Devastation: La Famiglia #2 Read online

  Devastation

  La Famiglia #2

  AJ Alexander

  Copyright © 2020 by AJ Alexander. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  Cover Design: PopKitty Designs

  dev·as·ta·tion

  /ˌdevəˈstāSH(ə)n/

  noun

  1. great destruction or damage.

  2. severe and overwhelming shock or grief.

  Being the next head of La Famiglia strikes fear in everyone around me - except Penelope Star.

  She's worked her way beneath my hard-as-nails exterior and now, one look from her sends my carefully constructed walls crumbling to the ground. If we're not careful, our secret will be my undoing.

  When she’s taken, I learn the true meaning of the word devastation. I will cleanse the city of sin one by one to defend La Famiglia, but to protect her ... I’ll burn it all to ash.

  Translations

  Bratva - Russian Mafia

  La Famiglia - The Family

  Capofamiglia - Head of the Family

  Capo Bastone - Second in Command

  Tesoro - Treasure

  Zefir - A Russian Pastry

  Ya zadavat'sya voprosom chto ona na vkus kak? - I wonder what she tastes like?

  Ya sobirayus' trakhnut' yeye. - I’m going to fuck her.

  Derzhat' yeye - Hold her down

  Tempo di bruciare - Time to burn

  Contents

  1. Penelope

  2. Alessandro

  3. Penelope

  4. Alessandro

  5. Penelope

  6. Alessandro

  7. Penelope

  8. Alessandro

  9. Penelope

  10. Alessandro

  11. Penelope

  12. Alessandro

  13. Penelope

  14. Alessandro

  15. Penelope

  16. Alessandro

  17. Penelope

  18. Alessandro

  19. Alessandro

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Penelope

  While Frankie is off on an adventure with the love of her life, I’m here trying to figure out what I did to be stuck in my current situation. I went to college, graduated, and then went home to spend time with my family, mainly my brother Eli, but something was missing.

  At first, I thought it was me missing my independence. Graduating and coming home to live off my parents wasn’t in my original life plan. So, I decided to get a job teaching art classes at the youth center in town. That did not go over well, I only had two students the two weeks I was there.

  With my adventure at teaching being a bust, I decided to do the usual college student thing and go backpacking in Europe or some other exotic location. However, I could only afford a camping permit in the mountains of California near San Diego. I didn’t take much, the essentials and my art supplies, hoping to find some inspiration. I found nothing but a better understanding of why the world needs Starbucks.

  So here I am, knocking on my best friend’s door hoping that her offer for a studio space still stands. I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but the thought of sharing my art with the world is terrifying.

  “Can I help you?” an older woman answers the door.

  I put on my best smile and respond, “Hello, is Frankie here by any chance? I’m her best friend Penny from college.”

  The woman stares at me for a moment, probably trying to figure out why I didn’t just call first, before stepping out of the doorway and motioning me inside. “Thank you so much. I would have called her, but I wanted my visit to be a surprise,” I say to her with a shy smile.

  “Even if you did call, you wouldn’t have gotten her.” The sound of Alex’s voice brings my attention over to the stairs. The star of all my fantasies, Alessandro Giordano comes striding down. I can’t take my eyes off him, scanning his body from head to toe. Dressed to the nines, Alex is in a pair of black suit pants and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. The outfit is topped off with a crimson red tie.

  “Doesn’t she get service at her secret hideout,” I snark at him, my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Every time I attempt to speak to him, I always insert my foot. Others smile and ignore me, but not Alex.

  “Or something like that.” Alex stops at the bottom of the stairs, turning toward the maid. “I’ll take it from here, Ms. Star is no threat to us.”

  I raise my eyebrow, “Excuse me, Alex? I never pegged you as a pretentious asshole.” I pull my bottom lip between my teeth. Not the best thing to say when I came for a visit.

  “Maybe, but you unwittingly walked into a mess. Follow me.” He turns to the right, heading toward the back out of the house, not bothering to wait for me. I give the maid a polite smile before scurrying after him.

  “You could have at least waited for me to catch up. This house is a maze, I could’ve gotten lost.” I glance at the paintings on the walls as we head down the hall.

  Oil paintings and family photos cover the walls, but I stop in front of a painting of a woman I’ve never seen before. She has long strawberry blonde hair and emerald green eyes, very similar to Alex’s. She is wearing a long white flowing dress, I assume to be a wedding gown, and next to her is a miniature version of Alex.

  “Who’s this?” I ask, waiting for Alex to respond as I continue staring at the picture.

  “No one you need to concern yourself with. Have a seat, we can chat in here.” I tear my eyes away from the picture and notice Alex has stopped in front of an open door. I shake my head and enter the room, sitting on the nearby sofa.

  “What a beautiful library,” I say barely above a whisper, but somehow Alex hears me.

