Page 10

Mariano

T wo weeks after Sub Rosa, I waited outside of Cappello's Jewelry store.

I was dressed in my usual uniform: a custom-made black suit and long overcoat.

My hands wore black leather gloves, and my head a fedora.

It was tipped down to the frigid wind and splattering rain that came down in a constant drizzle, soaking through clothes and scattering the fog.

The scene brought me back to the last time I was in Venice, except this time came with rain and sutures I didn’t have before. No doubt men were following me and had the scent of my blood stuck in their noses.

I’d collected enemies after what happened that night.

Chatty Leader had four brothers. One twin and three who followed.

Rio had checked the night-vision footage, and the facial recognition software recognized them.

The twins were Daniil and Ignatiy, who I settled on calling Iggy.

The moment my eyes locked with Chatty Leader, Daniil, we became mortal enemies.

The moment my eyes locked with his twin, Iggy , the situation transferred from one brother to another.

Which was why I was keeping my distance from Sistine Evita. I refused to call her by her last name. It didn’t fit her. Didn’t sit right in my chest.

What Daniil had done—prod for a weak spot—was a tactic a lot of enemies used on our family. I’d never had one before. It had never worked on me.

It worked.

Even the thought of any man hurting Sistine, disrespecting her in any way, sent a volcano off in my chest, the lava flowing through my veins. I wouldn’t be able to contain it. I’d combust onto the world around me.

My hands flexed in the gloves. The residual heat from his comments made me feel the scorching fire. It wouldn’t have surprised me if someone had announced I was the cause of the morning fog, except it was smoke.

I wouldn’t keep my distance from her forever, but I refused to bring danger to her door. That motherfucker was looking for her. Maybe not specifically, but his twin needed to be avenged, and that kind of dangerous ire lasts a lifetime until it’s put to rest.

The hunt. It turned him on. I read it in his eyes that night.

I took something valuable from him. He was going to try to steal something that was priceless to me.

It was a tale as old as time. I would’ve avenged my older brother too.

I didn’t hate his effort, but I knew how this game was played, and Sistine wouldn’t be used as a pawn.

This visit, though, wouldn’t put her in danger. That was why I was taking precautions before my meeting with Adone. He didn’t know I was coming, but I knew his schedule. Rio had gotten it for me. Another branch of our family had an appointment.

I lifted my arm and checked my watch. A minute later, the branch of the family who had crowded the store walked out together. They noticed us and nodded. We nodded back.

Remo and a few other men moved closer to me as we made our way to the store.

I hit the buzzer, the lock moved out of place, and we entered.

The small space was sweltering. Still too many bodies inside.

Not all the men from the other branch had left.

Five of them, around my age, were loitering around.

Four of them were entertaining Capri. Making her laugh.

The fifth guy was on my radar. His eyes were set on the back of the store. Where Sistine would be.

In my opinion, the Fifth Man had fucking class.

Capri might have been flirting and inviting them closer, but Fifth Guy knew Sistine was the jewel in this store.

There was something about her. Something that spoke to a man’s heart and whispered, She’s a man’s better half.

The secret-keeper in his story. She’ll become who Scarlett Rose Fausti is to Brando Piero Fausti.

Everything and more.

Fifth Man must have felt my stare on his neck.

He blinked at the space where Sistine’s desk was, then, setting his hand over his neck, turned to meet my eyes.

After a short but intense pissing contest, he moved to stand with the men in his family.

Necks swiveled a bit, and all eyes landed on me and my men.

The other branch of the family stood taller.

They knew my ranking and would show respect.

Adone came from the back and asked if there was anything else the other branch needed. Adone’s eyes met mine for a brief second before he turned back to them. Maybe Adone had an idea why I was there. Maybe not. But suspicion danced in his eyes.

One of his assistants came and took our coats, my gloves stuffed into a pocket, as the lingering branch begged off. As they passed us, they nodded. I didn’t nod back. Not after I saw how Fifth Man was eyeing the empty spot where I knew my heart had been.

I shook my head at that train of thought. Then I sighed when Capri beamed at me.

