Vanni
I’m watching them, all of them, knowing that those who hadn’t seen Piper before this weekend, they’re all wondering how I got myself a girl like her, but it’s simple, really. I didn’t cast no magic spell, I didn’t force her to sleep with me, I was just in the right place, at the right time. I tell people I found her, but she really found me. And she has no idea that I know who she is. Where she came from. The family she’s connected to. I know all that shit, I don’t get involved with people I know nothing about, least of all a girl I let share my bed; a girl who’s about to become my biker queen. So I know, who she really is. Why she needs me. And if that day comes, if it happens, if it calls for me to be the man she needs me to be, I’ll do it in a fucking heartbeat. Because I love her. And no fucker’s gonna hurt my girl. She isn’t going back there, and if they want a fight, I’m ready. If they want her, they can come find her, I’ll be waiting. I’ll be fucking waiting…
Piper
He wants me to be beautiful today. He wants to make every man out there wish they were him, that’s what he told me, as he fucked me, not half an hour ago. Before he went outside to wait for me. And as I stand in front of the mirror and look at my reflection, I smile. My world was messed-up before, and it’s never going to change, not if I marry Vanni Colletti. And I’m going to marry him, because I fell in love with him, eventually. When I stopped being scared. When I realized I had no other choice but to be with him.
“You look like the beautiful bride Vanni don’t deserve.”
I turn around as Della Hawkins comes back into the room. She’s been helping me get ready this afternoon, and although she hasn’t said it out loud, I’m not sure she likes me all that much. But, in every other way, she’s a straight talker, and I like those kind of people. I grew up surrounded by whispered secrets and closed doors I was never allowed behind; kept away from the shit that I now know was going on. Because, once I finally found out who my family really were, what I’d been born into, I understood, why doors were closed and secrets whispered; why my father and my various uncles would sometimes just disappear for hours or days, sometimes weeks. Why we’d sometimes have to move away, for a while, hide out in one of the many houses I soon learned were owned by my family. Straight-talking? No. I heard none of that. All me and my cousins got were the lies and the cover stories. We knew what we needed to know, and that was never very much. We knew the kind of world we lived in, but we were protected from the worst of it. Until I overheard something I wasn’t supposed to. That’s when everything changed…
“He deserves me, Della.”
She walks over to me and fixes the string of daisies in my hair so they sit perfectly amongst the newly-styled waves that hang down my back. “You taming the monster, huh?”
“He isn’t a monster.”
“He has a reputation, darlin’, and I know you ain’t naïve enough to ignore that. You know who Vanni Colletti is. You know what he’s done. They’re all bad men, sweetheart. Believe me, I’ve been with Bullet a long time, I seen enough shit to know these brothers don’t do good. And Vanni, he’s the worst.”
“What are you trying to do here, Della?”
Because if she thinks I’m in any way new to being around bad men, she is wrong. So fucking wrong.
“Just making you aware of what you’re getting yourself into, sugar. ‘Cause you ain’t just marrying into the club, you’re marrying the club. This is all Vanni Colletti knows, the Death Knights and their fucked up ways. And you seem way too pretty for that; too good for him.”
“You don’t know who I am.”
“No.” She cups my cheek and gives me a smile, one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I don’t. Does he?”
“He knows I love him.”
“Then let’s hope that’s enough, huh?” She steps back from me and crosses her arms against her chest as she scans the length of my body. “He choose that dress for you?”
I turn back around and look in the mirror. This dress isn’t your average wedding dress. It’s a short, white, ass-skimming bandeau dress. Slutty, my Aunt Gina would’ve called it. She’d say I looked like a cheap tart, someone who should be plying their trade out on the streets of Jersey. But here, in this world, it’s the perfect wedding dress.
“No, he didn’t. He hasn’t even seen it yet.” I guess we actually did keep some tradition going, then. “But he’ll like it.”
