First Comes Blood by Lilith Vincent

18

Chiara

The morning light is glimmering behind my eyes when I feel the bed sink beside me. I smile, remembering that I’m in Cassius’ bed. I reach out without opening my eyes and feel a large warm hand slip my fingers into his.

I squeeze, and after a moment, he squeezes me back. I take a long, luxurious stretch, extending my legs and pointing my toes, dragging the sheet from my naked body.

“Damn, you’ve got great tits.”

My eyes pop open. It’s not Cassius gazing down at me. It’s Lorenzo. I rip my hand from his and yank the sheets back over me.

Lorenzo folds his arms and glares at me. My heart races as I anticipate a wave of venom and hatred from him.

Before I remember that he was faking it. “You’ve really messed with my head, you know that?”

A muscle flexes in his jaw like he’s just clenched his teeth, but he doesn’t say anything.

“I truly believed you hated my guts, and now I don’t know if I’ll ever stop thinking of you as a cruel and vicious person.”

“Probably for the best.”

Is it? When we were alone in his bed together he felt…different. Softer. More vulnerable. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see him like that again, or if it was a one-time thing. I liked Lorenzo in that moment even though he had a gun to my head, which is another argument I’ve had with Nicole. I’ve started thinking of her as the good fairy sitting on my shoulder, and I’m the bad fairy sitting on my own shoulder pointing out that Lorenzo Scava is as hot as sin and a complicated man as well as being dangerous, vicious, and crazy.

“What’s with that look on your face?” he snaps.

“What look on my face?”

“I don’t fucking know. Like your dog’s just been run over.”

I sit up slowly, keeping the sheet wrapped around me. I was remembering how he sounded when he called me princess. When I had him in my mouth and he was stroking his fingers through my hair like I was precious to him.

God, listen to me, romanticizing Lorenzo rather than coming to terms with the fact that I enjoyed having sex with a ruthless killer. “What are you doing here? Where’s Cassius?”

“You like Cassius, don’t you?” Lorenzo asks, a sly glint in his eyes.

“Please get out. I want to get dressed.”

Lorenzo gets to his feet and gives me an ironic bow. “Of course, princess.”

When I’m alone, I get dressed, the sound of that mocking princess reverberating through my skull.

Out in the lounge, Cassius passes me a coffee, and our fingers brush. His lips are just touched with a smile, and I feel myself melt inside.

“We want to talk to you,” he tells me.

I glance at the others. “I want to talk to all of you, too.”

“Ladies first,” Vinicius says with a smile.

“Fuck that. Us first,” Lorenzo interrupts, and turns to me. “You in or out, princess? Either what Cassius explained to you the other day appeals to you and you’re staying, or it doesn’t and you can fuck off.”

I take a sip of my coffee and give him a sarcastic smile. “Oh, Lorenzo. You do care.”

His jaw tightens. “I want shit to get back to normal. Babysitting someone who doesn’t want to be here is wasting all of our time.”

“Things won’t be normal or easy with Chiara around,” Vinicius points out. “She’s not just someone you can screw. We need to keep her safe from our enemies, which includes the Mayor of Coldlake and everyone he controls.”

“You think I won’t kill anyone who touches her?” Lorenzo says, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Cassius is following the conversation but doesn’t say anything.

“Anything to add?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I want to hear what you want to talk about first.”

“I want to talk about my father.”

Lorenzo pulls his knife out. “Say no more. He’s dead.”

“Stop it. No.” I take a deep breath. “I want to kill him.”

I think I do, anyway. Look at what it’s done to these four men to have their sisters’ deaths go unavenged. I lie awake at night burning with anger that she died because of a selfish and cruel man. Mom deserves justice and I’m the only one who can get it for her. Even pretend-Nicole doesn’t argue back when I point out that a man as powerful as my father is untouchable by the law.

Their expressions are stunned. Then a smile slides over Lorenzo’s lips as he puts his knife away. Vinicius’ brows rise, and then he nods slowly, like he’s impressed.

Cassius is the only one who’s frowning. “No. It’s too dangerous, and you don’t know how.”

“Would you let someone else avenge your sister?” I ask him.

Cassius puts his coffee down. “Think of what you’re saying. Imagine you’re going to shoot him. You need to get close to your father, look him in the eyes and then pull the trigger.”

I hear the gunshot in my head. I see the expression of shock on my father’s face as he collapses to his knees. It’s just one moment, and then it will be over. “I can do it.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Cassius, I like it when you baby me and call me bambina, but not about things that are important. This matters to me, and I’ll never forgive you if you stand in my way.”

“She has this chance. We probably never will.” Lorenzo’s eyes are wild with bitterness and hatred. He notices me staring at him. “What?”

“I’m just surprised you’re on my side.”

