Love and war 2, p.13
Love and War 2, page 13
Caprice rolled her eyes. She didn’t have the energy to deal with Gloria’s smugness. She ran her hands through her hair and started pacing the hall. She went about ten feet, stopped, then walked back.
“Amnesia?” she asked the doctor. “Is that what you’re telling me?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“No!” Caprice shouted. “You can’t be telling me that the man I’ve spent the last two years with does not remember who the hell I am. No. that’s not right. You’re joking. You’re just fuckin’ with me because you don’t like me.”
“I’m afraid it’s not a joke. Duane suffered a serious head injury-”
“Who the hell are you?” Caprice yelled at the doctor. “I mean, I know you’re fuckin’ his mom, but are you a brain surgeon?”
“You’re such a rude bitch,” Gloria yelled.
“Ladies, arguing isn’t going to help,” the man stated. “To answer your question; no, I’m not his surgeon. But I did go to medical school and have been working at this hospital for twenty years. I think I’m qualified to interpret his chart.”
“Whatever,” Caprice snapped. “Finish what you were saying.”
“All I’m telling you is that he has a long road to recovery. At this point we don’t know if his memory loss is just a temporary side effect caused by the swelling in his brain, or if a part of his brain has been permanently damaged.”
“No, no, no,” Caprice cried. “This can’t be happening. What can we do?”
Once again, Gloria’s evil grin surfaced. “You can leave,” she said nastily. “There’s no point of you being here. I’ll call or something if he starts asking about you.”
Caprice looked into Diesel’s room with a quiet sense of desperation. She wanted him to see her face and know who she was. But, he’d fallen back to sleep.
“I’m his girlfriend,” she said softly. “He loves me.”
“Right now,” Gloria grinned. “You’re just a stranger.”
Caprice tried her best to ignore the smug look on Gloria’s face. Anger, sorrow, pain…all those emotions were building up and threatening to slap the shit out of her. Caprice knew that smacking Diesel’s mama in the middle of a hospital would do nothing but land her a night in jail. She had to leave.
She pushed past Gloria and the doctor and ran down the hall so fast that the nurses and doctors had to scramble to get out of her way. Her vision was blurred by hot tears until she couldn’t hold them back any longer.
She slumped against the elevator walls and cried her heart out as soon as the doors closed. When the elevator stopped on the parking deck level, Caprice wiped her eyes, straightened her shoulders, and drove home.
When she entered her condo, she collapsed on the sofa and started crying all over again.
Her life was over. In a blink of an eye, everything that mattered was taken from her. Sure, she still had money, her businesses, and her casino. But the love she cherished, the power she had gained had all been stripped from her.
Through her teary eyes, Caprice stared at the diamond ring on her finger. Whether Diesel ever got his memory back or if Nico ever woke up, people were going to pay for what they did to her.
Chapter Nineteen
The house was dark and quiet when Caprice and her cousins walked through the back door. She didn’t turn on any lights as they walked through. She didn’t need lights. She was too numb to care about knocking over something and causing a disruption.
The trio managed to make their way to the living room with zero damage being done. Caprice flopped down on the couch and crossed her legs. No one spoke. For a long time, only the hands on the grandfather clock loudly ticking away the seconds and minutes, and the sounds of Mateo, Giovanni, and Caprice breathing were the only noises in the room.
There was a strange stillness outside as well. The house sat far off the main road, plus the neighborhood was generally a quiet place to live. Private, exclusive, and isolated. Perfect for someone in their line of work.
“I want a drink,” Caprice announced. “You two want a drink?”
“Sure,” Mateo answered.
Caprice walked across the formal living room into the dining room. She went over to the custom made bar and located a crystal decanter. She poured about an inch of Lagavulin 16 into three glasses and walked back into the living room skillfully carrying all three.
“Drink up boys,” she said to the twins. “That’s sure to put some hair on your chest.”
She sat back down and took a swallow of the single malt scotch. It delightfully burned her throat when she swallowed. She was beginning to develop a liking of the strong whiskey, even though nothing in the world beat a perfectly made pomegranate martini.
“Next thing you know, you’ll be hanging out in cigar rooms with the men,” Giovanni teased.
