Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“Had,” I correct. “If you’d done your research before trying to weasel your way into the Cosa Nostra, you’d know that term became null and void the instant you went after the spouse and child of a sanctioned member.” I whack my chest with my fist to highlight who I’m referencing. “It doesn’t matter how high up the chain you are, all spouses and children are protected under mafia law, which means I can use any force necessary to ensure the threat is neutralized. Including death.”
Tommaso’s throat works hard to swallow as he stares at my father, seeking the truth.
I know the exact moment it dawns on him that I’m not lying. His pupils widen and the fascinating scent of fear seeps from his pores.
“She’ll never forgive you if you kill me. I’m her fath—”
I pull the trigger, splattering the sparkling marble tiles of the foyer with his brain matter.
Then I turn the gun on his eldest daughter.
37
VALENTINA
Iwake with a groan. My body feels like it’s been stitched to the mattress, and it takes effort to peel my eyes open. When I do, the fluorescent light above my head is too white and bright, and the godawful scent of scrubbed-clean stainless steel filters into my nose.
Even disoriented, I know where I’m waking up. I’ve spent the equivalent of months in rooms just like this. It’s different this time, though. I’m not on the pull-out bed. Mom is. She’s curled up on the narrow mattress. Her expression is peaceful, and her chest is rising and falling in a slow rhythm that announces she’s asleep.
An array of emotions smacks into me. I’m glad Mom is here and that she’s safe, but where is Giovanni? Did he leave? Did he—
“Scoot over,” interrupts a deep timbre that makes every muscle I own clench at once.
Giovanni.
Seconds later, the mattress dips under his weight, and his arm slides under me. Carefully, he rolls me onto my side so I face away from him. He shuffles in close until his chest is solid against my back and his breaths are warm at my neck.
I flare my nostrils and breathe him in. He smells like soap, cologne, and something darker, like how cigarette smoke clings to your skin even after you shower.
His familiar scent grounds me, but it also reminds me of why we smell so different. My thighs are still sticky, and the hygienic smell isn’t solely from the equipment around my bed.
My skin smells just as sanitary.
I stare at the wall, trying to process what’s happened, but the question I want answered more than anything slips out spontaneously. “The baby?”
Giovanni’s arm around me stiffens for the quickest second before his stressed words batter my temple. “We don’t know yet. It’s too early.” He angles his head so I can see the truth in his eyes when he adds, “But no matter the outcome, nothing changes. It will always be us.” His voice is steady now, like iron beneath velvet. “Worst outcome, we’ll try again. It won’t be until you’ve recovered, but we don’t have to rush.” His husky laugh is unexpected but highly required. “My father’s illness seems to have left town the instant his eyes landed on your mother.”
You can hear the smile in my words. “Maybe he was dying of a broken heart?”
“Maybe.” I’m highly skeptical his smile reaches his eyes. He’s tense, like he’s worried I’ll run like I thought he would the instant I realized the blood seeping into my dress was coming from my vagina.
“Is everything okay?”
Giovanni’s slow exhale trickles through my hair. “You collapsed because you were poisoned.”
“Poisoned? Who would do that?”
The tension exuding from him coils like a spring. “Tomasso.”
I blink in rapid succession.
That isn’t the name I was anticipating.
“Valeria’s father?” I hear Giovanni’s nod instead of seeing it. “Why would he do that? That doesn’t make any sense… unless it was for Valeria.”
“I thought the same.” His fingers trace circles on my arm. His touch is both soothing and terrifying. “But it wasn’t about Valeria. It was about control and an influence he had no claim to. He wanted leverage, and when I took that from him, he took it out on you instead of on me.”
Fear weaves through my veins like ice. I thought I’d only have to get around Valeria to save my heart from being stomped in eight months’ time. I had no idea I’d have to take on her entire family.
When I involuntarily shiver, Giovanni inches closer. “He won’t hurt you again, Valentina. I promise you that. No one will ever hurt you again.” He waits for my shudders to slacken before he says, “But I need you to know that I couldn’t guarantee that without the steps I had to take tonight. I had to remove feelings from the equation to make sure you came first.” His body vibrates with anger. “This was the second time he’s tried to kill you, so I couldn’t let him off scot-free.”