Ciao Bella Read online

  

  Warriorville 13

  Ciao Bella

  [Siren LoveXtreme Forever: Contemporary, Menage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic Suspense, MFMMM, HEA]

  Bella Puchenzi and her family are forced out of their business and are starting over in Warriorville, but trouble seems to follow them there when her uncle decides to do some illegal business activities behind her father's back.

  In doing so, they wind up in the middle of a federal and local investigation, ultimately putting them all at risk.

  Bella finds herself falling in love with four soldiers, Slane, Lucky, Vince and Chord McCantry, but unfortunately, they question her honesty and her ethics as they learn she is part of the case they are working.

  No one expects the double-dealing going on, and as her men leave her in safety as they do their job to solve the case, Bella is taken and must fight for her life and to get back to her men, as they fight and kill to get to her in time.

  Length: 40,500 words

  CIAO BELLA

  Warriorville 13

  Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Ciao Bella

  Copyright © 2020 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-108-2

  First Publication: February 2020

  Cover design by Siren Publishing

  All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  People seem to be more interested in my name than where I get my ideas for my stories from. So I might as well share the story behind my name with all my readers.

  My momma was born and raised in New Orleans. At the age of twenty, she met and fell in love with an Irishman named Patrick Riley Dwyer. Needless to say, the family was a bit taken aback by this as they hoped she would marry a family friend. It was a modern day arranged marriage kind of thing and my momma downright refused.

  Being that my momma’s families were descendants of the original English speaking Southerners, they wanted the family blood line to stay pure. They were wealthy and my father’s family was poor.

  Despite attempts by my grandpapa to make Patrick leave and destroy the love between them, my parents married. They recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.

  I am one of six children born to Patrick and Lynn Dwyer. I am a combination of both Irish and a true Southern belle. With a name like Dixie Lynn Dwyer it’s no wonder why people are curious about my name.

  Just as my parents had a love story of their own, I grew up intrigued by the lifestyles of others. My imagination as well as my need to stray from the straight and narrow made me into the woman I am today.

  For all titles by Dixie Lynn Dwyer, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/dixie-lynn-dwyer

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CIAO BELLA

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Epilogue

  CIAO BELLA

  Warriorville 13

  DIXIE LYNN DWYER

  Copyright © 2020

  Prologue

  “We have no choice. They’ve forced us from our business and now from our home, Maria. They’re taken everything we have except the savings account, the cash we hid. We need to get out of here, move on, and establish a new place, a new life,” Luigi Puchenzi said to his wife.

  “You know I will follow you, be by your side through anything, Luigi. Anything,” his wife said to him and held his hand. She stared up into his eyes, and Luigi knew his wife, his love, would be able to see the fear, and would know there was more to this.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked him. He held a firm expression, his lips sealed, and when she squinted and then swallowed hard, he could tell that she knew it was serious.

  “Just do as I say, Maria. The plan is in motion and now is the time to leave. We’ll send the men with Bella to ensure her safety.”

  “Her safety?” He gripped her hand.

  “The money, the restaurant, them taking over, demanding more and more and more, and Costano and Feluppe…

  He looked away. Maria touched his cheek, her palm to his skin as she looked way up at him. She was petite, beautiful, and his love of forty years.

  “Tell me.”

  “They want her. They want Bella.” She dropped her hand, shook her head, and stepped back. The tears filled her eyes and then the anger.

  “No, no, no! No!” she yelled.

  “Now you understand the urgency in leaving.”

  “Will they try to pursue her elsewhere?”

  “I’m not asking any questions. I’m getting us out of here, out of their control, and out from under their thumb. They can have the fucking restaurant, but they cannot have my family, my Bella.”

  Tears rolled down Maria’s cheeks and he tried to console her. To act like leaving, moving, starting over in another state, another city or town, was the answer, but he knew deep down inside that Costano wanted to make Bella his woman, and his cousin Feluppe would be right there acting as if she belonged to him too. He had to save his daughter, and that meant reconciling differences with family in Texas.

  “Costano will look for her. He could even find her now before we can get the boys to get her out of here,” Maria said in a panic.

  “Our sons know. Bella does not. They will be leaving with her first thing in the morning. It will be fine, Maria. I promise you, it will be fine.” He pulled her into his arms but felt as if his words didn’t reach his heart. Luigi was scared. Costano was a loan shark, a gangster, a black market criminal who forced Luigi’s hand in return for protection. He just kept pulling Luigi deeper and deeper, until more of what Luigi made went to Costano than it did to Luigi and his family. He closed his eyes and prayed he could protect them, and protect Bella, or he would lose more than just his business and livelihood. He would lose his daughter and his life.

