Giovanni (11 page)

“Franco, that’s enough,” Kim whispered harshly. “Stop it.”

“What? It’s true. I sure as hell hope you’re not as cold after the wedding as you are now.”

Utensils clattered down to ceramic plates around the table. Corrine, who sat across from Kim, squeaked out a sound thick with disbelief.

“
Cristo
, Franco!” Maximo loud admonishment drew the attention of several tables nearby.

The first thing Kim could think to do was stand from the table. She needed to leave to cool down the boiling rage and let her humiliation subside. The hand locked tightly to her wrist was the only thing that stopped her.

“Kimberlynn—”

Kim graced Franco with a look that stopped him from saying another word. He released his grip on her arm. She sincerely hoped every ounce of her fury was shining through strongly enough for him to know the line he leaped over was a big one. 

“Please, excuse me,” Kim said, maintaining a calm tone as she grabbed her clutch from the pocket of her jacket. “I need to use the ladies room.”

The last thing on Kim’s mind was the bathroom. At the first exit door she came to, she slammed it open. It led to the alleyway where Franco parked the Lamborghini when they first arrived. The car was gone, now.

Kim held her throat with one hand, bending over at the knees. It was frightening how suffocated and oppressed she constantly felt. Pretending with Franco because he demanded it of her was hard enough, but that had been something else entirely. She gulped in as much air as her lungs could take, needing to breathe to ward off the panic and anger. Her eyes burned from holding back tears and her throat closed around the sobs trying to release.

Who was she? Since when had she become such a doormat that a man like Franco had this kind of awful effect on her? She had always been independent and proud of it, but now she felt weak. She couldn’t imagine being married to him for the rest of her life.

Kim would rather die. Well, that was her only other option.

God, she hated Franco for doing this to her.

“Trouble in paradise,
Tesoro
?”

The unmistakeable tenor of Giovanni Marcello sent another round of hysterics threatening to pull Kim under. Holy hell. Could this day get any fucking worse?

“What are you doing here?” Kim asked, standing straight and wiping at her cheeks to rid any tears that might have escaped. She tried not to stare at the man leaning against the brick wall further down the alley, failing miserably.

“I wanted to make sure your fiancé did what I told him to and got rid of the car as soon as he arrived here. It stayed a little too long, in my opinion. They just rolled it out of the back here a couple of minutes ago.”

Kim’s embarrassment of having her panic attack witnessed set her defenses up. “Don’t you have another car to steal for Franco?”

Giovanni laughed, tossing the butt of a cigarette to the ground. “No, the Lambo was just for shits and giggles. I’m not doing Franco’s work. Delivering it to him was enough of a hassle I didn’t want to deal with, but his
girl
just had to have a drive in it, I guess.”

His girl?

“I didn’t know anything about that car until I came outside,” Kim said. 

“Figured that out when you asked where it came from and looked at it like it was the ugliest thing on the block. Still pissed me off like nothing else.”

The anger Kim thought she’d caught a glimpse of in Giovanni’s eyes earlier suddenly made a lot more sense. It wasn’t just anger, it was
jealousy
. It also left her more unsettled in her heart. The only reason he would have to be angry with her was if he felt betrayed by her in some way.

Kim couldn’t afford to stand there and mull it over. It hurt and left her far too confused. “I have to get back to Franco.”

Giovanni hummed under his breath. “You do that, Kim.”

She swore a hint of sadness colored his words. She couldn’t dwell on it. Giovanni was unobtainable. Better to get that clear in her head before she let her feelings run off with themselves.

As Kim reached for the exit door to pull it open again, she heard him ask, “Behind your ear … is it still there?”

Subconsciously, Kim covered the hickey he asked about with her fingertips, feeling heat bloom on her skin at the acknowledgment. The white hot lust Giovanni created inside her shot straight down to the unexpected ache between her thighs.

“It is there, isn’t it?” Giovanni asked.

“Yes,” Kim said softly, positive she could feel the heat of his gaze on her back.

“When you touch it, does it feel like my mouth, teeth, and tongue on you all over again?”

Kim bit her cheek, but the word slipped out of her mouth on its own accord. “Yes.”

“Have a
very
good night, Kim,” Giovanni murmured.

• • •

The table was empty but for Franco when Kim entered the dining room. She stayed in the shadow of the hallway, watching as Franco allowed a pretty redhead at the table beside his to scrawl something with black eyeliner to the inside of his wrist. Tossing the girl a wink and grin that seemed charming, Franco sat straight in his chair like nothing had even happened.

