Scorned Obsession (Scorned Fate)

I studied Bianca carefully as I recounted the events that led up to her being covered in blood.

Her adrenaline withdrawal was brutal. Her hand tremors had progressed to full-body shudders. I needed to get the blood and brains off her.

“What will you do with Gian?” she asked unexpectedly. The fire in her eyes that sparked when she went after Griselda morphed into blank slates.

My jaw hardened. “If he knows what’s best for him, he’ll stay away until I’m ready to deal with him.”

She gave a series of nods and transfixed her attention on the body in the foyer as if seeing it for the first time. Then she untangled herself from me. I fought against yanking her back. She was processing the massacre. Witnessing the brutal killer that was her husband.

“Baby, let’s get you cleaned up.”

It was as if she didn’t hear me. She wandered to where the broken sunflowers lay on the floor and knelt beside them. Her fingers feathered the mangled petals.

Then she rose and stared at the mirror above the console and gasped.

That’s it.

I stalked to where she was, swept her into my arms, and headed up the stairs. She didn’t fight me. Seeing her reflection in the mirror had drained her of remaining strength.

“Take care of this mess,” I threw behind my shoulder. “I need to see to my wife.”

“I can shower myself,” Bianca whispered.

“Let me do this for you, baby.”

I carried her into the hallway bathroom. No way was she going to remember this day each time she entered my room.

I started the shower and stripped her clothes as fast as possible. I discarded mine in a heap beside hers but kept on my boxer briefs. I put her into the shower and got in behind her. Blood turned the water into a swirl of crimson. Her body was cold. So, so cold.

“Bianca.” I cupped her face. Her beautiful brown eyes were flat. I combed my fingers through her hair, thankful she didn’t seem aware of the gruesome bits falling off her head. “You’re all right, baby. I got you.”

“I know you do,” she answered, and a weak smile tried to form.

I pressed a brief kiss to her mouth.

When the water ran clear, I grabbed the shampoo and lathered her hair. While I let that soak, I picked up the soap and did the same to her skin.

“I really can do this, Sandro,” she protested. “I’m okay.”

No, she wasn’t. She was in delayed shock. I doubted she’d ever seen a man’s head explode in her life, and if she continued to be in my life, I doubted that would be the last time, either. Despite the warmth of the water, goose bumps rose on her flesh and that was when I noticed more bruises on her arms. The marks of rough fingers.

I was torn between taking care of Bianca and wanting to resurrect Raffa’s men and run them through a wood chipper, alive and screaming. I blinked away my murderous thoughts before Bianca sensed my roiling rage.

How could I let this happen?

“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” I pressed my lips against hers again. Her cold, pale lips. The anguish of my failures overwhelmed me and sent me to my knees. Resting my head on her womb, I begged for forgiveness.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Sandro.” Her voice washed over me. Still soft, but there was a resoluteness threading her tone. “It’s not your fault.” She ran her fingers through my hair as if she was the one comforting me. “We’ll be okay.”

The logical thing to do was return her to the De Luccis and not give a shit what happened to me. Let the Rossi crime family self-destruct. But the truth was, I was so tired of holding back. I’d been holding back for four fucking years, trying to let her go. Hiding the crazy inside me. Hiding the blood of the monster that ran through my veins. The violence I was capable of.

I rose to my feet and continued cleansing her of the aftermath of Raffa’s machinations, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

Bianca surrounded by danger freed the monster I was hiding from her. The monster that had always been lurking beneath the surface.

There were many things to discuss. I killed eight men for her. She wondered if I was all talk as a form of manipulation to keep her in line, but now she knew. I let her see the killer inside me. To see the man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for her.

After she was clean and Bianca’s body had warmed enough, we got out of the shower. I dried her hair and dressed her in my shirt and her pajama bottoms. She was still listless, but she kept repeating that it was not my fault.

I settled her on the bed and it was not long after that she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep. She didn’t stir when a knock sounded on the door.

“Boss.” It was Sticks. “Tommy is downstairs.”

I looked down at a sleeping Bianca. I didn’t want to leave her, but I needed answers.

The bodies had been removed from the house, but the tracks of blood were everywhere.

