“Lucio, I swear to God.Dimmi cosa sta succedendo,” I order him to tell me what’s going on using our mother tongue.
“È necessario il tuo aiuto,” he tells meyour help is needed.
Before I can respond, the line goes dead. When I try calling him again, the phone goes directly to a voice messaging service.
“Fuck!”
“What’s going on?” Gio saunters out of the building toward me.
Shaking my head, I meet my brother’s eyes. “I don’t know, but we need to get to the Russo building right the fuck now.”
He nods, and we slip into the car in silence. Gio drives, and Matteo watches me intently. I can tell he wants to ask, but I don’t offer him an opportunity to because if I had to be honest, I’m concerned something is terribly wrong.
2
Raina
The phone buzzes beside me while I attempt to study, but when I see his name, I can’t not answer. Swiping my finger over the screen, I put the phone to my ear and listen a beat before answering. It’s our secret code. “Hello.” My greeting is tentative as I murmur into the microphone.
“Bella.” The word is like a spark. It ignites every nerve in my body. “You’re alone, yes?”
“Yes, Lucio.” When I purr his name, the deep rumble of his growl is more than enough to have me dropping my pencil and allowing my eyes to flutter closed.
“I need you to listen to me,Bella.” He calls me that because he said I’m beautiful. We’ve been doing this for far too long. This taunt and tease, back and forth. It’s like a tennis match. He was my first. And with everything I offered him, he gave it back tenfold. When he took my virginity on my eighteenth birthday, I felt like I was floating. It hurt, I screamed, but I wanted him so much. Even though his mouth devoured me for an hour before he slid inside my body, I’d never felt pain like it.
Now that I’m nineteen and I’ve experienced him for almost two years of my young life, I crave him like a drug. A hit of Lucio Russo is everything I need to survive. I know I shouldn’t, but I have become obsessed with him. It’s been four long years of me knowing him, and all I want is what he gifts me. The danger, the raw passion, and the lust.
Since I’m alone at home, I want to ask him to come to me, but I know he won’t. There are rules in place for me and him. His world is dangerous, and he fits into it perfectly. But he’s never put me in danger. Even though I hunger for adventure.
“Raina,” he coos in my ear, caressing my name as if it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted. “I want you to know you’re special,Bella.Don’t allow anyone to diminish your shine, your beauty. I needed to tell you this, so you know. I’ve had things happen and I’m going to need you to do something for me.” He sounds serious, which sparks fear in my chest.
“You’re scaring me, Lucio.”
He doesn’t respond immediately, but I say nothing more. I hear muffled voices on the other end of the line, and I’m certain he’s busy. A moment passes, then he’s back. “Listen to me. My cousin Franco will come to meet with your brother tomorrow. He’ll explain everything.”
“Oh? But why can’t you just tell me now?”
More silence greets me, and I wait. The past few years have been like a cat-and-mouse game. He disappears, and I wait. Sitting silently in my room, I spend my time studying, but he’s always in the back of my mind. Lucio Russo, the youngest capo since his own father had taken over the organization. I’ve heard of the cousins, the eldest, Franco, and the younger brothers, Giovanni and Matteo.
“Hold on, my darling,” he tells me, then I hear a man speaking to him, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. Lucio responds, “Sì, è stasera.”Yes, it’s tonight.When he speaks in his mother tongue, his accent is thick like syrup. But there’s a huskiness to his voice that makes me shiver. The man is an animal. He’s a murderer. He enjoys making people bleed. Once he told me he drained someone by hanging them from the ceiling of his warehouse and watched the blood drip from the slash in their neck.
I should be afraid of him, but I’m so far from scared. “Lucio.” Once again, I whimper his name with fear lacing the word. Suddenly, my bedroom door flies open and I startle to find him standing on the threshold of my bedroom. “What—”
“I needed to see you just today. I was outside with my men when I called.” He smirks like a devil. He walks like a predator. The perfectly tailored gray suit he’s wearing fits his tall, lean frame. A black shirt below the suit jacket is immaculate with the silver tie.
His black hair is dark and styled in such a way that it looks like he’s been tugging at it, and I wonder if he’s been stressed, running his fingers through it. The dark five o’clock shadow that darkens his chiseled jaw shows he’s not shaved this morning.
“How did you get in?” I whisper, my gaze locked on his.
The sinister smile on his face makes my stomach tumble. He’s more than dangerous. He could so easily kill me. “You know I have access to you when I need it.”
Shaking my head, I focus on the fact that he’s here. It’s a mixture of violence and lust. A shiver tracks through me, making me tremble, and I can tell from the look in Lucio’s gaze how much he enjoys my unsure thoughts.
“I thought you were away?”
His gaze settles on my legs that are bare because I’m wearing a pair of jean shorts.
“I’m here for a meeting and I wanted to see my girl.” While he speaks, those piercing eyes that remind me of ebony leave a trail of heat as he drifts them from my feet up to my chest. Once he reaches my eyes, a smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. “Come here,Bella,” he commands.