Page 37 of One Savage Union (Crimson Bonds #1)

LUCIA

I hear Rocco’s fury before I lay eyes on him.

He’s out there somewhere. Beyond the smoke and chaos, I hear the battle cries of men fighting and dying.

And I know that’s my angel of death delivering retribution.

When I see Rocco, my heart damn near stops.

We lock eyes, but he doesn’t run to me as I’d expect. Instead, he pulls a huge knife from the back of his tactical pants and whispers something in Mario’s ear, never taking his eyes off of me.

Why isn’t he coming? Is he mad that I left?

Then I see it. The garrish man draped in the Mexican Cartel’s colors who called me a whore. Rocco slices his head clean off, and the bastard’s blood washes the walls.

My eyes never leave his and I’m wet as fuck.

I’m going to need therapy after this.

Then I feel a tug on my ankle, and I jerk at the touch.

Someone’s in here with me!

I am frozen in terror as I imagine one of those drooling men taking me away. My worst nightmare is confirmed when the waist grabs me.

“I’m going to get us out of here and I’m going to take you back home and fuck you until you can’t move.” He snatches my ankle.

“I don’t know where your dad ran off to, but he stupidly left me with the key to this,” he says as he frantically unshackles me.

“He and my father think they’re so smart.

They think they can control me and the world around them.

But I’ll show all these older men who the real boss is. He snatches my hair. “Come on bitch.”

I shudder at the sound of Leo’s gravelly voice. When I’m freed from the cage and in the darkness behind the cage, he drags me down to the floor and his coarse hands slide down my ass, thighs, and legs.

Something snaps in me, and I try to kick him away. I need to get off this stage to freedom.

To Rocco.

But Leo is too strong. He grabs my legs and pulls me close to him. He regains control of my waist and grips me tightly. That’s when I feel the hard metal barrel of a nine millimeter against my temple.

“Calm down,” he purrs. “I just want to take you home with me, but I might have to change my plans if you’re not going to cooperate.” Leo gets to his feet and pulls me up with him. He shoves the gun into my back and slides his forearm and bicep around my neck as he forces me deeper backstage.

Without warning, the lights turn on, and I’m blinded as my eyes adjust. Leo jumps down sideways off the stage before dragging me toward the back of the room.

I choke as his grip tightens around my neck. I blink tears out of my eyes and see Mario dressed in all black striding forcefully toward us cocking a giant shotgun. He looks every bit the part of a cold-blooded Mafia hitman.

“Leo! Let her go!”

Leo cocks the gun at my temple. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blow her head off right now.”

Mario smirks. “Come on. The game is over. You’ve lost. You can leave here alive, or you can leave in a box. Let the girl go.”

Leo scoffs, his eyes are wild as he presses the gun into my head. “Rocco doesn’t deserve her; she’s my birthright. The don is my dad, not his! I’m the heir. I’m the king, and the king gets the queen!” He screeches.

I think I’m going to pass out. I don’t want to die here.

“You’ve got nowhere to run, Leo.” Leo turns, and we are greeted by Enzo walking up behind him. As he turns, I feel Leo’s grip loosen. I jerk free from him with all my strength and manage to get free. All I hear is gunfire as I fall to the floor and black out.

I am brought back to consciousness by a blanket being thrown over my shoulders as Mario cradles me in his arms. A few feet away from me, Leo is lying out in a pool of blood with a gigantic bloody hole in his chest.

I thought Rocco would be the one to kill him.

I’m shocked at how overjoyed I am that he’s dead.

Good Riddance.

Mario gestures for me to sit down and stay quiet. I obey.

My eyes seek out my husband and I find him across the room, splattered with blood, standing over the headless corpse of the cartel leader who called me a whore.

Eight men are sitting in chairs facing the stage, and about fifty men surround them. Each seated man has a gun trained on him and an armed man with a knife to his throat.

It feels like nobody’s breathing except Rocco. My eyes dart around the room, and my father is nowhere to be seen. That worries me.

“So you all thought that you would disgrace my wife and get away with it?” His smile is deadly.

You’re all high-ranking men in your organizations; you should know better than that.”

“Did you think that you would come into this stronzo’s basement and take what’s mine!”

His voice is unhinged, and so am I. Hearing him claim me so decidedly is making my pussy weep, and this is not the time for that.

There’s something about seeing those same $2000 black Italian shoes that came that first night to take me from his dungeon, standing in the spilled blood of our enemy, that makes me want to jump his bones.

God, I need help.

Another man, this one with a Russian accent, dares to speak. “Fieri, we didn’t know she was yours. Her father brought us here under pretenses. We thought this was an honest sale.”

