Page 55

Chapter 55

Massimo

Chaos reigns.

I catch Nova as she falls unconscious. She's so fucking pale, I'm panicking.

Gabe grabs Vincenzo and hauls him to one of the rooms in the basement. Maybe not the best move given who and what he is, but I need him contained and not more of a threat than he already is while I tend to Nova.

Zio Marco is shouting and arguing with Gemma.

I cradle Nova in my arms, sitting in a chair while she starts to stir, and Jerome hovers close by to help with whatever I need.

Then Vito and Creed both barrel into the kitchen.

Vito had been with me during the meeting with Ash and Dom, where we discussed Ivan Everhart and the evidence we'd gathered from the car bombing at my gates. When Damien called, telling me that Marco and Vincenzo had arrived and that he couldn't get a call through to Gabe in the house to warn him, we rushed back home.

My uncle has clearance to enter, but given the current situation, the guards are under strict orders to notify Gabe of any visitors. The biggest questions are why wouldn’t any calls go through, and why hadn’t Damien sent another guard ahead to warn the house? Heads will roll if needed—but my priority was getting to Nova, so Vito stayed back at the gates to interrogate our men.

Right now, I'm unsure why Vito is in the kitchen instead of at the gates, and I'm definitely unsure of why Creed is here at all.

The looks on both their faces tell me this isn't a social call from my baby brother.

Nova is slowly coming to, and I help her sit up.

"You're safe, Nova," I reassure her as she trembles and push her creamy blonde hair back from her pale face.

" Zio ," Vito barks. "Cease the fucking shouting and arguing."

The chaos in the kitchen quiets, but my uncle's face remains dark as he glowers at Nova

I level him with just as dark of a look. "Nova is my wife, and you will treat her with respect, Zio ."

Creed stiffens in shock, but he remains silent.

Marco's face turns red as he swallows back a hateful retort and demands, "How did this happen? And why?"

"I don't need to explain myself or my actions."

His nostrils flare, and he looks at Nova again. She leans into me as if shrinking from him. And that won't fucking do.

"You will respect my wife . Am I clear, Zio ?"

Nova's spine straightens, and she makes to get up, but I refuse to let her go. She twists to look at me—there's strength in her gaze but also a resigned sadness. When she pushes against me again, I finally let her go. I rise to stand beside her; to be by her side in solidarity—a king standing beside his queen—and to catch her if she faints again.

She looks at me, then turns to my family. "I know my father has done horrible things to your family. I'm not asking you to defend or protect me, and I won't come between the love and loyalty you all have for each other."

Vito speaks before I can, "Nova, this is what our family does; we protect our own. You're family now; Massimo and you married."

"We all know that was fake." Nova shakes her head. " You married us, Vito."

"Definitely fake," Zio Marco mutters, rubbing his hand over his face .

Vito grins, looking first at Marco and then Nova. "I assure you: my ordainment is one hundred percent legit. In this state, country, and globally."

Zio Marco chokes on a cough, and Nova spins to me. The sudden movement causes her to sway, and I quickly grab her shoulders to steady her. From everything I've learned about pregnancy, I know dizziness can be an early side effect due to hormonal shifts, blood pressure and sugar changes. Still, I'll make sure Nova gets thoroughly checked as soon as possible.

"Why would you actually marry me?" she asks, almost in horror.

Anger surges within me at the thought that she doesn't want me as her husband.

But then it hits me—her entire life has been filled with psychological warfare. And there's the very real possibility she overheard me calling her 'the snake's spawn' when I was trying to stop Vito from digging deeper into the rumors that I had her. All of this would undoubtedly shape the way she sees and interprets everything.

"Nova... I married you because you're mine. My tiny but fierce queen."

She shakes her head, and I still see her doubt. "We can get an annulment."

"No," I growl, then quickly ease. "You're mine, Nova. No one…not your father, Vincenzo, my family"—I look pointedly at Zio Marco before turning back to her—"not even you can take you from me." She opens her mouth to protest, and I step closer, framing her beautiful face with my big hands. "Because I love you. And because you are carrying my child."

She stumbles back, and my hand wraps around her nape, and the other slides around her lower back.

"I'm on the pill." She stares up at me. "You ensure I take it every day."

I smile. "It's a prenatal vitamin."

"What?" Her voice is a whisper.