Kim inhaled so deeply it burned her lungs. It wasn’t the first time she happened upon Franco and another female. The first time it occurred, the girl was still naked and on her knees with Franco’s dick in her mouth, actually. Asking Franco why only taught Kim to mind her own business.

What happened between her and Giovanni should have left Kim feeling dirty, or at the very least, bad for betraying Franco. She couldn’t even manage to bring forth a drop of those emotions. Why should she when he couldn’t even be bothered to hide his unfaithfulness? It wouldn’t surprise her if he already had children spread across Vegas.

Steeling her spine straight, Kim walked over to the table as if she hadn’t seen a thing. “Where’s your father and Corrine?”

Franco waved, a name and phone number scribbled in black flashing on his wrist before it disappeared. “He’s angry with me for what I said, forced me to apologize, and left. He gives his apologies.”

Kim said nothing; she didn’t know what to say.

“I imagine you want one from me, too?” Franco asked, standing from the table.

Franco held out Kim’s coat and she let him tug the article on. The way his hands rested on her shoulders may have appeared affectionate to anyone else in the restaurant, but the weight of his fingers digging into her bones was anything but.

“I won’t ask for an apology if you’ll keep any comments about that sort of thing to yourself,” Kim said.

Franco was lucky Kim didn’t verbally cut him up and down like she wanted to. The consequences would have been worth it to humiliate him in front of the people around them like he had her. Sadly, Kim was too exhausted to fight again.

“Also to you,” Franco replied, cocking a single brow. “Because you should know that once we’re married, sweetheart, I expect you to act like a proper wife in all aspects, including my bedroom.”

Bile spilled onto the back of Kim’s tongue at the thought.

“And you not wanting to really won’t stop me if you refuse,” he added.

Chapter Ten

“How are things?” Antony asked.

“Good,” Gio replied, keeping an eye on the boys stripping the Lamborghini down to nothing but spare parts. 

Usually, Gio would have wiped his hands clean of the deal. He’d been curious about how fast they could chop the car, so he checked it out.

“You’re working,” Antony said.

“Something like that. Tricking alarms on your cars has come in handy for me.”

Antony laughed. “You’re such a shit, Gio. You sound … healthy, son.”

Gio’s brow crinkled. “What?”

“Sober.”

Oh
.

“I’m pleased,” Antony added lower. “Maybe Vegas was what you needed, after all.”

After partying the week before, Gio didn’t have the slightest interest in getting high or drunk. It had little to do with Vegas. Why would he get high? He didn’t need to feel anything. Damn, he was feeling too much as it was; tied up into a million frustrated knots. Thoughts of Kim kept him that way. Getting fucked up wouldn’t relax him. It would only make it a hell of a lot worse.

“Your mother misses you terribly,” Antony said. 

“I know. She told me fifteen times last week on my birthday.”

Antony chuckled. “She wants me to send you back here on the next flight.”

“Not yet,” Gio said.

Something inside wasn’t ready to leave.

“Well, it’s your choice. How’s business there?”

“Same old. It’s quiet. Franco’s definitely got control of this car nonsense.”

“Complete control?”

“Seems like it,” Gio replied.

“And Nunz is involved?”

“Nunz’s son, mostly. For the hands-on aspects, I mean. He’s an alright kid, but his father is one lazy fuck.”

Antony hummed his agreement. “Who’s being paid dues if two bosses are involved?”

“Both. Max takes a cut and Nunz’s son pays a portion to his father for what comes in from his side of things, too.”

“Too many chiefs,” Antony noted.

“Yeah. Three bosses being paid would leave nothing in the end. I mean, there’s good money here, but it’s a lot of work. Max doesn’t seem interested in running it, so I don’t understand why he offered the deal to you.”

“Possibly because Franco asked him to. Franco likely assumed I would be more willing to consider an offer from his father than him.”

“Especially with Nunz involved.”

“Max didn’t tell me Nunz was involved,” Antony said. “Not at the Commission meeting. He only spoke in regards to Nunz’s girl marrying Franco.”

How hadn’t Gio realized that? Antony was right. Maximo didn’t say anything about Nunz and the car scheme. During his couple of short meetings with Maximo, the man hadn’t mentioned Nunz or the man’s guys, either. In fact, the only one of Nunz’s guys who was working the scheme was Cody.

Did Maximo even know Nunz was taking a cut of the cars?

“Gio?” Antony asked. “Did you hang up on me, son?”