  “Thank you. There’s something about being surrounded by books that calms me,” Alex responds with a gentle smile.

  “I feel at home when surrounded by books, I imagine myself somewhere else. Aren’t books the best escape from reality.” I smile to myself before I notice Alex staring. “Sorry, I always let my words get away from me.”

  “I know,” Alex stops at the wet bar beside the sofa before continuing, “Would you like a drink?” He pours himself a healthy serving of the amber colored liquor on the bar before bringing it to his lips.

  I’m mesmerized by the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallows, “No, thank you.” He smirks as he takes a seat in the large wing-back chair across from me.

  “What can I do for you?” He takes another sip of his drink. “If you’d known what was happening with Frankie, you would have been here sooner.”

  “I don’t want anything. Can’t I just want to surprise my friend?” I fidget in my seat under his stare as his words register, “Wait, is Frankie alright? What about Marcus, he was with her when she left Reno?”

  I rapid fire questions at Alex, hoping for an answer to at least one. Alex stalks in my direction before placing his finger on my lips, “There is nothing for you to worry about, just family business.”

  “I’m well aware of what that term means, but I need to know if she is alright.”

  He stands back up to his full height, “Frankie is fine. I’ll ask again, what do you want?”

  I scoff at his accusation, “I need to find a purpose with my life again, who better to ask than my best friend.”

  “Fair enough, my father and Frankie should be back in a few days. I’m sure she can help you when she gets home.” Alex heads for the open door, “You’re welcome to stay at the manor, I’ll have Lucia make up
a room for you near Frankie’s.”

  “Am I being dismissed?” I argue, hoping to get more information about Frankie.

  He turns back toward me with a look that freezes me into place, “If there isn’t anything else, you can wait here until your room is ready.” He turns on his heels and heads out the door, leaving with more questions than I came with and no answers.

  Alessandro

  I pause outside the door, fighting the urge to turn around and tell Penelope everything that’s happened, but I can’t. She is my sister’s best friend, but she isn’t La Famiglia.

  But she could be…

  I shake those thoughts from my head before continuing my search for Lucia. I find her dusting the portraits lining the hallway. “Lucia, Ms. Star will be staying with us. If you could please make up the guest room near my sisters.”

  “Right away, Sir.” She bows before quickly heading toward the stairs.

  Having nowhere else to hide, I follow her hoping to find some peace in my office on the second floor. As I near the end of the hallway, the portrait of my mother catches my attention. Memories from that day filter through my mind, as if it was yesterday.

  You need to be on your best behavior, darling. I know that you hate wearing a suit, but today is Mommy’s special day and you want to look nice.

  “What’s so special about today?” I ask in my tiny voice.

  “Today is Mommy’s wedding day. It’s the day I can finally give you the thing you always deserved, a family.”

  Overcome with rage, I throw my glass against the opposite wall. The glass shattering from the impact. That day was both the best and worst day of my life, a constant reminder that I don’t belong.

  “Are you alright?” I watch Penelope come running to my side. She lifts my hands to inspect them for any cuts or signs of injury. I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of her tiny hands wrapped around mine before pulling my hand free.

  “I’m fine. Just lost my temper, nothing to worry about.”

  “Lost your temper? I can’t imagine what you’d do if you were angry at someone.”

  “You don’t want to find out,” I growl in her direction, enjoying the fear that flashes in her eyes as she takes a step back from me.

  We stare at each other for a few moments before she breaks the silence, “I’ll just head back in there, I’m glad you aren’t injured.”

  “No need. I'm sure your room is ready, we can head upstairs together,” I grumble in her direction. I take a few steps and turn, noticing she isn’t behind me before calling out to her again. “Aren’t you coming?”

  Penelope comes to a halt directly at my side. I motion forward with my arm, waiting for her to head in that direction. “Ladies first.” Penelope takes a step around me, my hand brushes against her arm as she passes. I close my hand into a tight fist, attempting to ignore the electrical current as it shoots up my arm. Reminding myself that my duty is to La Famiglia. No matter how much I desire Penelope and the light she brings to my life, I have nothing to offer her.

  As we reach the stairs, the housekeeper is on her way down. “Lucia, right? Can you show me to my room? I don’t want to trouble Alex any longer.”

  She doesn’t say a word, just glances in my direction, waiting for further instructions. Wanting to retreat to the privacy of my study as quickly as possible, I give her a nod of approval.

  “Ms. Star, if you will follow me,” Lucia responds before motioning for Penelope to follow her up the stairs. Before following her, Penelope turns in my direction and gives me a shy smile and then hurries up the stairs. I follow a little behind her with thoughts of my mother filling my mind.

  My mother and I didn’t always have a life of luxury. I wasn’t born a mafia prince, but was adopted by my father Vito when I was four years old. My birth father worked hard for the little money we had, but when he died in a factory accident, my mother had debts to pay and got mixed up with the Bratva. Lucky for both of us, my adopted father was there to rescue us from a horrible fate. It was a year after that they were married. I knew very little of what it was like to be part of a family, having lost a parent at such a young age, but La Famiglia is everything.

