Page 30 of Where Quiet Hearts Scream (Dark Hearts #3)

A ndreas

Arrow is pissed. “I’m telling you, Andreas. That man won’t fucking die.”

I turn around and retrace my steps across the room.

“We’ll dig him out.” My voice is calm but beneath the facade, I’m seething.

My father’s one-time right-hand man is hanging on by a thread, still somehow orchestrating his south Boston gang from the shadows.

It doesn’t matter how many of them we put a bullet into, more green soldiers pop up out of nowhere.

We should have taken this part of the city days ago, but it’s dragging, and my patience is wearing thin.

“What are you thinking? We go underground?”

I shake my head. “Bait. We draw him out.”

“Go on.”

I stop and focus my gaze out of the window.

We’re in Arrow’s apartment looking over the city I’ve grown to love.

I came here to track down the very man who’s in hiding right now.

I found him five years ago and since then I’ve built my own army to take over key streets and districts. And we’ve been closing in on his turf.

My father has been off the grid for over a decade, but Aldo Ajello has continued to make his name in small-time petty crime. He always was a miniscule man with a massive ego.

My plan has long been to take him down and pay him back for all the shit he put me through as a kid alongside my deadbeat dad.

I know my adopted name has been circulating, but thus far I’ve kept my face out of the action, so he isn’t aware that Leonardo Bernadi Jr. is the man behind the dwindling of his poor excuse for an empire.

And since I love surprising people, the situation couldn’t have reached a more perfect pinnacle.

“I’ve been invited to the Mayor’s gala next week.”

“Ah,” Arrow nods. “To discuss your generous donation to the M.I.T.? Genius move, that was. Will Governor Grayson be there?”

Governor Grayson is the reason I’m going.

I’m planning to pitch him my plans for developing the empty units in the south of the city into a state of the art technology facility that will not only be of use to the city, but it will also advance my plans to make this alliance as lucrative as possible.

“Yeah. I expect the calculated five per cent boost in employment figures will get his attention. ”

“You know the press will be there, right?”

“I’m counting on it. A photo of me alongside Grayson in the Globe is sure to draw out the old man.”

Arrow rubs his hands together. “I love how you’re not just a pretty face.”

I ignore him. “I’ve been anonymously seeding stories about the gangs for weeks, so Ajello will have his eyes glued to the headlines. When he sees me standing beside the governor, he won’t be able to resist getting together for old times’ sake.”

“I have just one question.” Arrow dips his head and narrows his eyes. “What makes you think the governor will accept an introduction to you?”

I don’t need to answer really. Not when my arched brow and conspiratorial smile should say it all, but I answer anyway because I like how the words taste on my tongue. “My wife.”

“Fuck.” Arrow wipes a knuckle over his mouth. “I never thought I’d say this but married life suits you. It’s made you even more cut-throat if that’s possible. More calculating. Is she giving you tips?”

I start walking to the door, mainly because I have shit to do, but also because I don’t want to face too many questions about Serafina just yet.

I haven’t seen my new wife in two weeks.

It was a deliberate move but I don’t particularly want anyone knowing that—not even Arrow.

She needs time to heal and that won’t happen if I’m hanging around asking her every two seconds how she’s doing.

She hates me, and she has every right to.

She hates herself and she doesn’t deserve to.

She won’t entertain a good thought about me until she can entertain a good thought about herself.

She may not like it, but she needs help.

She needs professionals who can support her healing.

And she needs space. Despite the fact her body consumed my caress, her mind hates me.

She won’t get well with me in the way. As much as I can’t bear to leave her only in the hands of Viola and Dr Novak, it’s for the best. And I only want the best for her.

“Come on…” Arrow’s voice follows me. “It’s the pillow talk isn’t it? She’s feeding ideas into you when you’re mid-fuck. It’s okay, brother, as long as her ideas remain scandalously on point, I don’t care how she does it.”

I reach the door and turn around, my voice coming out gruff. “No comment.”

His lips form a smirk which disappears as the door closes and I make my way to the waiting car. Once inside, I make a call. It’s the same call I make every day, several times.

Viola answers. “Signor Corioni.”

“How is she?”

“A little better,” she replies. “Fewer tears at least.”

“Eating?”

“Yes. That is something she does enjoy. Chef Alessandro is very pleased with himself.”

