~~~~~

The next morning, a knock on the door woke me from slumber. I pulled on my robe as I marched towards it - annoyed for the interruption - then remembered we were home. It wasn’t room service, so I didn’t know who this was. Feeling a little out of touch, I grabbed the magnum and paced back over towards the door. Few people dared to knock on our door, so it could only be one of two things. A threat, or one of our seconds.

“Donna Liliana, it’s Marcello.” He sounded a little frantic, so I aimed my gun as I opened the door, just in case danger lurked behind him. “Perhaps we could talk about this?”

He held a very obvious broken finger out, holding the wrist of it with the other hand, form shaking a little. I did my best to keep a straight face, but I knew I winced, as it’s not something I’d expected to see. When I felt Nicolo press himself against my spine, Marcello visibly cringed before bowing to me. It didn’t take much to put two and two together from there, and I sighed a little.

“Let’s meet in five minutes in the living room.” I replied as I closed the door then turned to glare at Nicolo. “What the hell…?!”

“Look, I know what you’re going to say, Amore Mio, I do. Your family, your problem, but my family doesn’t quite see it that way.” My arms crossed in annoyance, though I was willing to hear him explain – even though I was seeing red. “Your cover. No one in my family sees yours as Mafioso. Marcello imposed on mine by way of inviting yours here. They came to the Villa while we were gone. The only people who have any respect from mine is you and your grandfather, yet Marcello got them access to this private home.”

My eyes slid closed in frustration. Once again, Marcello almost failed me. He seemed to forget our position here. Before I married Nicolo, I was a servant the others hated. An affront of this magnitude could not go ignored. As Donna of the Accardi, I also had to punish him – the Enforcers had been calling for it for a while, too. His recent failures went too far, which was the real reason my family were here, I was sure.

“I came straight to bed last night, so everyone must’ve assumed I was tired.” I whispered, thinking about how Nicolo made the decision to do this when I was in here. “You see, I have to punish him as well.”

“Your family should already be here. Piero invited them as an apology for the way everyone reacted yesterday, so it’s a good opportunity to assert your dominance as the Donna of the Romano.” Nicolo offered with a wink, then offered me a dress. “Wear this.”

“I think I already have something in mind for an appropriate punishment.” I nodded, slipping into the light blue form-fitting, short sleeve dress without another thought. “That’s the one thing I don’t understand about you, Nico. Why do you like dressing me?”

“Seeing you wear something I pick for you lets me know what you’re wearing underneath.” He whispered into my ear, then laid a slap against my backside. “Which I know is always nothing, so your wrapped in what I like to see you in. Is it bad?”

I looked into the floor mirror nearby, and stared at my figure from head to toe. The dress wasn’t formal, it was more casual with a c-neck, and stopped right at the knee. Perfect for a day in the park or to relax around the house in. I turned to look at the back, which matched the front, and pulled my hair over my shoulder. Months ago, I couldn’t have imagined letting someone pick out clothes for me, yet now, I didn’t mind it.

“You’re just trying to say you like to see me wear the clothes you buy for me.” I replied with a shrug, then glanced at him with a teasing smirk. “Because I would never buy something like this for myself.”

“It makes you look loved when you smile like that.” Nico countered – a response that made my jaw drop as he leaned forward to press a devious kiss to my lips. “I saw the way your eyes lit up when you saw it. Your favorite color is purple, right? I’m looking for one like this one in purple, but this was the best I could do.”

“How did you…?”

“You insisted on purple being the color for our wedding. Since your grandfather paid the costs for our Ceremony as thanks for making it happen. The money was seen as a gift to the Don thanks to Piero.” I took his hand as he walked towards the door, following him down the hallway towards the living room where I was sure chaos awaited. “It was also how your grandfather earned my family’s respect. Your grandfather flashed some wealth for it.”

That may be the reason he faked his death and went into hiding. Why was I left out of the loop? Some of our family were in attendance at the wedding and may have thought it a bad sign if the Accardi Don was flashing money. Avoiding attention is what is necessary, so putting oneself - as the Don - in the path of immediate danger in a Mafia-filled house was not good. I could only imagine what some in our family had to say if he ran that fast before they could. But it didn’t sound like him. The old man was a hardass to those who crossed him.

“The Donna has something to say.” Nicolo said as soon as we entered the room, and everyone stopped what they were doing; a silence falling over the crowd. “Sit.”

“Marcello, come here. Is there a doctor here?” I wondered, causing everyone to gasp, and a small bit of hope to bloom in his eyes. “You seemed to have forgotten something. I have a position to serve the Romano family’s best interest, and as a member of my family you’ve embarrassed me.” As soon as the words parted my lips, his hope turned to horror as the doctor appeared, needle already in hand. “No, doctor. No medicine. And for those of you with weak stomachs, you may want to close your ears. Leaving would probably be a better idea, though.”

