Twisted Loyalties (The Camorra Chronicles, #1)

by Cora Reilly

I’d wasted the twenty bucks on burgers, fries, and Dr. Pepper the first day.

dude do you have no survival skills whatsoever?

Remo would have never listened to a woman, would have never shown that kind of weakness in front of anyone. Neither would I.

i wouldn't be so sure abt that..

“Perhaps one day you’ll find someone who will love you despite what you’ve become, and she will make you want to be better.”

meh slim chances

When Remo finally took over as Capo, I became his Enforcer, a rank I hadn’t inherited—a rank I’d paid in blood and scars for. A rank I was proud of and would defend till my death, just like I would defend Remo.

Violence, my favorite language, was spoken fluently around here.

People who didn’t pay their debts got a visit from me.

“It’s not like I need an education. I’ll become a Made Man and earn money with illegal shit.” I released him. “Can’t hurt to use your brain so the illegal shit won’t send you to jail.”

One of Remo’s wet dreams included a cage fight against Luca. Tearing apart the Capo of the Famiglia would be Remo’s ultimate triumph.

“I’ve been your Enforcer for years. Do you really think I still have a heart?” Remo chuckled. “Black as tar.”

This was why the Camorra would overrun the Outfit first and then the Famiglia. We didn’t let women meddle in our business. We only used them for our needs. That was something that would never change. Remo would never allow it.

ehh

“I can’t accept this,” she said quietly. “It’s chicken and fries, not a Rolex.”

“Don’t waste your time. She’s already taken.” “By whom?” “Me,” I growled.

woah there cowboy

“It’s in our nature,” I said. “Survival of the fittest. Power struggles. Blood thirst. That’s all still ingrained in our DNA.” “I don’t think that’s true,” she argued. “I think we’ve moved on, but sometimes we fall back into old habits.” “Then why do people still look up to the strong? Why do women prefer the alpha males?” She snorted. “That’s a myth.”

My mother had always said I was a fixer, that I needed something broken so I could see if I was capable of mending it—injured animals, sick people, broken-down cars. Her. She’d said it would get me in trouble one day. Because people couldn’t be fixed, and one day I’d find someone so broken, he’d break me before I could mend him. Was that what had drawn me to Fabiano from that very first second? Had I sensed that something about him was broken and I needed to fix it?

“A good daughter wouldn’t lie to her father,” he said angrily. And a good father wouldn’t steal from his daughter.

If I have to see you in those fucking flip-flops one more time, I’ll go on a rampage.”

he really hates those damn flip flops

“Sometimes we have to let go of our family if we want to amount to anything in life.”

And new shoes were really more for my own sanity than anything else. These flip-flops had to go.

fabiano and the flip flops. the saga

She sought fucking safety from a man like me.

He was all hard lines and muscle, power and danger, but when I touched him, his skin betrayed that he was only human.

“What does it mean?” “Fear me because I’m the eye and the blade.” A lover’s voice delivering such harsh words.

“In our world, you’re either hunter or prey, Leona. I know what I am. What are you?”

“Prey,” she admitted reluctantly. “I’ll always be prey.”

I had to have her. Every little inch of her. Every goosebump. Every freckle. Every fucking shy smile. All for myself.

“Do you think I’ve done too many wrong things?” He smirked. “You’re here with me. I’d say you have a strong penchant for doing wrong things.”

The poor little waitress and the big deal mobster.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered. “Everything.”

Even if my body ached for his touch, and even if some stupid part of me wanted to get to know him—the real him—I had to stay away from him. Maybe I was a fixer, but I had to fix my own life before I could consider fixing someone else.

The mob wasn’t about friendship. It was about dedication and loyalty. It was about honor and commitment. I didn’t have friends. Remo and his brothers were the closest thing to friends I had, but what connected us was stronger. They were family. My chosen family.

“Sleep tight, Fabiano, if your conscience lets you.”

I needed to stop imagining there was something in him. I needed to stop wanting his touch when the same hands did horrible things to others. Things I couldn’t even imagine. Things I didn’t even want to know.

Sin. That was what he was.

“I hope this wasn’t you really trying,” he said. “An attacker could have his way with you now. It wouldn’t be very difficult to rip your clothes off and force myself on you.” “You would kill anyone who did,” I said.

at least hes trying

Love is what makes us human, what makes life worth living. Love is unconditional.”

“I will fight your battles for you now, Leona. I told you I’d protect you.”

“Some things are worth waiting for.” “And you are one of them?” I asked. She looked away, out toward the city lights. Her lashes fluttered again, but this time it was to keep the tears contained. “I don’t know.”

Leaning her cheek against my chest, she whispered, “Please don’t hurt me. I don’t think I can handle it.”

He had a very strange look in his eyes as he regarded the bracelet, almost as if the piece of jewelry had come to haunt him.

oh perhaps this like means that she brought out that gentle and caring side of him and thats why he gives her the bracelet because deep down its significant cuz his sister gave it to him as a reminder of who he used to be and leona did it, she made him remember

I’m everything people warn you about. I’m every despicable thing they tell you and worse.” “Then why do I feel safe when I’m with you?”

“I was weak.” “You were a child.”

EXACTLY LIKE OH MY GOD CAN YOU JUST STFU WITH UR OH I WAS WEAK BULLSHIT UGH

Oh God. I was falling for him.

The kiss was sweet. I’d never had a fucking sweet kiss in my life.

I didn’t love Fabiano. I … I was falling for him. Falling deeper and deeper every day. Into his darkness and what lay beneath it. Fabiano didn’t want love. He didn’t believe in it. I couldn’t love him.

the sound of his voice was like a hot shower after hours in the cold.

“Protect me?” I echoed. Fabiano was a destroyer, not a protector. He was no knight in shining armor. “And who will protect me from you?”

The Camorra was the love of his life.

I was risking my status and what was I getting in return?

you're risking your status and she's risking her future. seems fair to me

You want me to sleep with you? Would that settle my mother’s debt?” She said it with so much disgust that it set my veins aflame with fury. “Do you really think fucking you once is worth that much? Leona, believe me, it’s not. For you to pay off four grand, you’ll have to let me have your pussy for a long time.”

THE FUCKING AUDACITY

I’m sorry. The idea of you leaving me is the worst torture I can imagine. Be the woman Aria gave me that bracelet for. Stay, even if I’m not worth it.

“I betrayed for you, I killed for you,” I said roughly, pulling out of her slowly until only my tip remained inside her. “I’ll bleed and I’ll die for you.”

how abt being a decent human being for once tho?