Reckless & Ruined (11 page)

“A lot of his business is integrated with ours, too,” Walter said.

Joel waved it off. “Don’t worry. We’ll take our shot at the Marcellos the first chance we have.”

“When will that be?” Dean asked, his hand traveling higher on Alessa’s leg.

“We clean our house first before we worry about others,” Joel explained.

Dean squeezed Alessa’s thigh.

Somehow, though she didn’t know how, Alessa didn’t jerk away from his touch. It took everything inside of her that she had not to do it. Dean Artino made her sick to her fucking stomach. He acted like he already had some kind of claim on Alessa even though Joel promised the engagement wouldn’t happen for at least a couple of months.

“Stop,” Alessa hissed too low for anyone else besides Dean to hear.

Dean smirked and squeezed her thigh again.

Why
? Alessa wanted to shout that one word to the ceiling. Her grandfather hadn’t been dead five days. His body probably wasn’t even completely chilled yet, and her brother was promising to marry her off already.

Joel wasn’t giving Alessa a choice and he knew his threats on the people she cared about the most would be good enough to manipulate her into compliance. Alessa was choked. Her heart raced in her throat, threatening to send her food spilling all over the table

“You look stunning tonight,” Dean said quietly.

Alessa fought off the shudder crawling up her spine. She focused on the plate of food in front of her instead of Dean, who continued watching her. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad to see the bastards let you back in your home,” Walter said from three seats down.

“Yes, me, too,” Joel said.

Abriella frowned beside her brother. “They’ll be back, won’t they?”

Joel shrugged. “The officials said they had what they needed from the office space and they already took the security footage, not that there was anything to see. The killer deleted it all. I haven’t had the time to clean the office properly, though.”

Alessa choked on the pasta in her mouth. Coughing, she pretended like her brother wasn’t giving her the dirtiest look at the other end of the table.

“Haven’t had it cleaned?” she squeaked out.

“It’s a process to have it back to normal,” Joel replied. “There’s a company that’ll come in and clean the blood up so you can’t even tell the difference.”

Alessa doubted that. Terrance had suffered a gunshot point blank to the face. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen the mess in the office, but her mother had. Alessa heard her mother plainly say things like
blood
and
matter
after finding the body.

“Besides, I haven’t decided what I want to do with the space,” Joel added as he stabbed his fork into the pasta mess on his plate.

“The Will hasn’t been read,” Abriella told their brother quietly.

Joel flashed a confident smile. “It doesn’t have to be, remember? I already told you where this house came from and that it would be coming to me. It’s mine. Terrance’s Will is a matter of semantics. I don’t care to wait for it, it’s already mine with him dead.”

Alessa cringed. “So, it’s still … up there right now?”

Joel cocked a brow. “Yes. Although the biggest part of the mess is gone. There are no chunks and bits hanging off the wall now.”

Jesus Christ.

Why were they even in this house right now?

“Oh,” Alessa mumbled.

Abriella sighed. “Joel, come on.”

“What?” their brother asked. “She asked.”

“You’re fucking disgusting,” Abriella spat.

“Be nice to your brother,” Walter warned. “He’s the only one holding all the keys to your kingdom, my dear.”

Abriella didn’t even bother to hide her glare, but she stayed quiet all the same.

“Enough of this,” Walter said, slapping his hands on the table. “We’re supposed to be celebrating tonight, not in a mood. Isn’t that right, Joel?”

Joel smiled. “Is it. So, let’s eat and we can get to that.”

Alessa met Abriella’s gaze. Abriella was pissed off, no doubt about it.

“Have you given anymore consideration to who the killer may have been?” Walter asked.

Joel didn’t look like he gave a damn as he said, “Well, I suspect it came from Riley. Who exactly did the hit is another matter altogether. I’m not concerned. They did what they came to do and it’s over with. I’ll reap the rewards while the rest of the Outfit fights amongst themselves.”

