Chapter 77

Leonardo's features shifted from disbelief to interest. He too wanted to know what Nate was referring to if it revolved around Alessandra.

"I have done no such thing."

"Then you are blind, or you've chosen to ignore it." His eyes narrowed. "This is what you wanted all along, wasn't it?"

I said, "Careful." I moved away from my chair and stepped away from my desk.

"What could you possibly gain, Massimo?" Nate grinned coldly. "I'll answer that for you. Nothing but misery."

Rage burned in coils of fury at his disrespect for intervening and believing he could influence how I handled Alessandra.

"Did you know she had hardly touched her food for days? That tonight she moved the casserole from one end of her plate to the other? How she was so taken by rage that she couldn't take a bite? Have you noticed the circles under her eyes? What about the fake smiles, Massimo?" He dug deeper.

"That's enough."

Low and cautious, I spoke, meeting him in the middle of the room. Our eyes fought, but Nate was too far gone. Too enraged and lost by emotions.

"Did you know she's the reason your little streetlamps shine with new bulbs?"

Huh?

"Yeah, she made sure it was scheduled the day before you took her to Montana." Nate's cloudy blues locked on me as he shook his head.

"Fix. It."

The fucker turned his back on me, and I couldn't fault him. I was the one who'd placed him to take care of her, guard her. I just didn't think it would be from me.

"Where is she now?"

Nate didn't halt his steps as he mumbled, "Downstairs, beating one of your men to a pulp."

Elio whistled, and I raised my hand to cut him short. "Don't."

"Nate!" I yelled, and he stopped by the doorway. "You allowed her to walk downstairs and fight one of our men?"

"No, you did by showing me how much you fucking gave a shit."

My body launched in his direction, but I was quickly stopped by Elio's strength. He caged one of my arms, but I fumed in rage and lost sight of who Nate was to me. All I could see was his disrespect.

Ravid in anger at Nate's retreating back, I slammed Elio into the bookshelves, and I punched his side with my free hand to chase after the imbecile who thought talking to me in such a way was acceptable.

His hand snaked to the back of my neck, and as I fought, our foreheads connected.

"You are losing control, brother," Elio spoke in Italian with labored breaths. "He did what you asked. He did what he told you he would do." His grip didn't lighten as I continued to fight. "We don't hurt each other in hatred. Never have."

I looked into his hazel eyes. The same eyes I had calmed since I was fourteen, and yet for the first time, they were trying to do so for me.

"You can't lose control, fratello. Not now."

Not now.

I controlled my breathing, eased the demon, and closed my eyes briefly before Elio let me go. I rolled my shoulders and pushed him off me before I walked back to my desk where I'd left my unfinished drink. The contents of the drink were drowned in one sip, and I quickly rolled my sleeves. I now had one intention: find Alessandra.

All she'd done today was defy me in every way. It was erratic, and I knew I wasn't the only one lost in the madness of our lives.

"Fucking children is how you are all behaving," Leonardo chided between a cough as I walked past him. "Fucking fix it, Massimo!"

I ignored the old bastard and walked out of the room with Elio following close behind. With my hand on my back, I drew my handgun out and opened the basement door.

The temperature dropped drastically to the low cool setting of the room. Every step I took down the stairs, cheers, laughter, and conversations grew louder. Even from above, I couldn't see her frame or hair through the large crowd of made-men that clustered in the corner.

After the last step, my tense muscles ached for release. With the echo of the door closing, a few of my men turned. They quickly moved away from the rowdy circle, and the closer I approached, the more others followed in the same direction with wide eyes.

My demon was loose. It was evident in my walk, aura, and gaze. No one would dare come in between.

Grunts and puffs grew louder under the fluorescent lights, and I couldn't get close fast enough. But each soldier that moved from their spot, the other turned to see the cause, me.

It wasn't until I was in the front row that everything fell silent.

I hid my shaking body and the hatred that gripped my hand from unloading my gun at everyone I faced. I buried the heat crawling behind my neck and the pounding that beat in anger, causing my breathing to race.

I wanted to watch and stare at the eyes of each man that had decided to stay as if this was a fucking show. As if there was a match between soldiers and a bet to be won.

But it was my woman who they watched. Who they deemed okay to receive filthy fists connecting to her golden skin.

And yet, I only saw her.

Drenched in sweat with black matching shorts and sports bra, Alessandra stood in the middle above a man. Hair strands escaped her ponytail and while some flew around her face, others stuck to her skin. Her chest bounced as she peered down, thirsty for sips of pain.

Alessandra was so lost in delivering and taking physical pain to ignore her internal distress that she didn't notice the silence that flooded the room into stillness. The eyes that watched us, and the demon that filtered around.