“Signor Fausti,” she said, tossing her flaxen hair behind her shoulder. Her tone was playful. The men had warmed her up. “What can I help you with today?”

There was no missing the invitation behind the word help.

My eyes turned to Adone. “I’m here to pick up the order I placed last time I was in Venice. Sistine was taking care of it for me.”

“I will—” he began, offering to grab it.

“I’ll get it from her myself,” I said.

He sighed, resigned. “She’s in the back.” He pointed. “Storage room.”

“After I speak to her, a private word with you.”

Capri looked between us, then turned toward the room Sistine was in. Adone called her name, then told her to go home. She started to complain, but he gave her a stern look. After giving me another look, she grabbed her things and left in a huff.

Two of my men followed her home to make sure she’d be safe.

Remo gave them orders to blend. Not be seen.

We didn’t want my hunter to think Capri was anyone to me.

As far as Iggy knew, I was only visiting a jewelry store.

A private one that catered to the Fausti family only.

Aside from being cold and calculating, I didn’t know much about his hunting style.

Rio couldn’t find much about him, except for what we had already deduced.

He was quiet, kept to the shadows, and was one of the most dangerous killers the Russians had in their arsenal.

He could’ve tried to kill me that night, but he knew better.

There were too many of us. He would try to get me alone.

He’d stalk me. Find out about my hunting style as well.

But I didn’t want to be responsible if he got curious about Capri and something happened to her.

Adone looked at my man and then at me. “You are in danger,” he said.

I nodded.

“We are mere jewelers,” he said. “However, we serve one of the most powerful families in the world. We are equipped to handle any situation that might arise. We have men who watch out for our family as well.”

“ Bene ,” I said. “But all the same, I sent two men to follow. They’ll keep their distance. Blend.”

He pointed behind him again, where Sistine was. “I will meet you in my office after.”

As I walked past Sistine’s desk, my fingers lingered on the wood.

I could smell her in the air, all over her space.

It pained my heart that I hadn’t seen her in the mosaic light again, the colors falling around her like she was in front of a waterfall, a rainbow set behind her in the distance on an island in Fiji.

I imagined her naked on the island my grandfather had gifted to my parents.

An island that had become special to me and my family.

A vision of her almost assaulted me with its power.

Her hair falling over her shoulders, clinging to her naked body as she stood in knee-high water, then started walking toward me.

A low growl vibrated in my throat.

She was going to be the test of my existence. And for the first time, I had a taste of what my father had felt for my mother.

Not in the beginning.

Not in the middle.

Not even in the end.

For the entirety of their relationship.

He was a man possessed. Obsessed. He ate, slept, lived and breathed Scarlett Rose Fausti. He lived to love her.

She lived to love him.

The thought stopped me in my tracks, but only for a second. In the next breath, my feet pushed me to the room where Sistine was humming a song while she took inventory of the stock room. It almost felt like I couldn’t breathe suddenly, and she was my oxygen. I needed to be near her for my health.

Fuck me sideways.

The sight of her, though, made me dismiss any disparaging thoughts from my mind.

She sang quietly, an old country song, “Your Bartender.” Her voice echoed while she checked the shelves and marked things off on the paper secured on her clipboard.

She wore the same kind of dress she’d had on the first time I’d seen her, but in brown this time.

A gold belt was fastened around her waist, and it only reinforced how tiny it was. How small she was.

My heart, the smart fucker, reminded me how sneaky her build was. She’d commandeered my heart the moment I’d seen her.

Fucking trickery.

A grin I couldn’t control came to my face when she turned her face some, the set of it a woman who was really into a song, and then she started to move her shoulders a bit. Then she became still, and I noticed how hard her nostrils flared.

She scented me in the room.

She knew me as well as I already knew her.

Her eyes connected with mine, and a second later, she grabbed a small hammer from the shelf and flung it at me. It was a delayed reaction. She had registered me, but it didn’t seem like she expected me.

After the hammer came flying at me, she made a distressed noise and turned in a circle. I would’ve expected a scream or a hand to the chest, or both, but not that. It made me laugh, even though, when I’d dodged the hammer, I felt one of my stitches pop .

“It is you !” She scrunched up her nose at me.