Reckless & Ruined (6 page)

“What, like a horse?”

“As long as she’s not dead, there’s no reason not to beat her,” he quipped.

Alessa couldn’t believe the gull of him. “You’re disgusting.”

Where did he learn this kind of behavior?

And what was even more awful, why did her grandfather like Dean so damned much?

This was a terrible situation for Alessa to be in. The more she considered Dean’s promises about a marriage between him and her, the worse she felt. It was as if a spike of dread had been driven straight into her spine, holding her in place.

Alessa had stopped worrying about being married off, especially to a man like Dean. Her grandfather never mentioned much about the issue, but her brother Joel occasionally dropped hints. Alessa had brushed Joel’s comments off as the bullshit it was. Terrance never let his grandson make those kinds of calls.

But her grandfather … Terrance liked Dean. He liked the man’s father, too.

Dean sighed, drawing Alessa from her thoughts. “Tell me …”

Alessa swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. “Tell you what?”

“Did that Conti prick—Adriano—ever get the chance to fuck you like he wanted?”

Ouch.

Alessa did lurch away from Dean that time. His words were as good as a slap. “I beg your pardon?”

Dean’s expression didn’t change a bit as he said, “Just curious, Alessa.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Ah, you don’t have to say a thing,” Dean said, chuckling. “Your face says it all. That’s fine—virgins always cry, anyway. Less fight, you know.”

Jesus Christ.

This man was a vile pig.

“Get away from me,” Alessa snapped.

Dean grinned but didn’t move. “You should get used to the fact that I have a cock hanging between my legs and you don’t. Having that extra appendage means I make all the calls, Alessa. The quicker you realize that, the easier it’ll all be.”

“Eat shit,” Alessa muttered.

“So crass,” Dean scolded, clicking his tongue almost mockingly. 

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Dean leered. “I plan on seeing everything, remember?”

“I promise that would be the last thing you ever got to see.”

With those words, Alessa left Dean stunned and looking stupid.

Just like he always did.

Alessa needed a breather. The venue picked for the Rossi-DeLuca wedding was more than big enough to handle the amount of guests, but she still felt suffocated by all the people. Italian families didn’t know how to be quiet when it came to a celebration. Hell, the word quiet didn’t even exist.

Stepping outside into the parking lot, Alessa took a deep breath of air. It didn’t seem to matter what time of year it was, Chicago always had a chill and a little bit of wind. August in the city was known to be a rainy month, but the wetness had held off, thankfully. The cool breeze was just what Alessa needed.

Raised voices echoing from around the side of the building caught Alessa’s attention before she could even fully relax. She knew better than to eavesdrop or insert herself into a conversation between men in the Outfit, but those familiar voices drew her in like a moth to the flame.

Alessa peeked around the corner of the building where more cars had been parked. She froze at the sight of Adriano Conti leaning against his familiar 1969 Camaro with his arms crossed and a scowl marring his handsome features. Theo DeLuca stood only feet away from Adriano, looking unruffled and calm as the young man across from him only raged.

“You’re un-fucking-believable,” Adriano said, sneering. “And you’re selfish as hell.”

“Me?” Theo asked, scoffing. “Come on, Adriano. I did my sister a favor; that was all.”

“And you got my sister in trouble in the process!”

Alessa frowned, confused.

Evelina Conti, Adriano’s sister, was supposed to be Lily’s maid of honor. The shootings and murders had pushed Evelina’s father to cull her from the wedding party. Alessa’s sister took Evelina’s place while one of the groom’s cousins acted as the stand-in for a bride’s maid. Nonetheless, Evelina hadn’t shown up at the wedding or reception. At least, not that Alessa knew.

“I’m sorry your father is a fucking asshole right now, but Eve is Lily’s best friend,” Theo said, unaffected. “I figured they would both like to see each other today. It was only for a few minutes. I sent Eve home with someone from a neutral family.”

“You sent her home with one of your cousins,” Adriano growled.

“So?” Theo tossed his hands high, saying, “I could have sent her home with Joel! Would that have been any better? Fuck no. Right now, sending her home with a DeLuca relative was better than sending her home with someone else.”

Adriano’s gaze narrowed. “Now you’re just being an asshole. Nobody is neutral in this, Theo. My father is in a fit and Eve is taking shit for it. Thanks for trying to be nice, but next time, don’t bother at all. She doesn’t need your kind of nice and I don’t want to run around cleaning up any more messes because of your family.”

Theo didn’t even blink at those words. “What is that supposed to mean, Adriano?”

“You know what it fucking means. Leave my sister alone.”

Theo DeLuca was a loyal, happy guy. He could be pretty loud when he wanted to be and he knew how to charm a lady with just a smile. His brother Dino, on the other hand, was quiet, reserved, and sometimes a little intimidating. Lily, the youngest of the three DeLuca siblings, was a mixture of both quiet and good-natured.

Alessa had seen both Theo and Evelina interact over the years, but she hadn’t once seen anything romantic between the two. Then again, Alessa never saw anything intimate between her sister and Tommas Rossi, either, but those two were … yeah.

“Whatever, kid,” Theo said. “I’m over this shit. Here’s the thing, it’s not me who needs to drop it. Let your sister know she can lose my number. I’m done trying with your family. You just lost another ally.”

With those words, Theo turned on his heel and headed back toward the front of the building. Alessa barely managed to slip around the side out of view. Theo didn’t seem to notice Alessa against the wall as he took the stairs two at a time, yanked open the glass door, and disappeared inside the building.