“No, just thinking.”

“Fill me in.”

Gio wasn’t sure he should right then. He didn’t know his assumptions were fact. “Nunz’s kid … Cody, he’s twenty-three and is still unmade.”

“So?” Antony asked, sounding bored. 

“It’s unusual. I mean, he’s doing family business, but he’s not in with the family.”

“Maybe it’s that he’s not in the family he wants to be,” Antony suggested. “If I had a choice, Max would be the boss I’d want to be under.”

Well, shit … Gio hadn’t considered that.

“And while we’re on the topic of Max, I heard you have a dinner invitation in two weeks.”

Gio cringed. Antony was talking about an engagement party for Kim and Franco. Apparently the couple had yet to have one. Gio wasn’t planning to go.

“I was thinking of skipping it, actually,” Gio said. “Not my scene.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Antony replied. “Fit yourself with a suit and go. I refuse to show face at that wedding, so while you’re there, do this for me. For some, it’ll seem like I sent you in my place. Compromise.”

“But—”

“No arguments. Go.”

“Fine.”

• • •

“I’m glad you could make it, Skip.”

Gio forced himself to smile at Maximo. It was the best he could muster up. Maximo handed Gio a glass of cognac.

“We should sit down and chat soon,” Max said. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Give me a date and time,” he replied.

Gio stared down into the dark colored liquid, swirling in the glass to allow the scent of the drink to flow upwards. Cognac was a liquor Gio usually enjoyed. It was an experience, not just a pleasure. He didn’t want cognac tonight. What he needed was something he could slam to get his mind off the beautiful blonde on Franco’s arm.

Kim appeared as though she was having a good time. Gio knew differently. False smiles and eyes that never left Franco. It was all fake. After all, Gio had made Kim smile and kissed sexy grins off her lips. He had watched her eyes twinkle with amusement and darken in her lust. Gio gave her credit for tonight because it was hard to tell.

Gio had only been at the Sorrento family home for less than an hour, but he was itching to leave. The constant chatter about the sweet couple made the sickening ball mixed heavily with jealousy and anger grow in his gut.

It might have helped if Gio could manage to not look at Kim, but he couldn’t stop. Impulsively, his gaze would wander in her direction. He caught her glancing his way, too. Chances were, she didn’t know he was going to be here tonight.

God knew he sure as fuck didn’t want to be.

“Giovanni?”

Gio cleared his throat, clenching the stem of the balloon glass. “Yeah, Max?”

“I know this isn’t a Marcello gathering …”

“It’s not very different.”

“The people are,” the Sorrento Don said simply. “You seem distracted.”

“I am.” Gio chanced another look Kim’s way. Luckily, he caught his slip and added, “Cecelia is hounding me to get back to New York.”

“Ah, well, that’s because you’re her youngest boy.” Maximo chuckled, raising his own glass towards Gio. “Drink up, it’s a twenty-year flavor that shouldn’t be wasted. And you’re a twenty-six-year-old man who shouldn’t be, either. Mingle around, Skip. I’m sure you’ll find a pretty girl to catch your eye in the room. Vegas has some of the most beautiful.”

Too bad one already had. She just wasn’t available.

• • •

Raising the balloon glass, Gio swallowed a mouthful of cognac in a way that he knew was disrespectful to the liquor. He should have taken his time to enjoy it, but he just wanted the burn it provided. It was his fifth glass in less than an hour. A clawing sensation crept over his skin. The alcohol was starting to have an effect. Really, he shouldn’t be drinking, but he didn’t have anything else better to do.

That had been his last couple of weeks, in a nutshell.

Gio found himself trying to bleed Kim out of his system all damned week. Unlike the first go-round with failed women, drugs, and booze, he hadn’t gone that route this time. Work had been his focus. Getting in closer to Franco’s lackeys, keeping an eye on the car boosts going down, and catching up with some of his club managers back in New York. From the morning until night, Gio didn’t stop moving. He also couldn’t stop thinking.

About Kim, that was.

So screwed
.

“Well, Franco, are you ready?” Gio heard Maximo ask from somewhere in the room.

“I believe so,” Franco said, grinning. “Kimberlynn?”

Kim seemed confused but smiled anyway. Gio slipped into a corner, tilting his glass up to down the rest of the cognac. He had no clue what was about to go down with Franco and Kim at the head of the room in front of all their guests, but something settled in his heart like a deadweight.

