Page 44 of Mafia King: Matteo (Borrelli Mafia #1)

ALENA

Something is amiss when I return home. Federico is making a tray of soup and tea.

“What’s going on? Where’s Matteo?” I ask. Bianca is quiet beside me. The day was perfect. I was relaxed and enjoyed time with my best friends.

“Follow me, Alena.” Federico is always chipper.

“I’m coming too,” Bianca says as she dumps my coat on the kitchen counter. I run up the steps, passing Federico, not knowing what I will find. I take the steps two at a time.

Gio and Niccoló are with Matteo, who is in bed. His left arm is bandaged.

“Please tell me it’s just a scratch.”

“If that’s what you want to hear, sure.” Matteo gives me a weak smile.

“What happened?” I glance at all three of them as Bianca and Federico enter the room.

“It was a drive-by. I was getting you flowers. I’ve never given you flowers. Gio was getting cigars. The guard stayed in the car. It happened so fast,” Matteo relays the facts as if it’s nothing.

“Who did it?” I ask as my eyes light up. Someone is going to pay for this.

“No clue. But we have a call into the Irish. I think they want something from me and are trying to leverage nothing into something.” I take Matteo’s hand, and he allows me to hold it.

“Are you going to be okay?” Bianca asks, moving closer to her brother’s bed.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a scar.” He shrugs.

“Well, thank God they didn’t have better aim,” she jokes.

“They sent a message. If they wanted him dead, he’d be dead,” Gio speaks at last. “I’m sorry, Alena. I never should have let my guard down. It won’t happen again.”

“I want the person responsible for this!” I yell in frustration. We’re victims. I hate being powerless.

I’m also pissed. I want to scream and shout with the anger that swells inside every cell in my body.

Matteo was shot and could have died. I’d be lost without him. I consoled myself in the fact that he’s alive. However, the situation reminds me how fragile life is.

I’m so in love with him that I can’t focus on anything else. I’ll be by his side as long as he needs me. Sex is no longer fucking—it’s become meaningful. Touch for touch, a caress in return for a caress. He makes love to me, and he’s letting me in.

When we make love, our eyes meet, our souls kiss, and the euphoria is pure joy. So much so that I cry tears of happiness, and I don’t hide the fact that my cheeks are wet. I love this man.

Federico leaves the food on the bureau and leaves the room. Gio and Niccoló excuse themselves, and Bianca kisses her brother on the cheek and tells him she’s relieved he will be okay.

We’re alone. I change into a jogger and crawl into bed with him.

“How are you feeling?”

“The pain pills are working,” he teases.

“You know what I meant.”

“I’m fine. And I’ll get to the bottom of this. It was probably the Irish. I have the Morettis being watched, and it’s been quiet at his house. Did you know his wife hasn’t been seen in months?”

Matteo is wounded, but he still talks about work.

That’s my husband. He works nonstop. In his mind, we’ll be safe once he solves the mystery of Luciano and Chiara’s murders.

I love him for his dedication. I’ve learned so much from him.

I admire the man he is, even though he loves to show the world his rough exterior.

“No, I didn’t know that. Are you sure she’s alive? Her husband is strange. No, that isn’t strong enough of a word. He’s mean and spiteful. He’s powerful, and powerful men can make things happen.”

“Oh, I know that. She wouldn’t be the first to die by suicide.”

“Oh, so that’s how you’d do it?” I tease him as I lean my head on his toned shoulder and lay my arm protectively over him.

“Come here,” he says, wrapping his uninjured arm around me. “I couldn’t wait for you to get home. Did you have fun?”

“Yes, but I missed you.”

“I missed you more.”

“It’s debatable, but since you’re wounded, I’ll let you get away with it this time. But I’m taking care of you.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You have no choice. We’re camping out in bed until Monday.”

“That means we have all day Sunday to fool around.”

It’s refreshing to see his sense of humor return.

“I was thinking we’d hang out and watch TV and cuddle. You’re supposed to be resting.” I nuzzle his neck and breathe in the smell of the light fragrance from his natural soap.

“That’s not what I have in mind,” he growls. It’s similar to the sound he makes before he tears my underwear off with his teeth.

I check his temperature and play nurse for the remainder of the afternoon. Federico serves us dinner in our suite and picks the tray up before he leaves for the night. I thank him profusely.

