The Mafia's Forgotten Vows

Chapter 3: For Loyalty

Giuliana

Loud gunshots rang out. I knew it would not penetrate the car we were riding unless they used a stronger firepower. Almost instantly, he pulled me close, shielding me with his body—as if forgetting the car was bulletproof. The firing rattled us over the asphalt, but I didn’t panic. The driver knew exactly what he was doing, and the men whose vehicles were behind us were already handling the attackers.

"Gia, are you alright?" I heard him ask as soon as our car was out of the gunfight range. He didn't even ask his driver or any of his men. He simply looked at me and asked if I was alright. I would have been touched if our past had been different, but given the circumstances, I rolled my eyes and raised one eyebrow at him. I laced my voice with as much venom as I can when I replied.

"Of course! I'm a Vitale! Don't undermine me! I can even drive like your driver did a while ago. Don’t treat me like some porcelain doll, Lorenzo—especially now that we’re practically strangers!"

His answer to my rant was him pulling me towards his lap, my legs in between him, me practically straddling him and his lips caressing mine as if crazed with hunger. His hands roamed my body as if possessed and as much as I would like to resist, my body moved on it's own. My body consented while my mind was filled with haze from the myriad of sensations he was giving me. He moaned as he slipped his hand inside the dress I was wearing. From the ridiculous wedding gown that I intentionally wore to drive the groom literally insane, I changed into a royal blue slip-on dress that fell on my knees and hid all my curves. I didn't intend to wear blue, it just so happen that it was really the dress I planned to wear. It looked plain, in full contrast to the absurdity of the wedding gown I wore a few hours ago.

"Mmmm. . . you make me go crazy, Gia. . . You looked absolutely stunning in your wedding gown but now, you're even wearing my favorite color. . . I can't wait to take this off of you, Mia Cara. . . You're making this so hard for me. . . Can you feel it, Gia? How hard this is for me?" He said each word in between his kisses and while his two hands kneaded and cupped my breasts as if he was holding on to his dear life. I stopped myself from moaning, but he saw how I bit my lower lips, and he sucked them while his hands roamed freely. Then he cupped my mounds and lifted them so he could lick the cleavage that was showing on the square-shaped neckline of my dress.

"You're making me so damn hard. . ."

I could indeed feel his hardness poking on my core, making my body hot with desire. I was about to respond when his phone rang. From the way his phone was incessantly ringing, I knew he couldn't just ignore it. He groaned when I gently moved back to sit beside him and fixed my dress while trying to even out my breathing.

When he answered the phone, his voice was cold and furious. "You better make sure this is important, Servano, or else, I might have to kill you."

Lorenzo

I felt ready to kill the moment the phone rang and Giuliana left my lap. I had to adjust my pants before I answered the phone. The threat I issued seemed irrelevant when I heard the message at the other end of the line.

"Boss, there had been an explosion at the wedding reception site. It was good that you left earlier than what was planned. Someone is messing us up." Servano's voice seemed exasperated. A bad omen since he had always been composed and collected even at crucial times.

"And the gun shooting a few minutes ago? Did you find out who issued the order?" I was seething with anger but I knew I had to control myself since I was with Giuliana. This was a side she didn't know existed. Just like I didn't know years ago that she was the daughter of another Mafia family like mine.

"Because of the explosion, there was a bloodbath at the ballroom. That was after you left the venue, then during the car chase, the men from the venue who witnessed the explosion followed. Perhaps due to the distress, they killed all the shooters. There's no one left to interrogate."

"What?! Ugh! This is making my head ache!" I knew why the men acted that way but I couldn't help but react the way I did.

"I know. This is making my head hurt, too. As planned, I just informed your pilot that you won't be using the private plane at the hangar. It's dangerous to go to. . ."

"No need to talk. I know where to go. Take care of everything for me, Servano. You know the drill."

"Yes, Boss. See you in two weeks. No need to worry about us. I can take care of things."

The line was cut and I had to tap the glass separating us from the driver. The driver opened the soundproof cover.

