Sinner's Lullaby: A Dark Mafia Romance (Mazzeo Mafia Book 2) Read online

  I just watch.

  Drink my coffee.

  And wonder how my life got to be this bitter and lonely.

  I hear motion in the hallway and check the time. It’s eight on the dot. Today’s a guard change day.

  Which means the new guard should be knocking on my door to check in on me in three, two, one…

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Sighing, I leave my spot by the window and head to the door. I don’t bother checking the little peephole. I just swing it open and find myself face to face with another surly recruit.

  He can’t be more than a few years older than me. A fresh crop of acne covers his cheeks and jaw.

  “Hi,” I greet, nursing my cup of coffee between both hands.

  “I’m Matteo,” he says brusquely.

  He’s clearly inexperienced. Something about his shifting posture screams “newbie.” I catch his eyes flitting over my body, and it’s only then that I realize I haven’t bothered changing or putting on a robe.

  I’m wearing a thin black slip. One that leaves little to the imagination.

  “I’m Charlotte,” I say, forcing him to look me in the eye.

  “I’ll be checking in on you every—”

  “I know the drill,” I interrupt. “You want some coffee?”

  He eyes me hesitantly. “No,” he says finally. “Grazie.”

  I nod politely and shut the door on him.

  The spell of the quiet morning is broken. The terror of the long, empty day awaits.

  I try to stay busy. I take inventory of the kitchen. Cous-cous, rice and a few vegetables that are on the verge of going bad.

  When that’s done, I go back into the bedroom and change into bike shorts and a sports bra.

  I get a couple of exercise videos going and I do a two-hour workout that leaves me feeling exhausted. Which is exactly what I’m going for.

  I clean the apartment.

  I have another cup of coffee.

  I work out again.

  Then I put a movie on and fall asleep on the couch as the sun sets over the city, exhaustion and lethargy blending together.

  But no matter what I do, the bitter taste on my tongue never leaves.

  When I wake up, it’s still late evening and my stomach roils.

  I consider eating something. All I’ve had today is coffee, and yet it’s not hunger I feel. It’s just… emptiness. Depression, probably.

  Then—a knock on the door.

  I frown and check the time. Matteo is supposed to look in on me every hour on the hour. But it’s only quarter ‘til eight.

  I pace over and open the door to find Matteo standing there with a pizza.

  My brain is foggy with loneliness and for a moment, I actually think it’s a thoughtful gesture. A gift of sorts.

  “Did you order a pizza?” he asks in a thick accent.

  Oh. Weird.

  “Uh—”

  I’m about to tell him I didn’t, but then I notice the delivery person standing right behind him.

  Big brown eyes. Curly blonde hair. Killer curves underneath the shapeless delivery t-shirt’s she’s got on. She even has on a baseball cap.

  It’s Vanessa.

  I hide the surprise on my face as I glance back at Matteo.

  “Yeah,” I reply, grabbing the pizza from him. “I’m starving.”

  “Um, excuse me?” Vanessa says, popping up from behind me. “Hate to be intrusive, but can I use the bathroom before I head off? I’m dying here.”

  Matteo stares at her with raised eyebrows. “There’s a public restroom around the corner,” he tells her.

  She bats her eyelids at him. I just stand back and watch. Waiting.

  “Public restrooms never have feminine sanitary products,” she says without skipping a beat. “And I’m having a little emergency here. So if you don’t mind, I need to—”

  “Okay, okay,” he says quickly, clearly uncomfortable with this conversation. “Jesus. I don’t need fucking details. Miss Dunn? You okay with this?”

  I blink stupidly. I didn’t expect him to consult with me at all.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, of course, sure,” I reply, trying not to look too excited. “I have stuff she can borrow. Come on in.”

  She slips through at once. The door closes on Matteo. I turn to Vanessa, ready to hug her.

  “Hold up,” she says immediately, making me freeze. “There’s every possibility we’re being watched. You need to pretend like you don’t know me.”

