CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Damian twirled a smiling, laughing Lily out from his embrace before bringing her in close again. Her back tucked into his chest as he kissed the soft skin of her neck. She smelled like roses and sex.
And she was happy.
He couldn’t wait for this night to be over so he could take her back to the five-star presidential suite he’d booked for them. Their honeymoon wouldn’t be so much of a vacation, not a real one. But they did have a week of nothing but them and quiet love in a beautiful suite with champagne on ice and chocolate covered fruit just waiting to be eaten.
“You look terribly sexy tonight,” Lily said, pressing her backside into his groin.
If she kept that up, Damian made no excuses for them leaving early.
“Shouldn’t I be the one telling you that?”
“You already have. Several times. There are a lot of people here,” Lily said, turning in Damian’s arms.
“There are,” he agreed. “At least three-hundred.”
“I know maybe twenty.”
Damian shrugged, keeping their slow dance moving across the floor as the guests watched on. “I know maybe one-hundred.”
Lily’s laughter was like a balm to his dark soul. He’d long since decided that Lily was the light to his darkness. Maybe it was true that every person had a better half. Lily was surely his if he considered everything.
Damian caught Lily’s cheek in his palm and swept his fingers over her cheekbone. Her painted red lips and dark eyes demanded attention and praise. Lily didn’t need the makeup and gorgeous dress to make her perfect, but he loved seeing her all done up just the same.
“Goddamn, you’re beautiful tonight, sweetheart.”
Lily’s smile was anything but innocent. “Oh?”
“So much.”
“I spent all morning getting pampered.”
Damian smirked. “Did you?”
“Yes. I had my nails, makeup, and hair done. But before that, I went to the massage place and this very good-looking—”
He drove Lily’s smaller frame into his body hard, quieting whatever she was going to say instantly. Lily glanced up at him with wide eyes glittering. She damn well knew what she was doing teasing him like that.
“Playing with fire, Lily Rossi.”
Lily’s tongue peeked out to wet her lips. Damian held back from biting the spot just to teach her a lesson about teasing him. “Just getting you ready for the after party, Damian.”
“Isn’t this the after party?”
“Nope. The private after party.”
Ah.
Fuck.
Damian tried to ignore the way her suggestive words and demure tone had his cock twitching to life under his tux pants, but he couldn’t. Hell, if she wanted to play those games, he was up for that.
“You know what my biggest problem was today, Lily?”
Lily frowned. “What was wrong today?”
“I could barely pay attention to the priest at all.”
“Why?”
“Because I was too busy thinking about the last time I wore these pants. You know, when you were on your knees with my cock in your mouth and you practically sucked me—”
Lily squeaked the cutest sound before she covered his mouth with her hand. Even with the blush on her cheeks, he could plainly see them redden further. Damian roared with laughter, shaking them both. His loudness drew the attention of several guests close by, but they only seemed to chuckle at his amusement. They probably didn’t have the slightest clue what Damian was laughing about.
Lily glowered at him playfully before poking his chest. “Oh, my God, you are awful.”
“Hey, I did penance today. I’ve been sin free for several hours. I have to make up for lost time.”
“Damian!”
“What?”
Lily snickered. “Awful, I said.”
“You married me.”
“I did,” Lily murmured. “Thank you for being there at the end.”
Damian matched her smile with his own. “Thanks for walking down to meet me.”
“I really can’t believe how many people showed up,” Lily said.
Interweaving their fingers together, Damian glanced around the ballroom. It was bursting at the seams with guests. He’d been ignoring the people for the better part of the day. Sure, Damian did the respectful thing when he needed to by saying hello to the guests, thanking them for coming at the large dinner reception, and all that other nonsense, but he wasn’t going out of his way to spend time with people he didn’t know.
Frankly, they hadn’t come because they knew him, either. No, most of the people came because the Outfit’s boss was there and Terrance had made a big deal out of the wedding. Plus, Dino and Theo both had their own motives for inviting whoever they could to the wedding. But none of that mattered to Damian.
Nothing was more important to Damian than keeping his wife smiling and joyful on their wedding day.
Wife.
He was married.
“What is that all about?” Lily asked, pointing at Damian’s face.
“Hmm?”
“You went all glassy-eyed there for a second.”
