Page 51 of Mafia And Taken

CATE

When I woke in the morning, I sat up in bed and saw that Alessio was already gone.

As the memories from last night came flooding back, I groaned and collapsed back against the pillows. I covered my red cheeks with my hands as if that could hide me from what had happened. How could I have been so stupid?

Looking across at Alessio’s empty side of the bed, I was really glad he hadn’t stayed for breakfast. Otherwise, it would have been too awkward, like what I imagined the morning after a one-night stand would be like. Not that I’d ever had a one-night stand—my father would have broken each and every finger of any man who tried to touch me before submitting him to the most painful death he could think of.

Alessio had been right when he’d said on our wedding night that I’d been attracted to him when I’d first met him. Worse than that, I was still attracted to him even after what he’d done to me in the garage. How sick was that?

Each time I thought about his muscled body, every time I thought about the time we’d spent together, made my heart beat just a little too fast. He was good at manipulating people, at manipulating me, and I hated him for it.

Tonight, I was going to break off this thing with Alessio. He was right last night when he had said I was curious about his body, but it had gone far enough as far as I was concerned.

I felt a wave of shame wash over me at how I had given in so easily to this man who had forced his way into my life—a man so cruel he had taken me to his torture room to force information out of me. He didn’t care that I didn’t want to tell him my secrets, didn’t want to marry him, didn’t want to give him my body: he was determined to take from me whatever he wanted and destroy me in the process.

I felt disgust at how I had given into him, at how I had orgasmed with his mouth upon me. He had humiliated me by showing me just how much power he held over me. I couldn’t have hated him any more at this moment.

My emotions were all over the place. I didn’t understand what was happening between us, but I knew I couldn’t do this anymore. He was the same as all Made Men and nothing good would come out of this. I would be putting myself back into the Mafia world, back into the life that had already hurt me so badly and irrevocably.

I couldn’t care for anyone else like that, I couldn’t make myself vulnerable again—because it had nearly destroyed me when those who I had loved the most had been so cruelly taken from me, and I wouldn’t ever put myself back in that position.

Alessio’s life was all about power, wealth, and violence, and I wanted none of those things for myself. Wealth and influence meant nothing to me. The only thing that mattered to me was the ones I loved and as I knew I couldn’t have those people back, I would settle for the simple and safe life I had made for myself with my job, apartment and friends.

It was a life without excitement or exhilaration, but those were not things I desired. I just wanted to exist in my small, safe cocoon where no one could hurt me ever again. And I knew that Alessio could never be part of that life.

He may have forced me to marry him, and we may have been married legally, but even that could be changed. I was resolute that I wasn’t getting in any deeper with him.

The one thing I knew was that I’d never trust a man from the Fratellanza again. I’d trusted and loved my father and I saw where that had gotten me, my mom, and my brother.

I was going to see a lawyer about getting the marriage annulled. Alessio could take it up with my father when they met up in hell.

As far as I was concerned, all Made Men were monsters, and they would all end up in the same place.

ALESSIO

I left Cate’s apartment before she woke up this morning.

I would have liked to have been there when she woke, but I had a lot going on at work and needed to deal with some urgent matters. I wrote her a note, telling her that we were having a family dinner tonight back at the mansion and that I would meet her there at 6 p.m.

Later that day, I was back at the mansion around lunchtime, running through some business matters with Marco. As we were talking, I got a call on my cell phone from the perimeter guards.

“Who was that?” asked Marco, as he noted the expression on my face as I hung up the call.

“The perimeter guards. Nonna Tocchini has just arrived with her grandson. They’re making their way up to the house as we speak.” I sighed. “I thought this was all sorted out.”

Marco grimaced. “Obviously the Tocchinis still have some things to get off their chests.”

We stood at the bottom of the staircase as Marco called for our youngest brother. “Danio, get your skinny ass down here right this second,” he hollered up the stairs.

“You know,” I said drily, “you might get a better response from him if everything you said wasn’t yelled at him.”

“Whatever,” replied Marco, obviously not in the mood for taking parenting advice from me.

Marco, Danio, and I waited by the front door to greet our visitors. Nonna Tocchini bustled out of an SUV driven by her grandson, Antonio, scowling as soon as she saw us.

“Signora Tocchini,” greeted Marco. “This is an unexpected pleasure.” Although Marco was Capo, he showed the proper deference to an elder.

“Don’t you try to sweet-talk me, Capo. You know why I’m here,” she said, glaring daggers at Danio and scowling at us as her grandson helped her up our front steps.