  “Uh… okay?”

  “Take me to your bedroom,” Vanessa instructs me. “We don’t want anyone getting suspicious.”

  “Just through there,” I point out for her. “Also: how the fuck are you here at all? How did you even find out where I was? Did you go to the compound?”

  “Slow down,” Vanessa calls breezily over her shoulder. She heads into the bathroom and gestures for me to follow her in there. “There’s probably no cameras in here.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask. “The apartment doesn’t have surveillance.”

  Vanessa shakes her head at me in dismay. “Sometimes, you can be so naïve.”

  She shuts the bathroom door and turns to me.

  I frown. “Because locking ourselves in the bathroom together is not suspicious at all?”

  Vanessa shrugs nonchalantly. “It won’t matter soon. Now, to answer your questions: I didn’t have to go to the compound looking for you,” she continues. “Because Adriano told me where you were. And before you ask, no, he doesn’t know I’m here right now.”

  “Adriano?” I say incredulously. “I didn’t even realize you guys knew each other.”

  “He caught my notice at the compound when I was visiting you,” she shrugs. “And we met again when I came to the hospital to see you. We’ve kept in touch since then.”

  “Wait,” I interrupt, smelling a rat. “Are you sleeping with him?”

  Vanessa rolls her eyes, but it looks like she’s trying too hard to appear casual.

  “Of course not. He’s just a helpful contact to have. And staying in contact with him means I know what’s going on with you.”

  I sigh in frustration and sit down on the closed seat of the commode.

  “Yeah, my life’s a real shitshow,” I say. “Did Adriano fill you in on that?”

  “Partly,” she replies. “He told me you were… outed.”

  “That’s a nice way of putting it. And this is my punishment,” I say, gesturing to the apartment. “Trapped in here for God knows how long.”

  “Have you spoken to Lucio or Evie?”

  “Not a word. I haven’t seen either of them in six weeks. I have no idea what’s going on. No idea how Evie’s doing,” I tell her. “He’s punishing me.”

  “Well, as punishments go, it’s not bad.”

  “Excuse me?” I demand.

  “Hey now, don’t bite my head off. I’m just saying—at least he didn’t kill you. He didn’t hurt you at all. He set you up in a really nice little apartment in a really nice neighborhood. That has to mean something.”

  “It means that he likes to play mind games,” I snap. “He’s not doing this to be nice, Vanessa.”

  “I’m just saying… maybe he still cares about you?”

  I shake my head, fighting back angry tears. “No. Not anymore. Not after what I did.”

  Vanessa puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Buck up, babe. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Vanessa replies, with a conspiratorial smile. “It’s me. I’m the light at the end of the tunnel.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask.

  Her smile gets wider and her eyes flash brightly. She’s clearly enjoying herself.

  “It means I’m breaking you out of this joint.”

  Lucio

  An Hour Earlier—Lucio’s Office

  My eyes twitch towards the new monitors set up next to my desk. The feed is on and it’s live. I can see movement, but I don’t want to look any more than I have to.

  Even though it’s very fucking hard not to check obsessively.

  I stare down at the list of names in front of me. How long have I been looking at this same damn sheet of paper?

  Too fucking long. My mind is a chaotic wreck these days. For six weeks, I’ve barely been able to concentrate long enough to read a single sentence.

  With a growl, I wrench my attention back down to the file in my hand.

  There are twenty-four names on the page. All men who have pledged their loyalty to the Polish.

  In other words, they’re dead men walking.

  Because I’m coming for them. For all of them.

  I just need to get my head on straight before I do.

  “Papa?”

  I look up just as Evie slinks into my office.

  She’s wearing shorts and a t-shirt that’s too big for her. Much too big for her. She’s clutching Paulie in one hand. Since Charlotte left, she’s become even more attached to that thing. She screams like she’s dying if anyone tries to separate the two of them for even a moment.

