underestimate Una. You can never have enough men, enough fire power, or enough back up plans when it comes to that woman. Add in the fact that causing her any harm is out of the question, and I’m on edge, terrified she’s going to slip away from me. If I lose her now, she’ll be nothing more than a whisper on the wind. I’ll never find her, and certainly not before she has my baby.