Revenge (56 page)

Dario’s heart still ached. Lucchesi believed
he’d given him the Andretti
cosca
, that he hadn’t earned it
with his father’s consent. But better to live to see another day
than to die over his pride. At least it was some consolation that
Lucchesi hadn’t seen what had happened right under his nose.
Lucchesi was so sure he knew Dario, so sure he wasn’t like his
father.

But he was his father’s son. He hadn’t lied
about that. And he’d put a plan in motion some time ago, a plan
that would bear bitter fruit for Lucchesi. If it worked. The odds
of success were slimmer now that Franco Trucco was dead.

Someday Lucchesi would learn who he truly
was. Someday he’d see the truth.

But by then it would be too late.

THE END

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Revenge
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Due to the high level of secrecy maintained
by the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and the relative scarcity
of former members turned state’s witnesses, there are few resources
detailing the inner workings of the society. Therefore, I have used
artistic license in portraying certain aspects of the ‘Ndrangheta,
particularly as regards La Provincia.

Until July 2010, it was widely believed that
there was no overarching body in charge of the ‘Ndrangheta.
However, with the arrest of several prominent ‘Ndranghetisti, it is
now believed that there is a
capi di tutti capi
(boss of all
bosses) who oversees a commission (La Provincia) with direct power
over the individual families.
Revenge
does not reflect this
type of organization, though the formation of such an organization
comes into play in later books.

Additionally, to make this series easier to
read for American readers, I have used the term
cosca
rather
than ‘
ndrine
to indicate an individual crime family. I have
also greatly simplified the organization of individual crime
families and have chosen to name crime families after their
capo’
s blood family; in real life, a
cosca’
s name may
consist of a region or place, or a hyphenated combination of the
names of the two or three primary blood families that control the
cosca
.

In Italy, women typically don’t take their
husband’s last name; for simplicity’s sake, I have chosen to
reflect the traditional American practice of taking the husband’s
last name upon marriage.

Note that all persons mentioned in this
series are fictional; no resemblance to actual people, living or
dead, is intended. The family names used in this series were
deliberately chosen not to reflect names of actual crime
families.

Revenge
is the first book in the
Blood and Honor
four-part romantic suspense series, which is
set in Italy among the underworld of the Calabrian Mafia. Each
story features a hero and heroine forced to make difficult choices
in a world where vendettas are quick to erupt and burn for
generations; where family ties, both blood and criminal, drive
every decision; and where passions flare up and threaten to blaze
out of control.

The
Blood and Honor
series

Book 1:
Revenge
(available now)

Kate Andretti is married to the Mob—but
doesn’t know it. When her husband uproots them to Italy, Kate
leaves everything she knows behind. Alone in a foreign land, she
finds herself locked in a battle for her life against a husband and
a family that will “silence” her if she will not do as they wish.
When her husband tries to kill her, she accepts the protection
offered by a wealthy businessman with Mafia ties. He’s not a
mobster, he claims. Or is he?

Enrico Lucchesi never wanted to be a Mafia
don, and now he’s caught in the middle of a blood feud with the
Andretti family. His decision to help Kate brings the feud between
the families to a boil. Attacks from without and within push them
both to the breaking point, and soon Enrico is forced to choose
between protecting the only world he knows and saving the woman he
loves.

Book 2:
Retribution
(available early 2012)

Nick Clarkston, a young Interpol agent,
threatens to undo the fragile peace between the Lucchesi and
Andretti families when he tries to take down the Mafia don father
who abandoned him. He allies with his father’s sworn enemy, a
mobster both devious and ruthless. The mobster’s alluring daughter
helps Nick negotiate the murky criminal underworld, but he soon
learns she’s using him. Trapped, and with nowhere to turn, Nick
makes a tragic mistake that plunges him further into danger.

Delfina Andretti appears to be the typical
Mafia princess—but this princess wants out. Delfina dreams of being
a fashion designer, and hooking up with Nick is her ticket out of
an arranged marriage. Her feelings for Nick are genuine, but he’s
leery of her. Even worse, his heedless drive for justice threatens
to get them both killed and to put everyone Delfina loves behind
bars—unless she and Nick can forge a new future for their warring
families.