  Chapter 1

  “Shots fired! I repeat, shots fired!” Vince into the radio as he and Chord ran through the dark alleyway between buildings in pursuit of the shooter. The surveillance he and his brothers, his team, were doing in Dallas turned into a nightmare. They were following a lead in a triple murder and illegal export of guns to the city by a guy connected to terrorism. That was the only reason his team were involved in this. Now here they were being shot at.

  “Son of bitch, there’s two of them. One ran to the left and the other straight ahead into the two buildings,” Chord yelled to him.

  “We split up. Chord and I take the right, Lucky and Slane take the other. Don’t get dead,” he said and they parted ways. Vince and Chord could hear the gunshots only moments after they entered the building. There were a lot of concerns at this point as sirens could be heard and more help was coming. The problem wi
th that was the uniformed officers could mistake him and his brothers as the shooters. Plus people were opening their front doors to their apartments.

  “Close the door, lock it, and don’t let anyone in,” Chord reprimanded an older man who came to the door with a gun in his hand.

  The man eyed them over.

  “We’re police. Now close it,” Vince added firmly and the guy quickly closed the door. Were people fucking stupid? Why open a door when you could hear gunfire?

  “Get down!” Chord yelled just as the guy shot from around the corner, nearly hitting Vince.

  “Motherfucker!” He winced and then they shit back and ran toward the shooter who disappeared into the stairwell. Just as they pushed open the door police officers were heading toward them.

  “Police! Stop right there!”

  “We are the police. He’s this way. Secure the back exits, surround the building, and we’ll flush him out” Vince said, pulling open his jacket to show his badge.

  “Yes, sir!” the officer responded and then they carefully entered the stairwell.

  “Fuck. Up or down?”

  Vince shook his head. “God damn it. He could have gone either way. He’s desperate and trapped now.”

  “I’ll go up, you go down,” Chord said. Vince nodded.

  “Watch your ass.”

  “You watch yours too. See ya on the other side of this.”

  Vince carefully slid along the stairwell wall, gun drawn and ready to shoot. It was a slow process by the way the stairwell wound tight down the stairs. He would shoot first if there was any movement. The further down he went the faster his heart raced. He would think after all the years hunting in the desert, the jungles, the cities in foreign countries as a soldier that this would be less stressful. Who the fuck was he kidding? His life was on the line and so were other innocent people.

  He heard the sound of gunfire from above and instantly knew that the shooter went up, not down. He hurried back up the three flight of stairs just as the door opened and more cops came in, guns drawn. He showed his badge even though they looked ready to shoot him. His heart was in his mouth. How many times had undercover officers been mistaken as bad guys and gotten killed? He was worried about his brother Chord, and then he called up to him.

  “Chord!” he yelled.

  “All good!” Chord responded back and Vince sighed in relief.

  “The other undercover guys caught their guy in the building next door. Were there any other suspects?” The office asked.

  “Just the other two that they had killed. Thanks for the backup,” Vince said and then he sighed in relief as he saw his brother Chord standing near the suspect who was bleeding from his shoulder, handcuffed and lying on his belly facedown.

  He didn’t say a word, just locked gazes with Chord, and no words were needed. They got through another dangerous situation and would feel completely at ease when they saw Lucky and Slane.

  A short time later as they gathered around the chaotic scene, Vince and his brothers checked out the box truck that was being illegally used to transport guns and drugs in the city.

  “It belongs to a restaurant in Fort Worth. What the fuck?” Lucky asked.

  “These guys are working for numerous organizations. This guy from Germany we thought was the lead culprit is just one of many who are involved with this. Our focus is to handle the local situations and that’s what we’ll do. Let the feds handle the international ones,” Slane said to them.

  “You’re right, it’s just hard when we could be searching for the big fish,” Lucky added.

  “I know but that isn’t the job we signed on for in retirement from the Corps. We’re taking care of state-wide situations and aiding in the investigation beyond Texas. This situation today was completely unexpected,” Vince said to them.

  “Which brings us back to this truck, and why those two men just killed the guys driving the vehicle. Obviously they didn’t want their intentions known,” Chord stated.

  “I think we should come up with some concrete answers when we interrogate them,” Lucky said and cracked his knuckles. None of them liked being shot at, and despite all the experience it was never something to just shrug your shoulders at.

  “We’ll only get that chance if they don’t lawyer up,” Chord added and they all nodded in agreement.

  Vince looked at his brothers.

