Chain Reaction: A New Orleans Mafia Romance (Barresi Book 4)

  Chain Reaction by Lux Miller

  © 2018, 2019 Lux Miller

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  luxmillerauthor@gmail.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The medical procedures performed in this book are fictionalized and should not be attempted on any living being. Please note that this book contains situations that may be triggering for some and situations that are not appropriate for readers under eighteen years of age.

  ONE

  Six Months Ago

  “Dante, have you lost your fucking mind?”

  The handsome man sitting across from me shrugs his broad shoulders and brings the styrofoam cup in his hand hand up to his mouth. He takes an incredibly long swig of what might be the hottest coffee I’ve ever tasted and levels his gaze at me expectantly. There’s a reason I haven’t touched mine in the ten minutes it’s taken him to lay out his proposal for me. It’s like freaking napalm in a cup. Besides, this hole-in-the-wall dump he’s brought me to makes coffee that’s so strong, I’m convinced they haven’t cleaned their pot in years, if ever.

  He sets the cup down in front of him and turns both of his hands palm up to me as he smirks, the boyish charm that’s always gotten to me written all over his face. “Probably, but that’s not what we’re discussing here today.”

  I roll my eyes at him and shake my head. “Yeah, what we should be talking about is the elephant in the room… and I’m not talking about the creepy one shoved into the back corner of the place that looks like it was carved out of a possessed tree. I’m talking about the fact that you invited me out for terrible coffee and then asked me to marry you. Out of nowhere!”

  Dante Barresi shifts in the straight-backed chair, stretching one of his long legs out into the aisle beside the table where we’ve been sitting in silence since he told me about his harebrained scheme. I’ve known the man a very long time, and he’s come up with some crazy ideas before, but this one takes the cake. “Come on Camilla, we’re friends here. It’s a logical jump.”

  “Dante, we’re not even dating. And we’re not friends. You burned that bridge in a blaze of glorious assholishness when you screwed me over.”

  Dante narrows his eyes at me and leans across the table. “Screwed you over? Let’s not make up facts. Did I screw you? Yes. Several times, in fact and you didn’t seem to be complaining one bit.”

  Rolling my eyes, I shake my head at his sarcasm. Can’t this man ever be serious? Oh, who am I kidding? We’re talking about Dante, the perpetual jokester.

  “Rot in hell, Dante…”

  Dante shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know what you’ve got your panties in a wad over. I didn’t do a damn thing the last time I saw you that you didn’t ask me to do.”

  I tap my fingernail on the dingy tabletop with disdain as I purse my lips. I shake my head at him. “That’s where you’re wrong. The truth is, the last time I saw you was about two minutes before I had to do the walk of shame in front of your brother and his girlfriend. After I risked my membership in Nyx to get you that damn purse that you promptly turned around and gave to her.”

  Dante exhales loudly in irritation. “That’s what you’re pissed about? That was always my plan! My brother asked me to get her a Nyx purse because she didn’t catch one, so I did as he commanded.”

  The sound that comes out of my mouth is indignant. “He commanded you to do it, or he made a suggestion that he’d appreciate it if you did it?”

  Dante shrugs his shoulders. “Same difference, Camilla. He told me to do something. And it didn’t matter if it was a command or a request. When Luca speaks, I listen. Don’t sit there and act like you know nothing about family politics.”

  He reaches across the table and grabs my hand in his. I yelp at the contact and jerk my hand away, but not before my fingers rake across the ugly scar that zig-zags along the pad of his ring finger. I blink back tears that threaten to fall. I may be pissed as hell at him, but it doesn’t mean I wanted this for him. I start to open my mouth to question him on it, but decide not to risk making him mad. He’ll just dance around the question anyway, if it means what I think it does.

  I clear my throat to change the subject. “You could have told me about the squeaky step and let me avoid the knowing looks from Mister Dangerous and Miss Pretty Princess. Good grief, that was embarrassing, and it was the day I swore I’d never get involved with you again. It always ends badly, and one of us, usually me, ends up getting hurt. What makes you think this time is going to be any different from the dozen other times we’ve tried to make something work between us? Since the day I lost my virginity to you, it’s been one heartache after another. I’m beyond childhood fantasies of knights in white armor, Dante. I think I’d rather become a nun than marry you.”

  Dante grins. “Camilla. I’ll admit that what happened at Mardi Gras was a bit of a miscalculation. You’re right. I should have warned you that I wasn’t the only one balls-deep in someone that night, but it slipped my mind, okay?”

  I glare at him as I feel rage building up in my gut. “It slipped your mind? Dante, moving your clothes to the dryer after the wash cycle finishes is something that slips your mind. Forgetting to tell the woman you just slept with that the bottom stair on the staircase squeaks and there’s no way to escape without being noticed? No, you did that on purpose because I said no to the morning sex you wanted.”

