To Have & to Hurt by Morgan Bridges

Tristano

“Good morning,” I say, nodding to Maximus and Rafael as I enter my study and shut the door behind me.

Rafael smirks at me from his seated position. “Well, hello to you too, brother. Aren’t we chipper this morning?”

I give him a look of warning.

Which he promptly ignores.

“Thank you for taking care of Violetta last night. Carina was worried sick,” he says with a mocking tone. “I don’t know what was upsetting her, but it’s a good thing you were close by to offer Violetta reassurance.” He pauses. “At 3a.m.”

Maximus rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of curiosity that gleams in his gaze. “I wasn’t aware there was a situation. However, Emilia and I are on a different floor, so that could be why.”

I exhale and take my seat behind my desk, now facing the pair of them seated in the chairs across from me. “If you must know, Violetta is mine, so I will pursue, comfort, and fuck her whenever I damn well please. Is that what you wanted to know?”

“Hell yeah,” Rafael says. He slaps his leg and grins at me. “That’s awesome. Now we can go on triple dates.”

Maximus’s face twists with distaste. “We already live together for the time being and I would consider anything more than that to be excessive.”

“So fucking lame,” Rafael mutters under his breath.

I rest my elbows on the desk and steeple my fingers, meeting each of my brothers’ gazes. “Now that we’ve finished discussing my personal affairs, let’s move on to the business ones.”

Rafael holds up a pointed finger. “I am not done talking about your personal life. In fact, I think there needs to be a lengthy discussion about it. Especially since you were so inclined to interfere with ours.”

“No,” I say.

“I don’t want to talk about it ad nauseum,” Maximus says, “but considering she’s Nardone’s daughter and sister to Rafael’s fiancée, I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of propriety to ask what your plans are concerning her.”

“Right on, Max.”

I narrow my gaze at Rafael from across the desk. “Shut. Up.” He simply flashes me a cheeky grin and I blow out a breath of frustration. “I plan to marry Violetta.”

Two sets of eyes blink at me. Rafael is the first to break free of his shock-induced stupor. “Wow, that was fucking quick. So are we doing a double wedding, Tris, since Max is already hitched?”

Maximus turns in his seat, frowning at our brother. “Why do you want to do everything together all of a sudden? What’s next? A fucking orgy?”

Rafael nods emphatically. “Great idea, bro.”

“That,” I say, raising my voice, “will not be happening. Ever.”

Rafael’s grin remains in place and I kind of want to shoot him because of it. “I’m just fucking with you guys,” he says. “Here’s the thing, we’re all one big happy family now and it’s something to celebrate. That’s all I’m saying.”

Maximus glares at him. “I’m very close to shoving a confetti-filled Glock up your ass, so let’s change topics. How about the one where we kill Caruso? That never fails to make me want to celebrate.”

Rafael shrugs. “Or we could talk about the elephant in the room, that’s bigger than my cock I’m sad to say.”

“And that would be our mother,” I say quietly. “We know she’s alive, left the city and then continued on with her life. Then she contacted me over twenty years later to coerce me for millions of dollars to save her employer. What is there left to discuss exactly?”

“What was she like, after all this time?” A yearning in Maximus’s gaze appears briefly before he pulverizes it, like taking a booted heel to a cigarette. “Are you sure it was really her?”

I remove my phone from my pocket, enter the passcode, and hand it to him. Rafael leans over and watches as Maximus scrolls through the handful of pictures I took without anyone noticing. I did it for proof because I knew this conversation was inevitable, but I also did it for myself. Whenever I thought it was all a hallucination, I’d simply look at the images of her and everything would solidify in my mind.

The current Aida murdered the memory of my mother, Aida Dragonetti, and I need to lay it all to rest. Once and for all.

“It’s her,” Maximus whispers. He clears his throat and slides my phone across the desk for me to take. “And did she say anything else? Other than wanting the money to save her boss?”

