Gian (Trassato Crime Family Book 1) Read online

  “Don’t do this to me,” I whimpered, revolted by the weakness in my voice. In my soul. In my heart.

  “I asked her to meet me in here so I could fire her, Evie. That’s it.”

  “You don’t have to explain anything. Your father is waiting for you.”

  “No.” His hands framed my face. “Not until you believe I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  His lips slammed against mine, chased with a hard thrust of his tongue. All of it orchestrated to possess me, claim me, and pacify me. He tasted like a lethal concoction of anger, whiskey, and seduction. I jerked my head to the side, severing the connection.

  “Stop.”

  He speared his hand into his hair. “Nothing happened. She was here when I got here.”

  I backpedaled a few steps until my thighs hit the rounded arm of his sofa. “You obviously sent her signals that you were interested.”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” His hand trailed down the side of my neck, pausing on the front of my white collared shirt. “You’d like me to be a lying cheater exactly like your ex so you don’t have to deal with what’s going on between us.”

  “No.” My voice was barely a whisper.

  He tugged on the sides of my shirt and two buttons popped off, skidding across the floor by my feet. He cupped one breast, pinching and teasing my nipple. I gasped.

  “Then why don’t you believe me?” He flipped open the button of my baggy boyfriend jeans and shoved them, along with my panties, down my legs. I couldn’t bring myself to stop him.

  My fingernails sunk into the arm of the leather sofa on either side of my hips. “I want to, but I’m—”

  He plunged his fingers between my thighs, stroking the sensitive flesh and effectively stopping my words mid-sentence. I arched my hips. His touch was Heaven and Hell. Heaven because I wanted him. Hell because I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of him. His lips were everywhere, his stubble like sandpaper on my flesh, his tongue licking and exploring. All of it drove me to the brink of insanity.

  “I’m scared of what I feel for you,” I confessed more to myself than him.

  He crouched down, a hand on each of my knees. “Why?”

  “Because it’s too big, and I don’t want to be hurt again.”

  He lifted one of my legs over his shoulder. “I’m never going to hurt you, sweetheart.” With his amber gaze burning into me, his tongue licked a devastating path up the inside of my thigh. “You’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.”

  His warm breath wafted over my folds, and my eyes drifted shut.

  “Look at me.”

  Too far gone to resist, I opened my eyes, and he leaned in, dragging his tongue over my clit, teasing me, taunting me.

  “Holy shit,” I moaned, raking my teeth over my lower lip.

  His mouth devoured me in adept movements made up of tiny probes and decadent swirls.

  I bucked my hips. My legs shook. My fingers and toes tingled. My muscles bunched.

  “Gian. Ah. Oh,” I whimpered along with a hundred other incoherent words and syllables.

  “That’s it, Evie. You look so beautiful all spread out for me,” he growled, sliding one finger inside of me and then another.

  Pleasure spiraled down my spine. Heat bloomed through me. His fingers moved faster. Harder. It felt so good. Too good. And then I tipped over the edge, my sex clenching around his fingers, wave after wave of pleasure spiraling through me.

  He set my leg back down on the floor, the air thick with the smell of my arousal. Reluctantly, I looked at him. His hand drifted to my face. His knuckles traced the line of my jaw, and I knew what he was going to say before the words left his mouth because I felt the exact same way, and I couldn’t deny it any longer.

  He angled forward, pressing his lips to mine, and all my worries, expectations, and doubts faded. It didn’t make sense, but I knew deep down in my bones his words were the absolute truth.

  “I love you, Evie.”

  I wrapped my fingers around his muscular forearms, breathing in him in and shuddering with relief. “I love you too.”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-TWO

  Gian

  “Gianluca,” my dad croaked.

  He looked like shit. His skin was ashen rather than the usual deep olive hue. His hair had started to grow back in uneven patches, and he couldn’t have weighed more than one hundred and thirty pounds. It killed me to see my once-strong father like this.

  I settled into the sofa next him. “Dad, what happened tonight?”

