Thirty-one:Daniela Berni It was the longest plane ride of my life. I showered, changed, and then I fell into bed with Niccolo. Not the way that I wanted. When we got to New York, we ended up at the Capaldi family loft that was owned by Niccolo’s uncle. Once we got there, Domitus Capaldi otherwise known as Dom was waiting for us. He was tall, with “Cousin!” Dom exclaimed, hugging Niccolo to him tightly, patting him on the back. “I’m sorry to hear about Uncle Giuseppe’s passing. I’m glad to see that you’re alive.” Niccolo pulled away from him. “Thank you, cousin. Me too. Oh, you’ve met Daniela. My girlfriend.” I smiled at him.Dom grinned, and kissed my hand. “Nice to see you again, Daniela. I’m happy to see that Niccolo finally quite being an idiot and told you how he felt. It’s about time that the two of you got together.”“Thank you. Thank you for letting us stay with you too. What about you? Any luck with that girl you told me about

Thirty-threeNiccolo Capaldi I hated this. I hated teaching soft, sweet, Daniela who always cared about everyone and everything how to fight. Because that meant there were going to be situations where I couldn’t protect her. Where she might have to defend herself. That was the truth of our world. Darkness was around every corner. It didn’t matter where you went. But teaching her how to fight was better than what happened the last time that we were together. In Rome, when we’d finally had sex, and the men from a rival gang shot at the car with her in it. What should have been a happy night for the two of us turned into the most miserable night of my life. Rick sped through the streets of Rome as fast he could to get back to the hotel. When he opened the door for me, I helped get Daniela out of the car then carried her over my shoulder up to the suite. “What are you doing?” Daniela demanded. “Niccolo, put me down!” I didn’t an

Thirty-fiveNiccolo Capaldi Kevlar vests were a god send, I decided, the moment that Audrina hit me with a bullet. I had a “friend” in the police station that had managed to get me some. I crumpled from the pain of the bullet Daniela’s sister shot at me. But mostly for dramatic effect more than anything. Once Daniela was inside, I waited a few moments and got up. “Fuck, that hurt.” Even though I wouldn’t bleed, it was mostly the force of impact that got me. Now, I just had to figure out how to get inside the house without being noticed. Old houses like these typically had basements. Usually with a back entrance to them. If there was shady shit going on inside, that was where I would find my brother. As long as he wasn’t unconscious. I made my way to the back of the house. I saw two guards standing in the back on the patio. Both of them were smoking. I had taken a couple of the syringes that I used to knock out Daniela with. I walked up to where the

OneAudrina Bianchi “You screwed up.” There was a gun pointed at my head. If I hadn’t had it happen to me so many times, I would have been scared. The thing about having a family that’s part of the organization, the Cosa nostra, the mob is that I was used to this sort of treatment. When I was sixteen and came home late from my first party, my mom did the same exact thing. Except she wasn’t really my mother. Marie Bianchi was my guardian. My real mom, Luciana Barretta, decided to give me up because she didn’t want me. Her half-sister, my aunt, took me in instead. She claimed she did it because she couldn’t have children. But I know the truth. She did it so that she would have leverage with the Barretta family. The same way that she’d been used. I didn’t believe for one second that she had ever wanted children. When I was a kid, I had a lady at a mall give me her card. She told me I was pretty enough to be a model. Marie was there with me. “Oh good,” she said after the woman left,

Three Audrina Bianchi Capaldi Industries was a huge, towering building in the Boston financial district. I only knew where it was because I googled it. The headquarters for PREPPY, my designer label, was in New York, not Boston. Boston was where I went to escape the drama that was my mothers family. It was why I’d chosen to go to high school there because the Barretta’s didn’t have a strong hold in the city. There, I could breathe a little. As I made my way through the building, being led to Luca’s office by the pretty, auburn haired assistant I was already breathing easier. The girl slipped into Luca’s office, and I could hear the confusion in her voice as she introduced me as “Mrs.Capaldi.” It was strange having that said outloud. The only time that I’d ever heard it had been Luca, right after we’d had sex on our “honeymoon”. I had to learn to embrace the role though. If this was going to work, I needed Luca Capaldi to be my little play thing. I heard Luca’s deep voice tell h