Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess (2 page)

“How?” he asked softly.

“You will find her when she needs you most, and you will be her brave prince. Then you will marry her, and she will be your princess,” Anya said as she lovingly stroked his hair.

“I can marry Carter?”

Anya laughed softly. “Yes, my son, you can.”

“If I marry Carter, will she stay with me forever?” Nathan asked, sitting up and wiping the tears from his eyes.

Anya hugged him tightly. “Well, if you’re nice to her. And you give her lots of hugs and kisses and presents and love.” She gave him a smooch on the cheek and Nathan giggled.

“I like giving Carter kisses,” he said, smiling brightly. “When can I tell Carter to marry me?”

Anya laughed. Of course her little boy
would
think he could
tell
the girl to marry him. “Nathan, dear, you do not tell her. You ask her. If she says yes, she will stay with you forever and ever.”

“When?” he asked, looking at her with a frown on his face.

Anya sighed, “Ummm … Well, you need a few things before she will say yes.”

“What things?”

“A job for one. You have to be able to take care of her. You will need a house, a car, and a driver’s license—” Anya stopped when Nathan stood from her lap and began running toward the house. Anya yelled, “Nathan, where are you going?”

“I need a job!” he yelled, and Anya laughed. “
Я люблю тебя мама
,” he said before running into the house.

“I love you too, my heart,” Anya said softly as she watched him go inside.

***

Angelo looked up abruptly from his work when the door to his office opened. Two small hands appeared on the edge of the door before his son came into view. Nathan entered and closed the door behind him. With a smile on his face, Angelo watched him as he walked over to the desk and stood by his seat. He pushed his chair back a bit, and Nathan climbed into his lap, a frown on his face and determination in his eyes.

“Can I help you, Son?” Angelo asked, trying his best to mirror his son’s serious expression without smiling.

Nathan gave Angelo a nod. “I need a job,” he said confidently, determination in his voice.

Angelo bit back a smile.

“A job? Don’t you think you’re a little too young for a job, Son?”

“But I need it.”

“Why do you need a job, my boy? Papa has already given you everything you need,” Angelo said, kissing his son’s forehead.

“I want to marry Carter. Mama said if I get a job, she will say yes. Can I go to work with you, Papa?” he asked.

Angelo gazed at his boy. His face was flushed and his eyes were red. He could tell Nathan had been crying, and he was sure it had to do with Spook’s little girl. He knew his son had become attached to her, and he wished he could get Spook to bring her back for a visit. But that just wasn’t possible. So for now, he would just do what he could to help his son feel better.

Angelo hugged Nathan close. “Of course, you can come to work, Bambino. It will be yours one day. It’s best for you to learn now,” he said. “Carter, huh? Well, when’s the wedding?” he asked with a smile on his face.

Nathan’s expression remained serious. “I have to get a car first, and then I’m going to tell— I mean
ask
— her to marry me. Then she’ll stay with me forever.”

Angelo laughed, “A car, huh? Well, what about a ring? You will need that, too.”

“Like Mama’s ring?”

“Yes.”

Nathan nodded. “Then I’ll get her one,” he said. “Can we write a letter?” he asked, looking up at his father.

“A letter?”

“Yes. I want to write to Carter to tell her that I have a job so she can marry me,” he said, smiling.

Angelo grinned. “Absolutely, Son. Papa will help you write it.” Angelo suddenly got a great idea. “How would you like to go with Papa to Italy next week, Bambino?”

Nathan’s eyes lit up as Angelo had hoped. He really wanted to spend more time with his son without Anya and the tension she brought.

“Is Mama coming?” Nathan asked.

Angelo sighed sadly, hoping that Nathan wouldn’t be upset about leaving his mother behind on this trip. “No,
Bambino
. Just you and papa. Is that okay?”

Nathan gave Angelo a look he wasn’t expecting. Angelo wasn’t sure if he was mistaken, but the look in his baby boy’s eyes was that of understanding. Nathan hugged his father tightly around his neck, and Angelo closed his eyes, soaking up the purity of Nathan’s love. He felt a small hand lightly pat his back, and he smiled.