  “Good morning, tesoro,” I say, pushing my chair back so she can sit on my lap.

  I make sure to turn off the live feed so she can’t see the monitors. The only downside of that is that now I can’t see them either.

  “Where’s Enzo?”

  “Outside,” she says. “He told me you’d get mad if I came in and disturbed you.”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “I told him!” she chirrups, smiling at me.

  So many things have changed in the last six weeks. The house feels haunted by Charlotte’s absence. Every room is emptier without her in it.

  Evie’s started having n
ightmares almost every night. Sometimes, she misses school because she throws screaming fits and refuses to leave the compound.

  “What are you doing today?” I ask. “And where’s Becca?”

  “I’m hiding from her,” Evie tells me.

  “Evie…”

  “I don’t like Becca.”

  I sigh.

  The new nanny had come highly recommended. She’s in her thirties. Pretty, accomplished, and eager to please.

  Plus, she has the credentials to back it up.

  The problem is that she’s not Charlotte. And Evie’s all too aware of that.

  So am I.

  “Becca’s great,” I lie.

  Evie shakes her head at once. “I want Charlotte.”

  I grit my teeth.

  I’ve tried my best to be as patient with my daughter as I can, but when she starts talking about Charlotte, I want to fucking blow up.

  “We’re not going over this again.”

  “Becca doesn’t make yummy food like Charlotte,” Evie complains. “She always trying to make me eat green things.”

  I snort. “Well, green food is good for you.”

  “Charlotte used to make it taste yummy. Becca doesn’t.”

  “Everyone has different talents,” I tell her.

  Evie sighs. One little hand curls around my neck, and her bottom lip drops.

  “Go on,” I tell her, gently popping her off my lap. “Go find Becca.”

  “I don’t want to,” my daughter insists. “I’d rather stay with Enzo.”

  “Enzo’s not your nanny.”

  “I’m too grown up for a nanny,” Evie tells me primly.

  I raise my eyebrows. “You weren’t too grown up for Charlotte,” I point out.

  “Charlotte is my friend,” she informs me.

  My eyes twitch towards the darkened monitors again. It’s instinct at this point. Like a desperate addict fiending for his fix.

  “Evie,” I say, my tone turning stern, “I have work to do—”

  “You always say that!” Evie cries, snatching Paulie out of my reach and retreating back around my desk. “You never play with me anymore.”

  “That’s not true—”

  “It is true!” she yells.

  Before I can answer, she’s running out of the room and vanishing around the corner.

  Groaning, I lean back in my chair just as Enzo pops his head in the door.

  “Sorry, boss,” he says. “She insisted on seeing you.”

  “I know,” I grimace. “It’s okay. She just needs…”

  I’m about to say that she needs Charlotte, but I can’t bring myself to admit that out loud. Not when I know Enzo’s thinking the same thing.

  “Someone,” I settle on saying. “She needs someone.”

  Enzo nods. “And time,” he suggests. “This will pass.”

  “I’m not sure time will do it,” I reply. “How’s Becca dealing with things?”

  “As far as I can see, she’s trying her best,” Enzo answers diplomatically. “She tries to engage with Evie as much as she can. But…”

  “Kid’s not biting?”

  “She’s a tough nut,” Enzo says. “Headstrong.”

  I laugh. Wonder where she gets that from?

  I dismiss Enzo with a nod of my head and he disappears down the corridor.

  The instant he’s gone, I turn on the monitor. The feed pops up on the screen again. I have a bird’s-eye-view of most of the apartment. I flick through the different angles.

  Bedroom.

  Kitchen.

  Living room.

  The only place that’s not under surveillance is the bathroom. I was tempted to put a camera in there as well, but I decided not to be an asshole about it.

  Charlotte’s still on the sofa. Same place she’s been for the past several hours.

  She fell asleep there with a movie playing after feverishly scrubbing every corner of the apartment.

