PROLOGUE

TWO YEARS AGO...

NICCOLO

"Son of a bitch!"

I muttered under my breath as I tugged down my tie as I felt it was suffocating me while driving. That curse was directed at my cousin, who happened to be my boss also. He knew damn well that place held so many nightmares for me. He knew my history with that place and yet he was still sending me to that goddamned hell.  I should be in bed with a beautiful woman now instead of driving here. "Fuck you, Santi."

I knew fucking well that it was one of my job as his consigliere to follow the boss' command without being a pussy but fuck him! I hit the steering wheel with my hand while driving to the hairpin curve of Amalfi to let out my frustration. Being in this place again would be the last thing on my mind. I should have talked some sense to my asshole of a cousin and made him realize that sending another person for this errand other than me was the best thing he would ever made but instead, I kept my mouth shut and let him order me around like a dog.

On the other hand, it had always been like this ever since he got acquainted with Marco Orsini again. My cousin and that damned demanding billionaire treated me less than a human with their demands as if finding a mission person was just a simple walk in the park. 

Did they know how hard it was to find a person who vanished without a trace? Even the cops working on the team had experienced difficulty in finding such people and yet they expected me to find them within hours of their disappearance.

Maybe they thought that I was the Lord who knew everything. It was always like that, every time Marco Orsini would call I knew that another mountainous work would be waiting for me on top of my work without extra pay but just a simple 'thanks'. My cousin who couldn't wait to get rid of Marco would pressure me to have the job done as soon as possible to keep Marco from pestering him.

That led me to endless travels, endless hunger, lack of sleep, and shamelessly using my influence to get the information I wanted. I even resorted to blackmail just to get what I wanted from the authorities.

"Son of a bitch!" I said again when I was surprised by the car that nearly collided with my car on the next curve. "Puttana! Do you want to get yourself killed, asshole?! Come back here and I'll send you to the Purgatorio." I shouted to the driver who nearly sent me to the cliff below.

I knew that coming to this place was a mistake. This place was a curse. I shouldn't have stepped foot in this place where my parents lost their lives. This was all Santi's fault. If I died tonight in this place I would hunt that bastard until the end of his miserable life. " I will kill you when I get back, Santi."

He should come here instead of me since he was the one who was eager to expand his damned business here in Amalfi. I was more than willing to be relocated to Antarctica than be here in this goddamned place.

Thinking that there was nothing I could do about this, all I could do was finish this assignment as soon as I could and be on my way. When I got back to Sicily I would make sure that my cousin understood that this was the last time I would set foot in Amalfi. I didn't care what he thought but this was the last favor I would do for him as long as Amalfi was concerned.

To ease my frustration, I lit my cigarette and puffed some smoke to calm my nerves while driving to this narrow road. The wind blew to my face sending my hair in all directions from the convertible I was driving. I was glad that made the right choice by choosing this car instead of using an SUV for this trip. The air kept me calm and helped me think clearly while passing this road that led to my nightmares.

I remained stoic while passing the road where my parents and I were ambushed fifteen years ago. I still remember that day vividly as if it only happened yesterday. We were supposed to have an enjoyable vacation here in Amalfi but that day turned into a nightmare when they mistook our car to be of Santi's father. They showered our car with bullets flying in all directions. My father instructed me to hide under the seat at the back and cover my ears as hell and earth seemed to merge that day. 

I was the only survivor that day with a shot in my back and a bullet graze on my right eyebrow. When I woke up again, I was already in the hospital with Santi and his father in my room. Since then uncle took me in and treated me like his son since Santi and I were the same age. 

Uncle also vowed to find those men who were responsible for the death of my parents and two years later, when I was already fifteen the news of their capture had finally come. Uncle brought me to the warehouse where they were keeping them captured. As expected, they came from the crime family who had unresolved issues with my uncle. 

Santi's father asked me that day what should I do to those people who killed my parents they were begging for their lives but they didn't give my father and mother the chance to beg for their lives too so why should I allow them?

