Lorenzo

The last few days had gone by in a blur as I'd taken my time torturing Fiori, my Underboss in Philly. It wasn't just about extracting information from him about Carlo's whereabouts, it was about his deception. The very first stab of betrayal that had led to this shitshow. I'd never quite thought of myself as having the maniac hunger to see someone bleed and cry out in pain, that had always been Alessio and Alex's thing, but with Fiori, I'd spent hours hearing him scream, gotten myself covered in his blood, yet nothing was enough to satisfy the blazing monster inside me.

It was laughable really that I'd spent years mastering my anger, my fucking emotions only to have them pour out of me like a volcano, burning me on the inside out.

I'd left his tongue for the last, only to cut it out when I had extracted every bit of information from the double-dealing bastard. Alessio had claimed his death long before we'd even captured him, so I had to satisfy myself by torturing him to make his last few days a living hell for now. Though it helped that Fiori's loose lips had gotten me closer to finally getting my hands around Carlo's throat, and for now, that was enough.

"Renzo." Luca knocked at the door to the restroom just as I finished washing up, my hair still dripping water on my face as I looked at my face in the mirror in front of me.

Exhaling, I reached for a towel and wiped my face, followed by my hands, and stepped out, brushing my hair away from my face with my hands. Luca was pacing the dimly lit hallway of the compound. I'd gotten out after Alessio had finally killed the bastard and Luca had called the clean-up crew.

"I trust his body had been disposed off?" I stopped a few paces away from Luca, who looked in desperate need of a shower, or sleep himself.

Luca nodded, "Alessio took off, and–" Luca scratched the back of his neck just as I raised my brow at him inquisitively, "you should probably turn your phone on. Leo's pissed."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, feeling nowhere in the headspace to talk to anyone, let alone my father who I knew wasn't just going to inquire about what had been happening. However, at the mention of my phone, I touched my pockets, only to find that I didn't even have it on me.

Fuck.

An immediate, stranger sensation of doom washed over me, almost like I'd missed something important. And that thought hadn't even settled in when my heart constricted in my chest, as my mind tingled with awareness of my fuck up. Andrea had been in a terrible mental state, and if she'd tried reaching out, only to find me unavailable–

"Luca, do you remember where I threw my phone?"

"Where it always is...?" He said doubtfully, and it hit me then.

I'd put it in the glovebox of my car out of habit, and since I hadn't left the compound the last few days, I hadn't gotten around to checking my phone. I'd been too busy satisfying the monster in me to think of anything else. I sighed, covering my face with my hands, feeling as much as the asshole I was.

"I'll be going back tonight. I've to check on Andrea anyway so I'll just see Dad." I hurried down the tiled hallway towards the elevator to get up to the car parking.

The compound was in the basement of my nightclub here in NYC, underneath the car parking, which provided us ample anonymity for our less than... savoury acts. It was an impenetrable fortress with very limited access and different elevators. I couldn't risk someone trying to get in here, especially not someone with intentions worse than Fiori's. My hands fisted at my sides at the very thought of the bastard, and I pressed the button for the elevator agitatedly.

"I'll come with." Luca mumbled from my side, and I nodded.

He probably wanted to get back to his wife, torture wasn't his forte and while he had been here the whole time, he'd stayed out of the action, choosing to watch from the one-sided glass window. Dealing with legal shit and keeping us out of prison was what he did best, and his rational take on things was something I appreciated a lot, but it was his friendship that I was grateful for in times like these. Especially when I felt distrustful of even my shadow, following behind my every move.

The elevator dinged as it came down, and Luca and I stepped inside, he entered the code after scanning his face and the elevator started moving up.

"I suppose we're now short two underbosses." He scoffed bitterly, exhaling, undoubtedly thinking about the clusterfuck this situation had become.

What had started as a feud with Irish scum now had Russians involved, and too much entanglement with them would alert the FBI who'd already been hanging around like vultures anyway, and there was only so much Nash could cover up for us. Regardless, my first priority was getting rid of Carlo and Cillian and annihilating those bastards.

Anton Orlov would have to wait for now. He had enough to keep him occupied after his brother's untimely death.