Alessa let out another breath, happy she hadn’t been caught eavesdropping. Turning to peek around the corner of the building again, she came face to face with Adriano. Her heart kick-started at the sight of his grin. He could be playful and sweet when he wanted.

“Adriano,” Alessa whispered.

“Where have you been?” Adriano asked her.

“Here and there. You?” 

“Staying out of trouble. Unlike you.” Adriano winked. “You thought I didn’t see you there, huh?”

“I wasn’t listening,” Alessa said.

“That's your story?”

“Yes. And I’m sticking to it.”

“Smart girl,” Adriano said, chuckling.

“I learned from the best.”

The sound of Adriano’s laughter was dark, rich, and deep. It rolled over Alessa’s senses like liquid sugar, promising to make her high and wake her up at the same time. His green eyes surveyed her, looking over the dress she wore and the black pumps on her feet. Adriano had always been able to make the rest of the world disappear when he had Alessa in his sights.

She didn’t have the first clue how to feel about this man. Their closeness over the years had been explained away to everyone around them as nothing more than friendship, but Alessa knew it was more than that.

They had always been more than just friends.

“Cute,” Adriano noted, fingering the capped sleeve of her dress.

Alessa cocked a brow, mocking offense. “Cute? That’s not exactly the look I’m going for tonight.”

Womanly. Grown up. Sexy. Beautiful.

Anything but
cute
.

“It’s pink,” he said simply.

“So?”

Adriano’s smirk could make a woman wet. Alessa was no exception. “You know I like you best in blue,
bella
.”

Alessa laughed. “I do. But you’re not here.”

“And you’re not dressing for me, huh?”

Alessa’s heart sank as she considered his words. “You haven’t called me in weeks.”

“I’m trying to keep you out of trouble, Alessa.”

“Oh?” she asked.

“Of course. You know how much I care about you.”

Did he?

“And my father is being an asshole,” Adriano added quieter. “Better if I don’t urge him on.”

“I guess.”

Adriano ticked his fingers gently under Alessa’s chin, making her look up at him. The action was so tender, so familiar to them, that it made her heart stutter. “I miss you, though.”

She didn’t have to ask if he meant that. His eyes said it all.

“I miss you, too. It sucks when you’re not around to chase all the jerks off.”

Adriano laughed loudly. “I agree.”

Alessa chose not to mention Dean. Adriano probably had enough crap to deal with and worry about. She didn’t need to add her stupid issues onto him.

A sadness lingered in Adriano’s gaze. Alessa couldn’t have missed it if she tried.

“How are you doing?” Alessa asked.

Adriano smiled briefly, the darkness in his gaze leaving as quickly as it’d come. “With what?”

“Your mom.”

“Oh.” Adriano cleared his throat and stepped around the side of the building, straightening to his full height. That forced Alessa to look up at him. “It’s been a month and a half since she was killed.”

“I know,” Alessa said.

“And it’s not much better,” Adriano admitted.

“I’m sorry.”

Adriano shrugged. “Don’t be. Right now, I’m just waiting this whole mess out and then I can focus on what happened to my mother.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Alessa asked.

“Don’t worry about it, pretty girl.”

Alessa grinned, unable to help herself. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Learn to. How much am I missing in there?” he asked, nodding toward the front doors of the venue.

“The usual,” Alessa replied. “Lots of talk, not much else.”

“Talk leads to gossip and gossip leads to issues. The Outfit has enough of that without adding to it. The talk is what I’m worried about, Alessa.”

Alessa was, too.

She was also incredibly worried about Adriano. He was made in the family, even at his young twenty years. Being the son of the front boss for the Outfit gave Adriano a lot of clout and respect just based on his last name alone. Alessa couldn’t remember a time when Adriano hadn’t been involved in the Outfit in some way. His father had groomed him for this life. A lot like Alessa and her siblings had been groomed for their roles.

But at the end of the day, Adriano was still a made man. The Outfit was still his family and it would always hold his loyalties. The problem was, where should his loyalties go when everyone was divided like they were?

“They’ll work it out,” she said instead of voicing her thoughts. “Your dad and my grandfather, I mean. This is just …”

“A mess,” Adriano finished for her, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “Hopefully, Dad will take Terrance up on his offer to have a sit-down next week.”

“Granddaddy offered that?”

“Sure. Terrance doesn’t want to fight with Riley,” Adriano said. “He wants to get everything settled.”

“You don’t sound like you want to fight, either,” Alessa pointed out.

“I don’t. I also don’t blame him for what happened to my mom. Nobody was pointing the gun right at her, Alessa. It hurts, but Terrance didn’t pull the trigger.”

“Yeah. I get that.”

She wished it could be that simple but it rarely ever was.

“Be careful, Lissa.”

Alessa blinked up at him, confused. “Huh?”

“I need you to be careful, because I might not be able to look out for you.”

Laughing, Alessa said, “Adriano, I’m twenty-years-old. You don’t need to keep looking out for me, all right.”

“Yeah, I kind of do.”

CHAPTER THREE

A
lessa frowned. “Don’t worry about me, Adriano.”

Adriano didn’t know how to tell Alessa, but the fact was simple: he didn’t know how to
not
worry about her. He’d been half in love with this girl ever since he caught her from falling to the ground underneath a willow tree four years ago.