My Beloved

Chapter 22

Luca sat on the steps of Clarissa's townhouse with his head in his hands. The emotions were too much for him. "You want to tell us why you just ditched your woman after she so perfectly professed her love to you in song." Pietro sat down beside him while Giovanni and Gianni staggered on the steps behind him. It was a sight to see such big men on the stoop talking.

"I can't give her the life she deserves. Tonight has been wonderful, but it's not our reality." Luca sighed running his fingers through his hair. "Why can't it be?" Pietro asked looking at all of them. "I mean seriously. We can keep them safe we know that. I don't see why we can't have more nights like tonight."

Luca huffed. "It's not feasible and you know it. The streets are quiet right now and that's an issue in and of itself, but we're just asking for trouble if we keep this up. I can feel it."

Gianni knew Luca was right, but he couldn't let go of Cara Mia. She was the balm to every wound the life had inflicted. He needed her in his life and he'd be damned if he let her go. "Luca we can have both." He offered, but his best friend looked at him as though he were crazy. "You three are idiots. Giovanni you may have made it work for this long, but even I noticed Clarissa's facial expression when Cara Mia asked her if she was happy."

Luca stood up. "The fact that Cara Mia even asked that questions should give you pause, Gianni. We don't deserve them and you all know it. We're just selfish assholes wanting to hold on to them, but we're going to eventually grip too tight and they will break."

The men soaked in his words and sighed. "You want to keep Ava safe, don't you?" Giovanni asked earning a look from Luca that said duh. "We need to investigate this Dr. Nik Vo. He has been causing issues with our connections at Bellevue with the changes he's trying to make and go through a different rep." Gianni listened to his brother as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You don't think it's..." Giovanni shrugged. "It has to be, right? I mean how many Russian doctors that specialize in pharmaceuticals are there in New York?" Luca could feel his anger rising. "You mean to tell me Nikolai Volkov has been in the same room with my girl. He's been working with her and we had no idea." They all took in Luca stance and tried their best to calm him. "Luca you need to relax. You don't want Ava to see you like this." Pietro pleaded.

"If he was going to hurt her he would have done so by now. It could just be a coincidence." Gianni heard the foolishness as soon as it was out of his mouth. Luca scoffed at him as he began pacing. "We will confirm whether or not it's really him. Once we do that, we'll figure out what he's doing and go for there." Giovanni offered earning nods from Gianni and Pietro.

"He's dead." Luca stated with a look they were all too familiar with. "Luca, you know the relationship with the Volkov's and Petrillo's is a tricky one. When my Dad killed Nikolai's father things were rough for a while for every family as lines were drawn."

"Things sorted themselves out after Uncle Mariano talked with them and we were all good again." Gianni thought back to those stressful times when he was a teenager. "But then you killed Alek a few years ago and we all feared things would go back to how it was. They didn't though."

"The Russians understood that Alek had to be put down for overstepping in our territories. The Volkov's and Petrillo's don't want a war, so until we get all this sorted please don't do anything haste or stupid." Gianni begged his best friend whose scowl deepened. 

"If he hurts a single hair on her head, I'm skinning him alive." Luca said and they all knew he meant it. Giovanni went to say something when the door opened. "Your ladies are in here dancing on each other and I have a distinct feeling they'd rather be dancing on you."

Rachelle smiled at them as she motioned for them to come inside. The guys could here Hip-Hop music playing in the living room and watched as the girls danced on one another. Rachelle grabbed Pietro and began dancing on him causing a huge grin to spread across his face as she twerked.

Gianni found his way to Cara Mia, while Giovanni smiled at Clarissa before wrapping his arms around her waist. The couples seemed lost in one another, so they couldn't see an anxious Ava staring at Luca who seemed to find everything in the room more interesting than her. She made her way to the kitchen to cut another sliced of the red velvet cake. Sweets always made everything better. She thought to herself as she poured more sangria into her glass.

She stuffed her face as she watched Luca tap away on his phone. She told herself not to get upset or angry, but to understand that there was something going on that she would get answers to when they were alone. Ava smiled when her friends stopped dancing and went into the kitchen for some cake. She couldn't believe they were almost gone.

Luca sent a text to his best men to do some digging on what was going on in the streets. It was too quiet and he felt Gianni was being too lax and trusting. He wanted to get a guy on Ava, so he knew for sure that she was protected while at the hospital, but that would lead to questions by Massimo and he didn't want that.

He knew he was treating her like crap at the moment, but he had to keep his head clear. He knew that Nikolai Volkov was up to something, but he understood Gianni's reservations. He would let Giovanni figure things out and wait. Luca knew their fears, because it was his as well. They didn't know who he would become if anything happened to Ava, but they knew the state would crumble underneath his rage.

Cara Mia sat in Gianni's lap as she fed him. "You know I'm going to have to work out twice as hard thanks to tonight." Gianni smiled as he took another bite. "You don't have to do anything, babe. You're perfect." Cara Mia smiled giving him a quick peck. "Thank you, but it takes hard work to have a body like this one."

Cara Mia raised an eyebrow. "You should let me see it sometime, since it's a work of art and all that." He chuckled heartily at her. "You know you've been trying to get in my pants a lot lately. I'm starting to think that's all I'm good for to you." Cara Mia laughed loudly and then looked him in the eye. "Duh." He scoffed and squeezed her hip.

"I can't deny that I want you, Gianni. My body longs for you, but you're making me wait for whatever reason so I have to trust that it'll be mind-blowing." He smirked at her and nuzzled in her neck. "You're mind-blowing." She rolled her eyes and smiled. Gianni knew why he was waiting. It was a stupid reason, because he had already fallen in love with Cara Mia, but it was a fail-safe so to speak.

However, as she looked at him the way she was he knew his resolve was waning. "I want you tonight," she whispered in his ear before gently pulling his earlobe with her teeth. He couldn't help the groan that left him, causing her to giggle in delight.

"Okay lovebirds, you don't have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here." Giovanni announced causing them to laugh. "Babe, you're being rude! It's not even midnight yet." Clarissa whined with a pout. Giovanni sucked her bottom lip into a kiss that was searing.

"I want to fuck my girlfriend, so unless you want an audience, I suggest you help me in kicking them out." He smiled as he palmed her ass in his hand. "Alright, people! You heard the man! Get out!" Clarissa chuckled as she made her rounds and said goodbye.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they were all heading outside waving goodbye. The men surveyed their surroundings before walking their women to the car. He made sure everyone was in before starting the car and heading back to the girls' house.