"I have someone in mind for Firori's position." I reassured Luca.

"Care to divulge that information?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Luca." I snickered, "He'll fly in soon--" Luca opened his mouth to protest, but I beat him to it, "but if you must know, it's Dante Bianchi."

Luca's eyes widened as realization hit him, "Romano's right-hand?"

I shrugged, "He's already proven his loyalty and usefeullness in getting rid of Romano. Besides, this is what I promised him when he first came to me."

"What's to say he won't turn out to be a snake like his half-brother?" Luca voiced out his concern just as the elevator stopped in the car parking and I begging walking out to get to my car, with Luca hot on my tail.

"Renzo?"

"I know how to keep him on a leash." I answered for him as I opened the car's door and slid behind the wheel waiting for Luca to sit before driving off to my penthouse building, where a helicopter was already waiting to fly us to the safe house.

"I hope you know I can't read minds, Renzo. Least of all yours!" Luca joked as he fastened his seatbelt and I pulled the car out of the parking, holding off the urge to check my phone.

I chuckled, "Why are you trying to guess everything? He has a wife he adores, and a child on the way. His resentment fuelled his betrayal of Romano. He won't risk his family getting harmed."

"And will you harm his family?"

I eyed Luca with narrowed eyes, "you know I won't. But without me even saying it, he knows they'll die if he so much as breathes wrong. My word will get him our men's obedience, but their allegiance, that's all on him. He'll have plenty of eyes on him, and little loyal men around him for a while."

"You have a point."

"I always do." I smirked, "and that's why, my friend, you ought to stick to documents and papers."

"Oh, fuck off." Luca flipped me off, and I rolled my eyes, grateful to feel a sense of normalcy in what felt like forever.

**

I had half expected Ma to jump out of the shadows of the manor and scold me for my 'thoughtlessness' as she'd said in the countless texts she'd sent me over the last week, but I was a little relieved to be greeted by silence. Luca had left my side as soon as we'd landed on the property and rushed to his wife. The quietude meant I could get to Andrea sooner so I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't grateful for it. But something else had been occupying my mind since I first checked my phone. Andrea had only called me once, which was followed by a text with an iincomplete string of words, and I'd stared at it the whole ride back here to understand what she meant but kept coming up short. I slid my phone out of my pocket, and opened my chat with her.

Andrea: Lorenzo.... I ne

I couldn't tell if it was disappointment that she hadn't tried to reach me more than this one time, or called Luca directly or if it was unmistakable guilt at my failure to be there for her when she clearly was struggling and needed me. For days now, I'd been feeling like I'd been writing across paper with ashes only to have it scatter with one fickle blow as my thoughts changed courses and ran in another direction. Ignoring the pang in heart, I pocketeted my phone and quickened my pace across the empty corridors to get to Andrea.

Once in front of the door to our room, I exhaled with my hand on the door knob and slowly pushed the door open so as to not wake her in case she was sleeping. I closed the door behind me and reached for the lights since the room was ladden with darkness. My eyes automatically went to the bed in search of her, a mix of worry and distress crawling up my spine at her absence in the bed. It also didn't help that Andrea never slept in a room this dark. I looked around the room, going for the balcony first.

Andrea was sitting at the floor of the tiny balcony overlooking the gardens, her back against the glass doors. I rushed towards her, stopping in my tracks when my gaze landed on the bottle of Jameson surrounding her. She'd found drinks, and indulged in quite a lot if the nearly empty bottle was anything to go by. Although I did wonder why she didn't just go to the bed and chose to sleep out here in the cold. I got down on one knee in front of her so I could get a better look at her. Her soft curls hid her face from view, and I leaned forward to brush her hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. She stirred a little, burrowing into my touch and my heart stilled for a moment as I found it impossible to stop tracing the contours of her face with my gaze, transfixed by the ethereal beauty in front of me. I forced myself to stop staring when she shivered as a gusts of cold wind began blowing, and wrapped my arms behind her knees followed by her shoulders as I picked her up in my arms bridal style. Andrea snuggled against my chest, her hand hanging limp as I walked us inside, leaving the door open for now.