  “I’m glad that you’re all okay. For jobs that were supposed to be part time and not so dangerous it seems we’re signed on for more than we bargained for. That means a changed mindset and we will discuss it later,” Vince said and they all agreed, but Vince felt uneasy. They had retired from the Marine Corps in hopes of not risking their lives and testing the hands of fate. They didn’t need to do this, but they were signed on for this case, one that didn’t seem to be as simple as their commander and the other investigators had thought it to be. They would see it through and then decide if they wanted to continue this work or retire completely.

  * * * *

  “Order up!”

  Bella Puchenzi hurried deeper into the kitchen to grab another order and deliver it to a table of five men. Since the family opened up the new restaurant eight weeks ago, they had been super busy day and night. She hadn’t even had time to try out one of Liz’s or Angelina’s self-defense classes. She was lucky to get in a run in the early morning hours or late in the evening. Her father and brothers were not too happy about that either, but she had no choice. If she didn’t work out she would go insane. Today she had planned on getting the bookkeeping done in the office, but they were short staffed, looking to hire a few more waitresses, and she jumped in to help.

  She gathered several plates at once on one arm and grabbed the last dish with the other hand.

  “Vincent, can you follow me out with the additional sides, please?” she asked one of the other waiters, and he nodded, grabbed the side dishes, and they headed out the swinging door. The Italian music played from the surround sound speakers and drowned out any coherent conversations that people were having. Ciao Bella’s was a hit as the new restaurant in Warriorville. Gorgeous paintings of famous places in Italy hung on the walls, a very Tuscan feel to the place. Including a wine room and private dining area was a plus to the place. She hadn’t really expected a town like Warriorville to have such wealthy people, or those into wine tasting and reserving rooms and tables for small parties, but they were and they were booked solid for weeks. The back room, where more upscale dining was, had been booked up for the next several weeks with parties and private gatherings. Including one tonight that was being hosted by some local law enforcement group, consisting of some very intense men from what Melody had explained. That was one thing Bella didn’t think she would ever get used to. The intense, hard-core, military type of men.

  She was not experienced in that department, so maybe that was why she reacted so shyly and was intimidated by them. Either there was something in the water around these parts, or it was the great state of Texas that grew men like the ones around here. They were good looking, rugged, experienced, and did not back down from what she had witnessed. There was a general confidence among most of the men, a look in their eyes she could only describe as experienced, capable, and ready for anything. The one plus around here was the intolerance for trouble makers. The sheriff and deputies, besides all the good law-abiding male citizens, ensured the upkeep of law and order. A woman felt safe, and she felt it too but was resistant. She was a New Yorker, and in Brooklyn where she grew up there were wolves in sheep’s clothing, men with an angle, with promises and bad intentions. Not that she ever dated really, because the business was family owned and her college degree in accounting and finance came in handy and ultimately saved the family money in hiring someone else.

  Add in cowboys with attitudes and law enforcement officers who looked at strangers suspiciously. She figured by now they would all be used to her and her family. Although she was the quietest, and avoided any type of confrontation, she didn’t like agg
ressive men. They reminded her of the guys who used to come into Puchenzi’s in the city. That was her parent’s first restaurant, and they were forced to leave because of Costano Punzini. A regular in the neighborhood and the family restaurant, he thought he was a big shot. She knew all about him, his loan shark ties and other illegal activities. He was good looking, older, very sly and manipulative. The women went crazy over him and any attention he might give them. She, however, was intimidated by him and avoided Costano as best she could. She even remembered him sneaking into the back office while she was doing the accounting books for her father. He was supposed to meet her dad, but her dad was still busy with some customers. He walked in, sat on the edge of her desk, and flirted. He had a good ten years on her or more, and he was a player. He had been in jail before, had tattoos on two fingers on his right hand, a skull or some gang sign, she wasn’t sure. Definitely not a man she would be interested in, but he was interested in her. He wasn’t a big fish, he was known in their area, and he knew the real big shots. The guys who whenever they came to the neighborhood you got out of the way, or if they came to the restaurant then they got the treatment. Usually if they tried to sit at one of her tables, one of her three brothers would take over. A few times she was forced to wait on them because they said something to her father and it didn’t seem like he had a choice. She didn’t want her dad to get upset, so she said it was okay and that she was fine serving them. She didn’t think she even realized what message that sent to Costano. She felt that ache to her gut. Leaving town the way they did, and the fear and intensity she felt from her parents and brothers indicated they were leaving for good reason, and she couldn’t help but to feel like they were protecting her.