His Fatal Love

HIS FATAL LOVE WEST COAST MOBSTERS 3 LEIGHTON GREENE This is a work of fiction. Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective trademark holders. All trademarks remain the property of their respective holders. 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. © 2023 Leighton Greene. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author. Cover: Natasha Snow Beta reading and consultation: Leslie Copeland HIS FATAL LOVE Easily bored, completely manipulative, and utterly deadly…and that’s just in bed. To Leo Bernardi, I'm a monster. A killing machine. And a puppet that his Family can use for their own ends. To me, Leo Bernardi is a pawn. A means to an end. And if I have a little fun with him along the way, who cares? Leo thinks he can seduce me. Tame me. Use me. In this game of cat and mouse, the Bernardi Lion is about to get a big surprise. But the more entangled we become, the more I start to feel… Things I didn’t think I was capable of feeling. Things I’ve never wanted to feel. In my line of work, love is a fatal flaw. But the more time we spend together, the harder I fall. Leo Bernardi is my greatest enemy… Could he also be my greatest love? CONTENTS Author’s Note Prologue 1. Julian 2. Leo 3. Julian 4. Julian 5. Julian 6. Leo 7. Leo 8. Julian 9. Leo 10. Julian 11. Leo 12. Julian 13. Leo 14. Leo 15. Julian 16. Leo 17. Leo 18. Leo 19. Julian 20. Leo 21. Julian 22. Julian 23. Leo 24. Leo 25. Julian 26. Leo 27. Julian 28. Leo 29. Julian 30. Julian 31. Leo 32. Leo 33. Leo 34. Julian 35. Leo 36. Julian 37. Julian 38. Leo 39. Julian 40. Leo 41. Julian 42. Leo 43. Leo 44. Julian 45. Julian 46. Julian 47. Leo 48. Leo 49. Leo 50. Julian 51. Leo 52. Julian 53. Leo 54. Julian 55. Julian 56. Leo 57. Julian 58. Leo Dear fatal fans… Also by the Author About the Author AUTHOR’S NOTE Caroline Castellani was English and used English terms. Although her son, Julian, is not English by birth, he also uses some English terms and references throughout this book. * * * Please note this book includes the following subjects: Murder, gun violence and knife violence Homophobia, homophobic violence and misogyny Discussion of and threats of suicide Derogatory language regarding mental illness and personality disorders Murder witnessed by a child Implied child abuse Implied torture Implied intimate partner violence / gaslighting Sexual blackmail / coercion Dubious and undiscussed consent in BDSM Guns in a sexual context Breath play / asphyxiation in a sexual context Casual drug use PROLOGUE BEFORE Caroline Castellani fell in love with Redwood Manor the first moment she saw it. It was grotesque, an uncanny valley version of the stately homes of Europe, a monument to insecurity and narcissism. And yet, she loved it. The estate was vast, having first encroached upon and then swallowed up its neighbors over time. The grounds contained several separate gardens, the tall hedges of a maze, lush swathes of endless and vibrant green grass, with everything kept in meticulous order by an army of dedicated landscapers who tended to every detail of the property. The house itself mimicked a French chateau, broad and neat, endless windows looking out over the grounds. But there was one place that the windows’ gaze could not penetrate: the fountain garden, expertly designed to take advantage of both the sun’s rays and the moonlight at night. A statue of Mars stood sentinel in the middle of a deep oval fishpond, surrounded by lush beds of brightly colored flowers, some native to California, others imported. The pond included a fountain that ran night and day, and a thousand drops of crystal-clear water shimmered in rainbows at the feet of Mars. The trickling water was hypnotic, a soothing music that Caroline enjoyed more and more as her life became less and less. She spent a great deal of time staring at the fountain, contemplating the prison she’d made for herself. Her affair with Ciro Castellani had been exciting when it started, their marriage much less so. These days, he was a jailer. But she enjoyed the beauty of the natural things around her: the water, the soft petals between her fingers, the warm green grass under bare feet. When she focused on the detail, she was able to forget the bigger picture, a monstrous satire of money and class. Her husband lacked both. It had been her job, as a minor English aristocrat, to provide them, but Caroline was not suited to long-term commitment, and Ciro was a difficult man to love. But the main problem was that what Ciro did have was power, and a strong sense of ownership over her. She wandered in front of the fountain this morning wearing a simple white dress, her golden hair falling in untamed curls around her face, still half-styled from the party the day before. Her makeup, which she had not bothered to remove, had shifted during her sleep, the smoky eye turned shadowy. It wasn’t as though Ciro would care. He wasn’t here today. And today was the day. The day she had been promised. A day of excitement and adventure and escape. She was glad today had come. Those men from yesterday had worried her, despite her lover’s reassurances. The way they’d stared at her… Caroline hopped up onto the side of the pond to sit on the wide edge and trailed her fingers in the water.