Reaching the bed, I gently laid her down before moving the duvet from underneath her to cover her. I'd been adjusting the pillows under her head when she grabbed my forearm, startling me as I jerked my head in her direction, my brows furrowing to find her eyes closed. Her face that had looked so peaceful just minutes ago now looked the exact opposite with her eyes squeezed shut and a frown marring her face. She whimpered and it was so low that if I wasn't standing where I was I would've missed it and I could've sworn something prickled my heart and it wasn't pleasant at all. Apparently, this hex extended to her pain reverbrating inside the very chambers of my heart. Fucking fantastic.

"Andrea." I whispered, trying to wake her up from her nightmare as she had restricted my movement by caging my forearm, "mia car–"

"Lorenzo!" Andrea mumbled by name, her tiny voice laced with agony and if that wasn't poison enough, tears escaped her eyes, wetting her cheeks, infecting my bloodstream with an ache that must rival her as I swallowed.

"Andrea,"

I began to unwrap her fingers from my arm so I could wake her up from her nightmare, but then she stilled, her breathing evened out and I stopped myself. I finished freeing myself from her, and wiped the remanants of her tears with my fingers before sitting on the bed with my back against the headboard, my legs hanging off. I'd adjusted the pillow behind myself after I'd made sure that Andrea was comfortable. Unable to help myself, I reached for her hand, interlacing her fingers with mine, not at all bothered by the novel touch. Bringing her hand up to my lips, I brushed it against my mouth, closing my eyes for a brief moment, taking in the huge mess I'd made by pushing her away earlier when I'd had plenty of chances to accept her feelings for me.

My thoughts were a tangled mess and I couldn't make out my exact feelings for her yet, but I did know one thing that whatever it was that she had done, her pain ran in my blood, splintering me from the inside out. And that was all the acceptance I was allowing myself right now. She didn't need my head to be a fucking mess with thoughts I couldn't even sort, Andrea needed me to help her weather this storm, everything else would have to come after.

**

I hadn't slept a wink. Not even for five minutes. I'd spent the night checking on Riccardo's sleeping form, counting Andrea's eyelashes, keeping a track of her breathing, unbale to look away from her face as she slept. At some point, she had tightened her fingers around my hand, and leaned towards me, the warmth from her body, annihilating my coldness. Andrea fluttered her eyes open and she blindly reached around her, clutching the sheets between her fingers before her eyes widened as the washed out chocolates met my icy gaze. She shot up in bed, nearly hitting my chin before she turned around looking at my face.

Andrea squeezed her eyes shut like she was in pain, and it hit me that she must be hungover as she wasn't much of a regular drinker. She just drank when she was trying to outrun something, and in all the time I'd known her, the biggest monster chasing her was grief.

"You must be hangover." I turned towards the bedside table, and picked up the two pills I'd set aside for her earlier, and offered them to her.

Andrea took them from me silently, chasing them down with a glass of water I'd passed to her. She'd barely taken the medicine but I couldn't tell if she had gained her composure since her eyes still weren't focused, least of all on me.

"Andrea." I nudged her side cautiously, trying to control the my tumultuous heartbeat. Had I made a miscalculation when I'd concluded she needed space as Ma had kept scolding me about or was it about me missing the call?

She finally looked at me, a little more focused this time, "Are you going to leave again?"

"You know I'll have to." I reached for her hand again, but this time she pulled back, smiling sitffly.

"Okay."

Andrea turned to get up but I couldn't stop myself from reaching forward and wrapping my fingers around her wrist, stopping her movement. She looked at me again, and the inquisitiveness I was expecting in her gaze was missing. Hell, everything was empty. It was like looking into a deep abyss.

"Is that all you're going to say?" I pushed, hoping for God knew what, but something to get that vacant look off her face, but she only shrugged, a robotic half smile on her face and used my flabbergastation to slip from my grip.

"Mia cara–," I said behind her but she had already left me sitting on the bed and rushed towards the restroom.