“Oh, they’ll all like it, honey. You got those beautiful legs of yours on show, your perfect tits hoisted to heaven… Vanni ain’t gonna be the only brother with a hard-on when you walk down that makeshift aisle.”
She’s making me sound like the cheapest of club girls, and it isn’t like that. Maybe I wasn’t this person when I first met Vanni, maybe he did, to some extent, turn me into who I am now, but I’m not stupid. I’m not naïve. And Vanni, he wouldn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do, but women like Della, they’re always going to find that hard to believe.
“I’d better get out there.” I take a deep breath and turn back around. “I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
Della walks back over to me, once more reaching out to cup my cheek, that vague smile back on her face. “You really are one pretty, pretty girl. We can only hope you stay that way.”
I frown as she turns and leaves the room, and I feel a weird and unsettling sensation kick up in the pit of my stomach, but I try and batter that down by remembering how much Vanni loves me. He told me, he loves me, that he would never let anyone hurt me. I’m marrying a man who would kill for me, and the reality of that is that, one day, he might have to…
Logan
Shit! I haven’t seen a woman look so freakin’ incredible in a long time, not since… No, Jesus! What the fuck? I haven’t thought about that crap in years, since I promised myself that was over. Done. Since I put myself through hell to make sure I forgot.
“I hope she knows what she’s just done,” Bullet says, leaning back in his chair as he swallows down a long draft of beer. “She’s club queen now, and that comes with responsibilities.”
“Huh?” I’m too distracted by Vanni, the way his hand on her ass is sending out that message to every other brother here tonight – look by all means, but touch, and you’ll regret it.
“Piper. She’s just married the big guy, she don’t get to just sit back and do nothing now. She gotta look after him.”
“And does that include letting him take what the fuck he wants without asking first?”
“Jesus, Logan, are you still on that? Since when did you turn into Mr. Nice Guy?”
“That was wrong, Bullet. What he did to her.”
“Couldn’ta bothered her that much. She still married him.” He jerks his beer bottle in the direction of Vanni and Piper. They’re now making out like freakin’ teenagers, not giving a crap who’s watching, and I don’t know why I’m so fucking bothered by someone else’s shit, I just am. It bothers me, what I saw yesterday. “And you don’t know her, man. She might like that kinda messed-up stuff. Just ‘cause she’s all pretty and that, don’t mean she don’t like to get all fucked up sometimes.”
I lean forward and take a drink of whiskey straight from the bottle, feeling it warm my gut in an instant, but it just fuels my confusion. This weekend’s been a mind-fuck, so far, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain. And that don’t sit right with me.
“Anyway, I thought you weren’t ever gonna let a woman get to you again?”
I look at Bullet. “Don’t fucking go there, Bullet. I mean it.”
He finishes his beer and throws the empty bottle to the ground, reaching into the cooler by his side for a fresh one. “You’ve been acting real weird ever since we got here, y’know that?”
“I hate this shit, that’s why.”
“You need to get laid.”
“I plan on it.” I look back over at Piper, my stomach turning at the way she’s looking at Vanni. Like the devoted wife she’s become. The property she’ll forever be.
“Choose carefully, Logan.”
I look at Bullet again, downing another mouthful of whiskey, desperate for the alcohol hit to take hold, I need that, man, do I. “What d’you think I’m gonna do, exactly?”
“She don’t need saving, brother.”
I think she does. But it’s not my job to do that. I’m no knight in shining armor, I’m a Death Knight now. The man I used to be, he doesn’t exist anymore, he’s gone. I left him in the deserts and the war-torn towns and villages he was sent to because he had to change. And I came back the man I am now – someone cold, emotionless; alone. Always alone. Someone who’s immune to all the shit that almost destroyed him before. So I can’t go there again, I won’t go there again, that was a promise I made to myself. “I know.”
“Where you going?”
“I need a minute, is all.”
“Want me to find you a willing…?”
“Jesus Christ, what are you? My pimp?”
