Page 21 of Where Quiet Hearts Scream (Dark Hearts #3)

A ndreas

The Di Santo residence is everything I expected it to be. The warmth shown to me by my brother’s girlfriend is not.

Contessa Castellano is the undisputed queen of the glare. She’s been sitting at a table on the terrace since I arrived, shooting me daggers the entire time, with her EarPods attached to her skull.

I know she isn’t listening to music because whenever Serafina’s name is mentioned, her eyes narrow into cat-like slits.

Her face has taken on the kind of beauty that could bring nations to their knees, but that’s as far as my understanding of what Benito sees in the girl goes.

Her eyes are a devilish green, where Serafina’s are the brightest blue—deep enough to swim in.

Her limbs are long, slim and athletic. Sexy enough, but they don’t make my mouth water like her sister’s.

Serafina’s curves are what caught my eye first. Her soft, voluptuous breasts and thighs make my mouth water.

I just know that when I finally get my hands on her, she’s going feel like butter in my palms.

Of the four sisters, Contessa and Serafina are the palest, but where Contessa has sharp, dark accents, Serafina has rich auburn hair and the prettiest freckles that I have to force myself to look away from.

Cristiano is also watching me and Arrow carefully. “So you think south of the city first?” He leans back and taps his pen against his lip.

I take a slug of coffee. I’ve been awake since three a.m. to travel here from Boston for brunch—I need all the coffee. “Yes.”

Arrow nods in my periphery.

“It isn’t controlled by one gang,” I explain. “There are several and they won’t band together to fight for it. They’re too weak and too greedy.”

“And one of those gangs is led by Aldo Ajello, right?” Benito confirms, folding his arms.

When I spoke to my brother at the wedding I explained that our father’s right hand man is, unlike our father, alive and well and running rackets in the city.

This is perhaps the most critical and poignant reason I wanted to align with the Di Santo’s—to share the satisfaction of ending that son of a bitch with my brother.

Benito and I are cut from the same cloth, taking after Mama’s more noble side of the family, not our father’s.

He survived just fine. Better than me perhaps.

I strategized my way through Providence, but Benito gunned his way into the Di Santo’s, the biggest crime family in New York.

And he’s their consigliere now. I’m proud of the motherfucker.

Cristiano and Benito discuss between themselves which capo and soldiers are best placed to take on the south Boston gangs while I confer quietly with Arrow.

Finally, Benito turns his body in my direction. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

I slide my cell back into the inside pocket of my jacket.

“I’m going to visit my fiancée,” I say, then drink the rest of the coffee.

Contessa renews her glare—I feel it on the side of my face. I’m surprised she isn’t making at least some effort to get to know her boyfriend’s brother and soon-to-be brother in law.

“Is she expecting you?” Cristiano asks, a slight frown touching his brow.

A smile tugs at one corner of my mouth. “You should know by now I value the element of surprise.”

In the corner of my eye, Contessa picks up her phone but Benito shoots her a warning look.

“The seamstress is at the house today,” Benito says. “I think Trilby is with her, right?”

Cristiano’s eyes light up for a lightning short moment and he nods, then turns to me. “What are your plans for after the wedding? ”

“I’m renovating a house in Winchester. It will ready in a week.”

“Just in time.” Benito smiles.

“What about your house?” Arrow asks him. “It burned down I hear?”

I don’t miss the devious glance my brother shoots at Contessa. In that split second they share a connection so electric it makes my own pulse hum.

The sane part of me wants to crack up laughing at how pussy-whipped both of these powerful men are, but another part of me suddenly aches to get out of here and on the road to my fiancée.

I spent two weeks fighting an attraction to the second eldest Castellano sister, and now, I don’t have to. Because soon enough, she’ll be mine.

“It’s coming along,” Benito clips.

Well, look at that. The Queen of the Glare and the King of Cryptic are impeccably matched.

“Well, if there’s nothing more you need from us, gentlemen…” Arrow asks as I stand and button my jacket.

Cristiano tilts his head to one side and eyes me. “Not right now. We’ll get our men prepared and let you know when we’re ready.”

Arrow nods. “We’ll wait for your call.”

“We’re keen to move fast,” I remind them. “Those gangs are, frankly, giving crime a bad name. They need to be removed.”

I sweep my gaze across the terrace as we bid them farewell. It’s been a long time coming but I feel sated to finally be a part of this. My own empire has just doubled in power, meaning Boston is all but mine. The day it is undisputedly Corioni territory cannot come soon enough.

Allegra Castellano’s eyes almost pop out of her head when she opens the door and sees me and Arrow standing on the stoop.

“Mr. Corioni! Um… it’s a pleasure to see you. What can I do for you?”

My chest feels uncharacteristically light. “I’ve come to visit my fiancée,” I reply, enjoying the way the word feels as it moves along my tongue.

Allegra looks over her shoulder toward the stairs and then swings back to me with an apologetic look. “She’s having her bridal gown fitted right now. You know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her gown before the wedding. It may be a while…”

“I’ll wait,” I say, polite but firm.

“Um, okay.” She steps aside hesitantly. “Come on in. I’ll fetch Tony.”

We follow her through the house to a lounge and sit dutifully on one of the sofas. Then she disappears and returns a few moments later with Serafina’s father.

“Andreas!” He smiles and I stand to shake his hand. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“People rarely are,” I reply. “This is Arrow.”

“Good to meet you,” Castellano says with a nod. “ The fitting will be over soon. Can we get you both a drink?”

I glance at a clock on the wall. It’s still too early for a double measure. “Espresso, please.”

