HAVEN
After all the guests have left, I sit outside with Liliana, a blanket draped over my shoulders.
I met so many people tonight, but the only name I remember is Leo Toscano.
The Italian man is easily the most attractive person I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if his hair is black or dark brown, but God, he’s next-level hot.
I bring up the mental image of him that’s seared into my brain, and it has my stomach fluttering.
The moment I saw Leo, walking with so much confidence that I had no choice but to take notice of him, I forgot how to breathe. He’s tall, dark, and has a foreboding vibe.
Honestly, the man looks like he’s stepped out of a romance book. He’d make a ton of money as a cover model.
I glance at all the twinkling lights and the tables that are cluttered with dirty glasses and plates before looking at my cousin.
When Mom mentioned coming to Italy, I was nervous about meeting Dad’s side of the family, but Liliana turned out to be a pleasant surprise. She’s only three years older than me, and I like spending time with her. I haven’t spoken much to Luciano, because he’s hardly home. I get the vibe that he bats for the other team, and he has an eye for style.
When Dad was alive, he didn’t speak about Italy that much, but I knew he always kept in contact with Uncle Nicolo. My Italian is super rusty, but thankfully, my father’s side of the family is fluent in English.
My heart clenches when I think about Dad. The heart attack that took him from us was sudden. There are moments I still struggle to process the shock.
It’s only been a month since we lost him.
I was surprised when Mom mentioned the trip, but she insisted it was time for me to meet the other half of my family. I agreed because I thought it would help her deal with her grief by visiting Dad’s brother.
I had to cancel my plans with Kristen, my best friend. We were going to do a marathon read of all our favorite books before we start looking for jobs. I studied business management at the local college, but I still have no idea what kind of work I’d like to do.
After living my whole live in Whitefish, Montana, coming to Italy is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. Kristen is living vicariously through me because she’s also never had the opportunity to travel.
I wish I had a photo of Leo to send to her. He definitely fits the role of morally gray hero to a T.
Wrapping the blanket tighter around me, I give Liliana a curious look. “Why did you say Leo Toscano isn’t someone I would want to get involved with?”
Liliana’s gaze snaps to mine, and she quickly shakes her head, her features tensing. “It’s better if you don’t ask questions about him.”
Hmm…that only makes me more curious.
I’ll ask Mom later. Maybe she knows something about the hot-as-sin man.
I swear, if he turns out to be morally gray, my ovaries might explode.
Yeah, right. You’d run so freaking fast for the hills.
It’s one thing reading about the big, bad men in romance novels, but coming face-to-face with one in real life will probably have me shaking in my boots.
A grin forms on my cousin’s face. “We can go to a club on Friday night. There will be plenty of hot men for you to choose from.”
I’m not the kind of woman to get involved in a summer fling, and I don’t do long-distance relationships. Clubs are also not my thing.
I scrunch my nose and give her an apologetic look. “I’d rather not go to a club. Maybe we can drive around Maiori and you can show me all the pretty sights?”
A smile spreads over her face. “That would be so much better. We can also drive out to other places.”
I lean toward her as excitement bubbles in my chest. “That would be awesome! A mini road trip.”
“Girls,” Aunt Giada calls from the veranda. “It’s getting cold. Are you going to come in?”
We get up and walk into the house, where it’s warmer. Reaching the foot of the stairs, I say, “I’m going to get ready for bed.”
“I hope you sleep well,” Liliana replies.
I give her a warm smile. “You, too.”
I head up to the second floor, but before I can slip into my bedroom, Mom’s door opens, and she pops her head out. “Come here for a second.”
I change direction and walk to her room. When she shuts the door behind us, I ask, “What’s up?”
“I think we should cut our trip short.”
Surprised, my eyes widen. “Why? Did something happen?”
She shakes her head, and I can feel she’s keeping something from me when she says, “I overheard a conversation today, and I don’t want to frighten you, but I think your uncle is involved in something shady.”
My eyebrows lift even higher. “What did you hear?”
Mom steps closer to me and lowers her voice to a whisper. “Something about an attack and guns.” My mouth drops open as I stare at my mother while she continues, “I’m going to get us a flight back to Montana. We’ll just tell them there’s an emergency at home and we have to cut our vacation short.
Even though I understand, I still feel disappointed because I was enjoying my time with Liliana, and there’s so much more I wanted to see. “Okay. Let me know the details, then I’ll ask Kristen to pick us up at the airport.”
Mom nods, and reaching out to me, she takes hold of my arm. “Don’t go anywhere without me.”
“Liliana wanted to show me around, and I was hoping to take a short road trip with her.”
Mom shakes her head hard. “No. I don’t want you leaving my sight. Everything feels wrong in this house.”
“Didn’t Dad tell you about Uncle Nicolo?” I ask.
Mom sighs, her eyes flicking to the shut door. “He didn’t talk about his childhood, and after leaving home, he had minimal contact with Nicolo. He never even mentioned his parents.” She gives my arm a squeeze. “Let’s go home. I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire of whatever shady business Nicolo is involved with.”
Well, that sucks.
“Okay.” I lean in and give Mom a hug. “I’m going to shower and sleep.”
“Good night, sweetheart,” she murmurs, her eyes glued to me as I leave her bedroom.
Just as I reach my door, I hear Uncle Nicolo’s voice rumbling from the direction of the stairs, but I can only understand a few words.
I think they’re talking about some kind of attack on happening on Tuesday, and I also hear Leo’s name, but I can’t make out anything else.