“Vengeance. It’s the one thing we have in common, princess. You want to kill the bastard? I’ll hold him down for you.”

“Thank you. But I want to do this myself.”

Vinicius folds his arms and regards me seriously. “Have you really thought this through? Killing someone changes you forever.”

Lorenzo makes a dismissive gesture. “I fucked her with a gun to her head and she came on my dick. She’s not so innocent anymore.”

“She is innocent, but she won’t be after we put a gun in her hand!” Cassius shouts.

“Ever held a gun?” Vinicius asks.

I shake my head.

“Then first things first. I’ll teach you to shoot.” He glances at Lorenzo. “Can I use the compound?”

Lorenzo gets to his feet. “Be my guest, but I want to watch. Are you coming?” he asks, turning to Cassius, who’s glowering from one of us to the next. “Stop babying her. If our girl wants to indulge in a little murder, who are we to stand in her way?”

In the end, all four of us go. I ride with Cassius, sensing that there’s more he wants to say and that it will be easier for him to get it off his chest if we’re alone.

We get onto the freeway and his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “I don’t like this.”

“I know. But it’s all I can think about. I’ll go crazy if I don’t do something to avenge Mom.”

“You’re innocent, and it’s our job to keep you that way. You begged for my help, remember?”

“I begged Salvatore to kill Dad. I tried to use that Geak to take my virginity. I wanted Lorenzo to help me escape. Every time I’ve asked someone else for help it’s blown up in my face. This is something I’m going to do myself. Besides, who said it was your job to keep me innocent?”

“I said so,” he growls.

“You guys are a bunch of criminals and I’m the daughter of a corrupt, murderous mayor. That’s not a recipe for a virtuous future together.”

He glances at me. “You’re thinking about our offer to stay with us?”

Be theirs. Belong to all three of them. I look out the window at the passing city. “I don’t know. I can’t see past tomorrow, let alone that far ahead.”

At Lorenzo’s compound, I ask Cassius to stop before he drives down into the garage so I can take a look at the house and yard. There’s not much to see apart from a dark gray house that looks secure as hell and a neat lawn with nowhere to hide.

Lorenzo pulls up next to us and rolls down his window. “Reminiscing about our time together, princess? Me, too.”

His smile is devilish. I wasn’t thinking about being in bed with him, but now I am.

“I didn’t get a good look at the place the two times I was brought here against my will. This is where you live?”

“It’s my home and my headquarters. There are armed guards, dogs, security cameras, fourteen-foot walls and motion sensors. No one gets in or out without me knowing.”

“You live in a prison,” I point out.

“And I sleep like a baby. This whole city will be baying for your blood if you murder your father. Think about that.” He speeds into the underground garage and disappears.

Good point.

I get back into Cassius’ car and we follow him down, Vinicius in his Ferrari right behind us. The place is a lot bigger underground than the ground level would have you believe. The concrete walls and warren of corridors aren’t lovely, but they feel as secure as a nuclear bunker.

Lorenzo has disappeared somewhere and Vinicius leads us down a corridor.

“What does Lorenzo do here?” I ask.

Oh god, what if it really is organ harvesting?

Vinicius laughs. “That’s a long story. Maybe Lorenzo will tell you himself one day.”

He turns into a long, narrow room with two booths and man-shaped targets at the far end. Cassius stands near the door, his arms folded, disapproval radiating from him in waves.

Lorenzo appears a few minutes later with two handguns and a box of ammo, and lays them on the table inside one of the booths. “Here you go. Baby’s first guns.”

The weapons look heavy and too large for my hands, but Vinicius picks each one up and nods in approval. He starts to load them and runs through some safety rules. The main takeaway seems to be don’t point it at anything you don’t intend to shoot.

My neck prickles and my hands feel clammy. Even looking at a gun is making my heart pump with a sick feeling.

Vinicius is a good teacher, speaking slowly and calmly as he explains how a gun works. “You ready to try firing?”

I wipe my sweaty hands on the seat of my jeans and take the gun he holds out to me. “It’s too big. I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Bet that’s what she said to you the first time, huh Cassius?” Lorenzo says behind me.

I purse my lips but keep looking straight ahead. “Can you guys go do something else? I can’t concentrate while you’re staring at me.”

“Bambina, if you can’t pull the trigger with us looking at you, then you won’t be able to when you’re looking down the barrel at the mayor. And Scava? Shut the fuck up.”

Vinicius adjusts my grip on the gun. “You want the gun to be a good size in your hand to help you absorb the recoil. This is a 9mm but it’s still going to kick.”

I gaze up at him and smile. “If you were a teacher at my school, we’d all be fighting to get into your classes.”

Vinicius grins. “Two hundred Catholic girls calling me Mr. Angeli? Sounds like fun.”

His voice and instructions have calmed me down, and I take a deep breath and aim at the target.