“It should be an interesting show to watch,” Walter noted.

“I hope so,” Joel replied.

“Eat, Alessa,” Dean said, his tone offering no room for argument. This man had little to no control over Alessa, but tonight, he was suddenly acting like he did. “You could use a few extra pounds on that tiny frame of yours. How you don’t blow away in the wind, I don’t know.”

Walter laughed crudely, showing teeth and tongue. “Oh, my boy. Be grateful she is small. You won’t have to worry about her turning into a cow like your mother did by the time she was thirty.”

Alessa’s mouth popped open, disbelief filling her to the brim. 

Dean’s father was a loud man and large in stature. During the dinner, one that Joel had initiated and ordered Alessa and Abriella to attend, Walter Artino took center stage. Alessa couldn’t remember a time when the man had ever tried to be the dominant man in the room, but he was making up for that in the tenfold tonight.

Maybe because Terrance wasn’t there to be the head of the table, and Joel didn’t seem to mind letting Walter act as if he controlled the room.

For the moment, anyway.

Abriella’s lips curved downward in her disgust. “And where is your wife tonight, Walter?”

Walter shrugged. “At home where she belongs.”

Alessa couldn’t sit at the table for another second.

“I, uh … excuse me,” Alessa said, pushing away from the table. Dean finally let go of her leg, but not without scowling.

Joel arched a brow high. “Where are you going?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

Dean sighed. “Hurry back.”

Right
.

In his fucking dreams.

Alessa took her sweet time in the bathroom washing her hands and fixing her wayward curls. The less time she had to spend with Dean and his awful father, the better. By the time she made her way back to the dining room, she found Abriella just outside the entryway, hiding against the wall.

Abriella put two fingers up to her lips. “Listen.”

Alessa nodded, sliding in beside her sister. “What are you doing out here?”

“Joel was getting antsy about how long you were taking.”

“Too bad for him.”

Abriella snorted quietly. “Yeah, well, I told him I would come find you.”

“I could have her move into my penthouse,” Dean said inside the dining room. “I wouldn’t mind being able to keep a closer eye on her until the wedding. Consider it, Joel. It would be one less body you’d have to watch.”

Alessa tensed all over. “I don’t think so.”

Abriella shook her head. “You’re not even engaged to him yet. Don’t worry about it.”

How could she not?

Joel cleared his throat. “For now, she’ll remain living in the apartment with Ella. They’re close and I don’t want to separate them until I have to. Plus, it wouldn’t look good on my sister if she was shacked up with a man before she was even engaged to him. Besides, you’re intentions are showing, Dean.”

Dean laughed loudly. “What intentions?”

“Wait until the wedding night. Or at least until I let you put a ring on her.”

Walter joined in on his son’s amusement. “Joel is not stupid, my boy.”

“Better to try and fail; that’s what you always told me,” Dean replied. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

“I get it,” Joel replied. “But the fact remains, she will stay where she is for now. My problem with moving her has very little to do with how you’d treat her or that she’d miss Abriella, but rather, Alessa would cause issues. She isn’t entirely in agreement with this whole thing. The less problems I have to deal with right now, the better. She stays with Ella.”

“Fine,” Dean muttered unhappily.

“And what of the DeLuca family?” Walter asked.

Joel scoffed. “What of them?”

“Have you considered my suggestion?” the older man asked. “They’re hanging on by a thread as to where, and with whom, their loyalties lie, Joel.”

“Dad makes a good point, Joel. Strengthen what ties you have there. Cull any affection they may have toward the Conti family.”

“I will,” Joel said. “I have a plan.”

“Which is?” Walter asked.

Joel hummed under his breath. “Don’t worry. It’ll be put into action soon enough. With what they have left, they’ll have no choice but to stay on my side of the line.”

“And the Rossi family?” Dean asked.

“Tommas is … a good friend of mine,” Joel replied simply. “Next to Walter as my underboss, I think Tommas would make one hell of a front boss for the Outfit.”

