Page 65 of Broken Mafia Prince (His to Break #1)

RAFFAELE

I wrap the bandage around my fist and pull on the boxing gloves, securing them tightly in place. From the corner of my eye, I can see my opponent doing the same. I raise a curious brow when Tommaso suddenly steps into the room and taps my sparring partner out, taking his place.

“Itching to have your face caved in?” I ask.

He snorts. “I’d love to see you try.”

To be fair, my right-hand man is the only one who’s truly been close to being competition for me. I spar with the men to keep fit and relieve stress, but I also have to pull my punches, or I’d end up landing them in the emergency room. Cracking my neck, a big smile curves my mouth.

“Don’t hold back.”

He rolls his eyes. “Do I ever?”

We circle each other like predators readying for a fight, carefully taking in each other’s stances. Tommaso lashes out first, fists flying lightning fast. Unfortunately for him, I’m faster. I dodge the blow, bending to catch him in the stomach.

He shifts at the last moment, the blow glancing off his side.

His narrowed eyes meet mine, and I grin at him. “You’ll need to do a whole lot better than that. Try rotating your hips a little more.”

“I’m not taking advice from someone who can’t even decide which side he’s on.” He comes for me again, and this time I’m ready, my fists fly, knocking him on the under of his jaw.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grit out, annoyed.

“You know what?” He moves his tongue around his mouth, feeling for blood. “Playing double-agent is going to get you killed.”

“And mouthing off is going to get you killed.”

He shrugs. “To be fair, I’ll probably die first from being such a loyal fucker.”

His foot makes contact with the side of my leg, and I buckle, dropping to the ground and bouncing back up a minute later. “It’s complicated.”

Tommaso snorts. “What isn’t? But we both know you can’t keep doing this indefinitely. This is all going to blow up in your face sooner rather than later.”

I throw three punches in quick succession, and he flies back with a grunt. “I don’t remember asking for your advice. Or telling you that I don’t know this is one big clusterfuck.”

The glance he shoots me is droll. “I’m out there risking my life for you and looking out for fucking Enrico Montanari under your orders. The least you can do is tell me that you know what the hell you’re doing.”

“I don’t.” I pin him with an assessing look.

The crazy fucker laughs. “Yeah, I thought as much.”

“Now what?” We circle each other again, panting. Sweat pours down my body, and I wipe my brow with my arm, trying to regulate my breathing.

“You tell me. I’m just the guy that follows orders.”

We fly forward at the same time, fists ready.

I block some of his hits and deliver some.

One particular hit winds him enough for me to drag him to his knees and pull him into a headlock.

He doesn’t give up, straining against my hold and smashing his elbow into my ribs over and over again.

I hold on tight, gritting my teeth against the pain until he eventually taps out.

I release him and we both fall to the ground, me clutching my side in pain while he coughs and wheezes.

“You almost killed me,” he croaks.

“Should have tapped out then,” I retort, chuckling.

The sparring match has helped to release some of the tension that I’ve been carrying around like an invisible weight on my shoulder.

I haven’t slept a wink in days, too nervous about my father’s attack at the docks, and later, too nervous about what his next course of action will be.

Opposing allies have been spreading news of the famous family feud since yesterday, and the police have been coming and going, questioning the men. Knowing my father, he’s probably cooking up something else, even though we need to give it a few weeks for the story to die down.

When it comes to his revenge, all logical reasoning goes poof .

“Your father wants to see you,” Tommaso informs me.

All the tension comes rushing back, my muscles bunching together like a coiled spring.

I’ve been waiting on tenterhooks for this meeting since I drove off with Giulia the previous day, and even hours later, I’m still not prepared.

Somebody was bound to see us together and report to our fathers.

I just hope she’s not getting too much heat for it.

I’ve not been able to stop thinking about her for a second since we parted ways. Thoughts of her are the only thing keeping me sane.

I’m eager to begin my new life with her, but at the same time, I also want to fix this one, make it better for her.

Maybe it’s cowardice, or maybe it’s just stupid loyalty still tying me in place, but thinking of leaving forever makes me feel like there’s not enough air in my lungs.

I don’t want to lose her, but I’m just afraid of losing this life I’ve curated for myself.

The worst part is that I can’t possibly tell her any of this. Will she see it as me being weak? Or think that I’m having double thoughts about starting afresh with her?

I rise to my feet slowly. “You know, you could have just started with that. You didn’t need to have your ass handed to you.”

He starts to chuckle, but it ends with a wince. “You looked like you needed it.”

