Too long to make a life with her.
Too long to protect her.
But most of all, he waited far too long to spare her.
Should the day come where I am incapable of protecting Violet from my lifestyle, I’ll let her go. I’ll end this whirlwind of a love story and watch her dance right out of my life. It will destroy me but having her end up like Pilar will fucking kill me.
And that’s exactly what I told Joaquin. I gave him my word and he backed off, knowing we had bigger fish to fry. I have no doubt that it still bothers him. After all, this is the guy who had a front-row seat to my philandering sideshow in Miami. I know I’m not the man he wanted his sister to fall in love with, but I’m changed and it’s only a matter of time before he sees that.
Joaquin wound up moving into the condo I purchased and as expected, my relationship with Violet became the least of his troubles. Even with all the phony bloodwork reports and the well-rehearsed lies, the five families gave me hell for appointing Joaquin as my new underboss. The old timers within the Pastore organization gave us shit too. We pressed on and did what he had to do, eliminating anyone who got in our way.
The garden center was quickly becoming a smart investment. Not only did we operate out of the office, but we were making use out of that chipper and cashing in on that Business Integrity Commission contract, making multiple trips to the landfill.
In between cleaning house and changing the rules of the mafia, I kept hearing the name Yankovich. I didn’t have a face, all I had was the name and the reputation. Apparently, the man was looking to take over. I just wasn’t sure if it was my territory he was itching for or if it was Jack Parrish’s piece of the pie he wanted. I tried to voice my concerns to Jack, but he still had the line drawn in the sand and wanted no part of me. To him I was nothing more than a guard dog to my aunt and her daughters.
A role I played well.
Once I got word that the G-Man was dead, I beefed up the security on Aunt Grace’s house and Bianci’s gym, making it clear to all the families that Grace Pastore and her children were under my protection. I would’ve put even more of an effort in, maybe stop by on a Sunday to make sure Aunt Grace wasn’t feeling lonely, but tragedy struck.
On the day that Jack Parrish was to marry the love of his life, Reina DeCarlo, one of his many enemies decided to strike and bombed the clubhouse right before they said I do. The attack took lives and left the entire club in ruins. It also shook me to the fucking core because Gina’s new beau was there when the blast went off. She had been difficult, giving Johnny a run for his money, and refusing my protection. That’s when I learned she was involved with one of Jack’s men. Yeah, you read that correctly, my prim and proper sister was dating a biker and being the stand-up guy Stryker—that’s his name—he offered to guard her. I still kept Johnny on her, but with Stryker spending most of his nights at Gina’s apartment, I loosened the leash. Now she was a target for both my enemies and Stryker’s.
I couldn’t fucking win.
After the bomb, he assured me Gina wasn’t at risk, but it was all bullshit. We were in the middle of a turf war and they were coming at us from every angle.
Things got even worse, though, when the news broke that Uncle Vic has passed. I knew it was coming, but when it finally happened it came as a shock. I guess in the back of my head there was a small part of me that thought he’d prevail like he had so many times before. It didn’t matter that he refused treatment, he was built like an ox. He was a fighter and most of all, he was a winner. But all the wins didn’t mean anything when he died in solitary confinement.
They flew his body back to New York and Aunt Grace gave him a sendoff fit for a king. Everyone from the west coast to the east coast came to pay their respects but the biggest shock of all was when my sister showed. She was being difficult, giving Johnny a run for his money, and refusing my protection. It wasn’t that she came to the funeral that surprised, it was that she slid into the pew beside me that stunned me. Thinking back, I needed my sister that day. I was close to Uncle Vic and his death was hitting me hard and having Gina there made me feel like I had someone in my corner. Odd, I know, especially considering how fast she jetted out of the cemetery after the casket was lowered into the earth.
Violet would’ve been with me, but I knew all eyes would be on me and I didn’t want to bring any more attention to her. She was already being photographed every time she left the Academy and after she got the part in the production, the press somehow got a hold of her name and the program that wasn’t even printed yet. Hell, the fucking Daily News did a full spread on us, titling it “The Mobster and The Ballerina.”
After the funeral, I approached Jack. His club had already gotten revenge on the men he believed were responsible for the attack on his club, but Yankovich’s name continued to pop and I started to wonder if we were missing something. What if this guy had a hand in the bomb? What if he was trying to throw us off his scent.
Jack blew me off as he usually does, but I gave him a pass because his wife had gone into labor. Again, I pushed Yankovich to the back of my head and got back to business. If Parrish wasn’t concerned, why should I be? I had enough enemies, including a whole fucking crew in Sicily with a vendetta against my father.
I also had a girlfriend that I was neglecting. Violet would never tell me that she was feeling slighted, but I could tell something was off. With my hectic schedule and her rehearsing day and night for the big show, we barely saw one another. She spent more time with Richie then with me and I fucking hated it.
That’s why I paid Tiffany’s to close their doors to the public tonight. Soon my girl would be taking the stage, her dreams a reality and I wanted her dripping diamonds.
“What about this one?” I question, pointing to one of the several diamond necklaces the sales associate has taken out of the display case. Drawing her lower lip between her teeth, she diverts her attention to the necklace, but doesn’t say a word. “You don’t like it?”
“I love it,” she whispers, lifting her eyes to mine. “But it’s too much. I mean, Rocco, come on, I can’t wear this every day. I can’t even wear it on opening night.”
“Sure you can,” I argue, turning to the salesman. “May I?”
“Please,” he says, pushing the velvet board closer to me. I gently unclasp the necklace and turn back to Violet, instructing her to face the mirror. She sweeps her hair away from her neck as I fasten the necklace onto her. Once the clasp is secure, I kiss the back of her neck and fan her blonde hair around her shoulders. My eyes cut to the mirror and I watch as she lifts her hand to touch her fingertips to the diamonds.
“Beautiful,” I rasp.
“It is,” she whispers.
“I wasn’t talking about the necklace.”
She turns to face me, and I wink at her. Closing the distance between us, she throws her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine.
“Tell me this is real life,” she whispers against my mouth. “Because sometimes I think I’m living a fairytale.”
Touching my hands to her hips, I bring her even closer and kiss her again. It takes every ounce of self-control not to give the salesman a show and lift her on top of the sparkling display cases. I fucked her while she wore nothing but my mother’s diamonds, now I want to fuck her while she wears nothing but her own diamonds. My dick twitches at the thought and I reluctantly pull away form her. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I rasp, “Not a dream, Bug, we’re as real as it gets.”