Page 64 of Broken Mafia Prince (His to Break #1)

GIULIA

I flinch at the sound of another explosion.

That has to be the sixth one since Raffaele left me here, and I can’t help but think that either he or my dad has been caught in one.

Who would I mourn more? I don’t even want to think about it, and so I don’t.

Instead, I occupy myself by trying to pinpoint where the last explosion came from and comparing it with mental images of the docks.

I peek between the piled-up scrap heaps, watching men run all over the place, guns held at the ready. When Raffaele said he’ll end this, I didn’t think it’d get to this point. I never wanted it to get to the point where men’s lives were lost.

The sound of a soft piano suddenly breaks through my thoughts, startling me. It takes me a moment to realize that it’s the sound of my ringtone, and I hurriedly pull out the phone from my pocket, swiping to answer.

“Giulia, where the hell are you? One second we were talking, the next you were rushing out, and I never heard from you again,” she snaps as soon as I press the phone to my ear.

“Long story.”

“Long story? What does that…” she trails off. “Giulia Montanari, tell me you’re not at the goddamn docks.”

“That would be a lie,” I say.

“Dear god. Are you out of your mind?” she screeches. “What were you thinking going there? It’s dangerous.”

I glance over to where a Gagliardi soldier is being choked to death by a Montanari one. “You’re beginning to sound a whole lot like Raffaele.”

“Well, would you look at that,” she snorts. “Your beau and I finally agree on something.”

“I had to look out for my father.”

I don’t need to see her to know she’s rolling her eyes. “Uh-huh. Something the hundreds of soldiers under him obviously can’t do,” comes her sarcastic reply.

An exhausted sigh escapes my mouth. “I also had to see for myself whose side Raffaele is on.”

There’s a pause. “And?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. “He’s trying to help, but it’s not looking good, Isa. The Gagliardis came fully prepared to erase us from this side of history. I’m scared.”

She lets out a sigh of her own. “Just?—”

I don’t hear the rest of what she says, because another deafening explosion goes up, causing my heart to leap up to my throat and stay there, choking me. I start muttering a prayer under my breath.

“Giulia! Giulia, where are you?” Raffaele’s voice calls out.

“Here,” I call back at him.

Seconds later, I see his tall, broad frame pulling away from the cloud of smoke. His face is drawn into a mask of concern and weariness. As soon as he reaches me, his gaze flies over me.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I?—”

“We need to get out of here. Now.”

“I’m not leaving without—” I start to say.

The expression that flashes in his eyes makes me snap my mouth shut. “I’m taking you home right now. Your father is fine. I have someone I trust on him. He will be back to you in one piece. We’re leaving.”

He doesn’t give me any time to protest. Grabbing my wrist, he begins to pull me away. It’s only then that I remember I was on a call with my cousin. When I look over at my phone, though, I see that she’s hung up.

The ride back to my home is filled with suffocating silence. Each time I open my mouth to speak, I change my mind. The truth is that there’s a lot I want to say, but I have no idea how to get it all out. Everything is one big mess, and I don’t know how to start untangling it.

“You lied to me,” I finally blurt out.

“I never lied to you.”

“You said you were handling it,” I accuse.

The car comes to a screeching halt, throwing me forward in my seat.

He turns to face me, giving me his full attention.

“I am fixing it. I’m doing my fucking best to fix it, Giulia.

Do you think this will all just miraculously end after a single intervention?

It’s decades in the making, and it won’t stop overnight. ”

“God, you’re missing the entire point,” I huff.

His jaw pulses. “What’s the point?”

“The point is that you made it look like this is a teeny, tiny issue, meanwhile world war fucking three is going on back there.” I gesticulate. “God, I could have stayed at home in my bed thinking that my father was walking into a manageable situation, and he could have died.”

“And maybe he would have deserved it.” His voice is low, and it takes me a while to snap out of the shock of his words.

“W-what?” I stammer.

“They want this war.” He shrugs. “They want this war, knowing the consequences, so why shouldn’t they bear it?”

I gape at him. “You don’t mean that.”

But the look in his eyes tells me that he does mean it. Honestly, I can’t judge him for it because a part of me thinks the same. Our gazes stay locked for what feels like an eternity, and eventually, he drags his gaze away, and I can breathe again.

“I didn’t want you to see this side of things.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “I don’t want the stain of blood and violence to be anywhere near you.”

“You’re trying to save me from something that I was born fully immersed in.

” I chuckle. “It’s too late to save me from it.

I’m a part of this world, whether you like it or not.

The blood, violence, and destruction run in my veins.

So while I get that you’re trying to be sweet, you’re fighting the wrong battle. ”

“You’re right. I was just trying to protect you, I’m sorry.”

I lean back against the headrest. While my father treats me like I’m made of steel and stone, like I’m just another of his soldiers, Raffaele treats me like I’m made of glass. “Just take me home.”

I’m drying my hair after two rounds of shampooing to get the smell of smoke out of it when I hear the knock on my door. I drop the blow dryer and glance over at the door, waiting to see if I heard right.

The knock comes again, and this time it’s followed by a voice. “Miss Montanari, the boss wants to see you in his office. Now.”