  Her legs are kind of entwined together and her hands are thrown carelessly over her chest. I can’t quite see her face, but I can see the subtle rise and fall of her breathing.

  It makes me sick to my stomach.

  Six weeks later, her betrayal is still hard to swallow.

  Not just because of what she did. But because of how I failed to see it.

  It wasn’t that there weren’t signs. Looking back on it, there were plenty of giveaways.

  I’d just turned a blind eye to them. I’d chosen to ignore, when I should have attacked.

  A harsh blare interrupts my thoughts. I slam my hand down onto the table.

  “Goddammit!”

  Three piercing blips and then it goes silent.

  The new security system is driving me insane. It’s supposed to be state-of-the-art, and apparently, that mostly means that it’s sensitive as fuck.

  If anyone comes within a few feet of the gate, the whole compound is tipped off with ear-splitting alarms.

  I had to pay off a poor old lady with ten grand in cash last week when she wandered a little too close. The alarm went off and I’d stormed out there with half a dozen armed men and jacked her up against the fence to interrogate her about who she was working for.

  That was an embarrassment.

  Tonight, the system is back on its bullshit again.

  At least I know it’s not a threat.

  It’s because I’d stupidly agreed to let my cousin Orlando have his bachelor party here.

  He asked me a few weeks ago, and I knew that turning him down would mean dealing with all my aunts and uncles.

  I’d rather take an incessant alarm than my family’s poking and prodding any day.

  But now, I’m regretting the decision.

  I’m so irritated by the whole fucking situation that I don’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps until the knock sounds on my door.

  “Come in.”

  “Yo,” Adriano greets, walking in with a huge grin plastered across his face.

  “What the fuck are you so happy about?” I demand.

  Adriano stops short and raises his eyebrows. “That depends. What the fuck are you so crabby about?” he asks before sprawling into the chair in front of my desk.

  I glare at him. “My family. The new security system. This fucking party tonight on my property. Take your pick.”

  “Dude, what’s wrong with having a party?” he asks. “If you ask me, you’re in desperate need of one.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “I’m serious,” he insists, throwing his leg up on the armrest. “You need to let loose, brother. Let off some steam.”

  “I need to destroy the Polish,” I retort. “That’s how I plan on letting off some steam.”

  “Yeah, yeah, and we’ll get around to it when the time is right,” Adriano insists. “Just not tonight. Anyway, they’ve been very quiet lately.”

  “Too quiet,” I agree. “It’s been six weeks since the attack on the compound and those fuckers have gone underground.”

  “Maybe you scared them off.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “How likely do you think that is?” I ask sarcastically.

  “You did singlehandedly fend most of them off the day of the attack,” Adriano points out. “Makes sense that they’re even more afraid of the big bad wolf.”

  “Regardless,” I say, “that only means they’ll be more prepared the next time.”

  Adriano straightens up and leans in against my desk for a moment. “Lucio, I get it. You want to take down those motherfuckers. I do, too. But you can’t obsess about this shit every minute of every day. It’s gonna consume you.”

  “I need to protect Evie.”

  “You did protect Evie. She’s alive today precisely because you protected her,” he emphasizes. “And that’s what you’ll continue to do in the future. But you need to give yourself a break, too.”

  I roll my eyes. “Is this your pitch for the party tonight?”

  “Absolutely. You have to join,” he tells me.

  “I don’t have to fucking do anything.”

  “Jesus,” Adriano mutters, the smile dropping from his face. “You’d really rather stay up here and stare at that monitor all day?”

  I tense for a moment, realizing I never turned off the feed when Adriano walked in. The camera isn’t angled at him, but he clearly knows what it’s surveilling.

  Perhaps I’m not as subtle as I thought.

  “I’m working on the list of names Stefano managed to secure.”

  “Riiight,” Adriano drawls. “Are you forgetting who you’re talking to? It’s me, your closest friend.”