I was now part of the show, but this show wouldn't end well for anyone. Not until my hands checked her body for any hint of purple.

Blood was smeared over the mat, and as I scrutinized every inch of her body, I couldn't find the source aside from the man on the floor who moaned. With the small amount of fabric that covered her body, there was no sign of bruising. At the vision of her adrenaline-crazed body so at peace with the chaos, I stood dumbfounded.

Alessandra was used to fighting men. She was used to letting her wild rage free to punish even while others watched. This wasn't the first time she'd fought against men in the Mafia. It couldn't be, not while she seemed so accustomed to her surroundings. Attuned and ready for more.

The grip on my gun tightened, understanding the environment she'd been allowed and introduced to. It angered me that she sought physical pain to numb the one inside.

Alessandra's head fell back taking a large breath, and as she straightened, her eyes opened to reality. Slowly, her face turned left, and our eyes met.

A fucking deadly dream.

A dangerous obsession.

Alessandra was my wild weakness.

She didn't cower. Her eyes never wavered, and her stance never relaxed.

While I held her shining sage green eyes captive, my tone spoke with menace. "I will murder each and every one of you along with your whole family line if anyone so much as touches her fucking hair." Alessandra's gold brass knuckles tightened as her fists balled. "It's not a threat." My eyes released her and roamed around the sea of mafiosos. "It's a vow."

"You are to protect and respect her. Not to harm or treat her like the motherfucker next to you!" My voice rose. "Disrespect me in my house or my word again and I will educate you all on the meaning of torture until I burn your last minutes of life in fire."

An ominous silence spread through the stream of nodding faces.

"Did I make myself clear?" Apologetic and casting eyes agreed. "Now, get out."

Slowly they all made their way up the stairs, and I found Dario at the end of the line with crossed arms, waiting to be the last one out. His eyes fell to the floor before me, and when I took a closer look, I saw the young boy's busted face.

Adriano, his younger cousin. He turned eighteen three months ago and was initiated shortly after. Eager, quick to follow orders, and ready to please, Dario's cousin was now tossing on the ground in pain.

"Get Mimmo out of here and clean him up," I ordered. Dario's rigid posture eased as he walked closer to the boy. Elio met him, and they both picked up the groaning kid. "And Dario," I added. "Make sure he understands what reckless decisions lead to in our world. If not, this may be his only lesson."

"Yes, boss." Dario's head dipped, and with Elio's help, all three disappeared up the stairs.

As I turned back to Alessandra, there was still one body comfortably sitting a few feet behind her. I shouldn't have missed the blond hair in the crowd. However, as he sat back and relaxed in the iron chair, he hadn't been seen in the sea of dark hair.

Nate had only left Alessandra long enough to speak his mind before returning to her.

"Nice speech."

Alessandra turned to the voice, surprised to see Nate.

Our eyes connected, and I could see Nate ready to continue but my attention shifted when Alessandra said, "Don't harm the kid. He was the only one who stepped up after I pressured."

"You can't lose control, fratello. Not now."

Not now.

I placed my gun behind my waist and took a deep breath as I stared at her wild eyes.

Not. Now.

"Don't harm the kid?" I scoffed. "I think you did just fine, Alessandra. And he's not a kid. He's a made-man who made his own decision."

"He wouldn't even punch back!" Alessandra's temper returned, and my demon twitched.

I was tired of seeing her in this room and the idea of her fighting with my men, I took a step forward and roared back. "As he shouldn't have! And yet, it didn't seem like that made you stop."

Alessandra shook her head.

"Tell me, how many brawls with mafiosos have you encountered?"

She stepped back.

"Tell me, why did you act against my orders to stay out of this room?"

Her lips curled as her breathing grew unsteady with every inch of distance I removed from us.

"Tell me, Alessandra. Whose face did you see instead of the man you fought, huh?"

My fingertips snapped to her jaw, and I pushed her head high to watch her answer. The loud scratch of iron against concrete caused her eyes to fall, and I didn't turn to the sound of the chair or the eyes that watched from afar.

I didn't care, I had my answer.

Me. She wanted to cause me pain.

"Leave," I warned Nate, and he finally listened as I heard him step farther away from us. I tipped her head again. "I asked you a question."

"You asked many."

"Then answer me!"

"Too many brawls, Massimo. It's how I learned to fight. My grandfather was right. It was vital for my life." Alessandra snatched her face from my hold. "I'm thankful he did. If not, I would've been dead by now." I tasted blood as she continued, "And I acted against your wishes because you'd gone against mine by keeping the arrival of my family and their stay from me. My god, you've had weeks to mentally prepare for the chaos. You only gave me a night!"