Tossing my semi-dry hair into a bun at the top of my head, I pull on a black sweatpants and a T-shirt and head downstairs. I can hear him screaming at people even from the landing. As I get closer, I have to slap my palms over my ears to save my eardrums.

It looks like he’s not even anywhere close to done screaming out his frustration at the men, which is my cue to get the hell out of here.

“Everybody out! Giulia, don’t you dare move an inch,” my father barks. I freeze while everybody scurries out; some of them are kind enough to shoot me small, reassuring smiles while looking relieved to be free from the dragon’s lair.

“You wanted to see me, Father?”

“Come in, shut the door, and sit down. And then explain to me what the ever-loving fuck you were doing with that Gagliardi bastard.”

My heart stutters in my chest, and I’m glad I’m facing away from him. I take my time shutting the door and gathering every bit of bravado I can find. Eventually, I face him, my expression a hard mask to match his.

“I think you know the answer to that already.”

“Of all the stupid things you’ve done in your lifetime, this has to be the stupidest,” he spits. “Is this why you refused Alessandro? Because that bastard has been whispering in your ear? You’ve defiled yourself and embarrassed this family for a taste of enemy cock.”

I flinch at the coarseness of his words. “It’s not like that!”

“How is it then? Tell me how it is, so I can understand why you’ve decided to be a little fool.” As if magnetized, his green eyes suddenly drop down to my hand and sharpen. “What is that thing?”

I curl my fingers into fists, tucking Raffaele’s ring safely into my palm. “I love him, Papa, and he loves me. Raffaele and I, it feels like we were destined. The pull?—”

“For the love of god, don’t tell me that you believe the bullshit you’re spouting.” He looks horrified. “Are you brain-dead? Fuck my life! No, no way could fate be so cruel as to take my family and leave me with such a?—”

I hate him at that moment, absolutely despise him. “Go to hell!” I scream.

“I’m living in a reality where my daughter has been fucking around with the enemy and calling it true love. Trust me, I’m in hell already.” He laughs bitterly. “He’s probably using you for inside information while keeping you hidden like his dirty little secret.”

“You don’t understand. How could you? You’ve never loved anything in your life.”

“I loved your mother, with everything inside me. If you loved her even a tenth of how I did, you wouldn’t go anywhere near that bastard, and you’d loathe him as much as I do.”

“He had nothing to do with it,” I retort. “The Gagliardis are just as much victims in this as we are. Why can’t you see that?”

“They worked with the Echelon Syndicate to take her from us,” he argues. “That day at the cliff, I saw the Syndicate’s symbol on the truck driver who ran us off the road.”

My eyebrows fly up in surprise. The memory from that day is a bit foggy, but I can clearly remember Papa chasing after that man. I’ve resented him for choosing vengeance over saving Mother and Val, and I’ve found myself more than once asking if they’d be here with us today if he had chosen them.

But it still doesn’t explain why he’s going after Raffaele’s family.

He cuts me off before I can voice my question.

“And after we found the bastard’s body—or what was left of it—he was wearing the Gagliardi signet ring.

How’s that for a coincidence? The Syndicate has been in bed with the Gagliardis for years.

They teamed up to destroy me, to take my family from me.

And now they’re at it again, trying to destroy my shipment. Don’t you see? It’s as clear as day.”

I shake my head, frustration bubbling up. “The only thing that’s clear is that you’re delusional. That ring could have been planted by the Syndicate to stir up conflict between us. They’ve done it before.”

One of his eyebrows arch up. “I am? Then explain why we’re the only ones getting attacked by the Syndicate.

Explain why your beloved boy toy isn’t running around trying to put out fires the Syndicate has set.

Newsflash: There are no fires. You think it’s a coincidence that they’ve been coming after us over and over? ”

“Jesus Christ, Dad,” I finally snarl. “For one second of your life, think about something that isn’t this revenge, your vendetta. You think Raffaele’s family ruined your life, but you’re wrong. Do you know what did?”

He leans back in his chair, eyes as hard as concrete. “Do tell.”

“You,” I tell him. “You refused to move on and have a life after what happened. It was a tragedy, you loved Mama, boo-fucking-hoo. I lost her too, and I guess you’ve forgotten that you had a daughter, but I haven’t!”

I pant, trying to stave off the tears. “I lost the other half of my soul when Val died, and I haven’t felt complete since.

And what did you do? You abandoned your kid for revenge, and then, when it was convenient for you, you picked me back up, tried to dust me up, and toss me at the first man who could aid your fucked-up vengeance. ”

“You know nothing.” His voice is so cold, the best word for it is glacial.

I scoff. “You think so, but neither do you.”

I might be standing five feet away from him, but we could be standing miles away, a gaping chasm dividing us. No matter the words I use, the tears I shed, no matter how much I beg and plead, cut myself open and bleed over him, he will never see or hear me. I’m as invisible to him as a puff of air.

As soon as that fact settles in my psyche, I feel a weight lift off me, relief from an ache I never knew I’d been living with spreading through me. A smile curves my mouth.

“That Gagliardi boy is using you, and you’re so dumb that you can’t see what’s right in?—”

I walk away, the smile still on my face. I don’t stop walking when he roars at me to get back, I don’t stop when he calls me a shame to the family. I don’t stop until I’m curled up on the floor in my closet, hugging Raffaele’s shirt in my arms like it’s an embodiment of him.