one
Valentina
Thump, thump, thump. My heart drums a frantic rhythm against my ribs as I near the bar. The low thrum of the bass vibrates through the floor. If someone had said that I’d meethimtonight, I’d have scoffed. Seeinghimat my club is a dream. I’ll savor every moment.
I’m the new second in command to my brother, a consigliere of the Camorra; a role I took over when my father ended up behind bars due to some evidence no one could find the source of.
I didn’t care; I celebrated.
I had two reasons for doing so. Firstly, my fiancé, who I was supposed to marry as a deal between him and my father, also ended up in jail. I’ve promised myself I will make sure he stays there, no matter the price. Secondly, I ended the engagement the moment the sentences were read out.
My brother isn’t a fool. Nico De Angelo may look as young as he is, but he has a sharp mind.
He knew exactly what he was doing by inviting the Commission onto our territory, support or no support from our family. He didn’t expect what I had up my sleeve, but he used every tool he had. Bringing them here is his way of proving he isn’t afraid of the truth, that he can run this family at twenty-six, and maybe gain a few allies in the process.
For weeks, I’ve done everything my brother asked, and exceeded every expectation. I need to prove myself, even if he already trusts my abilities.
But this isn’t just about him. Some in the family accept my new role; others look at me like I’ve grown two heads. What matters is tonight. Tonight, the Commission meets. Only members know where the meeting is, and only a few even know the Commission exists. I knew long before I became my brother’s second-in-command. As a child, I found the secret passage leading to my father’s office while playing hide-and-seek with my sister. I never told anyone. That passage was where I first understood the world I was born into; the night I watched my father stand cold and silent as his enforcer killed a man. I was twelve, too stunned to scream, staring as crimson spread across marble and wondering who my father truly was.
Two years later, when I learned what it meant to be a woman in this world, that hidden space became my refuge, and then my weapon. I hid there often, listening, gathering secrets, learning everything I was never meant to know. Now, that knowledge is mine to wield, and I’ll use it to help my brother rebuild the Camorra and claim the place at his side that I’ve earned.
Tonight, success is mine to celebrate. Seeinghimhere in the club I manage is all the sign I need.
It’s strange how I anticipated meeting him the moment my brother told me he was going into business with the Cosa Nostra. Well, I anticipated being introduced to him as a daughter of the notorious don of Camorra and current consigliere for mybrother. This is more interesting; I can be whoever I want. I can make my dream come true. A dream I’ve had since I was just fourteen.
It started slow until, like any drug, it became my obsession. It started with me sneaking into an MMA fight just before Nico was sent away to school in Europe. That was the night I fell head over heels for a man I didn’t even know. A man I shouldn’t have had any interest in because everything about the situation was wrong. He was older, a beast in a cage. He walked as if he had the world at his feet, with all the crowd cheering him on, calling him Menace. Nico looked fascinated, while I had tuned out the world and focused only on the man everyone cheered.
In a heartbeat, his gaze swept the crowd, locking with mine just for a second, and the world tilted. My stomach lurched, a swarm of butterflies threatening to escape. His dark eyes shone with excitement. I felt like he was looking at me, like the excitement in those eyes was directed at me. The bright lights of the ring illuminated a lifetime: our wedding, our future. The roar of the crowd, the sharp sting of adrenaline. The metallic tang of blood filled the air as he kicked the other man.
I was still dreaming when cheers erupted, the scent of sweat thick. Then, a blonde woman, her legs long and tanned, entered, and he lifted her, kissing her as the crowd’s frenzy peaked. My eyes landed on a massive diamond glinting on her finger. My heart shattered in that instant, the door of my dream slammed shut, along with the realization that I was just another person in the crowd.
Through the next few years, I became obsessed with Menace. I have a secret pedestal for him. A box, where all the things I gather about him are kept.
He is a man who looks like sin, dressed in a tailored black suit molded to his body like it’s stitched onto him. I stare as the fabric pulls over his shoulders, imagining that my hands are thereason for the flex there. A man sitting hunched over the bar ofmyclub. The sharp lines of his jaw make my blood heat and my pulse stumble. His thick, dark hair is perfectly styled, and my fingers ache to slide through it. His head is slightly tilted to the side, his dark eyes narrowed, still dangerous, as they follow the amber liquid in his glass when he swirls it around. His jaw ticks before his lips part, and the tip of his tongue barely touches his lower lip.
I shake my head. Enough of staring at the man. It’s time to take some action. I smile as I approach with only one thing on my mind.
I will have Menace for myself, if only for tonight.
two
Gabriel
I step out of the car, the cool night air brushing my skin. My eyes lock onto the weathered sign: Purgatory Fighting Club. The faded red letters scream against the dim light. A wave of nostalgia washes over me; it’s been over a decade since I last stood here. I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was one of the coldest days of the year. I was running high on adrenaline and was ambitious. The day I won a match I had been preparing for a long time. It was the day I mether;it was the day I started to believe that anything was possible, even a love like my parents talked about. But this place is also a reminder that all of it was bullshit. That everything was crushed and taken away from me.
I’m stronger than wallowing in my past and what-ifs.
I shake my head and cautiously walk inside.
The night has just started, and today’s Commission meeting is being held here in Camorra’s fighting club. Nico ensured that this business was kept separate from all their other ventures, remaining untouched by any of Camorra’s issues. I didn’t havemuch choice in coming back here, but since my don is a little busy with a specific journalist he found snooping in his office, and the situation escalated when he convinced her to marry him, I was sent to the meeting in his place. When the meeting is called, it must be attended. Some of the members may oppose my presence; however, they have little choice.
The Commission consists of five leaders, one of them being Salvatore Catalano. Tonight is supposed to be a quick meeting, hence Salvatore sending me. There are concerns about whether Julio De Angelo could talk and if his son, Nico, is capable of taking over his position. The speculation is high, however; we are here tonight so we can judge with our own eyes.
I inhale the cocktail of scents: leather, disinfectant, and old sweat soaked into the walls. I close the door behind me, and I’m met with a stack of muscles towering over me.
“You must be Savastano. I’m Max. Please leave your weapon here with Mack. Take the next right and follow the stairs toward the meeting room.”
I nod in understanding. I take my gun and place it with another giant of a man. Dimmed light and rows of heavy punchbags line my path to the stairs as I follow his instructions, even if I don’t need them.