Groaning, I covered my face with my hands, wondering if I should've been grateful at her still entertaining my pitiful ass or worried at her apparent change in personality. Despite everything, Andrea had always fought against me since the beginning, rebelling as much as she could, but this weird submission laced with disappointment and heartbreak was new to me, and I didn't know how the fuck was I supposed to navigate this minefield. Realizing, that I wouldn't get any answers from her today, I ignored the protests of my heart and decided against pushing her today, and waiting to observe the situation more closely and not just from the numerous texts Ma had sent me.

**

"Are you sure Dante is a good choice?" Dad steepled his fingers as he sat behind the chair, his gaze moving between Alessio, and I. "We need reliable men right now, and Agosto's consigliere is hardly the safe choice."

"He's proven himself," I answered, eyeing Alessio, who had been abnormally quiet throughout this impromptu, albeit informal meeting, from the corner of my eye.

"He is a rat, and those are slimy little fuckers. They always have a price." The tick in his jaw betrayed his otherwise calm expression, and I found myself sighing.

"He has a wife and a kid he needs to protect. He certainly can't return to Napoli, and he can't hide all his life. He needs a sanctuary, and it will serve as an excellent leash for him."

Dad hadn't questioned my decisions regarding the business for years now, so I wasn't used to him scrutinising my decisions this closely. It was true that he had stepped back, but he was still the Capo in the eyes of many so he had always been kept informed. This was different, and I wasn't sure I was a fan of it, but I also wasn't particularly against this, still I kept my spiralling thoughts to myself, considering I was already hiding damning secrets from the rest of my family for Andrea's safety.

Finally, he nodded, still appearing a little skeptical, "It'll be harder for the men to accept him, but they'll do well to remember Fiori when thinking of going against you, so I suppose all should be good on that front."

"I don't trust that bastard." Alessio finally spoke, his eyes blazing with barely suppressed rage. I turned to him just as Dad levelled him with a stare.

"Neither do I. Like I said, he won't do anything to harm his family."

"And how do you know that, Renzo?" Alessio clapped back, his eyes narrowing at me, making me wonder if he was implying something. "I don't think it's a time for you to be playing empire when fucking Orlov is probably planning another attack on us."

"I'm not playing at anything." I pinched the bridge of my nose, getting myself in control, "do you reckon we leave Philly without an Underboss?"

He ran his hands through his hair, exhaling in frustration.

"Listen, Alessio. I know you want revenge–"

"Revenge?" Alessio interrupted me just as a menacing grin took over his features. "I want to annihilate the fucker. Take something he values most and watch him wither."

"Being impulsive with this won't get us anywhere. He's already fled to Russia."

"There's ways to smoke out a bastard," he challenged, his eyes narrowing at me, and I could tell he'd already concocted a suicidal mission.

I just hoped he didn't plan on executing it until I'd figured out things with Andrea, who had been the same for the last three days. Unfeeling. Stoic. Empty.

"Enough boys." Dad finally spoke from where he was sitting. "Alessio, Renzo is right we can't go in without a plan, and Renzo I need eyes on Dante at all times. Alessio isn't wrong to assume that he is a loose cannon. Now the both of you, cut it out. Your Ma will not appreciate this escalating further."

"Does Ma appreciate living under the safe roof as the root of all this shitshow?" Alessio raised his brow, eyeing me with distrust in his gaze and I stiffened, unsure of how much he knew.

"What are you implying?" I was trying my damnest to keep my voice level, and not start a fight with Alessio.

"We both know whose fault all this is, Renzo. Do you want me to spell it out?"

"Alessio." I warned, and he rolled his eyes, standing up from his seat.

"You know what, let's just ask her. I'm sure she's busy throwing a pity party for herself." He turned and left the room, and I turned to Dad, who was just as stumped as I was, except I was also pissed off.

Alessio's impulsiveness or anger didn't come as a surprise to me, he was always the type to act first, think later, but the accusations he'd been throwing at Andrea because he was in pain were something that I couldn't tolerate.

"Renzo, he is also struggling. He lost his twin." Dad spoke, now standing much closer to me as he patted my shoulder.

I inhaled, trying to calm myself, and keep my thoughts to myself, "I need to stop him from saying something hurtful to Andrea. She won't be able to take it."