I sleep past dawn. It’s Sunday, and I find his bad arm draped over my midsection. Our legs are intertwined. I can’t move. There is no way for me to move without waking him. I pretend to sleep, and he wakes up despite the fact I’m still.

He kisses my dry lips. “How’s my angel?”

“Fine.” I stretch, and he sits on the edge of the bed. “I need a shower. Would you care to take one with me?”

“I’d love to.” I walk him to the shower and run the water. I wrap his arm with plastic wrap the doctor gave him. I don’t ask if he went to the hospital. I assume he has a man on the payroll to handle these things. The plastic sleeve protects his bandaged area.

We step into the shower. I run the square bar of soap over his toned body.

He insists on washing my back, and I let him.

I admit it feels good, and he’s gentle and romantic as he kisses me softly.

I turn off the water and help him dry off.

I know he’s feeling better when he playfully grabs at my boobs.

I dodge him, but he manages to slap my naked ass.

“That hurts!”

“You liked it, didn’t you?”

“Mm, the doctor said you have to take it easy.”

“Fuck that. I’m the king, and what I say goes. Your pussy and your heart belong to me and no one else. Ever!”

He lunges for me. I scamper into the bedroom and hop on the bed. He tackles me, and it’s game over. After more than an hour of having every inch of my body covered with kisses and having orgasmed twice, I want to make his day special.

“I want to give you a blow job. You’re doing too much.”

“Angel, I’d love to see your lips on my cock.”

He stands by the bed. His veined cock is hard.

I kneel on the floor and take him into my mouth.

I lick myself off of him and ride my hand up and down his shaft as I flick my tongue over his head and take delight in the fact that he moans and arches his back.

He’s so long that I have to be careful not to suffocate.

I love knowing I can pleasure him this way.

He has fists in my hair. I bob my head fully, taking him into my mouth, and move my hand faster and faster.

“Fuck,” he groans as he explodes into my mouth, and I swallow. I lick him clean.

“That’s so hot. You’re amazing.”

“I like doing that with you, only you.”

His face softens as he kisses me deeply. “Let’s get out of the house. I need some fresh air.”

“Is it safe?”

“I have a temporary truce with the Irish. Gio texted me last night. We’ll talk. We both want a peaceful resolution.”

“Did you do something?”

“Not anything he would know of, but who knows?”

Matteo’s phone rings.

“Yes, Gio. I’m resting.” Matteo talks first, and then he listens to Gio speaking in Italian. “Fine. Pick us up in ten.”

“What’s going on?”

“Gio received a message. It appears Gabriella Moretti’s sister wants to speak to us.”

“Us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I can’t read a woman’s mind,” he replies, giving me a complex look.

“Well, you read mine very well, especially in bed.”

“That’s a talent I only share with you, my love.”

“Well, Mr. Grey. I suggest we get dressed. Where are we going?”

“Eisenhower Park. It’s not far. I doubt many people will be there when the forecast says the day will be filled with heavy snowfall. I assume it’s a secretive meeting.”

“I wonder what she wants.”

“I have no clue. I’ll be asking questions—you can bet on that.”

“It’s odd. The Morettis haven’t reached out before. Can we trust her?”

“We’ll find out.”

“I don’t know if it’s worth the risk. Why can’t she talk over the phone like normal people?”

He raises his eyebrows, mocking me.

“Oh, right. Fine, the park it is,” I say as I tug my boots over my socks.

Gio arrives and is sitting in the limo. Along with him is another guard and our driver, who also doubles as a guard.

Matteo said he wasn’t taking any chances. It could be a setup so the men can check out the park before we leave the armored limo.

The park is deemed safe. Only one woman is sitting on a park bench near a fountain.

We approach her. She has a scarf around her face, and a winter hat adorns her head.

Her black wool winter jacket covers her body.

She’s wearing leather gloves and appears to have an adequate lifestyle.

But I can’t make out the features of her face.

“Sit down casually,” the woman says softly but sternly. She looks straight ahead as if we’re here by chance.

“Who are you?” Matteo asks.

“I’m Lucinda, Gabriella Moretti’s twin sister.”

This meeting reeks of a conspiracy. The question is—who’s?

“Twin?” Matteo asks. “I confess there isn’t much information on your sister.”

