Page 25

TWENTY-FIVE

giovanni

F or a moment the doubt creeps in. I’m so desperate to believe what she’s saying is true. But the risk is so high.

Her voice breaks a little, and I turn to find her crying.

More manipulation.

No, she’s upset.

She’s tricking you.

I roll onto her, grabbing her face and forcing her to look at me. I want to see into her eyes. I want to see her soul.

Tears roll down her cheeks as I pin her to the bed, her eyes are wide with fright.

“Are those real tears, Zina?” I snarl.

She slaps me hard across the face. “Get off me.” She shouts.

My fingers tighten on her jaw.

My body is throbbing with excitement.

Her legs are spread beneath me.

Don’t be distracted.

She’s so small and weak under my body.

My cock hardens and my frown deepens.

Don’t let her control you.

But she ’ s not in control. Not now.

She’s so beautiful, so lost, her eyes are wild and fearful.

She’s fighting so hard to make me believe her, it’s almost working.

“Giovanni.” She sobs. “Please believe me. I don’t want to lose you.”

Her words break something inside me, and I let go of her face and press my lips against hers.

I want her. I never want to lose her.

Desperation ignites between us and she wraps her legs around my waist. I push my hips forward, pressing my cock against her naked body.

“Wait, don’t do this if you don’t love me.” She whispers against my mouth. “Don’t do this to me - if you don’t love me.” She pleads.

“I do love you.” I growl, fighting myself. I do love her, but I don’t trust her.

I should stop though, this isn’t right. This isn’t ok. How can I sleep with someone I don’t trust?

Grabbing the elastic of my sweatpants I tug it down and grab my cock. Rigid, etched with thick, throbbing veins over the shaft.

She gasps when I rub it over her, coating myself in her wetness.

“Giovanni - “ She says, breathless. “Tell me you love me.”

“Of course, I fucking love you, I never stopped loving you.” I say angrily, thrusting forward and penetrating deep into her body.

She cries out. Tears are still streaming down her cheeks, spilling from the corners of her eyes.

I thrust again, her body jolts beneath me and I groan with pleasure.

I didn’t lie to her. I love her.

But -

I thrust again, and she punches with her fist into my chest.

“Stop.” She says, her throat tight over her words.

“No.” I growl, fucking her harder.

“Gio - “ I slam into her and she gasps, tilting her head back in pleasure.

The faster I move she less the resists and there is no chance in hell that I can stop now, even if I wanted to.

She wraps her legs tighter around me and her nails dig into my back and my cocks slides in and out of her pussy.

It’s like we were made to be together. Our bodies perfectly aligned, perfectly fitted - nothing has ever felt so incredible, so right.

But so wrong.

A deep groan rumbles through me as my mind taunts me with whispers of how she betrays me - even now, even in my bed. She’s hiding things. Secrets.

I slam my hips forward and shove my cock deep inside her, punishing her with pleasure is all I can do now.

My fingers wrap around her throat and I move faster.

She gasps, her lips parting and her pupils dilating as I hover over her with ominous strength. The muscles of my arms flexing as I move, fucking her with brutal force and watching her enjoy every second of it.

Zina’s tears taste salty when I run my tongue over her cheek.

She moans softly, closing her eyes, her body shaking beneath me.

Her nails are so deep in my skin I’m bleeding.

I close my eyes too - to shut off my thoughts, to block out the conflict swarming through me.

Her pussy tightens over me and begins to pulse.

She goes rigid beneath me, her body tense as wave after wave of her orgasm shoots through her.

I groan with pleasure, thrusting forward one last time and exploding inside her.

I roll off her, not wanting to look into her eyes.

I tug the blankets up over my body and lie on my side facing away from her.

Her hand runs softly over my back. It feels incredible. My eyes close and I try to ignore it.

“I wish I knew how to make you see.” She says softly. “No matter what it took - I would do it - if I could prove to you that I would never betray you. I love you, Giovanni. I love you more than life itself.”

Her soft voice is soothing, and I can’t help but turn towards her.

She’s also lying on her side, and I pull her into my arms, letting our legs tangle as we lie together.

I don’t know what to do.

Her big, brown eyes are full of hope as she stares up at me.

I brush her silky hair from her face and let it spill onto the pillow behind her. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life - it’s that the beautiful things are often the most deadly.

* * *

I wake up long before the sun rises and make my way downstairs, grateful for the quiet moment that allows me to think clearly, without anyone needing anything from me.

As usual, I leave the lights off, preferring to move around in the dark. It’s more peaceful this way.

The coffee smells incredible and I lean with my back against the kitchen counter, sipping it, lost in thought.

“Dad.” Santino’s voice is strained and quiet.

“Hey, kid.” I say. We haven’t been getting on lately. To be really honest, I’ve missed him deeply. He has always been closest to me - my eldest. The man who will take over after I’ve gone. “What’s up? How are you?” I ask.

He gets a cup down and makes himself a coffee too. I can see there is something on his mind.