She could hate me for my manipulation and deception, but I lean into my actions. "Having you as my wife and the mother of my children is my greatest desire. It also protects you from anyone having the power to take you from me. Your father or the French mafia can try, but the whole of the Santoro mafia will rise to protect you, and the whole of the 'Ndrangheta will need to back us if required."

Zio mutters in Italian, but he's not looking hateful or spiteful now. Then he smiles, shaking his head. "You're so much like Tommaso, nipote , it hurts." He regards Nova, like he's seeing her for the first time through new eyes; ones not discolored with the stains of Silvestro Mancini's sins against us and the innocent lives he's turned into hell. Then he turns back to me. "Like Tommaso did with Gina, you used your own underhanded means to secure your queen by your side."

That I did.

Nova is still pale and looks a bit dazed as she stares at me. "I'm pregnant?" Her voice is choked. "How do you know? Isn't it too soon to know?"

"The blood work."

Yesterday, I had Jerome draw blood again from Nova for his friend to analyze. I did this partly to ensure she was doing well in terms of nourishment and partly because I wanted to see about the pregnancy. He ran the early detection tests, and the results showed that hCG—human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone released after a fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining—was present. She likely got pregnant one of the first times we'd been together.

I hate that we're having this conversation in front of an audience, but it can't be helped.

I wrap my hands around her waist, pulling her closer, and gazing down at her. "Do you hate me, princess?"

Her big brown eyes well with tears, and I brace myself for her answer.

Her reaching up on her tiptoes and pulling my face down to hers isn't what I'm expecting.

"No," she whispers, her breath is shaky. "I love you, Massimo."

The words are only audible to me, but I hear them as if she shouted them at the top of her lungs. My heart soars with joy and happiness. My hands tighten on her waist, wanting nothing more than to worship her and take care of her in every and all ways. But we have a dire threat we need to deal with.

"I love you, too." I kiss her gently. "My wife. "

The welled-up tears in her eyes spill over as two fat teardrops, but she smiles. And for the first time since I've laid eyes on her, her gaze is entirely unguarded—no remnants of her walls left standing, not even a pebble left for her to try to rebuild them. Those defenses she had hidden behind, protecting herself from the monsters in her world, are completely gone. And her fire and fight burns bright and strong.

She's ready. My queen has finally been forged and is by my side, ready to face and destroy the threat against her.

I kiss her once more, fighting the urge to haul her over my shoulder and take her upstairs. Instead, I pull back and tuck her into my side, then face my gathered family.

Jerome looks on like a proud grandfather. Gabe has returned from the basement and stands beside Gemma. Vito stands beside Zio Marco, who still looks hesitant and worried about what I've done. Creed comes closer to us, and Nova stiffens.

I know she witnessed the altercation between Creed and me in my office while she was in the safe room. She's also aware of what happened with Sophie.

Creed extends his hand. "Never thought this is how I'd meet Massimo's chosen one. He's the most traditional and conventional of us, but I guess he threw in some of Vito's unhinged mayhem antics."

Nova slips her small hand into his tattooed grip and bites her lip before saying, "I'm sorry for what my father is responsible for regarding your wife."

Creed's look softens, and he covers her hand with his other one. "The sins of the father shouldn't reflect on the daughter. Welcome to the family, Nova."

"Thank you." Her voice is hoarse with emotion.

Creed turns to me with a grave expression. "I'm actually here regarding something to do with Nova."

The mood shifts instantly, the weight of his words pulling us back to the threat at hand.

We gather around the island, and Jerome hands Nova one of the smoothies he always keeps on hand for her, fussing over her like always.

"What the fuck happened?" I ask Gabe and Vito .

"Coordinated attacks spread out around the perimeter wall," Vito reports. "Damien sent the guards to investigate and ensure no breaches occurred. Then Zio and Vincenzo arrived, and Damien tried to call Gabe, Gemma, Jerome, plus the guards in the house—nothing would go through."

My jaw tightens, and my fist clenches. "Something blocked Damien from making the calls. Or someone." I turn to Zio Marco. "Vincenzo is supposed to be back in Italy, yet he's here with you."

"He did leave," Marco explains. "But then he showed up, demanding I take him to you."

"And you never thought to call me?" I growl.

He looks guilty. "I, too, believed you might have the Mancini…" At my look, he corrects, " Nova . I was trying to protect the family from the backlash and thought if I cooperated with Vincenzo—"

"I'm your Don, Zio, " I cut him off harshly. "First and foremost, I am your leader. The one you pledged your utmost loyalty to. Our family comes first."