Allegra nods from behind Castellano. “Three espressos coming up. Sit, please. Make yourselves at home.”

Tony sits on the opposite sofa and looks strangely nervous.

“How’s business?” Arrow asks.

We explore the ‘safe’ topic of the port for a while before Castellano broaches the subject of his daughter’s life after the wedding.

“We’d like to buy her a new car as a wedding gift,” he says. “So she can visit us whenever she likes. She’s so close to her sisters and she won’t have much else to do I imagine.”

“I have a car for her,” I reply. “It’s being built as we speak.”

“Being built?”

I tent my fingers and watch Serafina’s father carefully.

“It’s bespoke,” Arrow explains. “Only the best for Andreas’ wife.”

Castellano’s eyes widen. “She will appreciate that, I’m sure.”

“And as for her having not much else to do,” I add.

“I can assure you, Tony, as my wife she will have plenty to occupy her. We plan to embark on a significant campaign to engage high society and government bodies across New England and she will have an important role to play. Her experience working in hospitality will be an asset.”

He nods. “She will miss her sisters.”

This doesn’t come as a surprise. “There will be many opportunities for her to spend time with Trilby and Contessa, as the Di Santo-Corioni Alliance will require that our families meet frequently. We can find a way to ensure Bambalina can attend those gatherings, providing you feel it’s appropriate at her age. ”

“She’s almost seventeen now,” Tony muses. “I don’t think it will be a problem. The benefit she’ll gain from spending time with her sisters will outweigh the potential downside of having her in close proximity to the family’s… commercial activities.”

“I agree,” I state, roughly.

A door closes upstairs and a minute or two later, the seamstress appears in the entrance hall. We hear her exchange a few hushed words with Allegra and then the front door closes.

Tony looks a little anxious. “Excuse me for a moment.”

I nod and we watch him disappear from the room, then we wait.

After five minutes, I’m starting to feel itchy with impatience.

Something’s going on—I can feel it in the air.

When I walked into Castellano’s home, the scent of comfort and warmth filled my nostrils but it was chased by an underlying tension that I put down to my unexpected proposal and the fast pace of our arrangement.

But now, I’m beginning to think there’s another reason for the tightness in the atmosphere.

I hold up a hand telling Arrow to stay put, while I make my way to the entrance hall to hear distant voices coming from a room above. They get closer as I walk up the stairs, then I quickly recognize them as belonging to Serafina and Trilby.

“ He’s asked to see you .”

“But, why is he here? The last thing he said to me was he’d see me at the church. Do you think he’s here to call it off?”

To my surprise there’s a thread of disappointment in her voice and it gives me hope.

Hope that, despite me lying to her about who I really am, her original feelings for me haven’t gone away.

We didn’t kiss, and we barely touched, but the chemistry between us was undeniably strong.

I know that with time I can bring that back.

“He isn’t ‘summoning’ you and you’re not just a shiny new toy, Sera…”

My brow dips and my chest hollows. How can she believe such a thing about herself? It pains me she thinks anyone would consider her to be merely a toy. I make my way quietly up the stairs.

“He’s forcing me to marry him, Trilby. He’s put an end to my dream career and he’s ruined my life. So, no. I don’t think there’s a chance he might be a nice person. He’s an arrogant, self-serving, lying, cheating murderer who ? —”

I’ve had enough. I’m not going to stand in the shadows any longer and allow her to continue spouting this crap. She knows me. And deep down, she’s shit-scared because she wants this life, with me.

“Hello Sera.”

Her head darts to one side as she peers over Trilby’s shoulder. Her eyes widen and a blush floods her cheeks.

“Hello,” she replies, in a small voice.

I ask her to join me and her father downstairs and she agrees, so I leave her to finish dressing and head back to the lounge.

Tony comes back in and sits beside me, then, just as he’s about to attempt more small talk, Serafina walks into the room.

My brow drops as I try to make sense of what I’m seeing.

She looks nothing like she did in the Hamptons.

The weight has dropped off her limbs and her face is pale and gaunt.

Where once there was a rounded voluptuousness to her shoulders and hips, there are now sharp peaks where her bones are surfacing.

Where her face was bright and soft, with freckles glistening across her nose, now all I see are cheekbones jutting out harshly and an angular jaw.

I grit my teeth together to stop anything hurtful from coming out of my mouth.

She stands before me with curious expectation.

She probably wants to know why I’m here, but I have to remind myself.

It was to get a glimpse of the beauty I’m making mine, the girl who beguiled me with her passion and warmth.

I wanted my fill of her bright blue eyes and softly-spoken words.

But what I’m confronted with is something else .

I breathe through my nostrils to calm my pulse. I’m so angry with her father for allowing this abhorrent decline in her health that I could smash through the wall of his lounge with my bare fists.

I slowly wet my lips and try to keep a handle on my temper. “Mr. Castellano. I wish to speak with you alone.”

Serafina’s face falls and a frisson of alarm pans across it. She stares open-mouthed at her father who asks her to leave the room.

When she does, it takes a colossal amount of control to not rip his limbs from him as I ask why his daughter has deteriorated so badly in just ten weeks.

His excuses are pathetic. Or at least that’s how I interpret them.

It doesn’t matter what he says though—the simple fact is he’s allowed his daughter to get away with not eating, not staying healthy, and he’s done nothing about it.

I inform him I’ll be sending a personal chef, and I instruct him to ensure she eats.

The pure outrage in my eyes must drive it home because his expression is filled with terror.

I can’t bring myself to bid him a fond farewell, and it takes everything in me to not slam the door as I leave.

The sooner I can get Serafina away from here and in my home where she belongs, the better.