“The best deals are made over cigars and brandy or on the golf course,” Caprice replied. “But I’m not interested in getting lung cancer. Guess I better invest in some golf…” Caprice abruptly cut off her statement.
Car headlights flashed brightly in the driveway. She listened for the garage door to open and close. To her delight, two familiar voices were heard entering the house through the kitchen. Caprice and the twins grinned at each other and stood up, waiting for the men to walk into the living room. But they didn’t. They went straight into the dining room.
“Turn on some lights, old man!” Luca Lucchetti laughed and stumbled into the dining room. He was pissy drunk. “Where’s your whiskey? We still have a lot of celebrating to do!”
“On the bar,” Paolo said. “You know that.”
One of them must have located a light switch because the living room and dining room like up like a department store. The twins stared to move but Caprice held up her hand and mouthed wait. She wanted Luca and Paolo’s undivided attention, and the only thing the two drunks were focused on was pouring more liquor.
“Why do you think Domani wants to meet us here?” Paolo asked his traitorous friend.
“Who cares?” Luca howled. “He probably doesn’t want that little cunt he calls a daughter to know that he’s back yet! Oh man, you shoulda seen the look on the bitch’s face when I told her I wanted her precious casino. She looked like she was going to run home to Mommy and cry.”
“Yeah, but your guy fucked up,” Paolo said. “They weren’t supposed to walk away from that explosion. And now Domani’s back. We have a serious problem, don’t ya think?”
“Fuck the Bonatelli’s,” Luca slurred. “They all can get fucked! We’ll take down all three of them. When they’re all sleepin’ with the fishes in the Hudson, I’m gonna bulldoze the hell out of the monstrosity that Caprice has been playing around yet. Domani thinks he can just come to my cities and start buildin’ shit? He’s got another thing comin’. Disrespectful motherfucker.”
Caprice heard enough to get her even madder than she already was. She couldn’t believe that Paolo was working with Luca to bring down Domani! She and Nico were one thing. They’d openly defied and disrespected him, but Domani…her father? He’d been nothing but loyal to Paolo. He trusted Paolo more than anyone. He confided in him. Now Paolo was trying to destroy the Boss.
And they were stupid enough to believe that Domani had sent the text that had brought them to Paolo’s house. Domani didn’t even know how to text! He rarely used a phone at all. Why would he start now?
Caprice pulled her .9mm out of her waistband and turned off the safety. The twins followed her lead. She walked to the doorway of the dining room and cleared her throat. Paolo’s glass fell from his hand and shattered on the hardwood floor. His eyes practically bulged out of his skull.
“Careful there, Uncle P,” Caprice grinned. “You don’t want to have another heart attack, do you? A second one might kill ya.”
“What are you doing in my house?”
She raised her empty glass. “I was having a drink and listening to the most interesting conversation I’ve ever heard.”
“What the fuck is this?” Luca spat. “Who the fuck are you supposed to be, sneakin’ into people’s houses? The Black Widow?” Luca burst out in a drunken fit of laughter. No one else in the room found his joke funny.
“Caprice Bonatelli,” Caprice answered. “We’ve met.”
She walked over to the bar and sat on a barstool. The twins, with their guns at their sides, followed her into the room. Caprice sat her gun and her empty glass on the bar.
“How about a refill, Uncle P?”
With shaky liver spotted hands, Paolo filled her glass a quarter of the way with scotch. Caprice inhaled the smokiness of the sixteen year old liquor and exhaled.
“I wonder…is this the same bottle my father made me buy for your birthday. I whined pretty hard about that, but still, ‘Get the damn scotch, Caprice’, he yelled at me. ‘In fact, get two.’ Three hundred dollars on two bottles of scotch. I even wrapped them myself.” She shook her head sadly. “And when I handed them to you, you didn’t even say thank you. I know you hate me, but damn, Uncle P, they were a gift. Even gifts from the devil deserve at least a thank you.”
“Caprice,” Paolo said, “what is going on?”
“I’m disappointed in you,” Caprice said. “Isn’t that what you said to my brother? You told him you were disappointed in him because he helped me. Guess what, Uncle P, now I’m disappointed in you.”
“Who the fuck cares?” Luca yelled. “You can’t do shit about the past!”
