2

Chapter 2

Angelo

As Vittoria is escorted out of the office, I walk to my desk and take a seat behind it.

My eyes flick to Giorgio, who looks like he’s about to shit himself.

He was only twenty-one when he took over from Tony, but during the past seven years, he hasn’t done half the work Tony used to do for me. He also has a gambling problem that’s starting to cost me money.

“I hear you like spending time at Fallen Angels,” I mutter. The strip club was the first business I opened, so I have a soft spot for the establishment.

The club has three sections. Heaven, where customers can only watch the girls dance, and Hell, where everything goes. The gambling room is in the third section, called Purgatory.

Needless to say, the place brings in a fortune. “Yes, sir,” Giorgio says.

When he aims for one of the chairs by my desk, Tiny places a hand against the man’s chest before shaking his head at him.

No one sits in my presence. Well, unless your last name is Rizzo, La Rosa, Torrisi, Falco, or Vitale.

“What is his tab standing at?” I ask.

I know the exact amount, but I don’t want to give Giorgio the impression I have any interest in his life.

“Just shy of three hundred thousand,” Tiny answers. Lifting an eyebrow, I shake my head.

Giorgio begins to sweat, the drops beading on his forehead and running down his temples. “I’ll settle the tab soon.”

“Yes, you will,” I say. “Today.”

His eyes go wide as saucers. “I can’t get the money that quick.”

With zero mercy on my face, I mutter, “That sounds like your problem.” Tiny takes a threatening step toward Giorgio, which has him rambling,

“I’ll get the money. I just need a month.” My eyes narrow on the fucker.

His scared gaze darts between Tiny and myself, then he adds, “I’m the only family Tori has left. Please give me a month. I promise I’ll get the money.”

I’ve heard that before.

Usually, right before I kill someone.

But the debt is not the reason Giorgio is standing in front of me. If it were, he’d be dead already, and truth be told, tomorrow would’ve been his last day if it weren’t for his little sister.

Vittoria Romano.

I’ve been so busy I haven’t realized the girl blossomed into a beautiful woman.

I’m used to people looking at me with fear, but seeing terror in Vittoria’s eyes had my cock hardening at the speed of light, which was an unusual reaction for me.

I wonder what it would be like to bend her to my will.

I have a healthy sex drive, but lately, all the women seem to blur together. It’s become boring as fuck. There’s also the matter of my uncle, who’s been nagging that it’s time for me to take a wife.

Then, the scared little fawn appeared in front of me, and her doe eyes had my pulse racing faster.

“Vittoria is twenty-three,” I mention.

Giorgio does a double take before his face lights up with relief. “Yes.” “She’s of marrying age.”

“Yes.” His head bobs up and down. “I’m just waiting until she’s twenty- five before arranging a marriage for her.”

Finding the fucker funny, I let out a rare chuckle. “What makes you think you’re allowed to arrange a marriage for her?” I lift a hand and wave at the desk. “Did I miss the part where you’re the one in charge?”

Giorgio’s eyes widen again. “N-no, sir.”

Why wait until she’s twenty-five?

I push the thought to the back burner. Tiny can look into Vittoria’s personal life after I’ve dealt with her brother.

Resting my elbows on the desk, I lean forward. “You’re not to arrange a marriage for Vittoria without my blessing.”

I want my fill of the woman before she’s passed off to whoever I deem good enough.

Giorgio nods, then asks, “About the debt, sir. Is a month okay?”

For now.

I nod and wave a hand at the door, indicating for the fucker to leave.

As soon as he’s gone, I glance at Tiny. “I want to know everything about Vittoria Romano.”

“Yes, boss.” He hovers for a moment, then asks, “What do you want me to do with Duncan’s body?”

“Drop it off at his house so his family can bury him.” Pulling my phone out of the breast pocket of my jacket, I add, “Pay for the funeral and give his wife fifty thousand. God knows she needs it after putting up with him for so long.”

Big Ricky comes into the office as Tiny leaves. “The girl left with her brother.”

I nod as I scroll through all the emails and messages. “I don’t think she’ll talk,” he mentions.

I nod again while I look at the meeting scheduled for Tuesday at five

p.m. Every two weeks, the five heads of the Cosa Nostra meet. In the beginning, it was to keep the peace, but over the years, we’ve become friends. Now we play poker while talking business.

My cousin was supposed to take over the Rizzo seat in the Cosa Nostra, but he was assassinated by the Quintero cartel when they tried to move into New York.

I was nineteen when I took over so my uncle could retire as head of the Rizzo family. He still helps with the business in Sicily and keeps an eye on everything for me, which is something I want to discuss with him. It’s time for him to step away from the business so he can enjoy his old age.

Fuck, has it already been fifteen years?

Time flies when you’re making money.

No wonder Uncle Maurizio’s been on my case about getting married. He’s scared I’ll be taken out before I get the chance to give the Rizzo family an heir.

The only problem is the women from suitable families are either older than me or still in school. Uncle Maurizio’s been dropping hints that I should marry Valentina Toscano, who’s from an influential family, but that’s never happening. She’s six years older than me and batshit crazy.

Vittoria’s beautiful face pops into my mind, but I shake my head because the Romanos are way beneath the Rizzos.

At least she’s fucking Sicilian.

I shake my head again because I sure as fuck don’t want Giorgio for a brother-in-law.

My gaze lowers to my right hand, and I rub my fingers together as I recall the feel of her silky hair.

She flinched as if she thought I was going to hit her. A woman only has that reaction when she’s been beaten before.

My eyes narrow as my thoughts turn to my parents. Before they were killed in a hit-and-run, my father used to beat the shit out of my mother. Every other night, her blood coated the walls.

The world I grew up in has made me a hard man, but I’ll never hit a woman.

Again, the memory of Vittoria flinching ghosts through my mind. I begin to tap my fingers on the desk as she fills my thoughts.

I’m easily twice her size. Her heart-shaped face is framed by golden brown curls that look like they refuse to be tamed. Her doe eyes hold a mysterious power that has the ability to grab my attention.

The woman is fucking beautiful.

“Boss?” Big Ricky says to get my attention.

I forgot the man was still in the office, and shaking my head to rid my thoughts of Vittoria Romano, I tuck my phone back into my pocket.

Letting out a sigh, I stand up and mutter, “Let’s head over to the club.”

Every day, I’m surrounded by beautiful women, but none of them has grabbed my attention like the little fawn with her wild hair and doe eyes.