Chapter 23

Marco "No, we were at the sunbathing place, near Ricky's Pub and grill. Ren was watching the door for Ms. Jane and Calum, while Gabriel and I threw the stink bomb in her car." Aliyana speaks as I take the turn to the residential areas. "But Gabriel took all the blame," I finish for her, knowing about their antics and the DeMarco boy taking the brunt. Aliyana didn't know this, but Gabriel's uncle wasn't as forgiving as his shitty dad. Gabriel had it hard, he just learned to hide it better. Why he chose to take the fall for it, all didn't matter. The fact he did, well, that spoke volumes of the type of Capo he'd become one day. "Yeah, he did, except for the few times Ren and I got caught with our hands in the cookie jar. My father's wife caught us once sneaking into one of Deno's clubs in New York. It wasn't the last time she caught us either. I guess when I think about it, maybe her hate for me doesn't stem from just my mother. Maybe it's warranted." "Hate you? No, she doesn't hate you Aliyana, she envies you. A girl born in our world with the freedom your father has given you doesn't come by often. Ilaria loved a soldier before she was forced to marry your father," I respond as I speed past the black BMW hogging the road. "I never knew that." "Now, you do. Tell me something, Aliyana." She doesn't respond, and I take my eyes off the road to see her staring outside the window. Lost. "My brother, was he good to Diamond?" "Yes," Her voice drops, and I wish I could stare into her emerald gaze, "He loved her from the moment she fell into him, she was all spirit, and he was her slave." "Can you tell me about him when he was a kid?" The question takes me by surprise, I go quiet for a bit, caught off guard as I take the longer route toward her house. How do I start? Where do I start? "I wasn't there enough to tell you the type of kid he was. I joined the army straight after boarding school. But, I can say that Lorenzo was my family's redemption. The start over the Catelli's needed. I was there the day he was born. I was 15 and just got back from boarding school. I went straight to the hospital with Deno and Anya. We flipped a coin who would go into surgery with Natasha, Deno won, but my father stole our thunder when he arrived. Anya, Deno and I waited for almost 3 hours before we got to see him. When I looked into his scrunched up face, I knew he was the better brother. I vowed to keep him safe as I'd done with all my siblings. But I failed him. I wonder if I made the right move leaving him in Chicago or did Deno's coddling and attempts to protect him from all the horrors of the 5th State weaken him." "The only fault is the one who pulled the trigger. Ren was the better of us all. And maybe that made him weak, or perhaps, it made him stronger. Either way, he knew the risk in his actions, whether it was a Russo or the Government or one of the people he loved who pulled that trigger, he knew the risk was death." I look at her as I get closer to her house. It is said that the eyes are a window to the soul, Aliyana's eyes are a mirror to mine. "If you died tomorrow, Aliyana, would you say that you are ready?" She drops her gaze and turns to face the window again. "No, but like Ren, I know that every action in my life leads me closer to the inevitable." "You are wise for your 19 years," I state. I didn't get enough time with Aliyana during dinner as I expected. Deno got an urgent call and left to attend business. Half-way through our meal, my own phone began chiming. Kylie Bray showed up minutes after, and before we knew it, my idea of enjoying a meal with Aliyana before we put my brother in his grave to rot became just an idea. What I did do was realize why Ren loved her. Kylie did most of the talking, and while she could be entertaining, she wasn't in a humorous mood. She was snippy, going on about Sienna not visiting her when she got into town after Aliyana told her, Sienna stopped by for a visit. Kylie went on to complain about Diamond not eating and how worried Diamond was since Ren passed on. She had no idea, we knew about Diamond, so though she complained about her, she didn't divulge anything that could discriminate Diamond in any way. Kylie was Marcus Bray's daughter for sure. Maybe she spent more time with the Stones, but she's his kid through and through. "Thanks for dinner and entertaining, Kylie. She isn't like that. Well, not usually. Ren's death has affected more than just the ones closest to him." "No need to thank me. Marcus Bray is a man I respect. Kylie is a lot like her father, never a dull moment." I pull my car up to the front of her gate, signaling the soldier in the guardhouse to open up. The place has a decent size driveway. The manicured garden and rosebushes are just how I remember it when I first came to this house. Aliyana was eight at the time. It was the first time I saw her, the next time was a memory I wish to erase. "She's also stunning." "Never knew you to swing both ways." I switch the