“Are all woman only put on this earth to cause us pain?” He asks.

“What?” I say, confused. “Your mother was?—”

“My mother left us. She left us to suffer without her.”

“Santino don’t say that. She would have given the world to stay and watching you become a man.”

“She gave up her life—” he mutters. “And now, you pretend to be in love but the woman sharing your bed is evil. She’s a liar and a manipulator and you refuse to see it.”

“Santino, you’ll understand one day, when you fall in love. When you meet a girl who steals your heart.”

“Actually, I wanted to tell you,” he sighs, and my chest tightens. His eyes giving away the seriousness of what he wants to say next.

“You can tell me anything.” I assure him.

“I’m studying to become a Bishop. I will never fall in love, dad. I won’t put myself through that. It’s not the path I’m meant to walk.”

My first reaction is a burst of laughter. My son? A man of God? It’s ridiculous. He’s teasing me.

But then I realize he’s never been more serious in his life and I trip over my words trying to recover.

“Santino, why, are you sure, why, I don’t understand. You are a beautiful man, any woman would love to be with you.” I shake my head and reach out and grab his shoulder, turning him towards me.

He pulls himself free and mutters. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“No, wait. I’m sorry. It’s just a shock. That’s all. I will support you, Santino. Whatever path you walk in life. I will support your decisions. The same way I want you to support mine.”

He nods. “I appreciate that.” He smiles tightly.

“Santino—” I sigh.

“Dad, I can’t hold it against you, but I can’t lie to you and tell you your new wife isn’t trying to destroy you. Everyone else can see it. Why can’t you?”

He picks up his coffee and leaves.

I’m standing alone in the dark kitchen again, more confused that I was before, more worried and more anxious. Flooded with even more doubt.

My son wants to be a Bishop.

That’s something I never, in a million years, would have expected.

But it’s his choice, and I meant it when I said I would support him.

He might go down that road and veer off it. He might not. It’s not for me to know right now.

For now - I’ve got to find a way to get to the bottom of the threat against my family.

The bomb.

The cryptic messages.

The hints of betrayal.

My wife.

* * *

The day doesn’t get any better.

It starts off with breakfast, which is tense. Santino has joined us, and I feel the weight of what he’s told me sitting between us like a wall. He wants to be a Bishop. But again I remind myself it’s his choice.

I make small talk with my sons, my leg brushes against Zina’s beneath the table, Zina is quiet - breakfast ends, tensions are high.

By ten in the morning I have a headache. It’s sitting at the base of my skull, throbbing and threatening to turn into a migraine.

Tilting the glass back I take two gulps of water to wash the painkillers down my throat - just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s only ten and I already want to climb back into bed and wait for tomorrow to arrive. Not that tomorrow has any guarantee of being better than today. I’ll still have to face all of this shit and find a way to fix it. It’s not just going to go away.

Sighing, I pull my phone out.

And my heart sinks even deeper.

Unknown: We were disappointed about your wedding lacking an expositive element. Good job stopping the bomb. But don’t get too confident just yet, you can’t stop everything from reaching your castle, King of the Underworld.

For fuck sakes.

Then its war - and I need to prepare.

Whoever this is has no intention of backing down or giving up.

I march straight to the security room to talk to Fabio.

He reads the message and lets out a low growl of agitation.

“We need more men.” He sighs in frustration. “We’ll reinforce security around the perimeter. Nothing comes in or out of this estate without being scanned and searched. Cars. People. I don’t want a fucking bird flying overhead without registering on the system.”

“So, you understand. Good. You can go ahead with that. Keep my informed. Do whatever you need to do.”

“Yes, sir.” He grumbles. I’ve just made his day a lot more complicated and stressful.

My sons are all sitting in the living room, staring at me expectantly. Zina sits quietly in the single sofa, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. She’s the only one who looks calm while she waits to hear what this family meeting is about.

It bothers me that she’s so calm - as if she already knows.

But the only way she can know about the latest warning is if she was somehow involved with it.

My eyes pierce into her, trying to read her thoughts. Can I trust her?

I’m busy preparing for war again my home, against my family - and I have no idea if I can trust the person I chose to give my heart to.

“What’s going on, dad?” Romeo asks, getting impatient.

I want to tell them enough convince them to be vigilant, but not enough to have them lying awake at night worrying. That’s my job, not theirs.

“I’m in the process of increasing security on the estate. It’s a precaution, but I need everyone in this family to be extra alert and to inform a guard, or me, if you see anything strange or suspicious.”

After the family meeting Santino pulls me aside.

“What was that about?” he demands.

“It’s ok, son - I’ve got it covered.” I sigh.

“No, dad. You need to tell me everything. I am your oldest son, I have a right to know what is happening.”

My eyes meet his and I stare into the face of my son, who is quickly becoming a man. A man I can be proud of. A man I can trust.

“Santino, we received a threat this morning. Someone is coming. I don’t know what’s going on and I feel out of my depth. I’ll do everything I can to protect this family but I’m worried. I’m worried about everything.”