Each word pushes my anger toward rage, and I'm nearly vibrating, trying to remain in control.

Nova's small hand cups my cheek. "Marco thought he was putting the family first, Massimo. He thought his actions were protecting you."

My gaze shifts from locking my uncle in the crosshairs for a kill shot to my wife. She's good and pure, but I see the vein of dark in her. She understands this world—accepts it but still views things from a perspective of the benefit of the doubt.

However, my uncle's future depends on the rest of what he has to say.

I glance back at him, and he nods, looking as if he's finally realizing and accepting that Nova is nothing like any of the other Mancinis.

"Vincenzo returned, desperate , Massimo," Zio says. "He's afraid of something. He promised he wasn't here to harm Nova but to help us against Mancini."

I quickly process this, considering it from all angles, then turn to Vito and Gabe. "What happened on the perimeter walls?"

"Small explosives were detonated," Gabe says. "Not big enough to cause any sort of damage, though. "

"Likely meant to be a distraction." Vito flexes his scarred hands, making his knuckles crack.

"Vincenzo knew from his visit here that we had a skeleton guard crew," Gemma adds.

My strategic mind fits the pieces together—the attacks were a distraction, keeping our skeleton crew occupied while Vincenzo jammed communications to the house. But I suspect he wasn't working alone.

"The explosives—where they linked to the ones used at the gate with the self-driving car?"

"It's too soon to know," Gabe says. "But Tino and Marcelo are gathering everything that remains for analysis."

"I want extra eyes on Ivan and the Serpents…add Sean Finley and the Irish as well," I order. Vito pulls out his phone to coordinate with Raf, his right-hand man.

The Serpents had been tied to the car bomb at my gates, and there was very loose evidence connecting the Irish to it as well. With the bounty on Nova's head, I wasn’t dismissing anyone who even remotely seemed guilty of playing a part in these attacks.

"If needed, pull in the Havoc Guardians and the Saints for surveillance," I remind Vito that Ash and Dom had committed resources.

Vincenzo is my biggest concern right now.

And if the explosives detonating around the perimeter wall and Vincenzo's arrival weren't coincidental separate events—and in my jaded experience, 'coincidental' was rarely a thing—then that means my enemies are not only circling closer but my conspiracy theory was correct and they're all uniting. Mancini, the French, Ivan, Sean, and Vincenzo; throw in Gastone, Camillo, and Achille, and I was about to have my hands very full.

I have Vincenzo here, so my biggest threat at the moment was somewhat contained. Rage flares within me, though, that he—my supposed ally—came to take Nova from me.

Not. Fucking. Happening.

"I want Crispin and Daniele to investigate Vincenzo's movements. I want to know if he actually left the States, and if he has any connection between the Serpents and the Irish mob. And dig deeper than we already have into his ties with Mancini."

Gemma pulls out her phone. "On it, Mass."

Next, I turn to my baby brother. "What do you have regarding Nova?"

"Nathaniel Kessler contacted me," Creed says. "He's the CEO of Synovex Biotech."

The pharmaceutical company with Glucoaid-X.

This intel gets all my attention. "What did he want?"

"He said he knew your mother, Nova. Before she died, she put something in place to protect you. He's never been able to get to you, but with the rumors flying around that Massimo stole you, he tried to reach out to you through me, suspecting Massimo might not take his call."

I feel Nova push in closer under my arm. "Do you know this man, Nova? Or have heard of him?"

She shakes her head. "No."

"Could this be a trap?" Zio asks. "Trying to get Massimo to openly admit he has Nova?"

"I honestly don't know," Creed says, looking at me. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. You're not involved in mafia-related things."

"You know when it comes to family, I'm all in, Mass. At least let me broker the connection between you two," Creed insists.

"Thank you, baby brother," I accept his offer. "We'll make the call in my office. Jerome, can you bring some food in there, please?" I need to get something into Nova besides the smoothie, as she still looks way too pale. "Come, Nova. We'll eat first, then call Nathaniel Kessler."

I smile at her shock that I'm involving her directly in this, and I pull her against my chest. My thumbs caress her pulse points on her neck. "I want you by my side to speak with this Nathaniel Kessler, but if it's too much right now…"

"I was just surprised. My father would never—"

I press my thumb against her lips. "I think we've established I'm not like your father."

She shivers, leaning into me. "No, you're my husband. My monster."

My smile is dark. "Hear me roar."