“That’s true. You understand that. I don’t have much time. I keep moving around. This nightmare has to end.” She takes a breath and then continues. “When my sister was forced to marry Santino, I knew our lives were ruined. We live in his shadow, and we fear him. He’s ruthless. He has no morals.”

“Why are you here?” Matteo says tersely. His eyes survey the landscape for trouble as he pushes her to get to the point.

The driver and guard continue to canvas the area, but Gio sticks close to us. I know he has more than one weapon under his trench coat. After the near hit yesterday, he’s not taking unnecessary chances.

“I helped my sister have an affair with your father, Luciano. I delivered their love notes. She would come to visit me, and I’d slip her out the back door.

She’d be picked up to meet your father. Usually, hotels and off-the-beaten-path eateries.

They were like teenagers in love. She was happy.

” She sighs. “I warned her she was playing with fire, but she didn’t care.

Her children were grown and out of the house.

And for a few hours a week, she escaped her cruel husband.

I assume Santino grew suspicious and had her followed.

I’m not sure. When I saw on the news that Luciano Borrelli was dead, I knew he had found out about the affair. It was too coincidental.”

She pauses and pulls numerous envelopes from her coat pocket. She hands them to Matteo, who sits next to her. I stand and pace before him.

“This is proof of their affair.”

“Why give this to me?” Matteo opens a letter cautiously and looks at it briefly before tucking it inside the envelope. He then shoves the notes into his coat pocket.

“I’m in danger. I can’t return to my home until Santino is dead.

He has my sister drugged. He doesn’t allow her children to see her.

If the drugs to sedate her don’t kill her, he will do it himself.

She’s losing her will to live. We’re twins, and I feel her slipping away.

” She falls quiet as if her sister is speaking to her.

“What is it that you want from me?” Matteo is still. I’m concerned he’s in pain as he sits beside her.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Sun Tzu,” Lucinda states. “You are familiar with it.”

“Yes.”

“He used someone close to your family to kill your father. He’s paranoid.

He will kill anyone who knows what he did, as it would start a war.

He didn’t want my sister, but he didn’t want anyone else to have her.

I stole those notes from her hiding place to prove their affair, the last time I saw her, and informed her of Luciano’s death.

It’s the proof you need to do what you do in these situations. ”

“And then you and your sister can inherit. Gabriella’s son, Vincenzu, takes over, and all is forgotten. An eye for an eye.”

“I hope that’s how it happens. Vincenzo and his sisters have had years of abuse at that man’s hands. I was powerless to stop it. I am doing what I can to help now.”

“You fear him,” I state as I pace back and forth in front of my fiancé. “One would be foolish not to. He has eyes and ears everywhere. Be careful. I have to go.” She stands.

I feel for the woman who has seen her sister suffer for years and was powerless to help her. Now, she’s trying to save her sister at the risk of her own life.

I hug her. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.”

She returns my hug.

“I hear you are kind. I see that my great-niece is a wonderful woman. I hope to meet her one day. She’s safe with the Russians. Santino is crazy, but the alliance of your families means you outnumber the Morettis.”

“Does he know about her?” I won’t risk saying Izzy’s name in case Lucinda is wearing a recording device. If I learned one thing from Matteo, it’s that I have to be more careful with whom I trust.

“I saw a picture of her with Dmitry on the red carpet. I knew she had to be related. Her mother loved Alexsei. She has his eyes and our features. I never said a word to anyone, not even my sister. Santino would kill her to punish Alexsei. It all happened so long ago, but Santino holds grudges forever. He will never let go of the past. He doesn’t forgive or forget those who wronged him, even if it’s in his head.

The family doesn’t support him, but no one can go against him.

He is paranoid. I think the sins of those he has unjustly killed haunt him. He’s going crazy.”

“Thank you,” I reply as my eyes tear. I quickly brush them away as she slips out of sight.

Matteo stands. Gio approaches.

“We better move to be safe.”

“Agreed,” Matteo says as he slips his arm through mine as if we were alone in the park the entire time.

We’re safely in the limo heading home when Matteo informs Gio about the discussion with Lucinda.

Gio lets out a low whistle. “I never saw that coming. She handed you what you needed to take him out.”

“My father deserved what he got. He touched another man’s wife, but using Chiara to do his job for him crossed the line. When Alexsei learns that Santino is still a threat to Izzy, I’m sure he’ll side with us.” Matteo summarizes the issues, and we all know the solution.

Santino Moretti has to die.

* * *