“Did I?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Damian stopped their dance, drew Lily in close, and kissed her. She tasted just the same as she always did on his tongue—life, love, and sweetness on her lips. He took his time loving her mouth with his own, brushing his lips along the seam of hers over and over, and flicking his tongue out to taste her silky skin.
“You’re my wife.”
Lily’s smile was brilliant and bright. “I am.”
Before Damian could get Lily dancing again, the lightest tap on his shoulder interrupted them. Turning to see who had cut in on him and his new bride, Damian came face to face with Terrance Trentini.
“You two look lovely,” Terrance said.
Lily offered the man a smile that was nothing like the one she graced Damian with five seconds before. Damian had to give her the credit where it was due though, because she never once gave Terrance the slightest inclination that she disliked the man.
“Thank you,” Lily replied.
“May I cut in?” Terrance asked.
Damian shrugged. To refuse would be rude even if he hadn’t wanted to part with Lily just yet. “Sure.”
“Thank you,” Terrance said, taking Lily’s hand when she held it out. “I’ll be leaving soon as I’m not as young as I once was. Abriella, Alessa, and Joel are staying, but I just can’t keep up with you younger ones anymore.”
“Well, I’ll end your night off right with a dance,” Lily said.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Damian winked at Lily. “Chances are now that someone’s cut in on me, the people won’t stop, Lily.”
“We’ve done all the important things.”
They had. From cake cutting to tossing the garter and bouquet. Everything had gone off smoothly. Mostly, the couple had just been enjoying the last bit of their reception together. In fact, they’d barely spent any time apart. But the night still had hours and hours to go before it could be officially over and the couple could say goodbye.
“I’ll be back,” Damian told Lily.
He would be … eventually. Damian had things to do. His wedding didn’t stop business from being finished. Terrance, without even knowing it, had given Damian an opening. Damian planned on taking it. If he was lucky and quick, he’d get the job done and be back before anyone really noticed his absence for long.
“Will you?” Lily asked.
“Soon,” he promised. “Let your brothers dance with you after the boss has his turn.”
“Yes,” Terrance said. “You must dance with your brothers, Lily.”
Damian smirked. “But don’t get too tired smiling and dazzling the crowd, sweetheart.”
The soft sound of squeaky footsteps padding down the hallway outside of the office broke Damian from his daze. Italian leather always gave off a certain sound when it hit hardwood floors. No matter how quiet you tried to be, the shoes gave a man away every single time.
Not a second later, the office door opened, followed by the sounds of familiar grumbling. The decorative lights above turned on, illuminating the space in a warm yellow tone. Damian didn’t turn the large office chair around as Terrance Trentini closed his door.
“You may spin around,” Terrance said quietly.
Damian was surprised the man knew someone was in his office. He’d parked his car a couple of blocks away from the home, sneaked in the back under the old willow that was unprotected by security cameras, and got inside the house with little to no problems.
Terrance trusted Damian too much. Maybe that was the problem. In fact, he trusted him enough to give him the keypad passcode to shut the security system off and get inside without anyone knowing.
“I said turn around,” Terrance ordered, firmer the second time.
Damian spun the office chair slowly, facing his boss. A brief flicker of shock passed over Terrance’s features before the Outfit boss turned stone cold again.
“I should have known,” Terrance muttered.
“Probably,” Damian replied quietly.
Terrance waved at the chair. “I always push my chair in before leaving my office. Anyone who is smart knows better than to come inside here without my permission. I didn’t think it would be you in that chair, Damian.”
“Yes, well …”
“I wondered, though,” Terrance said softly.
Damian fiddled with the tip of the barrel on his gun. “Wondered what?”
“Ben’s unfortunate death seemed a little too suspicious for me. He was nearly cleared after being put into the coma. The way he died … something felt off. Was it?”
“Completely,” Damian admitted.
“Why?”
“I owed someone something.”
Terrance stared at Damian, but never once did he give the gun and silencer any attention. An understanding dawned on the older man’s features as he said, “Dino DeLuca.”
“Dino doesn’t have much to do with this,” Damian said.
“He might say that, but I can assure you it is far from the truth,” Terrance replied, still unbothered. “That man plays his part well. He makes everyone believe his loyalties are entirely wrapped up with the Outfit, but he lies as well as he breathes. He gets that from his father. Dino never forgave me for killing his parents.”