Rocco nods his head at the guard standing in front of the Russian, and immediately, the sound of a gunshot echoes through the room. It is followed by a cloud of red mist and the blood-curdling screams of the Bratva leader, as he clutches his knee.

“Fuuuucccck,” The man howls. Tears roll down his face. The scene would be comical if it weren’t so tragic, terrifying, and honest.

Rocco walks around and eyes each man. But he doesn’t look at me, and I feel cold.

“Now, does anybody else want to lie to me? You all have two kneecaps a piece, and I’d be happy to oblige.”

No one makes a sound.

Rocco gestures to the dead man on the floor as he strolls around the room.

“As much as you all make me sick, I am inclined to let you live. The Don would prefer to avoid all-out war even as I avenge my wife. As you all can see, we may already have some nasty repercussions from the Cartel, but we’ll handle that with no problems.” Rocco shrugs and twirls his gun.

“You all know that the Romano’s don’t stand for the trafficking or selling of women, and you dare to do this here? With my wife?! You must have forgotten Chicago is Romano territory! Ricci is no more consequential than a squirrel trying to get a nut. When I find him, he’s dead!”

Where the fuck is my father?

“This is what's going to happen. You will each be escorted into waiting vehicles. Unfortunately, your bodyguards have been disposed of, so you’re under our protection, and as we all know, you must pay for protection. When you get home, you will notice we’ve removed a small tribute from your financial accounts.

Just enough to repay me, my wife, and my family for your lack of good judgment.

I hope you’ll remember our generosity tonight.

If not, the Romano’s will slowly drain every asset you own until the Don is satisfied.

Just remember, we have control of your financial accounts until we feel you have sufficiently learned your lesson.

You can’t buy a pack of gum unless we allow it. ”

He walks over and spits on the dead man who dared to call me a whore. “Burn this one and send his ashes to his witless son and widow. Let them know that I send my regards. Get the rest of them out of here before my patience runs out.”

When every man has left, Rocco drops his gun and dismisses Mario. “Go find Matteo.” Mario runs off, and then it's just Rocco and me.

He runs to me and throws the blanket off my body. Frantically, he touches every inch of me like he’s scared I’ll disappear in front of his eyes.”

“Are you OK? Did anyone touch you? I should have killed that fucker Leo myself!”

The tears in his eyes are unsettling. I stroked his face to calm him down. “Shhh, I’m fine, Rocco. No one touched me, you got here just in time. You always come when I need you, even before I realize it. Thank You.

He scoffs and turns his head. “Don’t thank me. This is all my fault. I should never have lied to you, and I should have done everything in my power to keep you safely on that boat with me. I just felt like I had to prove to myself that I could let you go. That you were just a pawn.”

I sniffle, remembering the way he just let me go. Every few steps, I kept looking back, expecting him to follow me and drag me back on the boat. But he didn’t. That’s when I knew he meant more to me than I meant to him. I love him and hate him at the same damn time.

He slips his fingers under my chin and forces my eyes up to his. “But you know what, Lucia?”

“What,” I whisper.

“You aren’t just a pawn. You’re my queen, my wife, la mia piccola palla di fuoco. I love you more than anything. I’d burn down this entire world for you if you asked.”

“Would you?” I run my fingers through his thick hair and drown in his icy blue stare.

He laughs. “I have already come very close. Those men represent the heads of the eight largest crime organizations in this city. The man I killed was the head of the Mexican Cartel, so our dealings with them are not finished. Your father is also on the run, and I won't rest until I’ve killed the coward. Those men will be compliant for a while because we have them by the balls. What I did tonight probably made my uncle the most powerful man in the underworld. But this type of power does not come without a price. Soon, the Russians, Armenians, and even the Triads will want blood.”

“So… you went to war just for me?”

He nods and pulls me close. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Forgive me, Lucia. I will never lie to you again.

If you want to annul our marriage, I understand.

Maybe we can find a way for you to perform again.

You will always need security, but I can make anything happen for you.

I can’t live without you. Give me a chance to show you how good I can be. ”

I pause. Isn’t this what I wanted? To be free of this forced vow and restart my career? Now that he’s offering it to me, I realize that's not my life anymore. He is.

I shake my head. “No. I am the daughter of Don Matteo Ricci and the wife of the Romano family’s consigliere.

My life is full of danger, but it’s also full of love.

Together, we will take my father down and take down what’s left of his kingdom.

I love you, Rocco Fieri, and you can’t get rid of me that easily. ”

“Never,” he growls while he wraps his arms around me and takes me into a deep kiss.

As he reclaims me, I think back on how much my life has changed since this man kidnapped me. Joy wraps around my heart as I realize my life didn’t end when Rocco Fieri chained me in his basement.

That’s when my life truly began.