  He brought the straw of a clear plastic water bottle to his lips. “Alix Trincher and his son stopped by earlier tonight.”

  “What the hell? Why did you let them inside the house?”

  He jammed the water bottle between the sofa arm and his leg. “I didn’t want to scare your mom.”

  “Alix is a loose cannon. He could’ve shot you or Mom or Carmela, and don’t get me started on his son. I’ve heard he’s worse than the father.”

  “I sent your mom and sister on an errand.” He dragged a hand down the side of his sunken cheek. “And honestly, I wouldn’t have fought too hard if he tried to kill me. A bullet to the head is preferable to this slow death.”

  My stomach dropped like I swallowed a brick. “You don’t mean that. Something could change.” Neither of us believed my words. Barring divine intervention, which wasn’t likely given my dad’s long list of sins, he was going to die sooner rather than later. The fact his death was imminent didn’t eliminate the feeling that someone had lodged an ice pick in my chest when I thought about never seeing him again.

  He raised one eyebrow, drawing my attention to his eyes. They were dilated and cloudy from the liquid morphine he ingested regularly to keep the pain at bay. “I didn’t ask you to come here to talk about my death.”

  Clearing my throat, I rubbed my hands down the fabric of my pants. “Then why am I here?”

  “The Russians, Alix in particular, want access to your territory.”

  I curled my hands into fists. The fucking Russians. First they tried to kill me. Then they hurled a brick through my front door, and now they thought they were entitled to special perks for being assholes.

  “Tell him to take it up with Nico,” I snapped.

  “He did,” my dad replied. “Apparently Nico wants you to work out the details with Alix and present them to him.”

  “Really? And why does he think I’d be his advocate? He’s been fucking with me for weeks.”

  He jerked his head toward me. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want to get into it. I have things under control.”

  He nodded absently. “Do Nico and your uncle know about this?”

  “Yeah. Yeah.” I slanted forward, balancing my elbows on my thighs. “Like you said, Nico thinks I should make a deal with the Russians, but I don’t think it’s necessary. They’re pushing me because I’m new. In a couple of months, they’ll back down, and everything will go back to normal.”

  “I don’t think so.” My dad shook his head, the corners of his mouth curving downward. “He said you have something of his, and he wants compensation, or he wants it back.”

  “What the fuck? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Yeah, well, he wouldn’t elaborate.”

  I stood and rubbed the back of my neck. “So what happens now?”

  He took another sip of his water. “You’re meeting him tomorrow afternoon to discuss the details and see if you can work this out. You’re supposed to take that fiancée of yours.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Take Evangeline.”

  “No.”

  Dad flinched from the sharpness of my voice. “It’s non-negotiable. Apparently, she’s wrapped up in this shit somehow, and if you don’t show up with her in tow, we might as well go to war. Nobody wants that. We’ve barely recovered from that bullshit with the DiTonnos and Rocco.”

  Fuck! If Kevin had lied about his debt to Alix being satisfied, I’d rip him
apart with my bare hands. It’d be totally like that self-centered ass to promise something that wasn’t his. Something to do with Evie.

  “You’re keeping something from me.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Dammit. High as a kite and riddled with cancer, and I still couldn’t get a lie past my father. He was a human lie detector.

  “Nothing important, Dad.”

  “Don’t hide shit from me, Gianluca.”

  I bristled under his scrutiny. “Fine. I don’t know if it means anything, but Evie’s ex owed Alix a half a million dollars.”

  “I assume he didn’t pay him back or you wouldn’t be mentioning this.”

  “As I understand it, he paid some of it back and did him a favor.” I rested my chin against my chest. “He told me Alix considers the debt paid in full now.”

  “What does Evangeline know about this?”

  My head jerked up, a nauseated feeling swirling inside my gut. I’d never asked her anything, because I didn’t want her to worry about shit she couldn’t control. “As far as I know, she doesn’t know a thing.”

