My eyes widened. “Forever?”
He gave a stern nod. “This is no small transgression.”
I blinked, stunned. Dad would be furious, and Mom would cry fat ugly tears as if I’d personally stabbed her in the heart. “But… things like this have happened before.” This was a school filled with kids from Made Men, or kids who were in the process of becoming Made Men. Violence did happen. Of course, I was a girl and my family wasn’t one of the leading families of the Camorra. Only mere soldiers. And Will’s parents owned several hotels and had an assload of money and influence. They sponsored many school events.
“I already called home. I left a message for your parents because I couldn’t reach them and also a voicemail on your brother’s phone.”
Oh great. Diego would be delighted. “Will insulted me.”
“What did he say?”
I frowned. My engagement wasn’t public yet, so I wasn’t sure how much to say. “He called me names.” I couldn’t even say the word ‘whore’. It was the worst insult anyone could throw at a girl in my circles.
The principal frowned. “If you can’t be more concrete, I can’t help you, and even if Will insulted you, that’s no excuse to punch him. From what I hear, you broke his nose, Gemma. His parents might press charges against you.”
I sunk deeper into the chair. A Made Man would die before he admitted that a girl had beaten him up. But Will would probably tell it to anyone who wanted to hear it.
“I need to have a word with Will in the infirmary now.”
Will definitely wouldn’t say anything in my favor. I walked back out and took a seat on one of the chairs across from the secretary’s desk. I wanted to scream in frustration.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed but suddenly Diego appeared beside me, looking like he was close to exploding. The secretary looked up. “Name.”
Diego glared at me, then at her. “Bazzoli. I’m here to pick up my sister.”
The woman frowned. “Where are her parents?”
“Not here,” Diego said sharply. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, and was sweaty as if he’d been called out of fight training. His Camorra tattoo was on display.
With a glance at it, the secretary gave a nod. “Your sister is suspended from school until Friday, at least. But expulsion is very likely.”
“We’ll see,” Diego muttered. He grabbed my forearm and pulled me to my feet then dragged me out.
“Diego,” I hissed. “Stop, you’re hurting me.” He loosened his hold but didn’t stop pulling me along. He steered us toward the boys’ restrooms, poked a head in, then dragged me inside. He released me and headed toward the only locked door. He hammered his fist against it while I regarded the urinals to my right in disdain. I’d never been in a man’s restroom before.
“Get the fuck out of here and take your shit elsewhere or I’ll climb over that fucking stall and drag you out.”
After a moment, the stall was unlocked and a freshman boy whose name I didn’t know came out. One look at Diego’s expression and his tattoo, and he rushed outside.
“Do we have to be in here?” I asked.
Diego advanced on me and grabbed my shoulders. “What’s wrong with you? What the fuck has gotten into you? I knew allowing you to fight was a huge fucking mistake.” He’d never said that.
“He got what he deserved.”
Diego’s eyes flashed with anger. “Did he? But you’ll be the one who’ll get punished. That fucking guy’s parents are going to do everything to get you expelled.”
“But… you and Dad can do something, right?”
Diego laughed darkly. “I could beat him up, cut him a bit, I’m sure then he’d change his mind but his parents own huge hotels that pay us for protection. They aren’t anybody. They deal with Remo Falcone personally because of how important they are. I can’t do anything without getting the permission of my Capo. Or I could ask Savio to talk to his brother for me, but I’m not sure I want to ask him for that kind of favor because you can’t get a grip on your fucking bitchiness. The engagement isn’t even public yet and you’re already messing things up.”
“You’re an asshole,” I bit out. I’d thought Diego would be on my side, had thought he’d smooth things out for me like he always did. Having him this furious at me, made me feel horrible.
Diego only glared down at me.
I swallowed. Why did Mom have to hand down her emotionality to me? I wanted to be tough like steel. Tough like Diego and the other guys who I always only ever got to watch fight.
Diego released a breath. “Are you going to cry?” There was still anger in his voice, but also something gentler.
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?”