“It’s okay, Papa.
Ti amo padre
.”

“I love you, too.
Il mio bel bambino
.” Nathan broke their hug, and Angelo gave him a light pat on the back. “Now, let’s get started on this letter, shall we?”

Nineteen years later.

No one ever warns you about what happens when you fall in love. But why would they? There’s no point. When it happens, there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.

When you fall in love, you don’t just give your heart, you give your entire self. You put your heart in the hands of another, and that person becomes a lifeline. Your heart beats for them. They are the air you breathe. They are your smile, your laugh, your joy, and your sadness. That single person has the power to build you up until you feel a hundred feet tall— or shatter you, leaving you broken, and scrambling to pick up the pieces of who you once were. Of who you were with them.

Love does this—

What happens if that person dies? What happens when the person who holds your beating heart in their hands no longer lives? Do you die with them? Well, that would certainly be easier than trying to continue life without your heart, your smile, your laughter, your joy— and even your sadness.

How can you continue living in a world without the one person that made your life so much more than it was before?

One day at a time?

How can you make it to the next day if there is no tomorrow? If there is no year from now?

If you lose the person that makes you more than you were before you met, life becomes one long drawn-out day. The misery never ends, and there is no moving on.

“The One”. You hear people say it all the time. How they want to find “The One”. Well, what if you found “The One” and they were taken from you. How do you continue to live, sanely, in a world without “The One” person that fit you perfectly?

How?

Quick Answer. You Don’t …

That was the conclusion Nathan came to when he slipped into hysterics, Carter lying unconscious in his arms.

“Carter! Carter, wake up, baby!” He gently touched her face. “Wake up, Carter. Please! Let me see your eyes, honey.” Her eyes remained closed. “Carter, I’m begging you! Baby, open your eyes. Carter, please! Carter! Honey, open your eyes!
Carter, wake up
!”

When Carter’s eyes remained shut, Nathan held her close and did something he hadn’t done since he was a child. He cried. He held her tightly in his arms, begging and praying to God and anyone else who was listening to bring her back to him. He would give everything he possessed just to hear her voice, to see her smile at him, to hear her musical laugh, to have her grow old with him. He begged and pleaded while burying his face in Carter’s neck.

“Nathan?”

Nathan lifted his head quickly at the sound of Carter’s voice. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she looked up at him through glassy eyes.

Nathan sighed with relief, “Carter, baby, thank God. Look at me, honey, and try to stay awake for me.”

“Nathan, it hurts,” she cried softly.

The doors of the elevator opened, and Nathan rushed in, carrying Carter, while Anastasia quickly pressed the button for the first floor.

“I know, honey. I know. I’ll get you to the hospital as quickly as I can,” Nathan said frantically. He held her close as the elevator began its descent.

Nathan couldn’t think straight while she was in his arms, barely conscious. He would never be able to forgive himself for not keeping her safe from this. He didn’t understand how Mitchell had managed to pull this off, but he’d find out. He knew that Mitchell, Kent, and Patrick couldn’t have pulled this off without allies on the inside helping them get past security and gain control of the elevators. Nathan silently vowed at that moment that he would find every man involved and make him pay— severely.

He focused on Carter. He could see she was struggling to stay awake. When her eyes began to close again, Nathan gave her a light shake. “Carterina, baby, keep your eyes open.” She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. She slowly brought her hand to his face and wiped away his own. “I need you, Carter,” he confessed as more tears fell. “I need you, I can’t live without you, baby. I need you to fight for me. Please,” he pleaded with her desperately.

A sob escaped Carter’s lips, “I’m so sorry, Nathan.” She winced when pain shot through her head, but she didn’t stop talking, “I made a mistake. I’m so sorry,” she cried.

Nathan pressed his face against hers, “No, no, baby. Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault, its mine. But I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“No, Nathan. It
is
my fault. You don’t understand. I made a mistake.” She took a deep shaky breath as the sobs continued to fall from her lips. “I made a mistake. He warned me not to mess up, but I did,” she cried.