“Just trying to help.” Bullet shrugs and rips the top off his fresh bottle of beer. “I can get Della on the case. I mean, you’re one good-looking son-of-a-bitch, surely there’s gotta be at least one girl here who’s happy to suck your dick and fuck that miserable face away.”
“Nice.”
“Just trying to help, brother.”
I walk away, bringing the whiskey with me, swigging it as I head toward the quieter part of the grounds, the edge of the gardens surrounding the house. I can still see everything that’s going on, I just don’t have to be a part of it. But as I reach a small terraced area I realize I’m not the only one who’s seeking a little time out. And when I see who it is, I know I should just turn and walk away, but I don’t do that. I should, but I don’t.
“Hey. Congratulations and all.”
She looks up at me, and she smiles. “Thanks.” Then she drops her gaze, her eyes falling onto the thin gold wedding band on her left ring finger.
“He’s a lucky man.”
She doesn’t say anything to that, she doesn’t even look up, and I think again about walking away, but again I don’t. Instead I sit down beside her on the wooden bench, two huge patio heaters on either side providing some warmth on a surprisingly cool Nevada evening.
“I’m Logan, by the way.”
She raises her head and she looks at me, and again I notice how blue her eyes are. She reminds me a little of… no, she doesn’t. I’m just letting the whiskey and this shitty weekend fuck with my head. “Which chapter you part of?”
“Burbank.”
“You always been a biker?”
I shake my head, and it’s my turn to drop my gaze because that is one conversation I don’t want to start. “Not always… Listen, Piper, can I ask you something?”
I’m crossing a line here, I’m doing so many things wrong, just by being here, alone, with Vanni’s bride of less than three hours. But I can’t say nothing, I can’t do it. And I’m not a good man, I’m not, not anymore, but this – I can’t let this go.
“Vanni he – does he treat you OK?”
I look up, and her eyes meet mine, her expression confused and slightly guarded. “It’s none of your business how Vanni treats me.”
“Does he hurt you?”
“What the hell has that got to do with you?”
“I saw you, last night. Round the back of the house. I saw what he did to you…”
She stares at me, her expression one of anger now, she’s pissed. But I don’t give a shit. “You were fucking spying on us?”
“We heard you, Piper. We heard you protesting, saw you fighting him off, saw him sticking his dick inside you when you were telling him no…”
“Jesus Christ! I wanted that, OK?”
“What? No, you didn’t…”
“I wanted it. It was a game. I wanted him, to fuck me, and you had no business watching us like that.”
“From what I can gather, sweetheart, your new husband don’t always mind an audience.”
“Yeah. I don’t have to listen to this.”
She stands up and makes to leave, but I reach out and grab her wrist, pulling her back down beside me.
“Do you have any idea what Vanni would do to you if he saw you touch me like that? If he even knew you were here with me, alone?”
“Probably stamp on my balls and put a bullet through the back of my knee, it’s his trademark.”
“You’re joking about it?”
“I’m not joking about anything, darlin’. You’re the one making light of something as vile as rape.”
“And there’s nothing worse than a hypocritical outlaw biker.”
“I don’t treat my women like shit, Piper. I don’t take without permission.”
“And neither does Vanni. I told you, what you saw, that was nothing more than a sick and twisted role play game, and I regret it. All right? I shouldn’t have done it, not when…”
She trails off and her eyes drop back down to her clasped hands.
“Not when what, Piper?”
Her head shoots back up and her eyes are clouded with anger now. I can’t see nothing else in there. “What are you doing here? Huh? Why are you so bothered about how Vanni treats me?”
“I don’t know, OK? I don’t know why I fucking care, I haven’t cared about shit for a long time.”
“Then get up and walk away. Like I said, it’s none of your business.”
“You always been a biker whore?”
The slap across my face is hard, but not surprising, considering. I should’ve expected it.
“Fuck you!”
“You really like the rough stuff, huh?”
She stands up and shakes her head, and all I can do is stare at her tits spilling out of that curve-hugging wedding dress that I suspect Vanni’s already hitched high above her beautiful thighs. “He’d kill you, if he knew what you were saying to me.”