Dad nodded, and I rushed out of the room, my feet taking me to Andrea's usual spot in the garden.

I wasn't surprised to find, Alessio standing over Andrea, and while I couldn't make out exactly what he was saying from this distance, I knew enough to say that none of it was pleasant.

"Alessio!" I said while running towards them, and inserting myself between Andrea and Alessio.

I levelled him with my gaze, stopping him from looking at Andrea. "You need to stop. We are all grieving."

"Sure." He scoffed, "but will you deny that it's all her fault?" He pointed at Andrea, and I turned my neck to look at Andrea who visibly flinched under the weight of his words.

I took a step toward Andrea, standing closer to her while I stared Alessio down, "Don't push my buttons, Alessio."

"What?!" Alessio ran a hand through his hair, his eyes reddening with his tears and anger, "He wanted her! Alessandro and Tori were likely just collateral damage."

"You need to stop talking."

"Why?" Alessio walked towards me, erasing the distance I'd established between him and Andrea, and he narrowed his eyes at Andrea, "afraid the truth will hurt her fragile heart? Or are so blind in love that you can't tell that she may be the very person stabbing you in the back."

"Enough." I fisted my hands at my side, fighting the urge to punch him in the face, "She is my wife, and you will not insult her. Am I understood?"

"Keep telling her she's faultless in this clusterfuck. That'll help." Alessio raised his hands in mock surrender and started walking away.

"Ales!" I called after him, not surprised to have no reaction from him as he just walked back inside the mansion, passing Dad who had probably witnessed the whole thing. I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing.

I'd only began turning towards Andrea, when she got up and dashed inside, wiping underneath her eyes harshly. Fucking hell. Alessio's words had done more damage than he had intended, and that was something I was going to talk to him about when he wasn't acting like a wounded animal. I walked after Andrea, not stopping to discuss with Dad since checking on her was more important. My heart hammered against my chest as I followed her up to our room.

I closed the door behind myself as I followed Andrea on the balcony. She was gripping the railing so tight her fingers had gone white. I swallowed, weighing my words as I stopped just one step behind her.

"Mia cara..." I whispered, all other words escaping me, but before I could even collect my thoughts to say something, Andrea whipped around, and took out the gun from my waistband, took my hand in hers and pushed the barrel against her forehead.

"End it." She whispered, tears streaming down her face, both of her hands wrapped around mine, pushing the gun into her skin. She sniffled, and the pain in my heart nearly had me falling to my knees. Her hair stuck to her face as she blinked the tears away. I tried pulling my hand away, but she only tightened her hold, "No. I can't do this with you. I–"

"I won't." I wasn't sure if she had managed to take the safety off, so instead of fighting her for it, I met her gaze, and the pain in them would have paralyzed me had the fear of her current malidiction not keeping me upright. "Alessio didn't mean it. It's not your fault. Noone thinks that it is. Trust me, mia cara."

"It hurts." She whispered, a fresh onslaught of tears pooling in her eyes. Her face was blotched red with the force of her pain, and I wanted to do everything in my power to take her pain, and make it mine.

"I know..." I took a step closer to her, my feet touching hers, and I tried to pry the gun away from her hands,

"No." She stiffened, her blazing gaze holding mine hostage, "I can't. End it, Lorenzo! It's not like you love me or anything so you won't miss anything."

"How the fuck are you so sure about that?" I felt my own anger spike, and like all the other times, I couldn't suppress it this time.

"What?"

"That I don't love you."

Andrea's eyes widened before she regained her composure and tugged at the gun again, "You cannot confuse me with your words again. I–"

"I love you, goddamnit!" The words escaped me before I could even control or comprehend what I was saying.

***

Ooof! I wish I could say I'm sorry for that cliffhanger ....

But what do you think? This was a long chapter, and I really loved writing the last bit (my heart!!!)

What do you think will happen next? 

Thank you so much for reading, please vote, comment and share if you enjoyed. Also, I'm super sorry for the late update but as most of you know, I'm a senior in college/uni so that means I don't have a lot of free time to write but dw I will finish Quintessential Dynasty. 

As always if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me!