Book 3:
Redemption
(available late 2012)

Antonio Legato has always been an outsider,
even though he's moved up in the Lucchesi mob organization. When he
falls in love with Bianca Lucchesi, Antonio may at last become part
of the family, but he’s hiding an ugly secret about her father’s
death. Telling Bianca the truth will pit blood against blood and
annihilate the family he loves.

Bianca Lucchesi is on a mission to help her
brothers ruin Antonio so they can take their rightful place in the
organization. As the don’s assistant, Bianca seduces Antonio while
pursuing her brothers’ revenge. But her loyalty is divided—she and
Antonio share a secret that he’s unaware of. She longs to tell him,
but fears he can never forgive what she’s done.

When Bianca and Antonio learn that her
brothers have rashly allied with a cunning enemy who is plotting
against the Lucchesis, can they heal the family’s wounds before
everyone they love is destroyed?

Book 4:
Release
(available late 2013)

Ruggero Vela has long protected the don of
the Lucchesi family. When his boss is framed, Ruggero is desperate
to exonerate him. So desperate, he risks his life to protect the
zealous anti-Mafia judge presiding over the case. She’s
incorruptible—and the only person they can trust to conduct a fair
trial. Although Ruggero has always survived by keeping a cool head,
he’s blindsided by an irresistible attraction to the beautiful
judge—an attraction that grows by the minute.

Loredana Montisi is renowned for her
courageous struggle to prosecute Mafia thugs. But she doesn’t know
she's the pawn of much darker forces with a truly frightening
agenda. When she unwittingly deviates from their plan and gets too
close to the truth, they try to kill her. Information Loredana
learns from her unlikely protector forces her to question
everything she knows. Can she let go of her deep-seated beliefs and
place her trust in a Mafioso?

Print and E-book

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
other retailers

www.danadelamar.com

Continue reading for a special preview of Kristine Cayne’s first Deadly Vices novel Deadly Obsession

Available January 2012

When an Oscar-winning movie star meets a department-store photographer…

Movie star Nic Lamoureux appears to have a
playboy’s perfect life. But it’s a part he plays, an act designed
to conceal a dark secret he carries on his shoulders. His empty
days and nights are a meaningless blur until he meets the woman who
fulfills all his dreams. She and her son are the family he’s always
wanted—if she can forgive a horrible mistake from his past.

A Hollywood dream
…

Lauren James, a widowed single mother, earns
barely enough money to support herself and her son. When she wins a
photography contest and meets Nic, the man who stars in all her
fantasies, her dreams, both professional and personal, are on the
verge of becoming real. The attraction between Lauren and Nic is
instant—and mutual. Their chemistry burns out of control during a
photo shoot that could put Lauren on the fast track to a lucrative
career.

Becomes a Hollywood nightmare But an ill-advised kiss makes front-page
news, and the lurid headlines threaten everything Nic and Lauren
have hoped for. Before they know what’s happening, their
relationship is further rocked by an obsessed and cunning stalker
who’ll stop at nothing—not even murder—to have Nic to herself. When
Nic falls for Lauren, the stalker zeroes in on her as the
competition.

And the competition must be eliminated.

An excerpt from Deadly
Obsession

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Fine. Do it.”

Nic bent down and brushed his lips against
hers. For the first few seconds, she didn’t kiss him back, but she
didn’t push him away, either. Then, on a sigh, she leaned into him
and her arms locked around his neck. His tongue darted out to taste
her bottom lip. Mmm… cherry—his new favorite flavor. When her mouth
opened, he didn’t hesitate.

He dove in. And drowned.

He’d meant this to be a quick kiss, only now
he just couldn’t stop. His lips traced a path to her throat.
Cupping her bottom with his hands, he lifted her up, grinding
against her. She moaned. It was a beautiful sound, one he
definitely wanted to hear again.

A loud noise pierced the fog of his lust. He
raised his head from where he’d been nuzzling Lauren’s
apple-scented neck to tell whoever it was to fuck off, but as the
sexual haze cleared, he swallowed the words. The paparazzi had
gathered around, applauding and calling out crude encouragements.
Some snapped photos while others rolled film.
Shit.
He’d pay
for this fuck-up and so would she.

Print and E-book

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
other retailers

www.kristinecayne.com