“I know.”
“So why are you taking that risk?”
“Because I’m intrigued as to why you like to play those kinda games. What goes through your head, huh? When he’s doing that to you?”
“Like I said, he’d kill you.”
“You love him? I mean, really love him?”
She doesn’t answer me, and I wasn’t expecting her to, and she’s right. Vanni would kill me without hesitation if he’d heard the way I’d just spoken to his old lady. He’d shoot me down and throw me to his rabid dogs, but she isn’t gonna tell him shit. I know she isn’t. I could see it in her eyes, right there. She knows she wouldn’t remain unpunished, if he found out she’d been alone with me, even if it was only for these few, brief minutes. He wouldn’t kill her, but he’d hurt her, and she knows that. I also know that she’s no stranger to the bad in life. There was a darkness in her eyes, a fleeting second when I saw it, when she silently gave it away – she’s no stranger to darkness. I just don’t know where that darkness lived; who inflicted it on her.
“Where’d you come from, huh? Why’d you need Vanni so bad?”
“It doesn’t matter where I came from.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“And what makes you think I need Vanni for anything?”
“Why else would you marry that crazy asshole?”
“Ever heard of love, Logan?”
I scoff quietly, ‘cause she’s got no fucking idea… “You fell in love with a man who can kill without hesitation.”
“He’s never killed without good reason.”
The way she said that – I don’t know. There’s something going on. Something deeper. An underlying reason why she’s really here. “Is that what you need, huh? A man who can kill without hesitation?”
“You need to stop this, now.”
“Where’d you come from, Piper?”
She turns on her stripper heels and I watch as her beautiful ass walks away from me, back to her husband, and I sit back on the bench, close my eyes and let out a long, frustrated sigh. Man, that was fucking weird, on so many levels. And that girl, there’s more to her than just this lost woman that Vanni found and brought home to make his wife. She’s trying to make it sound that simple, but it isn’t. I know it isn’t. And I wonder how much Vanni actually knows about her. He’s not a stupid man, despite all his messed-up ways he’s one of the most astute, intelligent men I’ve ever met, which only makes him twice as dangerous. And I don’t think he’d just move this woman – this stranger – into his home without knowing who she really is. Where she came from. So he knows. But whether she knows that…
He knows where she came from.
He knows who she is.
And I’m gonna find out, too.
Vanni
“Where you been, baby girl?”
I came outta the house, after making a few phone calls – my wedding day don’t mean I get time off, business carries on, I don’t have time to sit back and forget about it – and she wasn’t there.
“I was about to come looking for you.” I slide a hand round onto her ass and I squeeze it, pushing her against me. “So, where you been?”
“I was looking at tattoo designs.”
“Oh yeah? You want some more ink, huh?” I lightly run my fingers over the tattoo she had done when she first came here. One of my cousin’s finest designs, a half sleeve of black and red roses, blood-drenched thorns, and my name wound around the stem. She’s forever branded as mine now. I’m there, under her skin, a permanent mark she sees every day. Because she needs to know, that she’s mine, now.
“I’m thinking about it.”
I let my hand drop, slide it slowly up under her dress, and she isn’t wearing panties, I told her not to. I like it, when she wears no panties. “You see Dragon? When you were over in his trailer?”
She nods, because she knows I’ll check, I’ll ask him if she was there. And it’s not that I don’t trust her. I do. It’s every other fucker I don’t trust.
“You happy, baby?”
She’s wet, and she moans quietly as I finger her gently, I don’t care that we’re out here, that we’re not somewhere more private, they can all fucking watch.
“You know I am,” she breathes, and that breath hitches slightly as my thumb presses against her clit.
“I need to hear you say the words, darlin’.”
“I’m happy,” she murmurs, her fingers sliding into my hair as I kiss her; as I continue to finger-fuck her to heaven ‘til she comes in my arms, her quiet sighs sinking into me, her mouth still touching mine.