Franco pulled a black velvet box from his slack pockets. Of all the encounters Gio had with Kim, this was the first time he noticed she wore no engagement ring on her finger.
Here
… now, standing across from her in a room full of people. This was when he had to notice it.

A brief flicker of panic and resentment was hidden in Kim’s eyes by a nervous laugh as a ring far too ostentatious for a small hand like hers was presented. Gio couldn’t watch anymore. His chest ached something awful and the cognac wasn’t settling right.

A smoke and a piss were what he needed.

Smoke first. Piss second.

• • •

Gio took his sweet fucking time washing his hands after using a bathroom on the second floor. All the bathrooms downstairs were taken. The upstairs was off-limits, but he didn’t care.

Staring in the mirror, he noticed his gaze was lazy and a redness littered the whites of his eyes. Gio should have laid off the liquor; his blood alcohol level was too high to drive. He would have to call a cab and come back to pick up his car tomorrow.

Great
…

At least the likelihood of Kim being at the Sorrento family home tomorrow was slim to none. Franco had his own home where he could keep Kim. It was one small miracle working in Gio’s favor. Beyond that, everything else in his life seemed to be ripping apart.

Was Kim happy with Franco in a way Gio couldn’t see? Maybe it was the attention earlier that had her looking unsettled. There were obvious issues with Franco’s controlling tendencies, but Kim appeared strong enough to handle him if needed. Two weeks before flashed into Gio’s mind when he witnessed her nearly having a panic attack in the alley behind a restaurant.

That wasn’t normal.

Nothing made a whole lot of sense to Gio when he considered the things surrounding Franco and Kim. It wasn’t like Nunz Abella had any real power to force his daughter into an arranged marriage—he was a little fish in a big sea. That led Gio to think maybe there was something Kim wanted in Franco. Even if the relationship was unhealthy, she was still with him and going ahead with wedding plans.

She agreed to the marriage, after all.

Why couldn’t Gio forget about her?

“
Cazzo
,” Gio cussed under his breath, exhaling harshly. He rolled his shoulders to rid some his stress. It didn’t work. Lately, nothing did. “She’s gonna fucking kill me.”

Gio stood straight, taking one more deep breath to steel his nerves. He had to keep his shit in check long enough to say a goodbye to the Sorrentos for the sake of respect … and the happy fucking couple. Then, call a cab and get his half-drunk ass to bed.

The bathroom door flew open. Obviously, he was more inebriated than he thought if he forgot to lock it. Unfortunately, the person who entered and slammed the door closed, locking it like he should have in the first place, was not who he wanted to see.

Kim didn’t notice Gio as her shoulders trembled and she faced the door. Gio didn’t have the slightest clue how they continued to end up in situations like this. Clearly some higher power had it out for him. Who else would get a kick out of his torment?

Those bitter thoughts melted away as Gio regarded Kim from behind again. He stilled, unsure of what to do. Something was wrong. Her shaking hands pressed to the door and tremors rocked her trim frame beneath the silk dress she wore. She bowed her head, the softest sobs falling.

Gio’s attention was drawn to the ring on her finger. The ring wasn’t what bothered him the most, though. Red splotches dotted her pale wrist, breaking him. Sized like five fingerprints, he didn’t even have to guess what they were and wondering who had put them there was pointless, too.

No questions needed, he fucking knew. Rage spilled into his blood like hot lava. 

Turning fast on her heel, Kim yanked at the ring on her finger to pull it off, keeping her eyes down all the while. Tears streaked tracks down to her lips where her teeth were gritted. The piece of jewelry hit the wall behind Gio with a solid smack.

“
Merda
!” Gio swore. The damned ring missed hitting his head by a couple of inches. “Ever play baseball,
Tesoro
?”

Kim glanced upwards, meeting Gio’s stare. Embarrassment and agony flitted over her pretty features. Fresh tears coated her bottom lashes before falling. “Oh my God! Get out right now!”

Gio blinked, surprised at her sudden vehemence. “I was in here first.”

“The upstairs is—”

“Off-limits. Yeah, I know. So were you, but that didn’t stop me. In case you haven’t noticed, I have serious issues with following rules.”

Kim glared. “Get out, Giovanni.”

No, he didn’t think he could do that. Not after what he saw. Those confusing thoughts he had earlier about Kim and Franco were circling the drain. No woman wanted hands put on her in an abusive way.

“Franco hurt you,” Gio said, nodding at her arm.

Immediately, Kim hid the marks on her left wrist with her right hand. “It’s nothing, I just—”