I shake my head, my hatred toward Aida flaring at the twinge of hurt that passes over my brothers’ faces. “She met our father when she was seventeen years old. My guess is she decided later on she didn’t really want to stay married, and most likely did it to get away from her family in the first place. Or to come to America.”

The somber expressions on my brothers’ faces cause my chest to ache and my blood to boil with rage. “With that being said,” I say, keeping my tone mild despite the war raging within me, “I’m not sure Caruso is guilty of all the things we originally thought.”

Maximus leans forward in his chair and every trace of sorrow in his gaze disappears at the very mention of his father-in-law. “I’m killing that motherfucker for what he did to Emilia and her mother, may she rest in peace.” He crosses himself and then says, “We can do it together or I can do it alone, but either way, he’s going to die.”

I nod in understanding. “After learning the details from our mother about the past, I no longer have the clarity I once did, concerning Caruso.” Maximus gives me a disgruntled look and Rafael simply tilts his head in confusion. “I think he should be killed,” I say. “That hasn’t changed. I’m just not sure I need to be there when he dies.”

“I assisted you with Nardone’s cousin,” Maximus says to Rafael, “so you can reciprocate when I go after Emilia’s father.”

Rafael nods. “Yeah, I got revenge on that fucker for Carina, and there’s nothing that feels more satisfying.” He grins. “Other than being inside my fiancée, of course.”

“Then it’s settled,” I say, ignoring his remark. “Rafael, you’ll be with Maximus when he takes on Caruso, who no longer holds Nardone in high esteem. With them divided, I’m shifting my focus to Violetta’s father. I plan on killing him for the same reasons Maximus has concerning his wife. Nardone did not treat Violetta and Carina well and his daughters deserve recompense.”

Rafael slams his fist on the desk, earning a look of warning from me. “Why do you get to kill him? As you said, he was an asshole to my future wife as well as yours, which entitles me to get in on the fun.”

“I thought it fair that each of us kills the main offender to our wives,” I say with a diplomatic air. “And I didn’t say you couldn’t help, but since you already did away with Ugo, I want Paolo Nardone.”

Rafael folds his arms and leans back in his chair with a disgruntled curl to his lips. “Fine, but I want to be there for the torture part. It’s my favorite.”

His petulant tone, along with his expression, reminds me of a child who has been denied candy. My lips twitch with amusement. However, all of my mirth fades in the blink of an eye when the doorknob turns and the door is pushed open with a great deal of force.

By the time the newcomer steps inside the room, there are three firearms pointed in their direction, aimed directly at the heart.

“If you’re going to shoot, don’t miss,” my mother says with a raised brow.

My brothers and I lower our weapons, but none of us stow them away. I get to my feet, taking control of the situation while Rafael and Maximus get hold of themselves. Not that I can fault them. Seeing your mother alive and well after believing she was dead is difficult to come to terms with.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. “And I might add, without my permission.”

Aida slowly pulls her gaze from my brothers and it’s with great reluctance. The gray of her eyes is bright with emotion, but she blinks it away and marches toward my desk. I eye her with suspicion as she approaches and my mind fires rapidly with potential reasons as to why she’s in my house. The most logical motive is the need for money.

She has a better chance of finding it at the end of a Glock than in my pocket.

“I came to give you these.” Aida sets down a manila folder in front of each of us. They’re filled with a large stack of papers and my fingers twitch to open the folder and find out what’s inside. “I’m sure Tristano told you everything we discussed while he was in Guatemala, but what the three of you don’t know is that I’ve watched over you this entire time. Open those and you’ll understand.”

“Is anthrax still a thing?” Rafael mutters when reaching for his folder.

Maximus’s gaze darts from him to my mother and then lands on his set of papers. He wordlessly opens it and takes hold of the first sheet on top. I give in to the urge to do the same and then stare at the paper.

It’s a newspaper clipping of me, from the time I won the science fair in the fifth grade, shortly after my mother left. My father escaped with us and we’d gone into hiding, yet somehow Aida knew where we were. A niggling suspicion slithers along my senses as I go through the folder, staring at each of the pages. They vary from school accomplishments to awards achieved during sports and the dates range from shortly after my mother “disappeared” until recently when Rafael’s engagement announcement was printed in the newspaper.