“Maybe so. I wouldn’t blame him if that were the truth. He was left to raise two younger siblings and he never even got the chance to have his own life because of it. Nonetheless, I am not here because he sent me or asked for it. And you gave me the perfect opportunity to get this finished when you admitted your grandchildren would remain at the wedding reception and you came home alone. Their parents always stay to keep an eye on them despite the fact they’re grown adults. Predictable. Which makes this a hell of a lot easier.”
Terrance’s jaw ticked. “Damian—”
“Why me?” Damian asked, interrupting Terrance before the man could say anything.
“I beg your pardon?”
Standing from the chair, Damian tapped his gun to the top of the desk. “What is it about me that you liked enough to begin inserting me into your position?”
Terrance sucked in a sharp breath. “My position?”
“Neither one of us are parrots here. Pay attention and listen. Wasn’t that what you always used to tell me?”
“When you were a boy I said that. You needed some kind of structure. Moving from place to place like you Rossi kids did wasn’t good for any of you. You can’t expect children to grow up into well-behaved adults when they have no routine and structure.”
“I wasn’t your child to raise,” Damian said.
“I didn’t raise you, I simply helped whenever you were around. Just the same as I did for Tommas and his sisters.”
True enough.
Damian chewed over his thoughts, wishing the hurricane inside his head would calm. “I thought you liked me because of the man I was, not because of what I could do for the Outfit.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The Commission, the calls from the men, the private consultations about business and the information you’ve shoveled on me over the years. Are you saying that was all innocent in nature? That you had no other motives for bringing me into your closer circles?”
Terrance raised a single brow. “Of course, I had other motives.”
“And I don’t want it!” Damian barked.
The boss barely flinched at Damian’s show of rage.
“I don’t want it,” Damian repeated quieter. “I like the place where I am currently at. I have no desire to move higher in the Outfit or be someone else’s puppet, Terrance. I never have. I don’t want to be the one controlling these greedy, spoiled bastards you call family.”
“Is that what you think I was doing?” Terrance asked.
“It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? Why else would you put me closer to your side if you didn’t mean for me to eventually match you, hmm?”
Terrance eyed Damian with a little more curiosity than before. “You’re wrong.”
Damian scoffed, disgusted. “I don’t think I am.”
“You believe I meant for you to be my understudy.”
“Yes,” Damian said.
“No intelligent man would give away his secret weapon, Damian. Not if he planned on using it without someone else trying to get a hold of it for his own purposes. Clearly I failed in trying to keep mine private if someone else has poisoned your thoughts against me.”
Damian wasn’t even listening. He didn’t care what Terrance had to say and the man’s time was quickly running out. Damian’s time was ticking down, too. He needed to get back to the reception and soon if he didn’t want anyone to notice his absence. The drive was a good twenty minutes from the Trentini place. There was no time for games.
“No one poisoned my thoughts,” Damian said. “But you were terribly smart about infecting them with what you wanted for me. You were doing it slowly over time so I didn’t catch on. You never said a thing about me having control or even suggested that I did, but other people knew it. Other people could see.”
“People like Dino,” Terrance said, nodding.
“More than him. I have calls all the time from your men that want things.”
“Because I’ve never hidden your closeness to me, Damian. I’ve always kept quiet about our understanding of your job in the Outfit but hiding our friendship was pointless. It makes sense for men to turn to you if they think it will get them closer to me.”
Damian shrugged. “Have your excuses. I don’t care.”
“They’re not excuses. They’re facts.”
“They’re lies,” Damian retorted. “Tell me, who do you think would make a good boss, Terrance?”
“I—”
“A name would suffice.”
Terrance’s gaze narrowed. “There are very few men left in high standing that would be appropriate for this position. I think we both know that.”
“Riley is still alive.”
Damian knew without a doubt that statement would hit Terrance right where it fucking hurt. Friendships like the one shared between Terrance and Riley didn’t end easily, but rather, tore apart all the seams of everything surrounding them. All of the things that they had shared and built together over the years during their comradery would be ripped to shreds. Like families, loyalties, and anything else that was left barely surviving in the mess.
“How long will he stay alive?” Terrance asked. “I think that’s the better question.”
“Longer than you.” Damian smiled, knowing it looked cruel. “And if Riley is also out of the pool, who is left?”
“Nobody worthy, as far as I’m concerned.”
