Twisted Hearts (The Camorra Chronicles #5)(47)

I shook my head. “He called me Falcone whore,” I got out, and then the rest of what Will had said burst out of me, and I had to catch my breath when I was done.

“That fucking asshole. How dare he as much as look at you? How dare he talk to you like that? I’m going to break his bones.”

“I started with his nose,” I said. Diego shook his head. The anger on his face was no longer directed at me. “You should have let me handle him.”

“I didn’t think.”

Diego sighed. “I’m not going to allow anyone to insult you in any way. We’ll deal with this now. We’ll get everyone to back off once and for all.” He grabbed my hand to pull me along and I gasped in pain when he touched my bruised knuckles. Diego drew back, his eyes shooting down to my swollen flesh.

“Damn it, Gemma,” he said quietly, taking my hand carefully. “How hard did you hit him? Your knuckles don’t look good. We need to get them checked.”

“He looks worse.”

Diego chuckled, but he remained tense as he pulled me against him and led me out of the restrooms and the school. We arrived at his car and he opened the door for me. I slumped inside, wondering what Diego had in mind to save my hide.

He slid behind the steering wheel and revved the engine.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to where I’ve been. The Falcone gym.”

My eyes grew wide. “Why?”

“Because I’ll have a talk with Savio. I won’t have these kind of rumors about you.”

He sounded absolutely furious.

“I don’t want Savio to know what happened.”

Diego sent me a look. “That’s not up to you. I’ll have to protect your honor and keep you in school.”

I closed my eyes. This day got only worse.

We parked in front of the abandoned casino that harbored the private Falcone gym. Only the Falcones would use something this extra to work out.

“Come on,” Diego urged.

“You want me to come with you?”

“You bet.”

I dragged myself out of the car then trudged after Diego. I didn’t want to see Savio again, especially not after what Will had said.

“Gemma, get a move on,” Diego said, and I sped up, not wanting him to reprimand me again, especially not in earshot of Savio. We entered the huge gaming area of the casino where a boxing ring, a cage, and other workout equipment were spread out.

Savio was pummeling a boxing bag while Nino and Remo were sparring in the boxing ring. The Camorra Enforcer Fabiano was doing burpees. He gave Diego and me a curt nod before he proceeded his workout.

I tried to hide my nerves. This would be embarrassing.

Diego pulled me straight toward Savio who stopped and regarded us with cocked eyebrows. Only seeing him filled my stomach with butterflies. I tried not to check out the display of muscles that glistened with a fine sheen of sweat, or the tattoo that peeked out from his low waistband, the horns of the stupid bull that every girl seemed to have seen except for me.

Diego finally released me to step up close to Savio who narrowed his eyes at my brother.

Remo and Nino stopped fighting and looked over to us as well. I could already feel embarrassment crawling up my neck.

“Make it official,” Diego demanded. “An engagement announcement that’ll show everyone that my sister is yours, that she’s under your protection.”

My eyes widened. That had been an order. Diego and Savio were friends, but Savio was also a Falcone.

Savio took a step toward my brother. “I’m not taking orders from you, Diego.” Then his eyes slid to me and my bruised hand that I still cradled against my stomach. Something in his face shifted. “What the fuck happened with your hand?”

I shrugged. I wouldn’t mention Will, much less Noemi, or any of the things they’d said to me.

“Will Reynolds called my sister, an honorable Italian woman, your future wife, a Falcone whore,” Diego growled. So much for keeping things to myself.

Remo swung himself out of the ring and Nino climbed out a moment later. Even Fabiano stopped what he had been doing to watch the freakshow. Savio only stared at me. “That bastard suggested that your brother as Capo would…fu…” Diego glanced at me. “…would take my sister and that you’d watch. That you two would share her at the same time.”

Oh God. Why couldn’t the ground swallow me? Expulsion would have been less horrific than this mortification.

“That’s what he said?” Remo asked with a twisted smile that raised the little hairs on my neck. “Remind me again, Nino, what is it called? Ius?”

Nino shook his head with a frown. “Ius primae nocti.”

I’d had enough Latin to know what that meant, and my expression slipped a moment. Remo Falcone’s name stirred fears in most people. Even a wife and beautiful children hadn’t changed that.

Diego lost his shit. “This isn’t a fucking joke. My sister is an honorable woman, and nobody should suggest that anyone but her husband touches her!” My heart skipped a beat. He had screamed not just at Savio but also at Nino and Remo.

Remo’s smile slipped off, and Diego fell silent. He took a deep breath. “I meant no disrespect, Capo, but I must protect my sister’s honor no matter the price.”