“Carter, I don’t understand. Who warned you?”

“My father,” she sobbed. “I turned away from them. I could have killed them, but I turned away. I’m so sorry.” She cried and cried as Nathan held her close, trying his best to calm her.

“Shhh … Don’t cry,
мое красивое Роуз
. Please … I can’t take it,” he said as he placed soft kisses atop her tears.

“I don’t … I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake, Nathan … I can’t—”

“Yes, you can, Carter!”

“No, I can’t,” she cried. “I pr-promise I’ll come back to you, Nathan, but I … I …”

Carter felt herself drifting again. She could faintly hear Nathan yelling her name as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and darkness once again overtook her.

***

Eight years earlier.

Carter fell to the ground gasping for breath. This was not fair! Normal fifteen-year-old girls didn’t have to do things like this. They got to go to the movies, on dates, to dances, and to an actual school. But not her! She didn’t get to go to school. She was stuck here in this damn house, in this lame-ass town, getting her ass kicked by her own damn father!

Carter felt a swift quick to her stomach, and she doubled over in pain before jumping to her feet. She held her aching stomach and gave her father a “What the fuck?” look.

Robert laughed, “How many times do I have to tell you this, Carter? You never, ever, ever turn your back on your enemy, baby girl— no matter what.”

Carter glared at him, “You’re my father, not my enemy,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Wrong. Carter. I am your enemy in here, and you need to focus on what’s important— survival.”

“Why do I have to do this right now? This isn’t fair!” Carter whined.

Robert frowned and shook his head. “Stop whining. Carter. It will get you nowhere. You need to know how to protect yourself. You wanted this. You told me you didn’t want to live your life hiding,” he said with a shrug. “You don’t have to, but you will learn how to defend yourself first. Now get into fighting position.”

Carter obediently walked over to her spot, standing in fighting stance. She frowned and stood back up when she saw her father pick up a gun. “What the hell do you need that for?” Carter asked, eyeing the gun.

Oh shit, she thought, I knew this day would come.

Robert chuckled and shook his head at Carter’s expression. “I’ve told you a thousand times, Carter. The ‘killer side’ of me is not going to take over and kill you. Now get back in position.”

 Carter hesitated. “Are you sure? Because I could give you some time if you need it,” Carter said, hoping to God his killer side needed some time to be tamed because she definitely could use some time to catch her breath. She was sure if she didn’t die from her father’s gun, she’d surely die from this workout.

“No break. Now get ready,” he commanded. “What do you do if you want to avoid being shot Carter?” Robert asked.

Carter rolled her eyes. “Move,” she answered.

“Now, slow all of my movements down in your mind and move your body at the speed of light.”

“I know, I know. Bring it!”

“No.”

Carter looked at her father curiously. “What do you mean— ?”

Her sentence was cut off when her father raised the gun quickly and fired straight at her arm. Carter did what her father had told her and moved to the side before the bullet connected with her shoulder. She quickly faced her father and darted for him, determined to get revenge for the kick he’d administered to her stomach.

He lifted the gun to shoot again, but Carter kicked it out of his hand then went to kick his face, but he caught her foot and twisted her ankle. She wanted to scream in pain, but instead she turned her body and caught him in the face with the other foot. He laughed, and Carter gave him a smirk as she lunged for him again. He caught her with an uppercut to the stomach, and she countered with two punches to his face. She wanted to go for his stomach, but the last time she tried that, she nearly broke her hand.

He turned to the side and spit out blood just before he lunged forward and caught Carter around her waist from behind. Carter grabbed her fist and elbowed him in the face three times before he loosened his hold. Knowing she had the upper hand for once, Carter kicked his feet from under him and he fell to the floor.

