For Cesare Page 5

  Then she mutters, “It was fate that I was there that night of the raid in Michael’s house. Fate brought us back together. Please don’t break my heart again.”

  Tugging her hair, I force her to look at me. “Never. I’m not that boy anymore.”

  “I know you’re not,” Kinsey states.

  Her kiss-swollen lips curve up, and she stares at me as if she can’t believe I’m truly with her. It’s a look of devotion that I’ve missed.

  “Do you believe in soulmates, Cesare?” she asks suddenly in a tender tone.

  I sift her hair to the side, away from her eyes, and answer honestly, “Yes, ever since the day I met you.”

  KINSEY IS BACK IN MY life and all is right.

  Although, I know she realizes I’m the underboss of the most powerful mafia in New York, Michael needs confirmation. But first, I want to give her revenge against Joey because I need her to feel empowered and safe with me.

  Kinsey and I enter Michael’s house a month after the raid, and my captain already has Joey in the basement, tied to a bar hanging from wall-to-wall.

  “Where are we going?” Kinsey probes.

  Before I turn the knob, I tell her, “Joey needs to pay for what he did to you.” And I open the door.

  She doesn’t flinch when she sees him. Thankfully, she sees the same man that I do; the man that drugged her. Joey crossed the line when he hurt her, and even though he’s a captain, I’m the underboss and outrank him. I only needed permission to capture him from Michael, who gave it happily.

  Michael’s also present and greets Kinsey while gripping Joey’s chin.

  He’s been in here for weeks, deprived of food and living off water. His emaciated body sways, and his tired eyes are unfocused.

  “You...” he whispers, sneering at Kinsey.

  Just as I’m about to speak, she amazes me and strides to him, grabbing his hair. “You ruin people. You take vulnerable girls off the streets and use them. You made your biggest mistake when you singled me out. Because”—she glances back over her shoulder at me—“I’m his.”

  Kinsey and Michael step aside, and a malicious smile curves Michael’s lips as I take out my gun from my back waistband.

  Joey stutters, “Cesare, please...pl-please. I didn’t know she was yours.”

  “Too little”—I smash the butt of my weapon into his nose—“too late. No one hurts what’s mine!”

  Handing over my gun to Michael, I clench my fist and hit Joey’s face, again and again, relishing in the pain shooting through my knuckles.

  Then I hiss while gripping his hair, “I’m going to keep you on the edge of death, bruised and starving, until you pray for the sweet agony of death. I’ll deliver your body to your friends to send them a message to run. Everyone who ever gave Kinsey drugs will be hunted and killed.”

  His head slouches forward when I release him, and blood drips from his chin.

  I face Kinsey and hold out my hand for her to accept.

  Michael elaborates, “You’re affiliated with the New York Syndicate now. You’re an accomplice. Do you understand? As Cesare’s partner, we will protect you with the extent of our power. But, if you ever betray us, he will pay with his life. Cesare will be executed.”

  She swallows, and a nervous chill runs down my spine. However, my anxiety is unfounded because she takes my offered hand and nods.

  “Make my underboss happy then,” Michael says.

  “I will,” she replies in a sincere tone.

  And we leave a groaning Joey behind to rot.

  After exiting the basement, I take Kinsey into my arms, feeling content, and kiss the top of her head. She belongs with me and has accepted all that I am. We don’t even need words; our tight embrace says it all. This is the beginning of our forever.

  CHAPTER 16

  Kinsey - present

  IN CESARE’S ARMS, I realize that maybe we’re just all broken, and finding the right soulmate makes us whole.

  When Cesare and I are with each other, we’re good – as always. It just took a drastic event to bring us back together. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom in order to move on.

  It took a total of fifteen years for our love to find its happily ever after. It took four years of friendship, six years of a relationship, and five years of separation for us to understand that a life apart isn’t manageable for either of us. Cesare makes me complete. In the past and in the forever future. All of him, including his anarchic Syndicate.

  “Now I get to take care of you forever,” he whispers into my ear.

  I look up at him as he kisses me with a passion that locks him even tighter in my heart. Then he nuzzles me, and I’m home, where I belong.

  The end.

  Do you want to read full-length illicit & seductive & forbidden romances? Then read the Chicago Syndicate series now!

  The love story of Luca and Fallon

  For Fallon (Chicago Syndicate #1)

  For Luca (Chicago Syndicate #2)

  The love story of Adriano and Camilla

  For Adriano (Chicago Syndicate #3)

  For Cam (Chicago Syndicate #4)

  Although part of the Chicago Syndicate world, the following novels are standalones and can be enjoyed either with or without reading the rest of the series.

  The love story of Logan and Rosalia (STANDALONE)

  For Logan (Chicago Syndicate #5)

  The love story of Henry and Mary (STANDALONE)

  Black Hat Hacker (Chicago Syndicate #6)

  The love story of Carmine and Eva (STANDALONE)

  The Lawyer and the Tramp (Chicago Syndicate #7)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Soraya Naomi reads many genres but favors intense, seductive, and provocative novels where the male character loves fiercely, without remorse or boundaries. She has a passionate obsession with the written word and indulges in chocolate pastries much too often. Her debut novel, For Fallon (Chicago Syndicate, #1), was released on July 26, 2014. She’s honored that For Fallon won “Best Breakout Novel 2014” in the Novel Grounds Semi Annual Literary Awards.

  For more information about the novel and author:

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  ABOUT THE NOVEL

  For Cesare

  Copyright © 2017 by Soraya Naomi

  Published by Soraya Naomi

  A NOVELLA OF NEW YORK Syndicate series.

  First digital edition published March 30, 2016 in Men of Mayhem Anthology by Limitless Publishing.

  First print edition published March 30, 2016 in Men of Mayhem Anthology by Limitless Publishing.

  Second digital edition published July 9, 2017 by Soraya Naomi.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief and correct quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: THIS is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  THIS BOOK IS LICENSED for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  TOP COVER PHOTO CREDIT: conrado/Shutterstock.

  Bottom Cover Photo credit: David Niblack.

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