Blood Always

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Matteo wasn’t one to back down easily. If anything, my response only poked the angry bear. He slowly, menacingly positioned himself so close, I could feel the sultry heat emanating from his broad chest. “You go near another f*****g man, aisle or no aisle, and I’ll kill him.” Matteo didn’t do idle threats. He was making that crystal clear. “What happened to just business?” “That was before. Before you sucked the air from my lungs like your life depended on it. Before I’d felt your claws retract and saw a glimpse of what’s hiding beneath the armor. Before you made my c**k so hard it hurt to breathe. I don’t know what this is between us, but it is certainly not just business.” OceanofPDF.com Chapter 6 Matteo I’d never in my life experienced such acute jealousy. My heart no longer pumped blood, but ice-cold, liquid rage. The thought of her with someone else—the sickening image it conjured—made my fists clench with the need to tear something to shreds. I fought my body’s reaction to dominate, to claim, to cage this little wildcat. It was no use. The energy that crackled between us beckoned me. Urged me. Commanded me. She was mine. All mine. And it was my job to ensure she stayed mine. “It has to be business,” she murmured. “That’s the only way this will work.” “Why? Is there someone else?” Just saying the words made my blood boil. Her eyes scoured the floor for an answer. My wicked enchantress almost looked lost, like a child abandoned by her mother. Too bad for her, I’d had my heart wrenched from my chest long ago. I wasn’t going to go soft at the first hint of a tear. Taking her chin harshly in one of my hands, I forced her gaze on mine. “Is there someone else?” I demanded more forcefully. Iron bars slammed down behind her eyes, and she slapped my hand away from her. “No!” she screamed. “There’s no one else, and I have no plans. I just said it to get you to leave, so just f*****g leave.” Her ire was something to behold. Regal and raw. “Then why does this have to stay just business?” I wouldn’t back down until I had all the answers I craved. “Because.” “Because why, goddamn it?” “Because I need to hate you!” she rushed at me, slamming her hands against my chest. “I have to hate you and all you represent. You took everything from me—you and the f*****g Gallos. I hate you. I hate all of you.” Her tirade came to a close as her words were swallowed with heaving sobs. My arms encircled her, trapping her against my chest. “Shhh,” I whispered into her hair, holding her tightly in my arms. I hated to see this majestic queen of a woman break down, but it needed to happen. We had to dig to the heart of the matter if we were ever going to get past the barrier of our last names. As her shuddering subsided, I scooped her into my arms and settled us onto the couch. I didn’t push her to talk. Her limits had been reached for the night, and I was confident that her intimation about another man had been purely fabricated to keep me at bay. Instead, I offered her what comfort I could provide with my presence and kept my thoughts to myself. I’d known members of the Gallo family had been involved in the death of her brother, but I hadn’t expected her to still hold that so staunchly against us. That had happened back at the start of the war in 2002— seventeen years ago. It was a bloody time period for everyone involved. So why had Maria held onto her steadfast hate of the Gallos after so many years? She had to know I wasn’t remotely involved in her brother’s death. I’d only been a new recruit when it happened. A grunt soldier making money runs and working for my father. Her hardened exterior made it clear she’d known heartbreak in her short life. I just hadn’t realized how deep those wounds still ran. That was why she pushed people away. Why she didn’t gossip with the other girls in her family. Why she had become a made woman at an early age. Why she cleaned guns in her spare time and could put me in a chokehold before I knew what was happening. She was savagely broken, doing the best she could to remain whole. But she was mine now. Mine to devour and mine to protect. In order to do that, I would need to know what threatened her most. Swim in those same waters that drowned her, so I could keep her afloat the next time it rained. She wouldn’t like it. She would resist facing those demons, but it was the only way. Once she was fully exposed and vulnerable, I could rebuild her walls, with me securely inside them. *** I met Enzo for lunch two days later. I’d debated inviting Maria but decided her absence would give me a better opportunity to learn more about my complicated bride-to-be. After her tears had subsided, she had passed out in my arms. I watched her sleep far longer than I should have, then slipped out from beneath her. I penned a short note before leaving but hadn’t heard from her since. Our exchange had been so volatile and poignant that we were both in need of time and space to regroup. A shift had occurred in the dynamic between us. I wasn’t sure it could be called a truce. We certainly weren’t friends. It was more like a ceasefire until further peace terms could be negotiated. In the meantime, I would learn what I could about her and prepare a plan of attack. “I apologize for running late,” offered Enzo as he joined me at my table. “I received an unexpected report that required my attention. It seems Sal may have hooked up with the cartels in his efforts to flee.” “What did you learn?” “It’s speculative, but our contacts in Kansas City identified two members of the Vagos MC in town. They normally stick to the west coast and Mexico, so their appearance was noteworthy. Their ties run deep with the cartels. As far as the Kansas City outfit could tell, the bikers were only in town a handful of days. It could be purely coincidence, but something tells me it’s not.” f**k. The cartels were bad f*****g news. “If he’s brought Mexico into this, we have much bigger problems than getting our people to befriend one another.” “I know, but until we have any more leads, it’s all just speculation. We haven’t even been able to verify Sal was still in Kansas City at the time. For now, we wait and listen.”