She was about to do it! It would be her first time winning one of their fights, and she was so going to rub it in his face— Her attention was drawn toward the stairs when she heard the door close. She looked up the stairs to see if it was Chrissy, and if she had remembered her Doritos—

All thoughts abruptly fled Carter’s mind when she fell to the floor, landing so hard it knocked the wind out of her. Her eyes shot wide open, and she saw her father standing over her, a gun pointing straight at her face.

“Dead! Dammit, Carter!” Carter lowered her eyes and bit her bottom lip ashamedly. “You do not take your eyes off of your enemy! Not for a second— never! That’s the single most important thing you need to remember. Eye contact. Look at me!” Robert shouted. Carter obediently lifted her eyes. Robert’s features softened … a bit. “Baby girl, you will never be invincible, but you damn sure will be hard to kill. Do you understand me?” Carter nodded. “Don’t nod Carter, use your words— yes or no.”

“Yes,” Carter said, trying hard not to cry. She hated disappointing her father— it always made her feel like crap. She wanted to be the best. She wanted to be everything he wanted her to be. She hoped that one day she would live up to his expectations.

Robert nodded, helped her to her feet, and kissed her on the forehead. “Now get to your area and close your eyes. Remember to trust your senses.”

Carter scrambled over to the other side of the large basement. She was relieved because this was the last thing they did before they ended their session every day. Carter closed her eyes and listened closely— she knew he wouldn’t hold back. She relaxed and trusted her senses.

“What is your name?” she heard her father say from across the room.

“Carter Steele,” she replied.

“That’s not your name!” her father said sharply.

“Yes, it—”

“It’s not! We do not run away from who we are, Carter, no matter what! Now— what is your name?”

Carter gritted her teeth. “Carter Steele!” she said angrily.

“Failed! Will you continue to show this much weakness? Because I can stay down here all day.”

“I’m not weak.”

“Then tell me who you are. What is your name?” he shouted.

Carter took a deep breath. “Carterina Anastacia Stone,” she said, even though she didn’t want to.

“Very good, Carterina. You are, and will always be, stronger than those who hurt you, baby girl. Promise me you will remember that.”

“I promise.”

She heard him release a long sigh. “Look, baby girl. I don’t want you to think ill of your mother. Whatever happened between us last week, I just …” His words trailed off for a moment. “Carter, I want you to forget it. Chalk it up to a bad day. I obviously wasn’t myself.”

“No, you weren’t,” she muttered. But she didn’t want to think nor talk about the argument she and her dad had had about her mother last week. Carter had never seen him like that before. She was accustomed to the worried looks he gave her because of her resemblance to the woman who’d abandoned her, but she wasn’t accustomed to the rage he had showed last week when she brought up her mother. She didn’t like that she’d made her father that mad. So she made it up in her mind that she would never speak of her mother again. Carter hated the woman.

“Whatever I said, I didn’t mean it, Carterina,” Robert said firmly.

Carter shook her head. She hated when he did that. Sometimes he acted as if he had no idea what had happened between them. He acted like he hadn’t been there. Sometimes his ignorance could be so convincing that Carter actually entertained the thought that he’d gone insane and become another person on that day.

Robert sighed again. “You know how I feel, Carter. I love you, and I love your mother. I told you it was complicated, and I meant it. I want to tell you more about her— God, I want to tell you so much. But I can’t yet. Okay?”

Carter’s jaw clenched. “It can’t be that complicated. How can you keep saying that? How can you love her? You can’t still love a woman that you haven’t seen in fifteen years. She left us, Daddy! I don’t even know her— and what I do know, I wish I didn’t. Can we just … not talk about this anymore?”

Carter knew her response disappointed her father, but she didn’t want to talk about Anastacia Stone anymore. She didn’t want to discuss the woman ever again.

“Very well,” her father said. “Tell me what you learned today.” He eased right back into the role of her trainer, and Carter was grateful for it.

“I will never be invincible, but I am hard to kill.”

“What else?”

“Slow down every movement in my mind and move at the speed of light.”

“Tell me what you did wrong today. What do we need to work on?”

“I took my eyes off the enemy. I am never to take my eyes off the enemy.”