Her Sinful Desires

Chapter 003

Chapter 003

Raffaele’s POV

It’s barely noon, and my day is already ruined. I walked into my hotel club, receiving the worst news. I pace around the suite, trying hard to keep my temper in control, or else there will be bloodshed.

My hotel club, ‘Lucifer’s Edge,’ is where I fetch all my legal and illegal money from; the front side is a club, where men come to drink and have fun. Further in is the hotel building filled with one hundred rooms for lounging.

There’s an underground building beneath this place that only exclusive members know of; only those involved in the mafia are allowed to trespass. That’s where the real business happens. The top is just a facade for the public, but below, where I am right now, is where all the action takes place.

There are seven new shipments supposed to be coming in today, all loaded with deadly ammunition. Two got attacked at the border by my neighboring rival, the Sicilians.

Half of the ammunition got stolen, and fourteen of my men were killed.

My best friend and right-hand man Salvator Esposito is making calls with all the intel we have in those areas.

“They said they’ve reached our land; the Sicilians wouldn’t dare to cross in,” Salvator tells me.

I feel a bit of relief as I call one of my trusted men.

“Daniel, have twenty men head down to the shipments and guard the area till they arrive; make sure nothing happens to them.”

“Yes, sir.” Daniel answers.

I shove the phone into my pocket and take a seat on one of the couches.

“What a hell of a morning,” I mutter, massaging my temples.

“Tell me about it. I barely had my share of sleep after a wild night,” Salvator says with a sly smile.

“Spare me the details, man,” I tell him with a glare, causing him to laugh.

“We have to do something about the Sicilians,” I voice out, my mind still in grief over the men I lost.

“What do we do? I feel like they’re growing in number; they want to take down Italy and you with it.”

“They won’t succeed. Have the accountant send a condolence settlement to the families of the deceased. Have the younger men train more; recruit more men if possible. We’ll watch them carefully and plot an attack.” I make every statement with command.

“Yes, boss.” My friend mocks a salute before going out to get work done.

As I start to think, my mind wanders off to different places. The Sicilians have been attacking my territory for decades now. My father took down two of their previous leaders before he retired, and they went silent for six years before reforming an army after I took over the Italian mafia. My mother was killed the same year I took over, till date I have no idea who the killer is but i know the Sicilians have something to do with it.

They keep trying to come back stronger than the last, and they keep attacking closer and closer. I’ll have to make Dad move him and Adriana out of the country. Violet can go and stay with my aunt in New York City, and Elisabetta… she can choose whoever she wants to go with.

The sooner I get them away from here, the sooner I can plan an attack against those cowards.

I open my laptop and check the hotel's income for the week; a smile grows on my face when I see over 180 million. That’ll do me some good for the new men I’ll be recruiting.

Somehow my mind wanders back to Elisabetta, and I find myself thinking of the day I saw her at my house. I had a bloody evening that day; some fucker thought he could beg to be recruited by me only to end up being a spy for the Sicilians. He barely made it through the trainings before he was caught disclosing some of our weapons to his people.

When we caught him, he begged that we spare his life and in return told us where a few of the Sicilians were gathered. We attacked silently, killing twenty-seven men, plus the fucker, making twenty-eight.

When I returned home I was covered in blood, ready to have a bath and sleep or go out and cruise with Salvator. I didn’t expect to find my father and sister having dinner with his new wife…and her daughter.

I recognized her at first glance, and hell did I remember what she did. To everyone else, it’s our first time seeing each other, but to me, her, and Salvator, it’s the second.

I can’t believe she’s now my stepsister, living under my own roof. I finally have her where I can take my revenge. She’s been haunting my mind for months, now it’s my turn to haunt hers.

When I walked into her room that night, I could feel the heat radiating from her body. I was tempted to choke her and watch her be at my mercy, but I’ll wait patiently.

Then I caught her checking me out this morning, and it raised my ego up a s**t ton. She gives off a very soft energy; she’s reserved, quiet, and deals with anxiety. She always flees when she’s under pressure; I’ve witnessed it firsthand.

She was hit by her mother, even though she initially refused to tell me anything until I threatened the words out of her mouth. She didn’t tell me the reason why, just said they had a misunderstanding.

I know she’s hiding something, she seems to be someone with secrets and I’m someone who’s going to find out all what she’s hiding. Funny how she ran away from me and ran back to me.

Elisabetta Maria DeLuca, Just what are you doing in my life?

*****

It’s late when I return home; the whole house is pitch quiet, so I don’t expect to find the kitchen light on. I head there quietly, slowly removing my Glock from my back in case someone broke in.

When I get closer to the kitchen door, I hear movements of plates; maybe someone is trying to poison us. I burst into the room, pointing my gun at the intruder.

“W…what are you doing?” I hear a soft voice, followed by shuddered breaths and objects falling to the ground.

I lower my gun, and only then do I see Elisabetta on the floor, holding her chest with shaky breaths.

“s**t!” I shove my Glock back into my pocket and rush to her, carrying her into a sitting position. I gently rub her back; her skin is pale, and she looks on the verge of passing out.

“Wa...ter,” she croaks.

I quickly fill a glass of water and hand it to her, watching her finish it in five sips before dropping the glass.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and she nods.

“Why are you still up so late?” I ask again; this time she answers.

“Didn’t have dinner with them, tried to sleep, but my stomach kept rumbling, so I was trying to cook something to eat,” she tells me while trying to stand up.

“Go sit on the counter; I’ll make us something.” I’m equally hungry, so I might as well finish off where she left.

She stares at me with wide eyes like I said something out of the ordinary.

“Sit, I don’t bite.” I tell her, pushing her gently on the chair.

“For someone who just gave me a heart attack, sure, you don’t bite” she says in a breathy voice.

I hold back a smile and start preparing what to cook, I want to ask her what she’d like but decides not to.

Half way through the cooking, I lean against the counter, watching her with an intensity that makes her shift uncomfortably.

“Fate’s got a sense of humor, doesn’t it? Bringing you back to me.

Elisabetta looks down at her plate. “I had no choice.”

“Everyone has a choice.” I state, pushing off the counter and stepping closer. I reach out and gently brush a stray hair from her cheek, my thumb lingering, just as my gaze soften, they catch sight of a mark on her neck, close to her collar bone. From a distance, you’d think it’s a scar, but looking closely, you’ll see the three-pronged-symbol etched on her skin with red ink.

I recognize that symbol anywhere…

The crest of the Sicilian family.

My energy go from tenderness to pure rage in a heartbeat, I tower over her against the counter, my hand clamping over her throat.

“You came here to spy” I snarl, my voice a low, terrifying growl. “You’re one of them!.”