"Do you want to be the one to pull the trigger?" Uncle asked, handing me the gun. My hands were shaking that was the first time held firearms. "It's okay if you don't want to do it. I'll do it for you, for my brother and my sister-in-law."

"No. I'll do it." I told my uncle resolutely. 

He looked at me for a moment before smiling proudly.  He let me aim the gun at those monsters who robbed me of my father and mother. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger killing them one by one. That was the first time I killed someone in my life and I did not regret it. 

Life went by and I had been trained to be a consigliere when Santi finally inherited the family business. Everything was fine until Uncle was killed in an ambush. Once again, I had been left by a person who cared for me. 

It made me wonder if I was cursed because the people I cared about were all dying. Maybe I was destined to be alone in my life. 

"You still have me," Santi said after his father's funeral. "We're still family, Nico."

He was probably right but I think if he was smart. He should stay away from me because I had been cursed probably not to be happy in my life. But since my cousin persisted in sticking with me. I vowed to protect him with my life. That was also the reason why I kept on following his commands even the most ridiculous ones. It was my way of repaying their kindness to me...

"Shit!" I muttered as I was caught off guard by the speeding car in front of me inside the tunnel. I had to pull my car to the side to avoid it but that made me lose control of my vehicle and the next thing I knew was that I collided with the side of the mountain.

"Figlio di puttana!" My head was bleeding from hitting the steering wheel and my whole body hurt like hell. I would not be surprised if I still had a few broken bones after this.

I knew that this place was cursed and I didn't expect that fifteen years after it claimed the lives of my parents it would claim my life too. I guessed Amalfi still had unfinished business with me. Now was the time for this beautiful place to claim its debt. 

Just when I thought that I would be reunited with my parents again. A light from behind flashed from my blurry eyes. That must be the light from heaven, huh?

"Are you all right?"

I looked up to see an angel with dark long hair going who went down to heaven to fetch me. I smiled even though my brain was foggy as fuck at the moment. I tried to focus my eyes on this beautiful angel who smells aqua and lemon. "Am I dead?"

"No. You're not." She replied in her sweet melodic voice. "Stay with me, okay? Help is coming."

"I'm tired. I want to sleep."

"You can't!" She said desperately. "Please. Stay with me. You can't sleep. Stay awake. Do you understand?"

I nodded but in reality, I didn't. All I knew was that my eyes were so damned heavy and all I want to do was take a nap.

"Signore! Signore! Stay with me." She was tapping my cheeks gently. Even her hands feel soft. I didn't realize that angels were this delicate. 

I tried to touch her hand that was on my cheek. I smiled at her. "What's your name, angel?"

"My name is--"

It was a shame that I didn't catch her name because I drifted to sleep despite her protest. The next thing I knew when opened my eyes, I was in the hospital once again.

"About time you wake up again, cousin."

I frowned when I saw my cousin sitting next to my bed instead of the angel in my dream. "Where I am?"

"In the hospital."

It took me a moment before I recalled everything. I tried to sit up on the bed but winced when everything hurt. "Relax, Nico. We are in Sicily. We are no longer in Amalfi and I suggest lying down. The doctors will not appreciate it if your wounds start to open up again. They spent hours stitching you up, you know."

"Shit..."

Santi's face twitched. "I guess you had a rough time in Amalfi. You didn't even last a day and you nearly died."

I glared at him. "You think?"

"I guess I made a mistake sending you there."

I rolled my eyes. "Finally you realize, huh?"

"Thank goodness, a kind-hearted young lady found you on the side of the road and called for help."

That made me alert and looked at my cousin. "Who is it?"

Santi raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile. "Do you want me to find her for you?"

I shook my head. Maybe it was a better idea if we just forgot the whole thing. "No need."

He shrugged casually. "If that's what you want, cousin."

A/N: Read the rest on Patreon. LINK ON MY BIO