Break All Ties

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Together, Lorenzo and I cleaned the blood from my face. Since there was no salvaging my makeup, he cleaned that off. We had to look normal again. To go back out there and act like this stunt in our plan hadn't happened. To do what we'd come here to do.

He fixed my dress at the bottom, whispering angry words in Italian and ruffled his fingers through my hair. There was no fixing the hair. Instead, we were going for a wild look, as if he'd just pulled me in here for a quick bout of bathroom sex.

We needed to stay cool and calm. Unsuspicious.

The men outside didn't know that Luca Columbo was dead. Until later, we couldn't let them know. That meant acting normal until no one was in sight.

"It's alright what you did Bellezza," Lorenzo said, trapping me with his arm before either of us could leave. "I know you well enough to know you're beating yourself up for killing him right now, but I'm glad you did it. I'm proud, Bellezza. I'm pleased that you did it."

"It makes me a bad person."

"It doesn't make you a bad person." He forced me to look at him, tilting my chin back with his finger until eventually I met his eyes. "It doesn't make you a bad person Bellezza. You used that gun for the very reason I make you carry it around. You used it to protect yourself, and I'm glad you did." He tugged me closer. "Law doesn't apply much in our world, but if it did, they'd see this as an act of self-defence."

"I could've protected myself without killing him."

"Does it matter how you did it?" We weren't going to be able to see this the same. That much was obvious from word go. "Think about it this way. If you hadn't killed him, I'd be hunting him down right now to kill him violently. When the time's right, I'm going to make sure everyone in the fucking mafia knows you killed him." Another kiss. A soft peck. "Don't get upset Charlie. I need them to know. No one will fuck with you if they know."

I straightened his tie and focused on taking deep and even breaths.

"Okay."

"We'll handle this."

"I know. I believe you. I trust you."

He opened the door. Outside of it, Turtle sat on the bottom steps, his leg bouncing as he waited for information. When he heard us, he shot up from where he sat and bounded his way over.

"Capo, signora—everything alright?"

"Everything's fine Turtle," Lorenzo answered evasively. "Just make sure this building and everywhere around it is crawling with my men. I want them all armed, okay. And I want more people looking for Alfonzo Rossi."

"I'll get onto it boss."

"Oh, and Turtle? You can change what they've been told. If they find the kid, they don't harm her. But if they find Ava? I'll have that bitch taken in dead or alive. Anyone sees Rossi, they shoot to kill."

"Okay capo."

"One more thing Turtle." He locked his hand through mine, pulling me firmly into his side. Again, I was seeing him in action. I was meeting a different side to him. A side that no one got away from messing with. "I want my car ready for a quick getaway. No one is fucking around tonight."

"Of course boss."

"Come along Bellezza. It's judgement day."

Judgement day had us standing in the threshold to the ballroom, glaring across it like we owned the place. Personally, I didn't know what we were doing, but the confidence oozing from the man next to me was contagious.

I soon caught on.

And then his hand shot out like a viper, letting mine go. I was nothing more than a bystander as he grabbed a woman by her dark hair. He'd dragged her out of the ballroom and slammed the doors shut before anyone could hear her outraged cries.