  “Jesus Christ, Gian.” He yanked on the collar of his t-shirt like he couldn’t breathe. “Tell me you asked her about this. Tell me you aren’t in this relationship with her based on blind faith.”

  I glanced to the side, avoiding his condemning stare. I’d been living on my own for close to a decade, yet he could make me feel like a five-year-old kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar in a matter of seconds.

  “You checked her out, didn’t you?”

  “She’s not some stranger off the street. She’s Carmela’s friend,” I answered as though it made a difference. It didn’t, not to my dad.

  He shot me a glare, his lips trembling with rage. “You didn’t listen to a damn thing I taught you. I went to bat for you. I thought you had a good head on your shoulders. Now you’re gonna make a fool out of me.” He pushed to his feet, cringing with pain. He shoes clipped over the hardwood floor, each thud more ominous that the last. He flung open the door and it banged against the wood paneling.

  “Helena!” he yelled, his voice cracking. “Send Evangeline in here.”

  My throat bulged with resentment. “Dad, back the hell off. I’m not a kid. I’ll talk to her tonight and find out what she knows. You’re too sick to deal with this.”

  “Sta ta zee.” He grabbed a fistful of my shirt. “I can’t believe you. I can’t trust you when it comes to this chick, can I? She has your balls in a vise. You aren’t thinking straight.”

  “Um, hi.” Evie stepped into the room, her attention boomeranging between my dad and me. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

  My dad released my shirt, his face red and his eyes like daggers. “You could say that.”

  “Evie—” I slipped my hand into hers “—we need to ask you a few questions.”

  “Cut the bullshit, Gian.” My dad pointed a shaky finger at Evie. “Tell me everything you know about Alix Trincher.”

  “Alix Trincher?”

  “Yes. Alix Trincher. Bloody Alix. Vor.” His voice dropped to a gritty whisper. “Do any of these names ring a bell?”

  Evie tipped up her chin, her flame-colored hair dancing around her shoulders. “No. Why?”

  I squeezed her hand and tugged her closer to me. “Did Kevin ever mention that name?”

  “Not that I remember. Is he an artist?”

  My dad barked out a laugh. “No. He’s a fucking psychopath who wants to meet with you and Gian tomorrow.”

  Her eyes widened. “Me? Why would he want to meet with me?”

  “Hell if I know.” My dad leaned against the wall, tiredness etched into every line of his face. “You two need to make an appearance at Carmine’s at two. My brother will join you.”

  “He’s going too?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I think you’ll need someone with you. Alix is bringing his son.” He pushed away from the wall. “Now, get outta here. I’m going to bed,” he grumbled, exiting the room with an uneven gait.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-THREE

  Evangeline

  I sat a table in the back corner of Carmine’s, Gian on one side of me and Dominick on the other. Starched white linens covered the tables, and red drum-shaped pendant lights hung over every table. The smell of garlic, basil, and fresh bread filled the air.

  Last night, Gian didn’t offer much information other than we had a meeting with Alix Trincher and his son, whoever he was, and that Kevin had gotten tangled up with him. Other than the staff and us, the restaurant was deserted. Still, Gian’s eyes routinely scanned the entrance behind me while his other hand periodically tucked inside his suit, fingering his gun.

  Dominick hadn’t said one word to me since he joined us ten minutes ago. On the off chance I had misread the blatant hints that he disapproved of me at the engagement party, I couldn’t ignore it right now. I offered my hand when Gian introduced us again, and he looked at me like a piece of gum on the bottom of his shoe.

  Gian tapped his fingers on the table. “So what’s the plan? They should be here in the next ten minutes and you haven’t said a single thing.”

  Dominick grunted, his dark gaze glued to the front window. “We see what they want.”

  “And if they push for access to our territories?”

  Dominick brushed some invisible lint on his jacket. “We tell them to fuck off.”

  “Nico thought I should negotiate,” Gian said. “See if we could come to terms that were mutually beneficial.”