I slowly lower myself into my chair as the significance of this bombards me. After scanning my brothers’ faces, they too, are coming to the same conclusion and it’s staggering.

Our mother has watched over us our entire lives.

“There’s something I didn’t tell you, Tristano,” she says, breaking my train of thought. “My former fiancé not only threatened to kill the three of you and your father if I ever went back to him, but the other reason I never returned is because I was pregnant with his child, and not by choice.”

The impact of that statement, heavy with things unsaid but inferred, leaves me temporarily frozen.

She lifts her chin and inhales deeply. “He raped me, repeatedly, and I couldn’t go back to your father in that condition, aside from the pregnancy. Then there were the threats hanging over all of you. I wasn’t going to put my family in danger, no matter how much I missed you,” she says, her words no more than a whisper. It feels like a confession.

Only the sins may not be all hers…

Aida clears her throat. “I know you think I left your father for another man, but that’s not true. I loved Franco and I wept when I learned of his death. Even after all the time apart, I loved him and I always will, no matter what he may have told you.”

“He didn’t speak of you often,” I say. Aida flinches at that, which shouldn’t bother me but it does. “However, whenever he did, it was with respect. He loved you until he drew his last breath.”

My mother covers her mouth and a choked sob fills the room. “He did?”

I nod, as do Maximus and Rafael. Aida’s gaze darts between the three of us and when it returns to me the gray of her eyes is a striking silver because of her tears. Seeing my mother this way sends an uncomfortable pang through my chest. I stifle the urge to comfort her, but I have something that can do it for me.

After unlocking the side desk drawer, I retrieve the diamond hair comb and set it down right in front of my mother. With a small cry she reaches for it with shaking fingers and tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Along with a picture of the two of you, he kept the comb on his nightstand,” I say quietly, “and was holding it in his hand when he passed on.”

Aida weeps. Her crying is silent, but the number of tears shed is too many to count. I couldn’t have pictured this happening when I first saw her, not with how cold and collected she was toward me. My brothers and I watch her break down in front of us and it’s humbling.

“Thank you for this,” she says, running her fingers over the flower-shaped diamonds. “Franco gave this to me and I wore it for every special occasion, regardless of how formal or casual it was. The first was my wedding day, followed by each of your births, your Christenings, birthdays…basically every beautiful moment in my life.”

When Aida raises her head and stares me in the face, I jolt slightly in my chair. She looks like the woman in my memories, the one who gazes at me with so much love it makes everything right in my world. And the reason is because I love her as well, or else she wouldn’t have that effect on me. However, as rewarding as it is to see her this way, she’s no longer that person for me, the one who brings light, clarity, and love to my life.

It’s Violetta.

My ribelle looks at me as though I’m her world and I’ve never desired anything more than that. And I want it until I draw my last breath.

Aida hands the hair comb back to me and I accept it with my brow furrowing. “Thank you so much for showing me that,” she says. “Having closure is invaluable after so many years of emotional turmoil and guilt. I don’t know if the files I brought you are enough to give you some measure of peace or if they’re enough to prove I never wanted to leave you, but I hope so. And there is one more thing I need to give you before I leave.”

She pulls out another manila folder, only this one doesn’t hold much. I don’t try to hide my interest and when she lays it on my desk I’m quick to open it. Maximus leans forward in his chair and thrums his fingers on the armrest. It appears minor, but for him it’s a sign of worry. “It’s a DNA test.”

“What the fuck?” Rafael frowns. “I feel like I’m on that talk-show Maury and I’m pretty sure I’m not the father…” He looks at Aida when he says, “But according to this, you are the mother.”