Tommy was in the kitchen, helping himself to a beer.

Like it was just another day for the Rossi crime family, except today, I killed our own.

When he saw me, he immediately lowered the bottle and pointed in the direction of the driveway. “Rossi soldiers are camped at the mouth of the driveway. Sticks wouldn’t let them through.”

“My orders. Only those who came with me earlier are permitted.”

“They want to show support for you, Sandro,” Tommy said. “I briefed them on what happened. Raffa had no excuse going after Bianca the way he did.” He cast me a furtive gaze. “I heard Bianca tossed Griselda out on her ass.”

“She deserved it.”

“Divina and the other women concurred.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Griselda tried to make it sound like she was the victim.

“In case Griselda didn’t get the memo, let me make it clear: I don’t want her anywhere near my wife. All club business will now go through you or Divina. I don’t even want her shadow within my sights.”

Tommy was about to say something, but thought better of it when he saw whatever he saw on my face. Yes, I was still furious.

“Now, I want to get back to Bianca, so let’s get to the point,” I said. “Where were you?”

“I couldn’t face you.” He dropped his gaze to the tiles before returning it to mine. “I confronted Griselda to make sure she kept her mouth shut about you drawing a gun on Raffa. I shouldn’t have brought it up at Raffa’s house.”

He waited for me to say something, but I continued glaring at him. “Look, I know if I went along to the meeting, I couldn’t keep it from you and I knew how much you wanted the deal with the Toronto Albanians.”

My mouth curled mockingly. “Well, guess what? That deal didn’t happen and thank fuck because I got back here in time before those assholes violated my wife.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “If I had known Raffa was gonna do that…I swear, Sandro…I had no idea.”

I believed him, but I was too pissed to let it go. “We’ve been friends a long time, Tommy. We’ve had each other’s back. You should have given me a heads-up the second that happened.”

“I know.” He dropped his gaze. “Raffa went ballistic. I should have known he would retaliate.”

“You should have called me immediately when it happened. Showed up at the meet at least and come clean.”

He exhaled heavily. “Gian was there, I heard.”

“Well, Gian had more guts to show up.”

“You’re all about Gian now?”

I stalked toward him and he backed away until he realized how stupid it was. If I really wanted to put the hurt on him, there was nowhere for him to hide.

“Don’t you dare”—I jabbed his chest with a finger—“give me that. You can’t be boss this way. You show up no matter what.”

“So you’re saying Gian deserves to be boss more than me?”

“No. I’m not stepping down. Not while Bianca might face retaliation. Because it wouldn’t take long for our enemies to know I would kill anyone who touched her. They will go after her to get to me. I need all the power of this position. There’s no stepping down after this.”

“I understand.”

“You should.” If I knew Bianca would leave with me, get a new identity far away from Manhattan, maybe on the other side of the world, I’d fake our deaths. However, she wouldn’t want to be cut off from her family. But killing the men who threatened her had forever sealed her fate to mine.

I went to the fridge to get a beer. Uncapping it, I drained half of it. “I already postponed the meeting with the Toronto Albanians to two days from now.”

“How’s Bianca?”

“She’s sleeping.” My shoulders drooped. “I need to figure out a way for her to see her family.”

“Raffa…”

A derisive laugh escaped me. “Fuck Raffa. After what he did, he’s lost his credibility as an elder. I decimated his minions, including those two loyalist fuckers as unhinged as he is. He made a big mistake coming for Bianca.”

“Well, our capos and soldiers are waiting in the wings to declare their loyalty to you,” Tommy said.

“Good.” I pointed my beer toward the foyer. “Supervise the disposal of the bodies. They’re already outside. Contact Sloane for a more thorough cleanup. Can you do that for me? I need Sticks on top of other things.” Mainly finding out if we had more leaks in our security.

“Of course.”

“I don’t want to leave Bianca’s side so soon after shit like this happened. You’re my underboss. Let our men know I appreciate their support.”

“You don’t want to do the whole Godfather kiss-the-ring thing?”

“Fuck no. I don’t want this place crawling with mafia soldiers while my queen is vulnerable. Got it?”

Tommy moved to leave. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

“And, Tommy.” He turned to look at me. “Don’t screw up again.”