“Training?”

“Some light cardio, a few weights. Mainly stretches and breathing. I think it relaxes her.”

“Good. The therapies?” There’s a pause. “Viola?”

“They are, um…”

“They are what?” I can’t disguise the impatience in my tone.

“They’re having to work up to particular treatments, signor.”

When I don’t respond, she elaborates. “She’s extremely ticklish, signor.”

I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face at that little jewel of insight into my wife.

“Dr. Nowak?”

“Yes. Serafina had her second session this morning. I only saw her briefly as she returned to her room but she did appear a little lighter somehow.”

My chest inflates. “Good.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you, signor?”

“Yes. She needs a dress suitable for the Mayor’s gala.”

“You’d like me to take her shopping? Are you sure, signor?” Viola’s unspoken words tell me she doesn’t yet trust that Serafina won’t run, and while Viola is formidable in many ways, Serafina has youth and determination on her side.

“Take Rocco and Dante,” I assure her. “And buy whatever she wants.”

“Of course, signor. I will keep you updated.”

I hang up the phone and take a moment to feel a modicum of excitement thread its way through my stomach and up into my chest. I’m taking my wife to dinner and I can’t fucking wait.

Okay, so it’s not a date, exactly, and the setting will be far from intimate, but I’ll get to show her off to the world, as my wife, for the first time.

I also want her to see how I do business. I can see in her eyes she thinks I’m a ruthless piece of shit criminal. I mean, I am. But I am other things too.

My IQ is higher than most men, and in some regards, I also have a conscience. The donation to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wasn’t purely agenda-led. I have a genuine passion for advancing our skills as a country, and I want Boston to be at the forefront.

The car glides through the streets toward the apartment I’ve been staying at temporarily. I want to get out of there and back home where I belong, but Serafina needs time. How much time? I don’t know, but I’m hoping I’m about to find out.

I dial another number and press the cell to my ear.

“Nowak.”

“Ah, Mr. Corioni. I’ve been expecting your call.”

“Well?”

“It’s still early days but I think we’re making some progress.”

“Details,” I demand.

“She’s begun to open up about her mother’s death. Her eldest sister was in the vehicle with their mother when they came under attack.”

I stroke a finger and thumb over my chin. “Yeah. So I’ve heard.”

“As you can imagine, the whole family put their energy into helping the eldest through that awful experience, but in Serafina’s case, it was to the detriment of her own recovery.

She spent so much of her time attending to the every need of her sister that she neglected her own needs and has never truly grieved. ”

She falls quiet for a moment.

“There’s more,” I state.

“She’s carrying a lot of darkness Mr. Corioni. She’s bottled up all her feelings for a long time and the only way she knows to process them is to harm herself.”

“Is that…” I don’t want to use the word ‘normal’ because Nowak hates that. So, instead, I opt for, “…typical?”

“People harm themselves for many reasons,” she explains. “Sometimes it’s because the physical pain is preferable to the emotional pain. In Serafina’s case, she seems to genuinely believe her difficult feelings can be released through her skin.”

She falls quiet again as I process this, then I hear, “Mr. Corioni…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be afraid of her scars. I know they’re hard to see, but they’re a part of who she is.”

“I know that.”

“Good. Now, is there anything I need to know before my next session with her?”

“No. But I do have a question.”

“Go ahead,” she says.

“Is she strong enough to accompany me in public?”

“She’s no weaker than she has been these last few years, Mr. Corioni. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

I permit myself a small smile. “Good. One more question.”

“Yes?”

“Did she talk about… me?”

A long pause stretches uncomfortably, then Nowak clears her throat. “She did.”

“And?” I ask, impatiently .

“She doesn’t trust you.”

My heart drops but it’s to be expected. I’ve lied to her. I’ve ripped her from the only life she knows.

“But that’s not to say she never will. You need to give her time. She can see you’re trying to help her and she’s starting to feel less resentful, but the fact remains, she didn’t choose this life and it may take a long time for her to accept it.”

“Thanks, Nowak.”

“No problem. Talk to you again soon.”

I hang up and stare out of the windshield, the city looking slightly more grey than it did when I left Arrow’s place.

I’m relieved to hear my wife is making progress but I’m not a patient man and this is going to push me to my limit.

The gala dinner can’t come soon enough. I need to show her who I really am.