“There are men waiting to come out of the woodwork. It’s too bad you’ve been too focused on me to see them.” Damian chuckled. “I’m sure it’ll be an interesting fight to the finish.”
Terrance frowned. “You truly believe that, don’t you?”
“That you were grooming me for your spot? Yes.”
“I never did that,” Terrance said. “It was never my intention to, either.”
“Lying will get you nowhere.”
Neither would telling the truth, but Damian didn’t think he had to mention that. The gun in his hand with a long silencer attached spoke more than he ever could about how their encounter would end.
Terrance slipped off his suit jacket and tossed it over the arm of a leather couch. He said nothing as he kicked off his shoes as well. Damian let the man have his final moments in peace.
“How much has Dino had his hands in?” Terrance asked, taking a seat on the couch. He undid the buttons on the sleeves of his dress shirt and rolled each up his arms. “With this whole mess, I mean. How much of it was him?”
“Practically all,” Damian said honestly.
“But?”
“I helped here and there.”
Terrance smiled. “Ah, the DeLuca girl.”
Damian smirked. “Rossi, now.”
“Yes, well, she’ll always be a DeLuca at heart. A ring doesn’t change a person’s blood, my boy.”
Damian tried not to react to Terrance’s innocent phrasing, but he barely managed to hold his growl back. Things like that had become all too common over the years. Before, it felt like Terrance’s way of caring. Now, he saw it as nothing more than Terrance making Damian think he gave a damn.
Maybe he did.
It didn’t matter.
“I did think you two were a good match,” Terrance said. “I still do. Why kill Ben?”
“You really have to ask that?”
“I think so.”
Damian lifted one shoulder, bored with the entire conversation. “He didn’t like me being as close to you as I was and he didn’t like where you planned for me to go. His vocal disapproval about the marriage arrangement to anyone and everyone who would listen was proof. Besides that, he could have proved dangerous for Lily at some point. I fixed those issues.”
Terrance stilled on the couch and glanced up at Damian through dark eyes. “Ben liked you very much.”
“No, he couldn’t find a way to manipulate me,” Damian said, laughing darkly. “Like I said, he couldn’t even keep his mouth shut about the marriage—”
“Because Dino didn’t give him a say in it,” Terrance interjected calmly. “Not once did Dino allow Ben to have any involvement or say in the deal between the DeLuca and Rossi families. Considering Ben was the head of the family, he should have been able to put in his opinion.”
Damian shook his head. “That’s not important.”
“It is but you’re not hearing me, Damian. It wasn’t you he disapproved of, it was the way Dino went about the entire thing. He was fine with the marriage but he would have liked to be able to be involved. Had you took the time to talk to Ben about the situation, you would have known that. My guess is you took Dino’s word for what it was and ran with it. You always were loyal to DeLuca in that way.”
Something painful and heavy squeezed around Damian’s heart, nearly pushing it up into his throat. A sick feeling balled in his stomach. Terrance was right about everything he said. Most of Ben’s disagreement and vocal displeasure had been about Dino’s side of things and not Damian’s. Ben had barely been included in any of the wedding planning or even for Lily’s side of things where family was concerned. It was almost as if Dino wanted the man to seem unimportant to the DeLuca family.
“It doesn’t matter,” Damian said.
“It does,” Terrance replied. “Because chances are, Dino used what he thought would get under your skin the most in order to have you do the work he wouldn’t.”
Damian barked out a laugh. “Like what? Look at all the things he’s done, Terrance. Look at the people he’s killed and the problems he’s started. What could I possibly do that he couldn’t have if he wanted to?”
“Killing me,” Terrance said.
The words came out softer than Damian had ever heard his boss speak before.
“You’re wrong,” Damian said, sure of it.
“I don’t think so. Dino always believed I did him and his siblings wrong when they were children. I know I did when I had their parents killed, but Joseph DeLuca didn’t give me a choice. I tried to make up for it over the years with Dino and Theo, but clearly my remorse never bled through to the man enough. Or maybe it did and his conscience just won’t let him do what yours is capable of.”
Damian ground his teeth so hard his molars ached. “And what is that?”
“Killing someone who cares for you.”
Fuck.
Damian cocked back the hammer on his gun. “Like I said, it isn’t important.”
“His lies are,” Terrance murmured, staring down the barrel of the gun. “You don’t have to, by the way.”
Kill him?