“But Donna…” The doctor started with eyes widened in shock, as several people evacuated the room immediately. “Resetting it like this could cause problems in that finger down the road… Not to mention the shear pain…”

“Let it be a reminder. Both of my belief in your ability to do a good job, as I know it is thanks to you Ginny got the message, and a punishment for the failures you’ve committed so far.” I narrowed my eyes on Marcello’s face as he glared at me for several moments before he glanced away with a firm nod of acceptance. “There are only so many times I can accept your fall, Marcello. Go ahead, doctor. When your finger’s done, come to the office. We need to discuss your assignment.”

“1… 2………”

“Wait, can I get…”

The crack and scream that followed echoed in my head as I turned away, yet I was unwilling to wince with all the onlookers. There weren’t many left when they realized what was going to happen, but still. Nicolo looked surprised when we locked eyes – mouth agape, his green orbs floating with concern. I thought the doctor would at least look closer or something. Perhaps everyone sensed I was pissed.

It wasn’t uncommon to do that to Soldati who disobeyed orders in our family, but they were few in number. In my grandfather’s time, there were a handful of Enforcers and Earners who got fingers mangled for accidently misappropriating funds by going against his orders and searching for my mother. Back then, the family didn’t believe she’d died in the wreck. They wanted the screaming baby out of the way so they could go back to work.

“Lili, are you sure this is right for you?” Claudio Fidelio asked, one of three who were there. “This place looks safe, but is it? There’s a lot of people here. As your big brother, I’m concerned.”

He was not my brother – I didn’t have any siblings that I knew of - but I wasn’t going to let him disrespect me now that he was facing me while in deep cover. Claudio was one of many hoping to become Don, someone who attempted bullying me when I was a kid. He learned then, as he was about to now, that I wasn’t to be treated this way. If he wanted to pretend to be my brother, I would treat him as such. I smiled a little, before driving my elbow into his stomach hard, making him double over and hack a little.

“Big Brother? You’re still too weak! How many times have I told you to work on your abs?” I laughed then glanced towards Nico, who’d already covered his mouth to hide his laughter. “I’m just fine! You however, have been skipping your exercises. With four brothers, there’s no way you have to worry about little old me.”

“I hope you don’t treat Mister Romano that way, little sister.” Luccan Fidelio acted the concerned older brother but he was a pathological liar and sadist. “With four brothers, she learned to play rough, so you’ll have to forgive her, Mister Romano.”

“You’ve no need to worry. I can handle her just fine.” Nicolo answered, grabbing my wrist to pull me into him. “She’s a bit softer around me, you see.”

There was no point in hiding it, so I just relaxed. I knew it was too late to change my mind about Nicolo and that it was going to hurt when he abandoned me. All I could do now was just enjoy the moments I had his attention. Claudio and Luccan shared a glance before looking back at me with shocked expressions. I’d spent so long treating them like crap when everyone got together, they were used to me being a hardass.

Not everyone in the Accardi Family was blood related. It was more of an independent international spy agency with the Boss being a blood descendant of the original family who started it all. These two were brothers from a family that joined several centuries after the first Accardi, and were among the first outsiders ever to become Enforcers back then. We Accardi have always kept track of our most loyal members via historical documentation written down by every Don who ever led the family.

“And I just ordered Marcello’s finger reset. That’s not his only punishment.”

“WHAT?!” Marcello screamed in horror, reminding me he never left the room. “What do you mean?!”

“That.” I turned to him coldly, and his eyes widened in shock, as if he was clueless. “Did you forget who you’re talking to? You’ve been like this since my marriage to Nico, constantly questioning me, and it can no longer stand.”

This was the second time in under a month he failed to insure my protection. With the attack on the Villa, and with inviting the family here. Had I not had things under control, my identity would already be at risk, all because of his ego. What was it with men and their ego? I crossed my arms as I glared at him hard, thinking of exactly what I wanted. Marcello was a very traditional person as far as personal belief, so this would really remind him to hold his tongue.

“You will get your tongue pierced in my presence and not remove it unless I tell you to.” His face paled at this, as he knew I knew how much he detested body modification of any form. “Maybe it’ll help you learn when to hold your tongue.”

“Ouch, Marcello. Sounds as though you pissed the princess off.” Nicolas Otello, Marcello’s younger brother chuckled at this, having several piercings of his own. “I heard people who get tongue rings can have their tongue swell until they can’t breathe!”