Chapter 3

3

MATTEO

" I don't have time for this," I grit out at Nikolai. I don't know what's gotten into him over the past few weeks. I know why I'm in a shit fucking mood. "I thought you'd gotten your temper under control." Nikolai was a very angry boy when I found him. Everything had been taken from him.

"I did." Nikolai wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing blood on it. I stand there and wait. "They had it fucking coming."

"They?"

"There were three of them." Sergio speaks before Nikolai can. Of course there were. One would be too easy for him. The boy always loves a challenge. He should be careful. That can come back to bite you in the ass. I thought I knew that lesson myself. That is, until an innocent little rabbit unexpectedly entered my life. Then fucking hopped right back out.

"They might have had it coming, but we both know you went out in search of a fight." Nikolai doesn't deny it. If he knows one thing, it's to never lie to me.

"Keep your ass in the house tonight," I order.

"I want to come with you."

"That's not happening."

"It's bullshit. I—" I move before he can finish his sentence, wrapping my hand around his neck. I only apply light pressure. Nikolai doesn't fight me. He's almost as big as I am now. One day, he might be bigger. I might have a little soft spot for him, but he needs to realize that my word is law around here.

"I don't repeat myself." He nods. I release my hold on him. "Let Emma look you over."

"I'm fine." I cut him a look. "Okay," he mutters before stomping off, leaving Sergio and me alone in the entryway.

"How about you, boss? You got your anger in check?" Sergio asks.

"Let's go." I don't bother answering him. We both know that I don't. I haven't been able to concentrate or relax since that night in the club. That's not a good thing. Tonight I need to be in control, and that's the last thing I feel. All my control and common sense went out the window because of one little rabbit. I don't even know her damn name.

It's crazy that I could tell you a million more things about her. I remember every detail. The way she tasted, the feel of her cunt wrapped around my cock, and the sweet way she moans and her hips buck when she comes. I've etched all those memories into my mind. They've played on repeat since that night. It is a beautiful torture I'm more than willing to continue reliving. But I think it's slowly driving me insane.

Sergio doesn't speak again until we're getting on the highway. "Are you going to tell me the plan for tonight?"

"I'm only making an appearance."

"Kicking the hornet's nest?" He knows me so well.

"Something like that." I will shake up both families. It is time for them to know that I'm on to their plan. Send them into a panic. When people get scared, they do stupid shit. "Any updates?" I ask, pulling out my phone.

"You'd know if there was."

It's been fucking weeks. How have I not found her by now? My reach is far and wide but still nothing. It's as though she doesn't exist. But I know that's not true. On my phone, I pull up pictures of her. I removed them from the office footage. You'd spot that red, silky hair anywhere. I swipe through them until we reach the hotel where the event is being held.

When I step out of the SUV, I easily spot some of Rossi's men and the O'Haires outside lingering around, trying to blend in as they keep an eye out. They're shit at it. Fucking clowns. I'm sure they haven't noticed my own men. They do, however, spot me. I can see the panic in their eyes as they alert their bosses that I've arrived.

"The car stays," Sergio tells the valet as he pockets the keys before falling into step beside me. "Are you sure you're good?" he asks.

"I just need you to find her." I slip my hand into my pocket, touching the soft cotton. The only thing my rabbit left behind were her panties. It only goes to show how fucked in the head I am about her that I've kept them with me since.

We make our way across the hotel lobby toward the ballroom that has been set up for this event. It should have started already. A server pulls open one of the doors for us. The second I step into the room, I spot Aidan O'Haire standing with his father, Conor. With them are Vincent Rossi and his father, the current head of the family, Gio.

I can tell they're tense. They fucking should be. I don't go straight to them. No, I work the room, saying hello to some of the familiar faces. I'll let them fester. I can feel their eyes on me the entire time. I end up at the bar on the side of the room. My eyes scan over the room, wondering where Vincent's bride is.

Gio is the first to act. As he should be. "Luca, my boy, how are you?" he greets me.

"I'm not your boy, Gio." His already red nose and cheeks brighten more. Gio is a few years older than my father.

"Don't be like that. We're family."

"Is that why my invitation got lost in the mail?" I counter.

"It's only a small wedding," he sputters.

"Into the O'Haire family," I point out. There is nothing small about that, and we both fucking know it.

Gio has always been a proud man, stuck in the past. Everything is always about lineage to him. He is the type to never get fully off the boat when our families arrived in America before he and I were even a thought to our ancestors. That's why the situation is all the more shocking.

"Times are changing." He takes a large swig of his whiskey.

"So it would seem." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aidan O'Haire watching us. The tension in the room slowly grows with each passing moment. I lean onto the bar and revel in it. I want them all on edge.

"What about you? Do you plan to marry soon?"

"Don't ask questions you know the answer to, Gio." He sets his now empty tumbler down on the bar. I'm sure he's trying to think of some other small talk.

I never had any interest in marriage. It destroyed my father. My own mother died a few years after my birth. I was told he loved her dearly. If not for Emma, the few times I heard him talk about her in a drunken ramble, I would have never believed it.

My father had a taste for whorehouses after she passed. Ones that often made my skin crawl. I watched him slowly fall apart until I couldn't take it any longer and sent him back to Italy with one of his mistresses. He got sloppy. That happens with a lot of men in this life as they age. It's not a fate I'll allow myself to ever succumb to. I made my mind up a long time ago when it came to marriage.

Too bad fate has other plans for me. I watch in shock as my little rabbit comes walking through the ballroom doors. I swear it's like the devil himself can hear my thoughts and is laughing up at me. Because at this moment, there is no doubt in my mind that I want to tie my little rabbit to me for eternity.