Twisted Hearts (The Camorra Chronicles 5)

Remo considered me. “Savio’s used to women who do what he wants and who don’t talk back. If you act like them, he’ll treat you like them.”

I wouldn’t let anyone treat me like that, not even Savio Falcone. “I talked back, but I didn’t get through to him.”

Remo set the car in motion again. “I thought giving up wasn’t your style.”

I shrugged. “I’m done. I’ve tried for too long.”

We parked in front of my house.

I faced Remo fully. “Can you please cancel my engagement to Savio? I don’t want to marry him anymore, and I don’t think he really wants to marry me either.”

He became still. “You’re asking me to cancel your promise to my brother?”

I merely nodded. “Then he’ll be free to do as he pleases, and I can find someone who really wants to marry me.”

My head was pounding and when I opened my eyes, sharp pain slashed through my brain. I groaned, then rolled over, only to be met with a warm body.

Covering my eyes with my palm, I tried to move to the other side of the bed, only to touch another body. Blinking against the brightness, I sat up and checked my surroundings. I was in a bed with two girls. I slid down to the foot of the bed and stood, pressing a palm against my temple.

Slowly the events from last night filtered through the fog, cloaking my memories. “Fuck.”

I got dressed slowly, then headed downstairs. Passed out people were strewn about the house like a goddamn obstacle parkour. Diego was snoring on the sofa, only in boxers. Maybe he hadn’t seen Gemma last night.

That was probably the only good thing about the fucking shitshow that was my birthday. I made my way down the driveway to my car and froze. It was smeared with something brown. For a moment, I was sure it was shit, but as I got closer, I saw the remains of a chocolate cake on the hood. Someone, and that someone could only have been Toni, had rubbed the goddamn cake all over my car. I knew who had baked the cake though. A hint of guilt flared up unexpectedly.

I walked toward our mansion, which was probably for the best, considering I still felt slightly drunk.

It was already noon, so Gemma was supposed to come over in two hours. I needed to get my act together until then.

The entire family sat at the lunch table, having some kind of council of war from the look of it, even Fabiano and Leona were there with their daughter Aurora. She was crawling over the floor, trying to keep up with the rest of the kids, who were all older and more mobile.

The women of the family looked at me like I was a cockroach they wanted to squash, even Kiara shook her head with a disappointed look.

Remembering how I’d called Remo to pick up Gemma, I could only assume she had told him something and he’d recounted everything to Serafina like a fucking gossip.

I walked over to the table, surprised to see cake, my cake on there. “Aren’t you going to wait with the cake until Gemma and her family come over?”

“They aren’t coming over. Gemma asked me to nullify your engagement,” Remo said as if he was talking about the fucking weather.

I stared at him, feeling like I’d been sucker-punched.

Serafina got up to stop Nevio from trying to climb the bar. “You are the biggest idiot on the planet.”

Ignoring her, I walked around to Remo. “Don’t tell me you agreed to this nonsense.”

Remo pushed to his feet, looking pissed. “I told you to be sure you wanted to marry. I told you this wasn’t a fucking game. I told you that I wouldn’t tolerate you offending a loyal family again after what happened to the Carluccis. And what do you do? You not only fuck around, you do it in public.”

“I won’t give up Gemma, Remo. I don’t give a fuck what you say or decide. I’ll marry her. And don’t play the high card, you fucking kidnapped a bride and held her captive until she succumbed to your madness.”

Remo gripped my collar and jerked me against him, his eyes burning with rage. Everyone fell silent, and even the kids watched open-mouthed. Remo shook with the effort not to beat me to a pulp, or try at least. “Never mention it around the twins again, got it?” he said in a deadly voice. “You’re lucky I don’t want Greta to see me breaking your fucking jaw.”

My eyes slanted to his little girl, again in her favorite pink tutu, staring at us with huge terrified eyes. Nevio, on the other hand looked like he was getting a huge present. Massimo and Alessio watched in curiosity while Aurora kept crawling around.

“It won’t happen again,” I said quietly, my version of an apology. The only one I was capable of and Remo knew, because he was the same way. He released me and took a step back.