#32 - Sweet Girl

#32 - Sweet Girl
Caterina Bellini

Everything was a mess.

Not long ago, I’d been kissing Vincenzo. The fucking Vincenzo Leone, the Don of the biggest mafia in the entire United States.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I don’t think I could even answer that, since he was the one who took me to that damn tree and kissed me. But I let him. I didn’t try to stop him, and I liked seeing him jealous, desperate for me. It stirred something in my ego, I admit.

Now, things had gotten complicated. My whole façade of the strong woman building her empire alone could crumble if I allowed him to stand by my side like that. It was the last thing I needed. But how could I go back after feeling so many, well, different things?

It was as if I’d been in a trance these past few years. So many terrible things had happened that I’d simply forgotten what affection felt like, what it meant to be touched with care. Even lust had become something biblical, distant, unreal to me. Not after being cast aside by Adrian for so many years for failing to give him the child he so desperately wanted.

That thought confused me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

We were under attack. And it wasn’t small-scale. Heavy weapons, multiple shooters, they’d managed to breach the security that guarded the place. My instincts went on high alert, not only for myself but for everyone there.

Despite being a private event with many powerful names, all clear targets for organizations opposed to the mafia, there were also elderly people and even children enjoying the evening.

It made me nervous. I had to do something. And in a brief window of chaos, I took the chance to help whoever I could, while Leone and Benedetti focused on my safety and Lara’s.

The wind had changed, and I had to think fast.

I’d always been the kind of person to put others first, and this time was no different.

But something caught me off guard.

I saw a hooded man appear behind Lara, taking us by surprise. I tried to pull her away, but he, frustrated, fired in my direction.

A burning sensation tore through my waist, and hot blood began to spill, staining my once-pristine white dress.

Vincenzo reached me quickly, but not before turning toward the terrorist and putting several bullets through his chest.

“I’ll leave his face intact,” Vincenzo roared like a furious lion, “so when I go after his friends, they’ll recognize him, and I’ll take them down one by one!”

That side of him, the side everyone feared, I’d never seen up close until that moment.

“I’m fine, it just grazed me,” I said, feeling the shallow wound. It still burned, but nothing unbearable.

Vincenzo knelt before me, splattered with the enemy’s blood. “We’re getting you out of here. You need to be treated.”

I tried to argue, there were still others we could help, but he didn’t listen. He simply picked me up and carried me away before things got worse.

Vincenzo Leone

I looked around, dazed, gun still in my hand. Without thinking, I fired five bullets straight into the chest of the bastard who dared attack my sister and Caterina.

They had to be insane to think Vincenzo Leone was someone they could mock like that. I didn’t know who was behind it yet, but I’d hunt them down, one by one, and skin them for sport.

This wasn’t some random assault. Not a robbery. Not a coincidence. There was something much bigger behind it, considering the scale of the attack.

Smoke clouded our vision. Gunfire echoed everywhere. The sharp smell of gunpowder filled the air.

The security detail at the Emerald Club handled the rest, taking out the remaining bastards who had dared strike at us.

Whoever orchestrated this wanted war. And by attacking several mafia families at once, they’d just bought themselves front-row seats to the massacre that’s about to unfold.

But all I could think about was Caterina.

With Luca and Lara safe on their way home, she was my priority. I wouldn’t let anyone take her from me, not now, not after she’d finally broken the wall between us.

I knew Caterina would be a difficult woman to win over. She carried traumas I couldn’t yet name. I could see them in her eyes, full of pain and grief. But beneath all that, there was strength, altruism, resilience.

I would have waited as long as it took for her to want me. And if she never did, I would have respected that. I’m not some restless boy; I’m a man who understands the rhythm of things. And our time, it felt closer than ever.

When we reached my mansion, I carried her to her room, ignoring the staff crowding the halls, desperate to check if we were all right. I wanted to see for myself, to make sure she was safe, with my own hands.

I laid her on the bed and went to fetch a first-aid kit. When I came back, she was struggling to unzip her dress.

“Let me do that,” I said softly. “Don’t strain yourself before we see how bad it is.”

I circled the bed and came up behind her, sliding the zipper down carefully. I helped her slip her arms free so she wouldn’t aggravate the wound.

Caterina turned to me, realizing she was now in nothing but her underwear.

A shiver ran down my spine, part of it from desire, part of it from the ache of seeing her hurt.

“Let’s take care of this,” I murmured, cleaning the wound with gauze and antiseptic.

She let out a small sound of pain, and for a moment, it felt like we were back in that night, when I’d treated the cut she gave herself after fighting with Nathalia, Adrian’s mistress.

“You’re taking care of me again,” Caterina said with a faint smile. “Just like that time.”

I smiled too, though my chest was tight, my nerves straining to stay calm.

I forced my eyes away from the sinuous lines of her body, doing everything I could to not make her uncomfortable. Duty and desire fought a silent war inside me.

“I’ll always take care of you, my sweet girl,” I said without even thinking.

I already thought of her that way, so naturally that the words just slipped out.

She looked at me, surprised, but not displeased. On the contrary, she smiled and raised her hand to my face.

The touch of her fingers against my skin felt like a balm to my soul. It was everything I’d wanted since the first time I saw her.

Even kneeling, I was nearly eye level with her as she sat before me.

I rose slightly, leaning closer, and as our eyes locked, intense and unyielding, I knew then: She would be mine.