Abriella’s hand found Alessa’s and squeezed tightly.

“How long will that last?” Alessa asked her sister.

“I don’t know,” Abriella whispered. “Tommy doesn’t trust Joel at all right now.”

“Tommas’ father is a loose cannon,” Walter pointed out.

“Maybe so, but I have not reached a point yet with Tommas Rossi where I want to hurt him just because I feel the need to spill blood.”

Yet, Joel had no issue with hurting his sisters for his own benefit.

The hypocrisy burned like nothing else on the back of Alessa’s tongue.

“And if Laurent Rossi continues on the path he’s made for himself, I won’t have to do a damn thing,” Joel added. “He’s digging his own grave, my friends.”

“By the way,” Dean drawled, sounding entirely bored.

“What is that?” Joel asked.

“I got that information you wanted on Dino DeLuca.”

“Did you?”

“Yes,” Dean said. “Chicago XM, 96.5. His favorite station. I took a drive with him and every time I tried to turn the radio, he threatened to cut my hands off and then put the station back.”

Alessa swore she could hear the smile in her brother’s voice when he said, “Perfect.”

“Why not Theo?” Walter asked. “With Dino already working on prison time, you would practically wipe out—”

“Either one would serve my purposes,” Joel interrupted smoothly. “And Theo is still young; he’s loyal to the Trentinis. You shouldn’t skip church on Sunday.”

“Oh?” Walter asked.

“Yes, be there,” Joel replied. “I hear it’s going to be a
blast
.”

What in the hell was that supposed to mean?

CHAPTER FIVE

Meet me under the willow.

That was all the text said.

Adriano didn’t know how to refuse Alessa a damn thing, so he took the risk and went. He heard the sounds of Alessa’s footsteps long before she slipped under the low lying branches.

Alessa shifted on her feet and hugged her midsection. “I didn’t think …”

“That I would come?” Adriano asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I did.”

Alessa laughed, but even the sound was sad. “You always do, right?”

“Run after you while you push me away and leave me behind? Yeah.”

“Ouch, Adriano.”

Adriano shrugged. “It is what it is, Lissa.”

He was a little bitter. This girl was everything to him and he never tried to hide it. But ever since the night of the wedding a few evenings ago, Alessa hadn’t contacted him at all. She didn’t answer his texts and ignored his calls.

It pissed Adriano off.

“Why aren’t you at your place tonight?” he asked.

Alessa frowned. “Joel had a dinner with the Artinos and demanded Abriella and I come, too. It ended late. Joel decided we should stay instead of heading back to the apartment.”

Adriano’s gaze narrowed. “Joel
decided
you should stay? Since when does he decide things for you, Alessa?”

“Exactly.”

“You’re going to have to be a bit clearer than that,” Adriano said.

Alessa wouldn’t meet Adriano’s gaze. “Since we found out our grandfather is actually his father.”

Adriano turned to stone. “I don’t think I heard you right, Alessa.”

“You did. And he hates Terrance. Everything he says and does shows it.”

Whoa
.

“He’s not giving us a choice in anything,” Alessa added quietly.

Adriano didn’t like what Alessa’s words implied.

“Did anybody see you come around?” Alessa asked.

“No,” he responded. “I parked a few blocks away and jogged down the backroad before coming in on the property. We’re good.”

Alessa sighed. “Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t answer you back the last few days.”

“Are you?”

“Yes,” Alessa said. “But I’ve been … stuck in my own head, trying to figure out what I was going to do. I thought I should let you know so you can stop worrying about me and move on to your own thing, Adriano.”

“You are my thing,” Adriano replied. “Don’t you know that?”

Alessa dipped her head down, keeping her face out of his view. “I can’t be your thing.”

“Stop it with that shit. None of this matters to me. It never has.”

“I can’t be
your
thing,” Alessa repeated firmly. “Not anymore. Not now.”