"Pull over. I'm taking over." With just a nod, the driver pulled over.

"Why? What's happening? What are you doing, Enzo?"

I was about to open the door when I heard her using my name that only a few people closest to me uses. I was about to smile when she asked again, "Lorenzo! I'm asking you, what's happening?!"

I sighed and opened the door. I held out my hand to her. She just looked at my outstretched arm.

"I'm asking you something!" Her temper is really something to watch out.

"We're changing plans. I'm driving. Come sit with me out front."

She groaned and went out of the car, on the other side, away from me and my outstretched arm. Giuliana walked towards the passenger seat and closed the door. I signaled my driver. We both knew that in a few minutes, another car will come to pick him up.

While we sped in the highway, Giuliana shot daggers at me with her eyes. I waited for her to ask me again but she remained silent. I focused on driving and after an hour more of driving endlessly, she fell asleep. I pressed a button on the car to recline her seat to ensure she was comfortable. I wondered what if I could stop the car and just ravish her, would my longing for her be reduced by a fraction? I sighed and shifted in my seat. I could feel myself getting aroused with just the thought of her straddling me just like what we were into a few hours ago. But by letting my feelings and emotion get the best of me, I am endangering her. I married her to keep her safe beside me but now that she is with me, I fear that I only pulled her from a snake's den into a lion's den, my own.

I realized for the first time in a while that I couldn't be honest with Giuliana even if I wanted to. She would be in grave danger if I allow her to enter my world fully. I merely agreed to her brother and father's suggestion of marriage because I knew it was her family that was in trouble. I might have orchestrated the whole conversation but the trouble they were already in at that time was unavoidable.

I sighed and looked at her longingly. She might be beside me but still, she seemed untouchable. Who would have know that the woman I loved from when we were young was actually from a Mafia clan herself? Being with her made me forget the dangerous life of being the heir of a Mafia empire. Her smile, her laughter, her innocence, her kisses, her touch and everything about her made me desire to lead a normal life, away from guns, from gangs and from the violence that my background entails.

When I saw the photos of bachelorettes from Mafia families that Servano had given me a few months back. I was more than surprised to see her there. She was the most striking—not just because of her beauty: perfectly shaped brows and nose, plump lips that tasted divine, a heart-shaped face so small it could fit in my palm, and long lashes framing expressive brown eyes that seemed to see through my soul—but because she is, and always will be, the one who holds my heart.

When I attended that ball, her coming of age ball, two months ago, I knew that looking at her from afar would never be enough. But I managed to push myself into something only I, Lorenzo Greco could do. Play the cards and make myself the winner.

Servano

"Denison, order the men to gather at the estate." I said with an urgency so obvious that they might even run towards the meeting hall.

I sighed as I recalled how the men reacted after they heard the explosion. They didn't need any order. They knew all of us had to act and protect Lorenzo at all costs. He is the sole heir and survivor of the Greco Mafia Bloodline. It was two years ago when the world he pretended to live in crumbled down in a flash. I remember it clearly like it was just yesterday.

"He is not answering! What could have happened?!" Lorenzo was in the verge of panic. Even during their busiest days, his parents always answered his calls. Just a few minutes ago, he received a message from his mother to urgently call his father, but when he tried to contact them, neither could be reached.

"Try calling Denison. He will surely know what's happening." I said as I pressed my foot down the accelerator, willing the Black Chevrolet to fly the streets of New York City and reach the private hangar at the fastest time possible.

"It just keeps on ringing!" Lorenzo exclaimed as he tried calling everyone again.

Lorenzo Greco's blood family is in Palermo, Sicily and while they also have a large organization and various operations in the US, his parents kept to their roots. The main reason Lorenzo stayed in the US is because of his studies and the connections he was building as the heir of their Mafia family.

He just turned twenty-two, but with his experience and background, everyone knew he could outshine any Don in the business.

I watched when my driving permitted as Lorenzo kept his eye on his phone, as if his cold and stoic gaze could make miracles and make the people on the other side of the world answer his calls. Then I received a message.