“Yes,” she says, her tone laced in caution. “I didn’t lie to you about wanting to pay the ransom for my boss, but what I didn’t reveal is that El Jefe is my son, Dante Cortez. He is the biological son of Lorenzo Galli, not Octavia’s father, who was ‘El Jefe’ before he died and passed that title on to Dante. I can no longer separate the two major parts of my life, which are the three of you and your siblings, Dante and Octavia.”

Maximus stares at our mother as if she’s speaking a foreign language and Rafael looks to me for confirmation. I dip my head and his brows shoot up.

“I have a sister? Wow.” Rafael taps his chin. “Is she hot?” Before I can curse or reach across the desk to strangle him, he nods to himself. “Of course, she is. Anyone related to me has to be attractive.”

Aida smiles for the first time since she arrived. Her gaze takes on the loving shine from earlier, the same one she bestowed on me, and when Rafael catches her eye his lips widen into a grin.

“All of my children are beautiful,” she says softly.

Rafael puts a hand next to his mouth and lowers his voice as though he’s imparting a secret. “You don’t have to lie just because they’re here.”

Aida laughs and that snags Maximus’s attention. His dark eyes are filled with skepticism, but there is a loosening in the set of his shoulders at hearing her amusement. I’m also affected by the sound, just as much as them. It’s the same from my childhood and it stirs up memories from better days.

No, not better days, just ones from the past that were full of joy.

However, now my life will be full of more than just that because of Violetta.

“Il mio volpe,”¹ Aida says to my consigliere. She’s hesitant, but whatever she sees in Rafael’s eyes gives her the courage to lay her hand on his arm briefly. Then she looks at Maximus. “Il mio lupo.”² Her smile weakens at his lack of response, but then he finally gives her a curt nod.

Aida turns to me last and the hope in her gaze is almost painful to witness. “Il mio leone,³ do you remember the story?”

“Yes,” I say, responding to the nickname she gave me as a child.

Aida sniffs and I open my drawer to retrieve a handkerchief for her. She takes it, but before retracting her hand, she grips mine tightly and runs her thumb over my signet ring. Her expression of vulnerability, along with the energy that transfers from her to me is akin to a silent apology. It takes me by surprise.

“Do you remember the story?” she asks again.

“Yes, it’s The Three Princes and Their Beasts.” I look at my brothers from the younger to the middle one. “Maximus was the wolf because he was silent but loyal. Rafael the fox, due to his playful nature and cunning. And I was the lion since, as the eldest, I was going to lead our family someday, and because you said I was fierce and courageous.”

“And the moral of the story?” Aida’s voice takes on an edge with the inquiry and a warning goes off in my mind. When I nod, she continues. “You three were also to represent the three princes, who looked after one another no matter what difficulties they faced, and when they were given the chance to steal from the other they refused. That story was what I wanted your relationships to be, with or without your father and me.”

“They are,” Rafael says. “You can be sure of that. I will say I don’t get why Tris got to be the lion. Clearly, there were better candidates available. Myself for instance.”

“You know, there is also a boar in the story.” I raise a brow in challenge. “You are quite pigheaded and you squeal often. This present moment is a prime example.”

Aida laughs and her gaiety causes the side of my mouth to lift. Seeing us together after so long… It’s hard not to enjoy this moment, despite whatever brought her here. I want to ask her, yet I can’t bring myself to intrude on the peace treaty between us, however temporary.

Maximus folds his arms. “Why are you here?”

I exhale and Rafael gives Maximus a disgruntled look.

“Right,” Aida says. “I should’ve started with that, I suppose. Lorenzo has taken Dante and refused to accept the money in exchange for my son’s release. He also sent me the DNA test results to let me know he found out my secret, my pregnancy and delivery of Dante. I don’t think Lorenzo will kill him because he’s his first born son, but I can’t be sure.” She fists her hands by her side and pauses for a moment to collect herself. “For that reason, I’m going to meet with Lorenzo and see what he really wants, which I suspect was his objective to begin with.”

“The question is, what will Galli do to you?” Maximus asks. “If what you’ve told us is true, there is more at stake than just Dante’s life. Yours could be forfeit as well.”