Mateo turned his head towards Caprice. “Can I shoot him?”
She shook her head. “No,” she answered and turned back to Paolo who was eyeing her gun. She put her hand on it and wrapped her finger around the trigger. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything from you,” Caprice answered. “I want to tell you something.”
“Then say what you need to say,” Luca slurred. “That’s all you women do anyway is talk.”
Caprice ignored him and spoke directly to Paolo.
“You know what’s funny? It never had to come to this. Nico and I were okay with letting you do your thing as long as you let us do ours. We weren’t interested in giving you orders or have you working for us, like you did with our father. But you wanted to be the Boss. You wanted us to bow down to you.”
“We never wanted any problems with you,” she continued. “Nico loved you. And you tried to kill him because you wanted to my father’s spot at the round table. You wanted to walk in my father’s shoes.”
Caprice stopped talking, swallowed her drink in one gulp, then looked at Paolo with utter hatred and disgust in her eyes.
“Guess what, Paolo. You could never be my father. You don’t have enough juice left in your shriveled up old balls to be half the Boss my father is. And you,” she focused her attention on Luca.
“You will never get your hands on anything my father has ever touched. But I guarantee that after tonight, everything you have will be mine.”
Caprice slid off her barstool and approached Luca Lucchetti. She stared into the eyes of one of the most dangerous men she’d ever met and didn’t even blink.
“You made a huge mistake, Luca,” she said coldly. “You fucked with the wrong half-breed cunt.”
She stepped backwards and looked back and forth between Paolo and Luca. A smile spread across her face as she cheerfully said, “See ya around gentlemen.”
She turned towards the kitchen and started walking. “Mateo,” she called over her shoulder. “Don’t forget the rings.”
Giovanni and Mateo moved fast. Caprice left the dining room just in time to hear the two old men pleading for their lives. Two quick pops silenced their pleas. Caprice listened at the back door with her hand on the door knob as their bodies dropped to the floor.
She walked down the long driveway and a half block down the street where her car was parked. Mateo and Giovanni were professionals. They knew how to make all evidence disappear so Caprice wasn’t worried as she left them alone to work.
Surprisingly, she was overwhelmed with satisfaction; the same satisfaction she had expected to feel after shooting Aries but didn’t. This was a totally different situation. Paolo had betrayed her father and hurt the people she loved. There was no way he could ever be forgiven.
Caprice started the car and looked at the green digital numbers on the dashboard clock.
It was 12:01 in the morning. Caprice was officially twenty-five years old.
TO BE CONTINUED
###
Afterword
Whew *wipes sweat off brow*, book down, 1 more to go. Think of the Love and War series as just an introduction to the Bonatelli family. Believe me, it gets wilder and definitely more exciting.
I’m going to dive right back into book 3. Look out for it late October/early November. I’m starting to get real excited to show you what is in store for Caprice as she begins to ascent to the throne.
BTW - If you enjoyed Love and War 2, you already know I’m asking for your review. Go back to
About the Author
I am not your average romance author. Whether they are contemporary romance or urban romance, my stories are about relationships. Not just the relationships between lovers, but between family and friends because those matter too.
I believe that not every romance book has to be that “Hollywood, hot pink, Roman candle fireworks” kind of love or that every urban fiction book has to be just about Black people. I write what I enjoy reading. I write real life romance because I know that not everything is “happily ever after.” My characters are an eclectic mix of sassy females and alpha males who love with every inch of their heart and soul. It’s the perfect recipe for exciting, emotional, passionate, and dramatic romance.
I write what I know…or what I’ve heard about firsthand.
Remember...
“Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes be just an illusion.”
Dream big & Love hard,
JC
Contact Information
Jackie Chanel is known to talk too much and she loves to talk to readers!
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Copyright Information
Love & War 2
Copyright 2013 by Jackie Chanel
Published by SBR Publications
Cover Art by Brittani Williams
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales or, is entirely coincidental.
No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writer permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Any inquiries can be made to:
www.jackiechanel.com or
jackie@jackiechanel.com
Table of Contents
Main Menu
I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Afterword
About the Author
Contact Information
Copyright Information
Jackie Chanel, Love and War 2