“Squeeze, don’t pull,” Vinicius says when my finger is on the trigger.

I squeeze, and there’s an enormous bang and the gun kicks in my hand. I realize my eyes were closed and I have no idea where the bullet went.

“Did I hit the target?”

“Ah, no, but that was a good start.” Vinicius puts his arms around mine and adjusts my aim. “Take your time. You’re doing great.”

I turn my head slightly to look at him. “I’m not, but thank you.”

He plants a kiss on my lips, slow and encouraging. Vinicius’ kisses always catch me by surprise with how delicious they are. “All it takes is practice.”

“You really want me to do this,” I realize.

“Amalia never got to take revenge on the men who hurt her, and neither did I. When you face your father and pull that trigger, I’ll be cheering you on.”

Amalia. That must be his sister’s name. I’ve never seen one flicker of grief or pain in his handsome face. He must hide it deep down where no one can ever touch it.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

An hour and a dozen reloads later, I’ve managed to shoot the target in the chest at various distances.

When I’ve unloaded the guns and put them down, Lorenzo comes up beside me and picks them up, and the box of bullets.

“Nice work. That was hot as fuck.”

To my surprise, he plants a kiss on the side of my neck. Actually, it’s more like a nip with his teeth, and I glare at him. Just because he took my side over committing murder, doesn’t mean I forgive him for everything he’s done.

* * *

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Salvatore Fiore and Chiara Romano.

“Is this going to work? I feel like they’re going to guess it’s a ruse,” I say, examining the invitation card printed with formal calligraphy.

“Your father’s greedy,” Vinicius says, taking the card from me. It’s an extra, and the real thing was sent to Dad and Salvatore two days ago. “He’ll hope that it’s true, and even if he suspects it’s not, all we have to do is get you in the same room as him.” He makes a gun with his thumb and forefinger. “And pow.”

He has a point.

Cassius comes out of the elevator into the lounge holding a wedding dress in a clear plastic sleeve. He had it made in less than a week while I was practicing shooting with Vinicius. The idea of me killing my father still doesn’t sit right with him, but he’s doing everything he can to make sure that I’m prepared.

I take the dress from him and hold it to the light. An embroidered, strapless bodice and a long tulle skirt. “Cassius, it’s beautiful.”

Heavy, too. Even heavier than my first wedding dress.

“I’ll help you get dressed,” he says, and follows me to my room. I’ve already done my hair and makeup, and I strip down to my underwear and let Cassius help me into the dress.

He laces the back up tight and then pulls me into his arms, my back against his chest. “I wish I was going in there with you.”

We debated it, but if the three of them step foot in that house, Dad won’t show his face because he’ll know it’s a trap.

He thinks I’m weak. That’s my advantage.

“Come back to me. Don’t let them keep you. Don’t let them hurt you.” Our eyes meet in the mirror and he strokes his knuckles over my cheeks. “Sei bella.”

You’re beautiful.

“Grazie. Per tutto.” Thank you. For everything.

Lorenzo comes into the room holding a bouquet of pale pink roses.

I weigh it in my hand as he passes it to me. “Heavy.”

“Yeah. It’s fully loaded. Ready to go?”

Vinicius appears in the doorway. I stare at each of their reflections, three beautiful men who would gladly ambush Dad on some dark road and end his life for me. They would kill for me, but would they let me go? I can feel Lorenzo itching to take me prisoner in his compound after I kill Dad. This isn’t over between the four of us as far as they’re concerned, and I’m replacing one tyrant with three more.

But that’s a problem for tomorrow. I haven’t ever stood up to Dad, even before he murdered Mom. He treated us like his accessories, and I’m not going to be anyone’s decoration or pawn ever again.

“I’m ready.”

The four of us get into Lorenzo’s Mercedes and drive until the roads are as familiar as my own hands. They let me out at the far end of the street, out of sight of the house.

Lorenzo turns around and gives me a nod. “Three in the chest, and when he’s down, shoot him in the head.”

In the front passenger seat, Cassius passes an agitated hand through his black curls.

Vinicius grips his shoulder. “She’ll be all right. You know she will.”

A meaningful moment passes between them, and I sense words that have been spoken out of my hearing. Whatever they’ve said, it doesn’t matter right now. My heart’s beating wildly and I need to focus.

“Go get him, kitten. We’ve got your back.”

I take a deep breath, get out of the car, and start walking. My heavy dress rustles on the sidewalk and I keep my chin lifted and my pace slow, as if I really am walking down the aisle of a church. The walk I never got to take the day of my wedding.

My home appears before me, huge in its splendor with its grand columned entrance and sweeping front lawn. After today, I’ll have no mother, and no father. There’ll just be me, and the men who want to claim me as theirs. I walk up the steps and push the doorbell.

I’m home.