“OK, baby girl, that’s good. That’s really good.”
I pull my fingers out of her, wiping them on my jeans, and I look at her. My beautiful bride, her pretty face all flushed, her perfect lips slightly parted and I watch as she carefully repositions her dress back down over her thighs. I’m gonna rip that dress from her shit-hot body in a little while and take her nine ways ‘til freakin’ Sunday, and we aren’t gonna come up for air ‘til I’m done; ‘til she can’t take no more. But I know my girl, and she can take a lot.
From mafia princess to outlaw biker queen, that’s who Piper Sloane really is. Piper Maria Cabbetto was born and brought up within one of the biggest, most important gangland families on the East Coast. She’s using her mother’s maiden name, y’see. She got rid of the Cabbetto surname the second she ran, ‘cause she had to run. I made it my job to find out, to know why she was in my bar that night. And I found out that Piper, she was a princess all right. A real daddy’s girl. She could do no wrong in Francesco ‘Frankie’ Cabbetto’s eyes. But then, one day, she overheard something his little girl was never supposed to hear. Up until then she’d been protected from the worst of what Frankie and his “family” got up to; the bad shit they carried out, she’d been protected, from the worst of it, although, she isn’t a stupid girl. I doubt she thought her world was all rainbows and unicorns. But she heard some real bad shit, that day. And that meant daddy didn’t want his princess protected no more, he wanted her watched; kept an eye on. And that job was given to Marco ‘Mad Dog’ Vierra, Frankie’s lieutenant. A man thirty years Piper’s senior. A man who was assigned to make sure Piper kept her mouth shut, stayed silent, said nothing. A man who’s crazier than me, yeah, I know all about the Cabbetto family. And I know that, whatever methods Vierra used to make sure Piper didn’t go running to the cops, they saw her run to me, instead. But they’re looking for her, I know that, too. Francesco has his soldiers on the hunt, for his princess. And this time, they’ll kill her.
But she found me. His princess is now my queen. And nobody’s gonna hurt her now.
Nobody is gonna fucking hurt her…
Piper
We won’t be hanging around this party for much longer. I can see it in his eyes, my new husband, he wants to play, away from the crowd. Tonight he wants privacy. Vanni Colletti. The man I can never leave, not now. Not that I want to, I love him, in my own fucked up way. And the fact that asshole – that stranger, I can’t even remember his name, but he doesn’t know me. He might think he knows Vanni, but he knows nothing about me.
“OK, baby girl. I gotta go finish up some business, but then it’s just you and me. All right?”
I nod, and he frowns slightly, his hand against my cheek bringing my face forward, and he kisses me.
“Everything OK here, Piper?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“You sure?”
I nod again, but he doesn’t move, his hand remains on my cheek, his eyes boring into mine.
“You wouldn’t lie to me now, baby? Would you?”
That question; the way he asks it, it sends a cold shiver up my spine, but I just smile and slide my fingers between his. It’s time to bring out the doe-eyes, play the subservient new wife. “I’m just a little tired.”
“Been a long day, huh?” He smiles, pressing his hand just a touch harder against my cheek. “Go inside and get ready for me, OK? ‘Cause when I get upstairs I want you naked, and I want you waiting, for me. We need some alone time, right?”
He kisses me, his hand dropping to my ass, giving it a firm smack before he backs away, flipping a cigarette into his mouth as he walks off toward his office.
I head back to the house. My home. My prison? And I don’t even know why these thoughts are invading my head, it’s my wedding day. The happiest day of my life, right? It’s not the wedding I ever expected I’d have. It’s not the wedding my mom and me used to sit and plan when I was just a little girl. That was all big white dresses and a dozen bridesmaids; a huge Italian supper and dancing well into the night as hundreds of guests enjoyed my family’s extravagance. I never, for one minute, ever thought I’d get married in an ass-skimming skin-tight dress to an outlaw biker. A dangerous man. But I know all about dangerous men. And everything’s different now. All those plans I once had, they disappeared the day I started running.