Rafael narrows his gaze. “That asshole is hardly ever seen, has properties and secret houses everywhere, and a large security detail that’s bigger than the three of ours combined. You have no way of securing Dante’s release, even if you sacrifice yourself.”

“I know, il mio volpe⁴,” she says, “but I have to try. I made the wrong choice the first time Lorenzo threatened my family and I won’t do it again.” Her gaze finds mine and it has the strength of gravity, rendering me unable to look away. “‘Loyalty ’til death,’ Signor Dragonetti. I may have forsaken, but I haven’t forgotten. The only thing left for me is atonement and perhaps, forgiveness one day.”

My brothers’ perplexed expressions aren’t enough to break through the thoughts careening through my mind. Aida is going on a suicide mission.

“You came to say your good-byes.” Maximus’s statement is loud in the quiet room. “And it’s because you don’t think you’re going to survive.”

“I’m so proud of the men you’ve become,” she says. “You have carried on your father’s legacy and he would be honored and humbled by what you’ve done. Stay faithful to your wives and each other because there is no greater calling in this world than loving your family.”

Aida gives each of us a nod and then exits the room. I stare at the door unseeing, still coming to terms with everything she said and the secrets she revealed. My mother could be lying about all of it and it’d be to our benefit that she left.

But if she was telling the truth about it all…

I’m going to fucking murder Lorenzo Galli.

“So, now what?” Rafael asks, shattering the heavy silence. “I’m pretty fucking confused and not really sure what to think about all of that. A penny for your thoughts?”

Maximus doesn’t answer and rises from his seat to snatch up the decanter off my bookshelf. He returns to his chair and then proceeds to drink from the bottle. Rafael chuckles and Maximus scowls at him.

“Bro, you don’t need to say a damn thing,” Rafael says. “We’re all in the same boat. Time to be a drunken sailor, I guess.”

Wordlessly, Maximus hands him the decanter and Rafael downs a fair amount.

“Oh, fearless leader,” he says after thumping his chest, no doubt caused by the burn from the alcohol, “what do we do now?”

“The first point of action is to do reconnaissance. That includes verifying as much of Aida’s story as we can. Depending on that, we will make a decision as a family. It’s too difficult, and carries too many consequences, for me to decide alone.” I massage my forehead while trying to formulate my next words. “If what she said was true, then we have more than just Caruso and Nardone to deal with. Taking on Galli is one thing, but all three of them at once? It’s beyond risky.”

“If she told the truth,” Maximus says, tapping the glass container that’s nearly empty, “we have to stop her before she’s killed.”

Rafael nods. “And find a way to rescue Dante. Our mother won’t give up on him.”

“A half-brother and half-sister…” Maximus drains the bottle and slams it on my desk. “I can barely stand you two fucks, let alone two more siblings.”

“They still carry the same blood as us in their veins,” I say.

Rafael gets to his feet and I frown up at him. “Well, it sounds as if we need to call in the cavalry and rescue the Dante in distress, only we’re the reinforcements which makes you the general.” He salutes me and I shake my head, fighting the grin trying to appear. “What’s the first order then, sir?”

“Recon and then a declaration of war.”

“Fuck yes!” Rafael smacks Maximus on the shoulder. “Come on, man. It’s time to bust a cap in someone’s ass.”

Maximus rises and tilts his head at our brother. “I recall the bedtime story also having a bunny as one of the prince’s beasts. I think it suits you better since you’re so full of energy, wanting to fuck all the time, and no one takes you seriously.”

Rafael bursts out laughing and by the time he finishes he’s gasping for air. “I’ll be a fucking rabbit, as long as it’s the one like in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That little fucker was straight up lethal.”

I stand as well and both of their attentions shift to me. “We believe in loyalty ’til death and our mother is a part of that. If we find her innocent of past crimes, we will not only continue with building our legacy, but we’ll be honor bound to protect hers.”

1  My fox

2  My wolf.

3  My lion

4  My fox