Page 11 of Merciless Queen (Moretti Mafia #1)

Caterina

My fist slammed into the worn punching bag with a force that reverberated through my arm.

The surge of adrenaline powering through me was the only reason the impact didn’t sting.

Vincenzo ruined that girl’s life, and here I was shoving guns down her throat and victim-blaming.

Fuck. I should have known never to believe Vincenzo’s own scum, but once again, he crawled under my skin and messed everything up.

I was a mess when it came to Vincenzo, and he fucking knew it, too.

Distractions were deadly in this life. I was a mafia princess, but also the mafia leader with lives depending on me.

Vincenzo got into my head and made me angry.

Seeing his cocky fucking grin because he knew I couldn’t kill him pissed me off even more.

If I knew I would have other families on my side, I would rid the world of Vincenzo Mancini and his vile bloodline, but I couldn’t because of a foolish treaty made forty years ago between the Mancini, Petrov, and Orlov families.

I was fucking powerless against all three of them.

Even without Petrov joining in, I would have no help, and my family would be destroyed.

This life was not sunshine and roses or shit people read about in books.

It was brutal and took a soulless devil to handle the reins.

This life changed people, but I did my best to help innocent people affected by this life.

Drugs were one thing and so were weapons, but forcing someone into sex work was disgusting.

Yet, what more could I expect from filth like Vincenzo Mancini?

My knuckles stung as I continued to assault the worn punching bag, ignoring the blood from my split knuckle.

I could have killed an innocent woman because I was angry and irrational.

One day I would make it up to her. For what I did and what I was about to do—Harlow would help me get rid of Vincenzo, but not in the way I originally intended.

“Cat!” Malachi grunted, snapping me from my thoughts. He was holding the punching bag. How long was he standing there? “I called your name several times. Are you okay?”

“I kidnapped her.” I punched the bag again. “I’m letting my hatred for Vincenzo block my rational thoughts. I was going to kill her.”

He stepped in front of me and grabbed my fist as I went to punch the bag again. “But you didn’t. Stop beating yourself up because of this. We have the girl. She is free from Vincenzo. There is nothing more you can do.”

“I’m going to marry her.”

Malachi stumbled. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Two birds, one stone. She will have my protection, and the other families can leave me alone. It’s another jab to Vincenzo by marrying her. He will never have her again.”

“Boss, how are you going to have a kid?”

I glared at him. “Are you really that dense? Aren’t you dating a doctor? A woman doesn’t need to be with a man to have a baby. Besides, this marriage won’t be real. Not really. She will have my name and my protection.”

He folded his arms to his chest. “Boss, are you sure?”

“Yes. I am going to protect her, but it will also be for my advantage.”

“What do you want me to tell the men?” he asked. “You know they will have questions.”

“She will be my wife. That is all you tell them. Only a few people will know our marriage is fake. You are included.”

“Boss. Are you going to sleep with her?”

I rolled my eyes. “She is traumatized, and I won’t be forcing myself on her.”

“No one said it would be by force.”I flipped him off, removing my fingerless gloves as I inspected my knuckles.

Men, even mine, thought with the wrong head when it came to a pretty girl.

If I didn’t trust Malachi with my life, I would string him up by his toes and let the rats nibble his face until he learned his lesson.

Harlow needed support and a lot of therapy to help her heal from what she endured.

Not a bunch of horny men lusting after her like she was a pawn.

Regardless of her beauty, I would murder anyone who harmed her, even if it was one of my men.

They knew what the punishment was if someone harmed a woman.

I had a newbie start working with me four years ago.

He was under Malachi, following his orders, and he was good.

One of the best men I knew who could shoot a gun.

Little did I know, he was also an abuser who beat his wife and almost killed her.

His wife now lived in a cushy villa with her new husband and newborn daughter while his bones fertilized my garden.

“You better let everyone know that if they harm Harlow or even stare at her too long, I will trap them in my basement with Titus and Lucifer.”

“Of course, boss. Is there anyone you want to be included?”

“No. Only a handful of people will know the wedding is a farce. I’ll spin a story about rescuing her and falling in love with her strength during a difficult time for our men and close family. The media will get whatever I decide to tell them.”

“A gorgeous woman and the opportunity to tick Vincenzo off. You’ll bask in the limelight.”

Except I wouldn’t.

I hated the press.

I hated being in the public eye.

I hated being the only child my father had.