  Dante rolls his piercing green eyes, then turns his focus on me. “I said I was sorry. Damn. What do you want me to do? Get on my knees and grovel?”

  I sniff as I cross my arms over my chest. “Getting on your knees should’ve been your first step if you were going to ask me to marry you. I’ve been playing your games since I was five, Dante, when you wanted to yank on my pigtails. You always play it off as a joke, apologize and say how sorry you are, and promise to change. But you never do, and I never learn. Well, this time, I got the message loud and clear. I’m done with your games.”

  I push my chair out from the table and stand up, narrowing my gaze at him as I motion haphazardly to the untouched cup of coffee in front of me. “Thanks for the coffee, Dante, but please… do us both a favor and lose my number. We both know that if you push this, someone’s going to end up broken.”

  I grab my purse from the table and turn to leave. I hear the scratching of Dante pushing his own chair out from the table, and I hasten my pace, hurriedly walking towards the exit. I cringe as I hear my name. “Camilla, wait…”

  I’m reaching for the door handle when I feel a strong hand wrap around my arm and arrest my forward movement. The hand tugs on my wrist, and my body turns to face the man that I can never seem to walk away from. Even when I finally manage to put one foot in front of the other, fate just won’t let me escape the brooding bad boy who’s had a piece of my heart since I was a kid.

  “Dante, let me go.”

  He shakes his head furiously. “No. I’ve watched you walk away from me more times than I can count. I’ve fucked up a lot of things in my life, and truthfully, you’re involved at least half the time when I fuck up. I’m just asking for a small favor, here. Throw me a bone.”

  I scoff at him, my eyes widening as my tone turns incredulous. “A small favor? Dante, you’re asking me to marry you. In what fantasy wor
ld do you live where agreeing to marry someone, especially someone I hate, is a small favor?”

  Dante flinches as I jerk my wrist free of his hand. A darkness crosses his face and I sigh, because I already know where this is headed. I’ve pissed him off now, and that means that one of two things are about to happen… my father’s going to end up getting a phone call, or Dante and I are going to end up in bed again. That’s the way it’s seemingly always gone since we became adults.

  Don’t get me wrong. I willingly slept with the man when we were teenagers. A lot. I lost my virginity to the guy, even though he didn’t lose his to me. He lost his to some thirty something socialite who he robbed blind. He came to me afterwards acting guilty, and I fell for his charms and into his bed where I gave myself to him for the first of many, many times. I spent my teenage years in and out of his bed, much to the chagrin of my older brother. Especially after they were caught playing their little games. Leo got shipped off to military school and eventually the military, and privileged Dante Barresi spent a few years in juvenile detention and probation.

  Dante got off his easy, because his father was the head of the New Orleans mafia. Well, technically his grandfather was, but it’s six one way and half a dozen the other. Dante could get away with murder, and probably has, just because of who he is and his last name. Barresi. It’s a name that’s feared in New Orleans to this day. His father and grandfather may be dead, but Dante’s older brother, Luca, is alive and well and poised to be the most ruthless Barresi yet to wear the crown of corruption.

  “You don’t mean that.”

  Dante’s voice is tight as he steps against me, using his hip to guide my body away from the door. I know where this is going, but despite wanting to beat the shit out of him, I already know I’m powerless to stop it. My life is a horror film flashing before my eyes, and no matter how much I yell at the girl to run, she just can’t seem to ever get away. Dante nudges me against the wall of the rinky-dink coffee shop and leans down over me. I may be five foot nine, but Dante still towers over me at six foot four. And he’s intimidating as hell.

  Reputation and history aside, Dante just looks dangerous. He’s tall and trim, with olive skin and hauntingly bright green eyes. His dark hair has been impeccably styled since the first time we had sex when we were teenagers and these days, he’s wearing it longer to the point where it curls over his ears. His facial hair has gradually thickened, and he’s now sporting a mustache and a full beard that brushes along the side of my cheek as he lowers his mouth to my ear.

  “Camilla, you and I both know we can’t fight this forever. You can deny that you still have feelings for me all you want, but at the end of the day, my request isn’t something I pulled out of my ass. If you weren’t so fucking pissed off at me over what happened at Mardi Gras, you wouldn’t be so quick to deny me my request. There are reasons beyond us that it has to be you, Camilla. I need your father’s support, and he’s offered it if we marry. But I also need heirs...”

  I cringe at the mention of children. At one time in my life, hell, probably for half my life, I would’ve been eager to have Dante knock me up and to give him babies, but that dream died with the last bit of my dignity after he mortified me for the last time.

  I shift uncomfortably against the wall as Dante cages me in place with his arms while he slams his palms against the wall on either side of my head. He licks slowly along the outer shell of my ear, and I bite down on my bottom lip as I try to keep it together. I may hate the man, but the attraction to him is a fire that’ll always burn.