I walk around the back of the house, onto the terrace that leads into the kitchen, and even here there are people everywhere, kicking back, smoking and drinking and I lean back against the wall and light up a cigarette. Vanni won’t want to sleep tonight. He’ll want to fuck, and I know he’s taken something, I could see it in his eyes. He never touches the really hard stuff, the heroin and the crystal meth, he leaves that well alone. He likes to stay in control, so that shit, it’s nothing more than a commodity. It’s his business. But a few lines of coke, some uppers, the odd joint, he’s fine with that. We all are. So tonight, he’ll be awake for a long time yet. He may never sleep, it’s not unusual for him to stay awake for days at a time. Like I said, he likes to be in control.
I take a drag on my cigarette and smile as Vulture, Vanni’s Road Captain, leans back against the wall beside me. Men he knows and trusts, Vanni’s fine with them talking to me, because he knows they know what’ll happen if they put one foot out of line. Vanni doesn’t do second chances. But those he’s less familiar with, that’s a problem.
“Vanni still in his office?” I ask as Vulture offers me another cigarette, which I decline.
“Almost done.” He looks at me, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You need something, huh?”
“What you got?”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small plastic bag containing a couple of tiny, oval-shaped pills. “These should see you OK.”
I take them from him, balling the bag up into my fist. “Thanks. I just need a little hit, something to keep me awake.”
“They’ll do the job.” He takes a drag on his cigarette and stares out ahead of him. “You’re just what Vanni needed, y’know?”
“I am?”
Vulture turns to look at me again, the corner of his mouth twisting up into a slight smirk. “Yeah. I mean, he’s never really been one for relationships, he never wanted the distraction some old ladies turn into. But you don’t seem that type.”
“Am I taking that as a compliment?” I smile, and he laughs, stubbing his cigarette out on the wall behind him.
“It was meant as one. But don’t tell him I said that, all right? I know he don’t mind some of us talking to you, but I still don’t want to risk him kicking my ass.”
I laugh too, and I watch as Vulture strides over to a group of Vanni’s club brothers, and I turn my head and look inside. It’s quiet in there. Vanni doesn’t mind an open house on weekends like this, but I’m glad people seem to have remained outside. I could actually do with a little bit of peace, just until Vanni gets back.
I head into the kitchen, pull the door to behind me, and I pour myself a shot of whiskey that I swallow down in one mouthful, along with one of those pills Vulture just gave me.
“You really aren’t a good girl, huh?”
I swing around, and he’s there behind me, that asshole stranger who doesn’t even take a slap across the face as a hint that I’d rather he left me alone. For his own safety, as well as mine. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I shouldn’t be talking to you, but I’m OK to be in here.” He leans back against the counter and crosses his arms, shooting me a way too cocky smirk.
“You shouldn’t be here, with me.”
“I just said that.”
“So… leave. Vanni’ll be back soon.”
“You just taken something there?”
He jerks his head in the direction of the packet lying on the counter top. “Nothing for you to be concerned about.”
“Need something to keep you awake, huh? So you and your new man can fuck the night away?”
“Are you still here?”
“Does he like you high? The sex better that way, huh?”
I’m fucking angry now, he has no right to speak to me like this, and I have no idea why he’s doing it. But I want him to stop. “Can you go now? Please?”
He pulls himself away from the counter and lets his arms drop as he shrugs. “You enjoy your wedding night, y’hear? Maybe see you around.”
He leaves, and I lean back against the fridge and close my eyes, breathing in deep as I feel my heart start to race, and I’m not sure whether that’s because of what’s just happened there, or whether it’s the effects of whatever shit I’ve just taken. Either way, I should get upstairs. Get ready for Vanni.
I’m a married woman now.
I’m Mrs. Vanni Colletti.
A whole new role. A brand new life. Because I need to keep the old one very much at bay…