Yes, Damian absolutely did. Despite the fact Terrance’s statements made a hell of a lot of sense and Damian felt like a wrecking ball had just slammed into his body, the boss still needed to go. Terrance knew too much. Damian would never get away with all he’d done to the Outfit if he let the man live.
“We both know I do,” Damian said, never lowering the gun.
“No, my boy.” Terrance smiled as Damian’s finger wrapped around the trigger. “I meant to say you don’t have to apologize. I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes,” Terrance said. “Take this as your final lesson, Damian.”
“What is that?”
“Trust no man.”
Damian pulled the trigger and didn’t look away.
Damian slammed the bathroom door open, zoning in on the figure he’d been searching for in the crowd of people since he arrived back at his wedding reception. No one noticed him gone and no one noticed him return. Damian was smart in that way.
Dino, however, had a few things to answer for.
The man barely got his pants zipped up before Damian fisted Dino’s tux jacket from behind. He yanked him away from the urinal and slammed him into the closest wall which just happened to be the side of a stall. The stall shuddered from the impact as Dino cursed his surprise.
Dino’s eyes flew wide at the sight of Damian. No doubt, Damian’s rage was clear to see if the way his muscles clenched and trembled with the sensations passing through him. It was like someone had kicked him straight in the fucking gut; like he’d been used and manipulated when all Damian wanted to do was stay the fuck away from that kind of shit.
“Whoa!” Dino said, his hands flying wide.
Damian’s fist cracked into the stall right beside Dino’s head. “Shut your mouth.”
“Hey!” someone shouted from inside the stall.
“Get the fuck out,” Damian growled.
A man dressed in a sharp suit quickly scurried from the stall without even flushing the toilet and disappeared from the bathroom. Once the door closed, all of Damian’s attention turned on Dino again.
“All you had to do was tell me the fucking truth, Dino,” Damian said through gritted teeth.
Every breath he took ached. He’d trusted Dino. The man put him in a positon by using lies and bullshit where Damian had to make choices he wouldn’t have otherwise.
“What are you going on about?” Dino asked, still not fighting back.
Damian slammed Dino into the stall again. “Ben, Terrance … ring any fucking bells for you?”
Dino’s brow lifted. “Hey—”
“No, be quiet. Unless you’re going to give me something worth listening to, I don’t want to hear another goddamn thing coming out of your mouth, asshole. I did the final job tonight—I followed that through like I said I would. But it had nothing to do with you, right? That was supposed to be all for me. You’re such a liar, Dino. Christ, it’s no wonder your eyes are brown. You’re so full of shit it’s starting to show.”
Dino laughed hoarsely. “Me? Take a good look in the mirror.”
“You could have told me the truth,” Damian repeated, willing his anger to calm. He didn’t want to go back out on the floor to find Lily feeling like he was. She would know; his girl always knew. “You could have told me that this was for your parents and what happened way back when. You didn’t have to lie to me and manipulate my weaknesses for your benefit. I was loyal to you. I would have done what you needed regardless of the rest, but I didn’t have to be one of your pawns. Lily didn’t have to be one of your pawns.”
“Neither of you are,” Dino said, shrugging.
“Right. Even when you’re caught red-handed, you still can’t tell the truth.”
“She wasn’t a pawn and neither were you. Everything I said about Lily and what I wanted for her was the truth. And so what, Damian? Who cares if I worked a little bit of revenge into the plan, too? What does it really matter now?”
It mattered a lot.
A war was beginning.
“How long do you think this is going to last, Dino?” Damian asked. “How many more people are going to die because your parents did?”
“A lot,” Dino said, grinning. “But I know my brother and sister won’t be one of them. Remember what I told you when I first asked you to my place that day? Theo is smart as long as he keeps his heart out of the game. He’ll have all the control on the DeLuca side of things now. Keep an eye on him and see how far he goes. As for Lily?”
Damian’s jaw ticked. “She’s got me.”
“Exactly. She’s got you. We both know you’ll never let a thing happen to her. I got everything I wanted out of this. Your feelings don’t matter to me.”
Damian swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. “And what about you, Dino?”
“What about me?”
“Where are you planning on going?” Damian asked.
“Wherever in the hell I want to.” Dino brushed Damian’s hands off him and pushed away from the stall. “Smile, Damian. It’s your goddamn wedding day.”