car off and park in front of the stairs. Her laugh is hypnotic, carefree, and I find myself smiling even as dark clouds blanket this moment with the memory of my brother's recent death. "I'm not, but you already know that." Will this be like this forever, if she was mine? Would she remain lost, and stare at me as she is right now, with her hand on her mouth and that glimmer in her emerald eyes? Are her curls going to touch her ample breast like it belongs there? Would I get lost in her? "Are you okay?" She asks me with genuine worry. I must be frowning. "I'm fine, just got lost in thought for a moment. You should get inside, tomorrow is going to be a long day." And like that, the spark leaves her beauty alone for now. So easy it is to add ruin to perfection. She has answered my question without even knowing I was asking. 'Goodbye, Marco." She jumps out of the car, leaving me to watch her walk away from me. How is it that my brother's body lies in a morgue waiting to be buried, yet, I sit here, watching the very girl he wanted me to stay away from, and all I can think of is kissing her. All I can imagine is her legs spread on my carpet floor, her eyes heavy with desire, as her body waits to be owned by me - The Villain. 'Aliyana, wait." I leave my car door open, heading toward her. She doesn't turn around, so I grab her by the waist and spin her around. Look at me, Mezzosangue. She gasps, and there it is, those green optics, mesmerizing yet utterly darkening, gawking at me. "Kiss me, Mezzosangue." She lifts up her head, tilts her chin, and closes those beautiful eyes. Surrendering. I bend my body, grab her closer into me, wanting her to experience the man who's holding her, as I dip my head to meet those lips. The forbidden always tastes better. Her tongue touches my own as she did on the night of the rooftop. Only this time, I take it and demand more as my hand wanders to her round ass and my other to her neck. I consume her exotic flavor of forbidden essence. A deep-heated, intense kiss from a girl as innocent, yet deadly as this one, tastes like the finest whiskey. Smooth until it gets to the inside, then it burns, and that burn eventually becomes your addiction. An addiction I shouldn't want. I pull away, holding her shoulders, her lips swollen from my kiss, her cheeks flushed from the feel of my dick against her stomach. My breeding deeper than I show her. Hers erratic. Sometimes in life, we are given tests. While most of them are obvious, there are those rarities that are not. Today, I stare into the eyes of the girl who could one day become my wife. The night is silent, the air- stagnant, and all those nightly sounds not existing. It is almost surreal, us standing here, right outside her door, where the soldiers could see our sin. This, us, now, a hellish test I have failed knowingly. My senses come to me in a wave. I watch her face change from wanting to cautious. My phone rings and I leave her standing on the step to get to my car. I grab the device from my console. "What's wrong?" I ask my soldier, dread filling my body. "Tuo cugino, Massimo e stato trovato dal molo signore. He's bad." Your cousin Massimo was found by the docks, sir. "Take him to the hospital, I'm on my way." I clip the call and turn to Aliyana, still standing exactly where I left her. "The last time I kissed you, my brother was killed. Today my cousin gets attacked outside my fucking dock." I squeeze my phone in my hand, my need to smash something takes over. How I refrain is unknown to me. "Maybe you shouldn't kiss me then," She says, stepping toward me. "There is no maybe about it. Get inside, Aliyana." "Aliyana. Marco?" Her sister's voice comes from the top of the window. The same window Aliyana and her sister stood by just a few days ago, carefree, watching us while giggling so loud, Filippo wanted to tell them to shut up. Now, look at her, standing across from me yet again, tainted. But, there has never been anything carefree about Aliyana Capello. I know this, but why do I feel guilty, like I made her that way? When the very man she calls her father did that to her. Should I have stopped him? Is that why every time I get too close to her, someone I care for dies or gets hurt? Is she my family's downfall? My ultimate destruction? "Guilia, I'm coming now, wait for me," Aliyana tells her sister. "You should go, Marco, thank you for tonight." I give her a stiff nod and watch her walk away from me. Sometimes the pill of truth is hard to swallow but necessary. I leave Aliyana's house, but my mind remains there throughout the night. It remembers our kiss, her stories in the restaurant, her careless quirks, even as I look at my cousin in the hospital bed. Her loud feminine voice follows me as I am forced to relive the nightmare my cousin had endured from the video footage. Seven men attacked him, beat the fucking shit out of him. Is it related to my brother's murder? I think not. This is the work of someone who wants revenge. The question is, who?