Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken (43 page)

Laughing softly at his cousin’s anger, Kyle stood from his seat, reaching over to see all that the man had done.

“Does it look like I’m fucking laughing, Kyle? I just spent the last three days buried under a pile of fucking work! What about
my
lounging time? I want to enjoy life; I like to fuck! But no. I’m sitting in my fucking office talking on the damn phone all day. And I almost lost three of your fucking deals, too. You better be happy all the motherfuckers wanted to fuck me, or else your ass would have been as fucked as mine
hasn’t
been in the last four days!”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Gabriel!” Kyle’s head dropped forward as he slipped into an involuntary fit of low laughter.

And he wasn’t the only one either. Only Gabriel Steele had the ability to shock them all into hysterics just by saying what was on his mind. He was a fucking lunatic; a complete and utter mess, but well put together all at the same time.

Kyle had spent the last five years becoming closer to the man than he’d ever thought possible. It was the first time he’d embraced a family member so quickly, too. He still didn’t understand how the connection was so strong, but Kyle and Gabriel were basically the same person a lot of the time. Exceptionally handsome, smart, closed off, and mean as hell. They just got each other. Plus, they could say pretty much any fucking thing to one another and neither of them would ever be effected by it in the slightest.

Kyle couldn’t have asked for a better cousin.

“What the hell are you all laughing at?” he shot. “I’m being serious.”

“You’re being insane, honey,” Carter chuckled, shaking her head. “It’s funny, that’s all.”

Kyle saw the smile enter Gabriel’s eyes as he gazed at his sister’s soft laughter, then he shook his head slightly, the sight seeming to make him calmer. “I give up,” he sighed, turning back to Kyle’s desk. “I’ve come to the conclusion I will never understand any of your laughter, nor why you choose to do it so often.” Once everyone’s laughter calmed, Gabriel reached forward and lightly tapped the top folder. “I didn’t make this one. It was brought over by the lawyers of Eric Bonaducci. You’ll want to read it when you’re alone, just incase you want to, you know …”

“Throw shit.” Kyle nodded, frowning down at what was surely an updated contract with more outrageous demands in it. “Did you write up the counter proposal?”

“Using all of the information you sent through your secretary?” He gently pushed the top folder a bit to the side. “Wrote it up, had it typed, packaged, and it’s ready for whenever you’re ready to set the meeting up.”

“You saved my fucking life, Gabe.” Kyle sighed, feeling more relieved than he’d felt since first walking back into the Salerno Organization building. This was fucking fantastic. Not only had Gabriel completed all of his work, he’d gotten him caught up from where he’d fallen behind last week. Kyle looked through the stack in awe. “How the hell did you do all this in three days?”

“Umm … Well, for starters, I came to fucking work.”

“Thank you,” Kyle sang, peeking up at his cousin with a sly smile. “You saved me from losing my job.”

“Fuck you,” he spat, making Kyle chuckle. “I did it because your productivity at work effects mine.”

“You did it because you love me, cousin.” Kyle gave a gentle nod of his head, only because he knew it’d piss Gabriel off. “And that is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Gabriel frowned. “You do know you’re a dick, right?”

“Dick.” Kyle smiled, pointing a finger at his cousin. “That’s exactly what you need to ease that temper of yours.” He motioned behind the man. “Dante, can you help him out on that?”

Dante’s response was a chuckle.

“Shut the fuck up, Kyle,” Gabriel said, slight laughter in his voice.

“Yeah okay, enough. We get it, you guys, we get it. There’s a lot of work, a lot of soldiers, and Gabriel wants Dante’s dick. Now can we please cut the bullshit and get to what’s important here?” Mickey groaned from his seat in the corner of the office.

Kyle’s brows lifted as he looked over at his little brother. For a minute he’d forgotten the man had come into the office with them, he’d been so quiet. But, then again, it wasn’t unusual for Mickey to ease away from ‘shop talk’—the man was an assassin. Other than family stuff, getting his next hit job was all Mickey really thought about.

“How about we stop talking about this war shit, and start talking about Kyle’s personal life?” the man grumbled.

“How the hell is a war not important?”

“Focus, Lucca,” Mickey yelled.

Carter’s soft laughter briefly caught Kyle’s attention and he had a bit of a chuckle himself, before Mickey regained his attention once again.

“I want to hear how your weekend went, Kyle,” Mickey said. “I need to know how well my advice worked for you.”

Kyle quirked a brow. “You referring to the trip you were supposed to keep under wraps?” he teased his little brother.

But Kyle wasn’t an idiot. He’d known telling Mickey meant telling the whole family. The man always tried his best, but he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. Kyle found that out after the
‘Kyle’s secret baby’
revealing debacle he didn’t really like to remember. Only because he hated remembering a time when he’d been such a fucking prick that he hadn’t even wanted the best thing he had in his life; his little lady bug.

“I tried to keep it from these bastards, but they beat it out of me.”

Laughter erupted around the room.

“It didn’t take a fucking beating to get the secret out of you, Mickey.”

“They’re lying,” Mickey argued, raising his middle finger in their direction. “They locked me in your office for hours and made me,” his face screwed up in disgust, “
work
. And answer phone calls, and look at papers and shit. I’m not a fucking suit, Kyle. I can’t deal with that shit. I had no choice, they broke me.”

“Its all right, Mikilo,” Kyle laughed. “Calm yourself. I’m not angry.”

“You don’t look angry at all,” Carter said, drawing his attention to her.

She had a bright smile on her face as she stared over at him in obvious excitement.

“You look happy.”

Kyle nodded. “I am happy.”

Her excitement was as amusing as it was perfectly genuine, and heartfelt. No one could keep the smile from their face at the sound of her squeals, and the sight of her bouncy, animated enthusiasm.