And I hated him for going on his bender and leaving me to do this shit alone.

I loved my father. He was my heart and soul, but fuck, I wanted to strangle the life out of him.

I also knew when I told him the news, he was going to be pissed until I told him it was a farce.

My father believed love and emotions showed weakness and left an opening for attack.

It happened to him, but he wasn’t the only one who lost someone that night.

I listened to it, trapped in tunnel vision until he came home.

He lost his wife; but in a way, I lost both of my parents that night.

Nevertheless, I agreed that love and emotion in this lifestyle was useless.

Enemies would have a greater advantage of killing us without physically killing the leader.

“Go. Away.”

Harlow would become my wife, and as my wife she would have my protection. This was for my personal gain and for her safety. Vincenzo would come for her one day, and when that day came, I would finally get rid of him.

After an hour of demolishing the punching bag, I left the gym, making my way back upstairs into the kitchen.

I wrapped my knuckles, knowing Moira would have a conniption about it later.

It had been four days since I took the girl, and I’d been angry—first at her for being engaged to a man like him, and then at myself for believing she wanted to.

Luca was continuously monitoring his feed, waiting for Vincenzo to slip.

When I stepped into the kitchen, Antonio handed me a steaming bowl of gnocchi. He was the only man I would ever consider marrying simply for his cooking. The best way to a woman’s heart was through her stomach, and if I married him, he couldn’t leave me and cook for someone else.

“Did she come down and eat?”

Antonio nodded, pouring me a glass of cabernet.

“She came down around eight and had two bowls of food, although she didn’t finish the second one.

I am also taking all chicken and rice off the menu.

” I arched my brow as I took a bite. “I don’t know what she’s been through, but I believe that is all she ate while in her confinement. ”

“How was she?” It was a question I should’ve asked Moira or someone else, but Antonio knew how to judge someone by the way they interact with him.

“Skittish. She was able to have a conversation with me, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. She dropped her knife, and I went to pick it up, but she panicked when I accidentally brushed against her. Lizzy brought her back to her bedroom. I believe she showered and went to sleep.”

I nodded. “She will see Serena soon, so maybe it will help.”

“You really are helping her,” he said with a softness in his voice. “That girl is broken, but she can be something now because you helped her.”

I flashed him a smile, going back to my food.

I was not one to preen or accept praise for something when I had my own motives behind it.

I was not one to pry, but I wanted to know what he did to her.

Elizabeth hadn’t even told me what they’d done to her.

The only thing Elizabeth had disclosed to me was Vincenzo never touched her in a sexual way.

Apparently he had a type, and Elizabeth wasn’t it—but she said Vincenzo was the worst. Any man who had to rape and abuse the innocent was not worthy of life, regardless of our mafia roots.

When I was finally able to get my hands on him, I would make his death slow.

I was tempted to break whatever treaty he had and deal with the consequences if it meant he was dead, but then, I’d lose Petrov as an ally.

I could only imagine what Vincenzo did to Harlow and Elizabeth, but hopefully with them back together and safe, Harlow could heal properly and help Elizabeth heal what was left of her trauma.

Lizzy beat herself up a lot for surviving when there were so many girls still suffering.

She talked about Harlow, even though she never referred to her by name, but I could see how much she cared for the girl who was left behind.

After finishing my dinner, I washed my dish and put it in the cabinet.

Thankfully, Moira wasn’t downstairs, or I’d earn a glare from her.

Moira didn’t like the lady of the house cleaning up after herself.

My father and mother taught me to never rely on anyone or leave messes for other people to clean up.

I might have grown up in luxury with the finest things, but I was human, and someone could rip this life from my hands.

It wasn’t likely unless I was dead, but I was not a spoiled brat living off of my father’s dime.

If I had grown up differently or had siblings who would one day take my father’s throne, maybe my life would’ve been different.

Maybe I would be a spoiled princess without a care in the world, but I wasn’t.

The family was my priority—protecting my father while he was in a constant spiral was my main concern.

I was grateful that my father wasn’t forcing me into marriage.

How ironic that not only was I choosing it myself, but forcing another woman into it with me.

Most women in this life were forced to marry before they were eighteen.

At eighteen, I was leading with an iron fist and gaining allies while my father was out and about doing God knows what.

In the end, everything we endured together would be worth it when I made Vincenzo pay for hurting our family and taking my mother away from both of us.