Twisted Bonds (The Camorra Chronicles 4)

Adamo chose to ignore the warning undertone of my brother. This kid had tested our patience all our lives, but this time he really should know when to stop. “Why can’t we visit her? I have a right to meet her. She’s my mother, too. I want to get to know her.”

Remo pushed to his feet, his body shaking. “She’s the woman who tried to kill you and the rest of us. That’s someone you want to get to know?”

“Maybe she changed. Maybe they could heal whatever was wrong with her?”

“The only thing wrong with her is that she’s a psychotic, murderous bitch. She doesn’t deserve to take another fucking breath,” Remo snarled.

“That was a long time ago,” Adamo said quietly. “Maybe she changed.”

“She’s a crazy bitch who wants to see us all dead because we are our father’s fucking sons. For her, we are evil incarnate, Adamo, when will you get it into your fucking head?”

Savio didn’t say anything, only staring with a dark look down at his phone.

I grabbed Remo’s forearm and squeezed hard. When he glowered at me, I told him, “Sit down, Remo.”

Kiara was watching everything with wide, concerned eyes. Remo shook me off and stalked toward the punching bag.

Sighing, I turned to my youngest brother. “Adamo, she’s not the mother you’re hoping for. Whatever you’re hoping to find in her, you won’t, trust me.” The words felt heavy on my tongue. Talking about our mother never came easy to me. Most of the time, I tried to forget she’d ever existed—still existed now because of Remo’s and my weakness. Remo began kicking and punching the bag, hard, angry hits that filled every silent moment.

“She was a victim too, wasn’t she?” Adamo said quietly. “She had to marry our father and bear his cruelty.”

Adamo didn’t know anything about our father’s cruelty, or our mother’s twisted mind games. There was a reason why Remo was so good at psychological warfare. Adamo had been too young to experience either of them, and when he’d been old enough to potentially remember, Remo could already keep our parents at bay. Both of them had feared my brother like the devil.

Remo said, “She didn’t have to. She chose to marry our father. He was initially promised to someone else but our mother had set her sights on him and so she got him.”

“They broke the engagement?” Savio asked curiously.

“The girl he was originally promised to supposedly ran off. Remo and I suspect she had an unfortunate accident. Our mother has quite a ruthless streak.”

Adamo frowned down at his folded hands on his laps. “People can change,” he said stubbornly.

“Bullshit,” Savio said with a glare. “Why can’t you just accept that she’s not going to be a nice mommy who’ll hug you and tell you she wished she could turn back time. That’s a fucking ridiculous cliché that’s never happening.”

Adamo jerked to his feet. “Then you can let me see her so I can find out what kind of heartless bitch she is. What does it matter?”

Savio stood and pocketed his phone. “Maybe Nino and Remo don’t want you to see her fucking face before they smash her skull in?”

Adamo looked shocked. “You’re going to kill her?”

Remo stopped pummeling the sack and glanced over his shoulder at us with a look that had Kiara suck in a sharp breath. I took a deep breath myself, trying to control the twisting of my insides, a feeling as if acid was eating at them. “One day, yes,” I said emotionlessly.

“You can’t,” Adamo whispered.

Savio shook his head. “I’m off. Maybe there’s a piece of ass somewhere that can distract me from this bullshit.”

Adamo looked at Kiara for help but she didn’t say anything. I touched her thigh gently, knowing she’d agree with Adamo given her kind nature.

“This discussion is over,” Remo said.

“But—”

“Adamo,” I said sharply. Remo was in no state of mind for that kind of argument.

Adamo scoffed, then whirled around and stalked away.

“Even from miles away the bitch still ruins everything,” Remo muttered.

“Not always. We’ll kill her.”

Kiara’s compassionate gaze flitted between my brother and me.

“We will,” I agreed. Remo and I stared into each other’s eyes. It was something we’d been saying for years and still hadn’t been able to go through with it.

KIARA

We went to bed early after Adamo bringing up the subject of visiting his mother. Remo remained downstairs to destroy the boxing sack while Nino took a long shower as if he could wash away the memories of their mother. I knew it didn’t work. I’d tried to wash away Durant so often, my skin had been red and sore from scrubbing.

When Nino finally emerged from the bathroom completely naked, hair still damp, I sat cross-legged on the bed waiting for him. My plan to talk to him went up in smoke when Nino prowled toward me, already growing hard as he bent over me and pushed me back. His lips crashed down on mine, harsher than expected, harsher than ever before, as his fingers slipped between my legs, pushing under my panties and starting to stroke me.