“You’re happy?” she asked in a high-pitched tone.

Kyle laughed softly. “I’m very, very happy.”

She squealed at that, too.

And, of course, Kyle had to take it up a notch. “I’m also very in love …”

Her eyes widened as she squealed again, this time a little louder. “Oh my God.” She nodded her head up and down. “I’m in love with her, too.”

Kyle laughed.

“Isn’t she perfect?”

He nodded his head, finding it very hard not to be amused by her perfect reaction to all of this. “She’s stunning …”

Carter’s hands shot to her heart, right in time for the tears Kyle had been expecting to fill her eyes. “She is,” she whispered, delicately wiping away a fallen tear. “You son of a bitch, you made me cry.”

With perfectly feigned distress falling over his face, Kyle shook his head at her words. “Aww, no. You can’t cry yet, Carterina,” he said as innocently as he could, trying his best to fight against his sly smile. “I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.”

He didn’t hate doing this to her. Not in the slightest. He loved the woman deeply, but nothing in this world entertained him more than triggering all of the emotions that filled the crazy little woman. It fascinated him how one person could be as multifaceted as Carterina Anastacia Salerno. She didn’t make much sense, but just …
did
at the same time.

If her already widened eyes could have gotten any wider, Kyle was certain they would have as she stood across the room—hand still to her heart—staring up at him expectantly.

“What could possibly be better than you and
Sofi’s Reanna
falling in love?”

Smiling slyly, Kyle said the words that would surely shock the hell out of his entire family … well, all except Nathan of course.

“I’m getting married.”

Carter’s piercing scream tore through the air.

His brothers and Gabriel had rejoiced, hugged him, and given him proud ‘well done’ pats on his back. Carterina had wept, hugged him for the longest time as she sobbed and cried through an entire speech about how proud she was of him, and how far he’d come.

Kyle had gotten a chance to thank Mickey for being there for him when he hadn’t a clue about what the fuck he’d do to win over Reanna; he’d gotten to thank Nathan for being as available as he always was whenever Kyle had needed his advice the other night; then last, but certainly not least, he’d gotten to thank Carter. The list of shit the woman had done for him since the day he first met her in that little bar back in Hope Beach was a mile long by now, but she hadn’t wanted a thank you; she told him she hadn’t needed it. She explained that her actions had just been her supporting her god-daughter’s decision on whom she wanted as her mother. Sofia had chosen Reanna, and Carter’s help in that department had just been her wanting the best for both him, and Sofia. Now, she was happy she could—in her words—finally let go of her worry for him, for Sofia, because she now knew that they were in good hands … in Reanna’s hands.

It had been nice, finally having a chance to celebrate with his family like that. Kyle wasn’t used to having good shit to tell them … Happy shit. He wasn’t used to being the bearer of good news, and it had been a nice change, for once, not getting those famous concerned looks from his brothers … well, all except Nathan. Kyle had caught the slightest look of something on Nathan’s face before he’d hesitantly left Kyle’s office, and Kyle had tried to ask him what it was, or if there had been something wrong, but the man had simply shrugged him off, shaking his head and saying, “It’s nothing, brother.” Then he hugged Kyle, a bit too tightly for Kyle’s comfort, and told him how happy he was for him.

Yeah
… Kyle was far from an idiot. Something was going on that Nathan was hesitant to tell him about—

“Valente, you’re obviously not ready to move forward with this deal. Maybe we should reschedule this call for a later date …”

Looking up from his thoughts, Kyle frowned. Shit. He needed to get his mind off of everything else and focus on work. There was no time for pleasant thoughts and happiness; not while he was on the phone with this jackass.

“No,” Kyle said, refocusing, and looking down at the document given to him by Gabriel today with a deep frown of frustration masking his face.

Like always, Don Bonaducci was fucking around with the Salerno Organization, and he was using his incompetent consigliere, David Mitchum, to do it. Kyle had already offered the family all he would a few weeks back, but as always, the greedy motherfuckers wanted more. They wanted shit that Kyle couldn’t give,
wouldn’t
give, and he was coming very close to doing exactly what his father had instructed him to do last week, what Kyle himself felt was impossible. Taking everything offered, and forcing the motherfuckers to sign a peace agreement without any perks.

That particular contract was actually the response that Kyle had had Gabriel type up over the weekend.

“You’ve been the one prolonging this, David.” Even with Kyle taking the time off that he had, it was indeed David who was holding up negotiations—dodging meetings, making outrageous and unrealistic demands, and refusing to stay on calls with Kyle for more than five minutes. It was obvious the fucker thought the Bonaducci had the upper hand in this, but he couldn’t be more wrong. “I’m not quite sure why you’d think it’s a good idea to stretch this out.”

“I’m not the one stretching this out, Valente. That would be you …”

There was an air of both arrogance and amusement in the man’s tone that caused Kyle’s inner serial killer to stir. He clenched his jaw tightly, fighting against the rage which was quickly overtaking him. He didn’t want to snap. No, that would only make the call last longer.

David continued. “I wanted this deal to be made days ago, but you’re too chicken shit to take my demands seriously and get your Don, as well as the French, to agree to them.”

See? The fucker was basically begging Kyle to reach through the phone and end his worthless fucking life.

“This peace agreement is about protecting the lives of the Bonaducci family,” Kyle reminded him. “You will do yourself a favor in remembering that, David. The Salerno Organization is uninterested in adhering to any demands given by you or your Don. I’ve told you what we are offering. Take it, and let’s be done with this.”

“That’s not going to happen, Valente. My boss will never accept this. All we get here is some worthless fucking territory and the promise of no retaliation? That’s not enough.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. In capable hands, that territory was far from worthless. But expecting this dumbass to know that would be too much. “Let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands you stole in the process of your attack, David. What we are giving is far more than you deserve.”