"Lorenzo, Regino just sent a message. They’re moving to the safehouse! HQ’s under fire. We need to get there now and gather as many of our men as we can.” I tried to hide the panic but I couldn't help it. The organization is under siege.

"f**k this! It would take us 11 hours to reach Sicily! I still cannot reach my parents!" Panic turned to fear in an instant as various flashes of possibilities clouded my mind, as well as his.

"They are doing their best to stay...a--" I tried to reassure him, but he wouldn't have it.

"Shut up! Don't even say that word!" As Lorenzo shouted, his phone rang. He put it into speaker mode when he answered.

"Denison, what the hell is happening?!"

"Hell just broke loose. Your parents are being hounded. The enemies knew where to search! I am taking them to a place where it would be impossible to penetrate."

"Why can't I reach them? Can I talk to them now?"

"Just hurry!"

The call dropped just before we could get any more details. He pressed the phone to his ear, hoping for a moment more, but there was only static. Before the call dropped, he could hear in the distance, gunfire and the hum of a bullet proof car zooming the streets of Sicily. The entire trip felt like hell for Lorenzo and I. With the phone on his hands, I watched over as he mobilized all of our group's forces both in Sicily and in New York. We both knew that if his family is under siege, it would be likely that both sides would be chaos and disaster. Upon reaching Sicily, we went straight to the newest safehouse but nothing could have prepared us for what awaited inside. The front gates were shattered, swinging loosely on their hinges, and smoke curled from the windows. Bullet holes darted the walls, some still smoking, proof of the violence that happened. The air reeked of gunpowder and burning wood, a metallic smell that made our stomach churn. Inside, cries and more gunfire hinted at survivors and danger.

I followed Lorenzo as he ran towards gunfire for he knew he was trained for this exact moment. He slipped inside, gun raised, his eyes looking at every corner. We both fired at anyone who fired at us. Only movements and instincts born from years of training for survival mattered. The attackers were professional. They knew how to kill. But we also knew how to fire back.

I was fighting with a burly man when I saw Lorenzo reach the center of Greco Mafia Clan's impenetrable safehouse. He killed a man who tried to kill him. I ran and followed him only to stop at the entrance of the ballroom where we saw countless bodies and a nightmare. Both of his parents were dead and sprawled across the tiles.

His father’s eyes stared blankly, a dark stain spreading across his chest. His mother’s hand still clutched a fallen glass, blood around her. Rage, grief, fear collided and exploded like a bomb.

Lorenzo is a warrior but he is still processing everything on his mind. His family is dead and he would have to inherit this word of danger, violence and utter chaos.

"Cover us! Kill everyone who tried to move in!" My orders were loud and clear. As the new men who arrived saw what were inside the ballroom, I saw some of them falter for a few seconds, seemingly shaken to see their leaders fallen.

We were still fighting when a grenade was thrown on the ballroom where all the bodies were laid down.

"Move out! Quickly!" I shouted as I pulled Lorenzo towards a safe distance while the other men also scrambled to safety.

After the loud explosion who also decimated the attackers, I, together with Lorenzo stood in the ruined safehouse, the Greco's family ancestral mansion. We are both soaked from rain, hands trembling despite the attempts to look composed. The blood, the smoke, the smell of gunpowder and dead bodies, everything would be a reminder of the cost to stay alive.

That history was the reason why everyone, every single member of the Greco Mafia Group is protective of Lorenzo. All the survivors of the siege two years ago remembered how we all fought to survive and how a twenty-two-year-old grew up faster than anyone to take over the legacy of their Mafia Family who had been around for generations.

When Denison returned after he carried out the order to call the men, he whispered to me with a smirk, "I just hope he would be successful in his new business venture. Two weeks of honeymoon to have an heir? Is that even possible?"

I couldn't help but smile as I patted his back. If only they knew that the girl Lorenzo married was the one he wanted all along, would they still doubt his baby making abilities?

"Let's just wait for his announcement. For now, let's fix this mess and find out who the hell wanted our leader and his new wife dead!"