Page 8 of Deal with the Devil
Portia was never going to give up her investigations. Not if she still resided in Newport where la cosa nostra ran rampant. She was always going to be curious, always going to be on the lookout for the next big scoop. She admitted it herself.
Even in the aftermath of what happened at the docks, mia dolcezza was determined to bring an end to the Bellucci and Tuco crime families.
It didn’t matter how risky it was or how much danger it put her in. She would pursue answers regardless.
I had no other choice but to send her away. For her safety and my discretion.
But it doesn’t mean I haven’t thought of her every day she’s been away. That I haven’t devised other means to… keep an eye on her.
Portia James is the only woman I will ever want. There is no other woman who could ever compare.
I simply haven’t figured out how to make our relationship work long term; how to get Portia to overlook perhaps the biggest flaw imaginable in her eyes. That I’m more than just a renowned businessman named Rafael Calderone.
I’m the ruthless, cunning Il Diavolofrom the Bellucci empire that she’s dedicated much of her career to bringing down.
She wants Il Diavolo behind bars. The last thing she wants is to fall in love with him.
There’s no simple solution to such a dilemma. If there was one, I would’ve pursued it a long time ago. So, instead, I’m left to admire mia dolcezza from afar. I’m still the violent, bloodthirsty mafia capo that would horrify her, and I’m also the lovesick man craving the woman he’s infatuated with.
I swirl the Grappa in my glass before taking another sip. “I have the Dominion Honors Gala tomorrow night.”
“Is that your way of saying you’ll run into her?” Adagio asks, lifting a brow. His blue eyes twinkle as he poses the question, like he already knows the answer.
I haven’t decided yet if it means I’ll run into Portia or not. It’ll be the first time in four months that we’ve been in the same city together. She’ll be within a few miles of me. The temptation is almost too much, and I haven’t even traveled to DC yet.
Will I truly be able to resistmia dolcezza once we’re in the same area?
I’ve done well keeping thoughts of her relegated to late at night, or other times I’m not deep in business or matters of thefamily. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t a constant lingering in the corners of my mind. The faintest hint of her—from a soft note of her perfume to an old video of hers on Metro News—is enough to make me spiral.
I’ve had to avoid all broadcasts of the American News Channel to keep from seeing her and relapsing like some drug addict.
There’s no recovering from such an affliction. My obsession with her is for life.
I swallow more Grappa, the dry, woody taste on my tongue, and finally answer his question. “She won’t be at the event. Her news channel is sending someone else to cover it.”
Adagio and Maurizio share a quick, knowing look I don’t bother admonishing them for. They know as well as I do how deep my fixation goes. They’re aware there’s no cure for it.
So long as I’m alive, whether as Rafael or my sinister alter ego Il Diavolo, Portia James will be the object of my desire…
It’s late in the evening when I return to my penthouse after drinks with Adagio and Maurizio. Most of my staff is gone except the few I keep available overnight for security purposes or other conveniences.
I tug my tie loose as I wander through the open space only dimly lit by the fireplace and a few sconces lining the walls.
There’re also the city lights that twinkle from the floor-to-ceiling windows at any given hour.
My entire living room offers a panoramic view of downtown Newport’s financial district. For as long as I’ve lived here, it’s more than been the perfect location for a man like me—it’s represented everything Rafael Calderone the businessman represents.
Money. Power. Domination.
Not only do I work and own much of this district, I live here too. I breathe its air and am so inescapable, I’ve infiltrated just about every part of it.
As the days go by, that’s increasingly the case for the entire city.
Il Diavolo takes over by the day. He’s rising fast on a trajectory nothing and nobody can stop.
Not the city authorities. Not Titus Tuco and his minions. Damn sure not Don Vito, though he hasn’t realized it yet.
He still believes I’m under his thumb.