Shaking my head, I grab a water bottle from the cooler and toss it over to him before heading out of the gym. I take my time showering off the sweat, letting the icy water beat against my back before changing into gray slacks and a black cashmere turtleneck.

As I head down to the study, I’m surprised to hear my father calling me from the dining room.

He’s at the head of the table, a newspaper spread out before him and his cigar sticking out of one corner of his mouth. His cold blue eyes take me in as I walk into the room and stop a few feet from him.

“You wanted to see me.”

“Took your bloody time about it too,” he grouses, then stands up, stepping forward until we are barely an inch apart. “You fucked up, Raffaele.”

I stay silent, waiting for him to get it all out.

“I had faith in you,” he continues, voice cold as ice. “I trusted you to have this under control, to help me wipe those fuckers off once and for all, but once again, you’ve proved to me what a disappointment you are.”

“I don’t want this bloodshed. I’ve never wanted this for us.”

“Bloodshed is the only way, and you know it,” he spits. “Don’t tell me that my son, my flesh and blood, is too much of a pussy to spill blood for his own family.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he continues. “Or is it the Montanari girl whispering in your ear, telling you that sparing her family is the only way to get her in your bed?”

My hands curl into fists at my side. “This war isn’t necessary. Our men losing their lives over and over again isn’t necessary. I’m just trying to put an end to this and save us all before you bring everything crashing down in your thirst for destruction.”

“Nobody asked you to save them! Stop acting like we both don’t know what this is about,” he smirks. “I’ve seen greater men fall to their knees because of a woman, but I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to be one of them. Didn’t I teach you better?”

I scoff. “Teach me? If you mean treating me and my mother like we were no better than rabid dogs, then I hate to inform you, but that’s not the definition of teaching.”

“Did you want me to coddle you? Play chess with you like your puttana of a mother, and let you bury your head in your stupid storybooks?” He snarls.

“You think that if I’d indulged you, you’d have grown up to be half the man you are today?

I made you, Raffaele. I put you together, brick by brick.

And just when I thought I’d finally see the fruit of my labor, you humiliate me like this.

How long have you been plotting to disgrace me? ”

“It had nothing to do with you,” I snap. “Everything isn’t about you. I did what I did because if I hadn’t, I’d have lost everything I loved.”

He reels back. “Loved? Don’t tell me you mean the Montanari bitch.

If you were so eager to get your dick wet, there’s a million women who’d have willingly bent over and offered up all their holes; you didn’t have to surrender your integrity at the feet of that one.

Hasn’t she sold her pussy to half the men in the mafia to help her father further his war? ”

As soon as Tommaso told me my father wanted to see me, I knew that he’d try to aggravate me into doing something stupid. I told myself that I won’t rise to the bait, no matter what he says. I prepared myself to keep cool and let all his words slide off me.

That’s easier said than done.

In the blink of an eye, I have my father pinned to the wall, lips peeled back in a snarl as I stare him down.

I can feel the blood pounding in my head, rising to the surface of my skin and demanding violence.

My fists start to rise, and I can already taste the satisfaction that will come from smashing them into his face.

It’s the glint in his eyes that stops me.

I realize in that moment that this is a test, and he wants me to fail. He wants me to hit him, so it’ll be the proof that I’m just as bloodthirsty as he is. I release my grip on him and step away.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I say. “The next time you talk about Giulia like that, I won’t be this forgiving.”

He smooths his hand over the front of his shirt.

“You can either fall in line or you can leave, but there’s no place in this family for a son who questions me as a traitor.

You have to make your choice now, but before you do, take note that I won’t hesitate to end you if you ever get in my way again. ”

I search his eyes and see the seriousness in them. There’s never been any love lost between us, and I know that for him, his hatred of the Montanaris weighs more than anything else, even his own son. I do not doubt that he’ll follow through with his promise.

“I hope you make the right choice, son,” he says after a moment of silence. “Now get the fuck out of my face.”

I turn on my heel and stalk out of the room, more conflicted than ever.

The conversation with my father just proves that I need to make up my mind and fast. I tug at my collar, trying to chase the feeling of being suffocated, but it persists.

The walls are quickly closing in, and something has to give.

I’m caught between a rock and a hard place, and I no longer have the leisure of time.

I now have to make a choice. My family or the woman I love?

Everything I’ve ever known and I’m familiar with or something new that has a possibility of falling apart?

A headache is pulsing at the side of my skull, and all I want to do at that moment is crawl into my bed with Giulia’s soft body in my arms and her sweet scent filling my lungs.