Tony laughed. He knew where Angelo was taking me.
We’d had sex more times than I could count in the spare bedrooms above the shop over the years. Angelo was still high from the adrenaline rush. He needed to fuck it from his system, and I was more than happy to feed his addiction. Because he was also my addiction, one I would never kick. Even if he would be the death of me.
Chapter Three
Angelo
Eighteen months later
My cell phone rang, and when Gia saw the name on the Caller ID, she sighed. We were about to walk into one of the many classes we shared. It was our final semester before graduation. I still couldn’t comprehend a Morelli was about to become a college graduate, and it would be me, of all people.
“Give me a second.” I tugged on Gia’s shirt to hold her back from entering the classroom. “I have to take this.”
I never let Gia out of my sight. Not since the night we were shot at by the rent-a-cop. From that day forward, everything in my life had changed. I was more invested in the family business, I loved Gia even harder than before, and my father allowed me to attend Strickland University without a fight. But I had to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. That was the agreement. I never made promises I didn’t intend to keep.
“Duty calls,” Gia deadpanned and flattened her back against the wall next to me, rolling her eyes. “Go ahead. Do their bidding.”
The deeper I delved into the business, the less I could include Gia, which pissed her off to no end. She copped an attitude with me every time my brothers called on me to do their dirty work. Most of the time they were teaching me the lessons forced upon them by my father. It was the Morelli rite of passage.
I raised the phone to my ear, staring into Gia’s eyes, and slipped my fingers between hers. The instant connection I felt with her sparked my skin. No one ever made me feel the way she did. When I was with Gia, I could feel, and not just in a sexual way. It was as if she resurrected the parts of myself I’d lost along the way.
“Yeah,” I said into the phone.
It was my brother, Marco. He was only three years older than me but was aged beyond his years. The men in our family were different. We were bred into this lifestyle. The things we’d done over the years had hardened us, forced us to become unrecognizable, even to ourselves. I was slowly losing myself, bit by bit. Gia couldn’t handle it. It was like watching someone wither away until they deteriorated into nothing.
“Meet me on Broad, on the corner next to the coffee shop,” Marco shouted in my ear. Then, the line went dead.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Gia. She was my one constant in a world full of darkness. No matter how much fucked-up shit I did, she never stopped loving me. And that made me love her even more. My mother and Gia were the only people in my life who loved me unconditionally. Everything with my father and brothers had strings attached.
“I have to go.” I typed out a quick text message to Sonny and slid the phone back into my jeans pocket. “Sonny will look after you. He should be here in the next twenty minutes. Don’t go acting cute again and try to ditch him. I will not be happy. Your safety is all that matters to me.”
“You don’t have to do everything they ask, Angelo. We have a test. The professor isn’t going to excuse you every time your dad needs you.”
I pressed my thumb to her lips to silence her. “Keep it down, G. This is business. My family’s business. One day, this will be your family, too. Don’t start with me again.”
She stuck her tongue out to lick my skin, and I moved my finger away from her mouth.
“You don’t have to be like them. Come to class with me.”
I had Gia to remind me I wasn’t a monster. Well, I was, she didn’t want to see what was right in front of her eyes for all these years. We’d been together since we were kids, and together romantically for over ten years. She was blinded by her love for me. And I was blinded by rage at the thought of anything ever happening to her because of me. But I couldn’t stop the inevitable. Love couldn’t conquer all. The sins of our past would catch up to us sooner or later.
I moved my hand under her chin and brought her lips to mine, giving her a kiss that lasted a few seconds. It was enough to make me think about blowing off my brother.
“I love you,” I breathed against her lips. “Stop being so stubborn and do what you’re told.”
At some point, the ‘I love you’s’ wouldn’t be enough for her. I would need more than words to prove their meaning. But it had to be enough for now.
“I love you, too,” she muttered. “Please be careful.”
“Always,” I promised. At least I tried to be careful. For her. Everything I did was for Gia.
I met Marco on Broad Street right across from Greek Row and out front of Broad Street Beans, a popular coffee shop on campus. Gia liked to hang out there with some of the friends she’d made at school. I hated the smell of coffee almost as much as I disliked interacting with people our age. I’d spent too much time around adults as a kid that I never knew how to be one.
I could never discuss my extracurricular activities with anyone other than Gia. Some things I kept from her out of fear for her safety. The less people knew about my business dealings, the better. Having someone important in your life was a liability. Gia was always my biggest weakness. Anyone who knew me could see she would be my breaking point. They could get to me through her. That’s why I had her watched twenty-four seven, whether she liked it or not.
We drove for a few blocks before I broke the silence in the car. “Where are we going?”
“To help Pop with an issue,” Marco said, with his eyes on the road.