  “Dante, you’re not playing fair…”

  He nods as he bites down on my earlobe, his breath hot in my ear as he murmurs, “I never do. Once a criminal, always a criminal. The crimes may change, but the darkness doesn’t. And neither do the rules. You and I share Italian blood. It’s what makes us so volatile and passionate together, but it’ll also seal my fate within the family.”

  I shudder, whispering, “The family or la famiglia?”

  Dante’s body stiffens against me, and he inhales sharply. “If you’re asking me that question, then you already know the answer. It’s been my fate since I was born to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, my father, and my brother. Our children will inherit skeleton keys to the city. If being my wife isn’t enough for you, you’ll be the mother to the next generation of Barresi …”

  I groan and lean my head back, exposing my neck to him, and he jumps on the opportunity. He peppers my chin with kisses and continues from one side of my throat to the other, working his way slowly back up to my other ear. “Dante, I’m not a prize to be won in some tournament, and I refuse to be another pawn in one of your games of tactics.”

  Dante growls and his lips are on mine before I can say anything else. Every nerve ending in my body fires at once as my hands involuntarily jump from my sides to his. My fingertips dig into his waist where my hands landed, and he pulls his lips from mine just enough to mumble, “That’s where you’re wrong. You are a prize, and I’m a blasted idiot for not claiming you sooner.”

  I slide my hands around his body to his chest and forcibly push him away from me, though he doesn’t move much. He peers down at me with unmasked desire swirling through his eyes like a sky that’s turned green ahead of a tornado. “I’m not going to marry you just because you say my father wants me to, Dante. My father wants a lot of things. To have my mother back is one of those things that’s never going to happen. Something else that will never happen is a strong father-son bond between my brother and my father. You may not have had anything to do with my mother, but you destroyed my brother.”

  A pained look crosses Dante’s face as he looks away, though his body still pins me to the wall. Was that regret I just saw on his face? Dante’s voice is strained as he responds, though he refuses to look at me. “Nobody regrets my past with Leo as much as I do, except maybe Leo. It fucked us both up, irreparably. But I didn’t corrupt him. He did that all on his own. In fact, most would argue that Leo was responsible for dragging me down to his level. I’ll be the first to admit that the theft was my idea. My family is known for theft. We’re thieves by nature, but the drugs? That wasn’t my idea, Camilla...and you know it.”

  He grunts and drops to one knee in front of me, holding up a velvet box in his palm. When he opens it, I’m momentarily startled stupid by the intricately carved ring that’s surrounded by black velvet. “We’ve been lovers for years, Camilla. We’ve both gone our separate ways, but we always find our way back to one another. That’s fate.”

  Shaking my head in surprise at his sudden gesture, I’m wondering why he didn’t lead with the ring. Probably because he knows me as well as I know myself and knows I’d have laughed at him if he’d shown me a ring first. “That’s karma, Dante. So what happens if I agree to marry you, and you lose whatever game you’re playing? Your enemies will claim all the pieces on your board and as a pawn, I’ll be thrown to the dogs to destroy. Especially since my father is the Chief of the New Orleans Police Department.”

  Dante grabs my hand and looks up at me sincerely. “I won’t let that happen. Look, I’ve fucked up a lot in my life. And I’ve fucked up with you so many times that I deserve your ire and to be kicked to the curb. If you become my wife, you will be mine in every sense of the word. This won’t be some fake marriage to fool people. Camilla, you’ve never been and will never be a pawn in this war or any of the games I play… you will be my Queen…”

  TWO

  Present Day

  I glance up from the game of gin that Noemi and I are playing in the game room when I hear the front door open and slam closed again. Noemi raises an eyebrow and I shrug, laying down my cards with a laugh. “He has good timing. Gin.”

  Noemi rolls her eyes at me and flings her cards to the table, shaking her head as they scatter across the slick surface, two fluttering over the sides to the floor below. “I don’t know why I even try anymore. I suck at this game.”

  She stands up and stretches he
r arms over her head, the bottom of her t-shirt creeping up over her protruding belly. I smile and watch her for a moment. She gasps and drops her hand to her side, jerking her shirt down to cover the stretched skin of her belly. Groaning, she shakes her head. “Well, today just sucks. I can’t win a game, my clothes don’t fit anymore… I’m pretty much over it.”

  I smile. Dante’s sister is already nearly bursting at the seams in her pregnancy, and she’s not due for another three months. I smile and lay my cards down on the table and walk to the doorway, poking my head out into the hall as my husband hangs up the smart sport coat he wore to the airport to pick up his brother, Luca, Luca’s wife Emily, and their personal guard, Mike. Only, there’s nobody to be found in the hallway except for Dante.

  I point out the obvious as I step into the hall. “Didn’t you go the airport to pick up everybody?”

  Dante nods as he turns to look at me, a smirk spreading across his lips. “I did.”

  I tilt my head to the side and peer around him, then push past him to open the front door. I stick my head out the front door, then pull it back inside, kicking the door closed behind me. “Are they invisible?”