  A short time later, Frankie was born. The final piece of our family, Marcus, arrived when I was fifteen. I finally had someone else who understood me, being an outsider in this large family. Marcus and I bonded immediately, first over girls and then guns. My father brought both of us into the organization at eighteen. Frankie went off into the world to find herself, I became our father’s right hand.

  I open my office door and head directly for the wet bar, pouring myself another healthy drink of whiskey. As thoughts of Penelope fill my mind.

  “Hey, are you the brother?” Penelope comes bouncing into the room. I stare at her, not knowing how to respond. “The strong and silent type. I can get behind that.” She gives me a wink before heading back out the way she came in.

  “She’s a handful, isn’t she?” Marcus chuckles as he places a hand on my shoulder.

  “That’s an understatement.”

  Since our first meeting, I haven’t been able to forget her. Penelope’s bubbly personality is the exact opposite of mine, but I’m drawn to her. I can’t put into words the joy that fills my heart every time I hear any tidbit of information about what is going on in her life.

  When my father told me what happened at Penny and Frankie’s house, fear gripped my soul. I was worried about my sister, but she knows how to take care of herself. Penelope however isn’t meant for this life.

  “And not meant for me either,” I knock back the rest of my drink and have a seat behind my desk. “Time to get to work. This organization can’t run itself,” I grumble as I turn on my computer and get to work, trying not to think about the beauty a few rooms down the hall.

  Penelope

  “Thank you,” I whisper to Lucia as she opens the door to my room.

  “If you need anything else, please hit the call button near the door.” She bows her head before stepping out the room.

  I only nod my head as I close the door, shutting myself inside. “Seriously, can this family do anything normal?” I turn and rest my back against the door, examining the room closely.

  In the center of the room, there is a large four poster bed covered in what is probably expensive bedding. Resisting the urge to jump on it like a little kid, I head to the other side of the room and look out the window. Being on the second floor, I can see the Vegas city lights in the distance. “How can Frankie want to be anywhere but here?”

  I never understood Frankie’s reluctance to return home after graduating. Sure, her father is a mob kingpin, but all families have their quirks. I come from nothing. My parents work a boring nine-to-five job and barely make enough to support themselves, let alone my brother and I. We have both worked since we were old enough to do it, but it still wasn’t enough.

  The only reason I could stay in school was because of tuition assistance and Frankie insisting we live off campus our senior year. Frankie told me all about her life here in the manor, the bodyguards, tutors and even her overprotective brother. It wasn’t until I met Alex that I saw him as something other than the big bad monster keeping my friend from all her hopes and dreams.

  Alex is reserved and protective of his family, but there is something that draws me to him. Even before I knew he was my best friend’s brother, I wanted to know all of his secrets.

  “Break me off a piece of that,” I whisper to Frankie as we sit in the quad eating lunch. It was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, stepping out of a black Lincoln town car. His sand colored hair blows in the breeze as he turns and gives me a megawatt smile. I watch as he heads in our direction,

  “How do I look?” I ask as I shift through my messenger bag in search of a mirror.

  “Umm, you look like you,” Frankie responds before handing me her compact.

  I snatch it from her hand, checking my hair and makeup. “Be my wing woman, you only have eyes for Marcus
anyway. Even if he comes over and ignores me, talk me up. Once he knows all of my finer qualities, he’ll be head over heels in love with me.”

  Frankie giggles, “Anyone who would look at me before you, isn’t sane.” She turns and smiles a megawatt smile. “Alex!” she squeals before launching herself at the man of my dreams.

  Well, there goes that fantasy. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

  It was only a matter of minutes before Frankie was introducing me to her brother and my fantasies sprung back to life. I have tried everything in the girl handbook to get him to notice me since then, but nothing has panned out. The Giordano’s know everything about my life, it’s an occupational hazard I’m sure, and there is no doubt in my mind that Alex knows too. He knows and wants nothing to do with any of it.

  I’m just a girl from a working class family in Iowa, he is the heir to an empire. There is no such thing as a happy ending for us in real life. Knowing the odds are stacked against me and getting my heart to believe it are two different things.

  “Buck up buttercup.” I pat myself on the cheeks before flopping down on the bed, “At least I’ll be able to spend some QT with him. Maybe I’ll convince him to fall madly in love with me.”

  I pause for a few moments before I bust into a fit of giggles, as if that would happen. If I’m certain of one thing, it’s that Alex Giordano doesn’t view me as anything other than his baby sister’s best friend.

  “Time to get to work. If I am going to be opening an art gallery anytime soon, I need something to put in it.” I riffle through my bag in search of my sketchpad and pencils.