God, I wish I understood Italian better.
I quickly dart into my bedroom and shut the door partially while shamelessly trying to eavesdrop.
Luciano complains about it being dangerous, which has Uncle Nicolo cursing.
Holy shit! Mom is right.
I softly press the door shut before locking it. Walking to the double bed, I sit down on the side and nibble at my bottom lip while I process the new information.
I hate that our trip is being cut short, but from what I’ve just overheard, there’s something dangerous brewing in the air. We should go home before we get caught up in something bad.
Leaning to the side, I pick up my phone and type out a quick message to Kristen.
Haven: We’re cutting the trip short. Mom still has to change the flight, so I’ll send you the details once I have them.
The text goes through, and a second later, my best friend reads it.
Kristen: Oh no! Why? I thought you were having fun.
Haven: My mom doesn’t like my uncle, and we think he’s involved in something shady, so we’re coming home.
Kristen: Oh God. Yes, rather come home. I don’t want anything bad happening to you on the other side of the world.
Leo pops into my mind, and it has me typing another message.
Haven: In other news, I saw the hottest man ever tonight. I swear, he looks exactly like he stepped out of a romance book.
Kristen: Tell me you got a photo of him.
Haven: Unfortunately, not. I was too busy staring at him to think of stealing a photo.
Kristen: Boooo.
Kristen: Once you’re back, we can read all our favorite books like we wanted to.
Haven: Yeah. I’m going to shower and sleep. I’ll let you know once my mom’s booked our flights.
Kristen: Okay. Good night!
Leaving my phone on the bed, I get up and dig out a pair of shorts and a cami from my luggage. I’m too lazy to unpack, so I’m living out of the bag.
While I shower, my thoughts return to what Mom said and the conversation I overheard.
It’s such a pity things turned out this way. I was really looking forward to spending more time with Liliana.
LEO
Throwing the car door open, I climb out while scanning the other vehicles as they pull up to the shipping yard.
To my left lie piles of steel rods, and to my right is a building consisting of offices that’s attached to a warehouse. It’s pretty quiet today because there’s no freight being moved.
My gaze lands on Luciano, where he’s standing beside Klodian, who’s one of my best men. Luciano looks nervous as fuck, sweat pouring down his face and forming damp patches on his shirt.
He isn’t going to last long in our world.
Nicolo should’ve trained Liliana to take over the family business. She has more guts than her brother. Nicolo is old school, though, and he’ll never let Liliano take Luciano’s place.
“Ready?” Massimo asks while checking the magazine of his machine gun.
I begin to walk toward the entrance of the building, muttering, “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
I have thirteen men with me. My scout counted only four men guarding Vito Santoro, so the attack should go down smoothly and be over in a matter of seconds.
We enter the lobby and proceed down the hallway that leads to the entrance of the warehouse, where Santoro should be busy preparing a shipment of drugs.
The man has been smuggling cocaine through my territory, thinking I wouldn’t find out.
Mattia and Raffaele, two of my men, take the lead with Massimo and me right behind them. I’m aware of Luciano and Klodian following us, and not trusting Nicolo’s offspring, every muscle in my body is wound tight.
Raffaele kicks in the metal door, and it shudders open. We all pour into the warehouse that’s filled with tables and people packing bags of cocaine into cereal boxes.
“Cazzo!” one of Santoro’s men shouts, and as he aims at us, my men spread out and begin to open fire.
I stick near Massimo while I shoot at anyone who’s holding a weapon, and for a moment, the gunfire is loud, white powder filling the air around the tables.
Pandemonium breaks loose, and I’m angry as fuck because it’s now clear that my scout fucked up. There are more than four armed men.
When Raffaele is shot to my right, and he drops to the floor, intense rage pours through my veins.
I’m going to kill Sebastiano with my bare hands for giving us the wrong information. Santoro must’ve paid him off.
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck raise, and after killing another fucker, I glance to my right, only to see Luciano running for the door while covering his head.
As a result of the coward running away, Klodian takes a bullet to the neck. Luciano disappears down the hallway, and with the attack ongoing, I can’t go after him.
It takes us way too fucking long to kill the last of Santoro’s men before I’m able to get to Klodian’s side.
I drop my weapon as I kneel beside one of my most loyal men. Klodian coughs, blood spraying from his mouth and hitting my neck. His eyes are filled with fear as he stares at me.
Knowing Klodian won’t make it, I promise, “I’ll take care of Carlotta.”
He coughs again, more droplets of blood hitting me. Pushing my arm beneath his head, I hug him to my chest and say, “I’ve got you. Shh. I’ll make sure Carlotta’s always taken care of.”
His body jerks once before he stills, and his gurgling breaths stop.
I’m hit with so much fucking anger as I lay Klodian down, a tremor shudders through my body.
With Klodian’s blood coating my skin, I rise to my feet. I take a moment to check on all my men. Raffaele and Andrea have been shot, but they’ll be okay once they get treated.
I look at Maurilio and order, “Get them to the hospital and take care of Klodian.”
“Yes, boss.”
I glance over the destruction and bodies, my frustration and anger spiraling out of control because Santoro isn’t here.
Turning around, I stalk out of the warehouse and make my way down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” Massimo asks.
“To kill Luciano and Nicolo,” I growl.
While Massimo gathers the remainder of our men, I climb into my Porsche, my blood practically boiling in my veins.
Because Luciano ran like a fucking coward, Klodian is dead.
Today, I’ll rain down hell on the Romano household.