  “I’m not going to negotiate with these animals,” Dominick said, slicing his hand through the air. “They don’t have anything I want.”

  “You should make that clear to Nico.” Gian folded his arms across his chest, and his chair creaked. “Because he thinks we should bend over and take it up the ass. I’m starting to think he’s lost his edge.”

  The bell over the front door jingled, and my muscles pulled tighter. Gian and Dominick stood, not ready to come face to face with the man known as bloody Alix, I froze in place. My heart sounded like machine gun fire in my ears. My breath became shallow, and I felt like someone had stuffed a plastic bag down my throat.

  “Evangeline,” a familiar coarse voice echoed through my ears.

  I jumped out of my seat and whirled around, a huge smile splitting across my face. “Kon? What are you doing here?”

  My brother looked the same, yet different. I hadn’t seen him in over three years. He’d lost the baby fat on his face. He was all sharp angles and high cheekbones. Dark tattoos peeked out of the cuffs of his shirt, stretching over his first knuckle. His light blond hair, so like my mom’s, was longer than the last time I saw him.

  His pale blue eyes roamed all over me as if he didn’t believe he’d find me in one piece. “We’re checking in on you.” My brother stretched his arms wide. “Come here and give me a hug.”

  I took one step forward, and Gian grabbed the back of my shirt, yanking me against his chest.

  “What the hell is going on, Evie? How do you know him?”

  “This is my brother, Konstantin. You know, the one in the Army. I told you about him, remember?”

  “He’s not in the fucking Army. He’s in the Russian mafia, and your father is Alix fucking Trincher,” he snarled, releasing my shirt and pointing a finger across the room.

  My gaze followed his finger, landing on a man hovering near the entrance. He had an arrogant sneer on his face. Deep grooves lined his forehead and the corners of his dark brown eyes. His red hair was liberally threaded with silver. His wide shoulders tapered to a slightly thickened waist.

  Long-buried memories pushed to the surface. A man with bright red hair pushing me on the swing in the backyard. A thickly accented voice whispering something in my ear at bedtime. A man with my name tattooed on his forearm.

  Nausea swam in my gut. My heart thumped hard, and my vision blurred. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know that man.” My voice sounded more hopeful
than convincing.

  Gian’s eyes narrowed and the muscle at the corner of his jaw twitched. “Don’t lie to me.” His hands dug into my shoulders. “Was this the plan all along? First, you help your dad bury your ex under a mountain of debt, then you move on to me. Tell me, what’s the favor your father’s going to want from me? Money? Blood?”

  “Get your hands off my daughter.” Alix stalked forward, his nostrils flaring and his eyes burning like the pits of Hell.

  Gian shoved me to this side and ripped his gun from his holster. “Back the fuck up.”

  I clumsily tugged on the side of Gian’s suit. “No, Gian. Stop. Don’t do this.”

  My brother lunged forward, circling his arms around Gian’s waist. Everything happened in slow motion. They tumbled backward, hitting the tiled floor with a loud oomph.

  The gun skittered across the tile, stopping near my feet. One punch turned into ten until they morphed into a mass of swinging and kicking limbs. The sound of flesh hitting flesh punctuated by grunts boomed through the otherwise silent restaurant.

  A scream split my lips. My knees rattled, threatening to buckle, and I leaned into the table so I didn’t fall. “Please. Please,” I said so many times I lost count.

  Tony materialized from the kitchen, sinking one hand into Kon’s hair and the other into the back of his shirt, pulling him off Gian. Gian scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his nose and his chest heaving. Tony wrangled Kon across the restaurant with his arms behind his back.

  Kon spat a mixture of blood and saliva on the floor. “Get your fucking hands off me.”

  Dominick stepped forward. “Tony, let him go.”

  Tony’s head jerked to the side. “Are you serious? He jumped Gian.”

  “Release him right now,” he said, enunciating each word. He advanced to the front door of the restaurant and flipped the lock. “They came here to talk. We’re going to hear them out. Then, they will leave, right, Alix?”