Prologue
PIPPA
TWO YEARS EARLIER
Looking back over my shoulder, I try to take in one last fleeting gaze at my big sister. She’s beautiful. Just as I’d remembered. A perfect mix of our mother and father. I’m not so self-absorbed that I think we could be twins, but with our matching black hair and blue eyes, it’s obvious we’re related.
The visit my little sister, Rosana, and I had with her wasn’t long, but it’s clear to me that she misses us. It’s also clear to me that she’d had no clue where we’d been, or that our mother had vanished moments after she did, three years ago.
As the suited men usher me and Rosana past the rugged bikers, all dressed in jeans and leather, I wonder exactly how my sister, Bellarosa, fits in here. She’s obviously respected and well protected. She isn’t just here—she is one of them. She is somebody here.
I’m practically thrown into the back seat of the large black SUV that I arrived in, Rosana curls against my side immediately. She presses her face to my shoulder, her arms wrapping around my middle, holding me, attempting to practically become part of me.
It doesn’t surprise me. Rosana is young and innocent, not only in age but in spirit as well. It’s beautiful and I can’t deny that I’m a bit envious.
My sister and I were never awarded that luxury. Bellarosa was taken young from us, and I slipped into her spot as being the one in charge, growing up in a split second.
The passenger door opens, my body jerks from my thoughts as I watch a man slip into the passenger seat. I expect to recognize him as the one from earlier, instead of the man who sat there on the way, another has taken his place.
He’s almost an exact replica, dressed in a beautiful black suit, he has black as night cropped hair, a bit overly long on top but it works for him, his complexion olive much like the others and my own.
He’s a cliché just like the rest of them—all of them.
Clearing my throat, he slowly turns to look at me. His eyes are black, not just dark brown, but solid black. They are a bit unnerving, but still intriguing and dare I say, beautiful as the rest of his face.
My breath hitches at the sight of him. I’ve never seen a man so handsome before. He has dark hair that is a little too long on top, and the sides could use a cleanup, but it works for him. He also should have shaved his face about two weeks ago, but again, can’t be bothered.
“What happens now?” I ask softly.
He arches a brow, his lips twitching as his gaze roams over my torso then flicks back up to meet mine.
“Now you go back to your auntie and you act as though none of this has happened,” he says.
“How?”
He shrugs a shoulder, his tongue peeking out to taste his bottom lip. “Don’t know, cara, but if you don’t, then you’ll have a much bigger problem on your hands.”
Pressing my lips together, I lower my eyes to my lap. The man chuckles and I immediately flick my gaze up to meet his. He’s smirking at me, his eyes search mine for a moment before he shakes his head once.
“Just be a good girl, yeah?”
Licking my lips, I tilt my head to the side. “What happens if I’m not… good, that is?” I ask.
He smirks and leans over the seat. I hold my breath, waiting to see what he’ll say. No doubt, judging by the gleam in his eyes, it’s going to be something wicked.
I can’t even pretend that I don’t want to hear what he has to say. I have a feeling he’s got a lot of naughty thoughts rolling around in his handsome head.
The driver’s side door opens and his words are cut short. My breath hitches as the man in charge, the Boss, sinks down in the driver’s seat.
Pressing my lips together, my body instantly jerks and a shiver rolls throughout my entire being. I don’t know him well, but the Boss being here, it’s unnerving.
Gavino Santoro is definitely not as scary as the boss before him, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not scared shitless of him, I am. Not just of the man himself, but also of his position and power. He’s terrifying, the power that he holds is just as terrifying.
Everything about him, about all of these men and their capabilities, scare me.
When my father died, my sister was taken, as many girls in our neighborhood were, all of them never seen or heard from again, I decided then and there that I would never be with a Made Man.
Made Men are nothing but handsome robots in fancy suits who cause irrevocable damage and heartache. They have no hearts, no souls, you can see it in their eyes.
They are a cliché.
They cause nothing but pain until the day that they die. They take everything and give nothing back, except maybe money for your time.
Money isn’t shit.
It doesn’t keep you warm, it doesn’t love you, it doesn’t feed your soul. They cheat, lie, steal, and never have to answer for their actions.
The only person they answer to is their Boss and maybe the Devil when they die, and that’s a big maybe, they don’t give a fuck about the women in their lives, they don’t give a fuck about anyone but themselves.
“You girls were never here,” Gavino begins as he guides the car out of the dusty, rocky parking lot.
“Where?” I ask, arching a brow.
The man in the passenger seat snorts. “Exactly,” Gavino says with a nod.
“You’ll be going back to Irene Mazzilli, back to school and live a life you choose. No longer are you bound by the decisions of your father since he is no longer of this life,” Gavino explains.
My gaze shifts from him to the window. “What about Bellarosa?”
“What about her?” he asks.
“I assume she was one of your girls?” I ask.
He clears his throat as the other man shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I don’t bother making them verbally answer that question. Instead, I move on.
“What is she now?”
“She is free, she freely chooses to be with Dragon, the man back there,” he explains.
Nodding, I press my lips together as he approaches the waiting airplane. The same one that brought us here. Clearing my throat, I lift my eyes to meet his as he shifts the SUV into park and turns the engine off.
“Does this mean we’re free as well?” I ask.
Gavino doesn’t say anything immediately. He waits for a moment, unmoving, as he faces the windshield. Then, he turns around, his green eyes finding mine and he smirks.
“None of us is ever truly free, Pippa. Bellarosa has her freedom from me, from the famiglia, but not from her man. I’m free from Rossi, but not of my duties, in fact, they’ve grown. And the list goes on. If you want to know if you’re free of the famiglia, you are if you choose to be. That’s the answer that I can give you. However, remember you were born into this life and your loyalty to the famiglia is always required, free or otherwise.”
“I understand,” I whisper.
He clears his throat then dips his chin before he turns and pushes the door open. Without another word, our conversation is now over.
The man in the passenger seat turns to look at me. I can’t stop myself from shifting my gaze over to him. He’s so damn beautiful. It sucks that he’s a piece of shit like the rest of them. Because if there was a Made Man that I could ever find attractive, it would assuredly be him.