THE FAMILY
beautiful & dirty
Shae
Here's my advice for how to survive a vacation to Italy with the college boyfriend you've just now realized is terrible:
1. Ditch him in Rome.
2. Take the train to Naples for pizza.
3. Let the attractive older man you’ve just met buy you a drink.
4. Flirt a little (or a lot) while ignoring his wedding ring.
5. Let him bend you over a table.
6. Break up with your boyfriend.
--
Sal
There are a lot of ways to respond to the news that your wife is trying to kill you. I have sex with the young American who stumbles into my restaurant. And then I get revenge.
Content warnings:
assassination attempt (gunshot)
maiming
torture
discussion of murder
the hitman
Zahra
What would you do if you found out that your fiancé cheated on you the night before your wedding with a reality tv exotic dancer? What if you found out that they'd had a threesome with your best friend, who was also your maid of honor? What if you discovered all of this on the morning of your wedding with a camera for your own reality tv show pointing at your face?
Let me tell you what I do.
I punch her. I punch him. And then I run away to Italy on what should have been my honeymoon alone, with my ex's stolen credit cards.
I just want to drink all the wine and cry myself to sleep at night, but I can't even do that in peace.
Giulio
I deserve this holiday. I worked hard for it. I killed for it. Literally. But the woman next door won't stop crying and it's keeping me awake at night. When I go to confront her... Well, let's just say things don't go to plan. Not that I'm complaining.
And I know my life is chaotic, but even I can't predict the armed man who shows up to kill me or the fact that I've somehow ended up on the run with the weepy goddess from the penthouse suite. It's a mistake to bring Zahra along, but I want to keep her safe. I want to keep her with me. Also, try as I might, I can't tell her no and mean it.
Besides, I'm beginning to suspect that I might have the guns, but I'm not running this show; she is, and she's damn sexy while doing it.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Mentions of domestic abuse
Mentions of child abuse
Murder
Shooting deaths
the enforcer
Zoe
What should you do when your boyfriends try to spring a baby on you? Fight and then leave.
What should you do when the old women in your family want to know why your sister has gone MIA in Italy? Tell them you are not, actually, your sister’s keeper, but then remember that you’re never old enough to talk back.
So that's how I end up in Naples with my cousin Shae, who is acting very strange, a broken heart, and no real plan besides finding my annoying little sister, Zahra.
But then I meet Alfonso.
Alfonso
Being Salvatore's bodyguard is the perfect kind of danger, but the past few months have been a bit much even for me. My partner in literal crime, Giulio, returned from his vacation with Zahra and now the two are nearly inseparable, and the responsibility of keeping everything in order has fallen to me.
But when Zoe bursts into the restaurant (and my life), Salvatore goes rogue, and there's another assassination attempt, everything goes to shit rather quickly, so I go home to Positano to regroup.
While hiding Zoe in my family's hillside home, I have to fight my growing attraction to her while convincing my mother and brothers that this woman I barely know is the love of my life.
I would have preferred a gunshot wound.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Physical fights
Gory descriptions of fighting
Murder on the page
Ableist language
Dolci
Giulio
I don't want to be the boss.
I want to stay in bed for at least sixteen hours a day with Zahra. I want to pretend that what we have can last. And every now and then I want to shoot some people. In that order.
But with Salvatore on the hunt for whoever is trying to kill him and Alfonso in Positano trying to keep Zahra's sister safe, that leaves me in Naples with the weight of our entire organization on my shoulders, with Zahra.
And what does the love of my life decide to do in the middle of all this danger? She wants to date. She wants to discover Naples and Italian cuisine. And she wants to explore a life with me.
I don't want to be the boss, but with Zahra by my side, even I start to believe that life could be sweeter if only we let it.
Content warnings
Torture on the page
Threats of violence and murder
Ableist language
the don
Salvatore
Last spring I spent one afternoon claiming Shae's body and giving her my heart in return. After months of dreaming about a woman I could never keep, she walks back into my life, and I never plan to let her go again. Unfortunately, someone is trying to kill me, but someone is always trying to kill me. The only difference this time, is that I can't toy with my would-be murderers for sport. My only mission is to protect Shae and the future we could have together. I have no problem killing everyone standing in my way.
Shae
Soooo... I'm single, pregnant, in Italy, definitely in danger, and I think, maybe, a little bit in love. I could be high on the pregnancy hormones, but after months of stress and worry, Salvatore's single-minded focus on feeding me and making me come feels like heaven. There are a few more guns than I'm used to, but at the end of the day this is the man and the life I deserve!
Content Warnings
Shooting deaths
Kidnapping
Physical violence
Dolore
Zoe
The best part of a new relationship is discovering one another and learning how to expose yourselves. And that's exactly what I have planned for my vacation in Palermo with Alfonso. I don't care about the beach, the tourist traps, or even relaxing by the pool. The only thing that matters is that strangled sound Alfonso makes just before he begs me to give him what he needs.
Alfonso
I am not ready.
Content Warnings
Voyeurism (consensual, dubious consent, and nonconsensual)
Mentions of murder