She presses her face into my chest, and I cup the back of her head with my palm. In the bathroom mirror behind her, my reflection stares back at me. It simmers with heartbreak and rage.
I can’t erase the image of her shaking on the floor of her room.
When I found her like that, I thought it was because she saw me shoot a hole in a man’s hand. I hated myself for putting her through that. I’ve lost control around her more times than I can count. It’s like she turns the dial up on all my feelings until they burst. It’s terrifying how alive she makes me feel.
I rake my fingers through her hair and pull her closer. There’s a dull pain in my chest. The back of my throat stings. I want to burn everyone who’s hurt her to the ground, starting with her husband.
If he’s alive, he won’t stay that way for long.
My blood turns ice cold. Just when I’m about to lose myself in fantasies of violence, she slides her hands around my waist and presses her lips to mine.
Everything melts away. I fist her hair and dip my tongue into her mouth. She makes a gentle sound in response, a little moan so sweet it hurts. The need to protect her is so overwhelming in this moment. It feels like I’m falling into an abyss. I’m not a romantic. I refuse to believe in love. In my experience, it’s toxic and makes people do stupid, unforgivable things.
But no matter how I search, I can’t find another word to describe what I’m feeling.
Cazzo. I’ve gone so soft for this woman I’m surprised I’m still able to stand.
She wraps her legs around my waist, and my thoughts turn to baser things. Blood rushes to my groin. I tug on her bottom lip with my teeth. I want to fuck her so badly.
She seems to get the same idea. Her fingers pull down my zipper, and she takes me into her trembling palm.
Why is she trembling?
I pull away and see that her eyes are glassy and wet. “Vale, you’re upset.”
She doesn’t answer. She just starts stroking me. It should be enough confirmation she wants this. It would be in any other situation, but not this time. I stop her. It physically hurts, but I stop her. “Not now.”
She sighs and drops her forehead to rest against my chest. Then when I’m about to ask her if she’s okay, she starts to cry.
Yeah, this is going to have to wait. I tuck myself back in, lift her from the vanity, and bring her back out to my bedroom to place her down on the bed.
She downs the glass of water I give her, which I take as a good sign, and eventually, she goes quiet. I can tell she’s processing something, so I give her time. Ras is probably downstairs wondering what the hell I’m doing up here. He can wait for a bit longer.
She places the empty glass on the nightstand. “You shooting Nelo is a problem, isn’t it?”
“I’ll need to call Sal to try to smooth it out. Whether I’m able to or not is another question.”
“What does it mean for your plan with my father?”
“We need to move quickly.” I’ve lost the luxury of taking my time with this. Sal will be on high alert as soon as Nelo gets into his ear about what happened. He might get curious about the woman I have with me, and if he discovers it’s Valentina Garzolo, he’ll know I’m aware of what he’s done. He won’t wait for me to make my move before he sends his army here to eliminate me. He values the money I make him, but not enough to risk me starting an uprising that can only end in his death.
Valentina nods and wipes her cheeks dry. When she looks at me, there’s unmistakable conviction in her eyes. “I’ll tell you everything I know. It’s not much.”
Hope floods me. “It might be everything we need.”
She looks less convinced, but she gives me a soft smile. “Let me clean up a bit first.”
“Go. I need to check on Ras,” I say, as we rise off the bed. When she starts toward the door, I curl my hand around her wrist. “I want you in my bed.”
Her skin pebbles with goosebumps. “Do you?”
“Bring your things here.”
“They’re Martina’s things.”
“I’ll buy you a new wardrobe tomorrow.”
She laughs softly. “What about my imprisonment?”
“Like I said, it’s over.”
Her gaze falls to my lips. She swallows. “I’ll tell you what I know about my father’s business, but I don’t know if I’ll stay.”
She will, she just doesn’t know it yet. She’s mine, and I’ll do whatever I need for her to realize it.
I go against my instincts and let go of her hand. “Understood. You’ll be more comfortable here while you decide.”
The relief I feel when she acquiesces with a small smile is palpable.
Downstairs, Ras is pacing the living room. He looks up when he hears me approach and swears. “Dem, you need to get on the phone with Sal. There’s still a small chance Nelo hasn’t been able to reach him since he’s likely getting stitched up.”
He’s angry at me. He thinks I’m fucking everything up because of my feelings for Vale.
But shooting Nelo doesn’t feel like a mistake to me, even now that I’ve cooled down. It feels like justice.
“You think I shouldn’t have done it,” I say.
“Doesn’t matter what I think. What matters is that we do everything we can to cool the situation down.”
“He shouldn’t have touched her,” I say as I take my phone out of my pocket. “Is the kitchen clean? Everything needs to be in order before Mari gets home.”
Ras lets out a long breath. “They’re cleaning it now. I told the driver to bring her back in two hours.”
“Vale is going to share what she knows about her father,” I say. That should be enough to ease Ras’s concerns about me not thinking clearly at this point because of Vale. I know that’s what he’s worried about, I can see it in his face. As much as I want to tell him off for doubting me, I can’t deny that in my family, there’s a history of people making rash and destructive decisions because of love.
But I’m not in love with Valentina. I can’t be. Attraction isn’t love. Need isn’t love. This wordless thing I feel for her… It can’t be love.
As I dial Sal’s number, my skin crawls at the thought of hearing his voice and pretending I have no idea what he tried to do to my sister. I can’t let my emotions show. He has to think I’m clueless.
After a few rings, he picks up. “Damiano, ragazzo mio. You caught me just as I was about to start my late lunch,” he rasps in a gravelly voice, courtesy of his pack-a-day smoking habit. “Chiara spent all day on risotto alla piscatora.”
He likes to pretend we’re the best of friends, even if everyone knows it’s a charade. “Lucky you. I won’t keep you hungry for long.”
“I like to hear that. How is my favorite topolina doing? Has she recovered from her New York trip?”
This fucking asshole. “She’s feeling much better.”
“We’ll find whoever is responsible for what happened,” he says. “These things can take time, but justice always gets delivered.”
Don’t I know it.
“There’s been a small misunderstanding with Nelo and Vito,” I say.
“Oh? Did they visit you today like I asked them to?”
“They did.”
“Did Nelo tell you the good news? I think him and Mari will make a beautiful couple.”
I remind myself their marriage is as likely to happen as Sal choking to death on his risotto, but his words still light a flame of fury inside of me. “He mentioned it,” I say curtly.
“What do you think?”
“I’m afraid Nelo’s behavior today disqualified him as a potential husband for my sister.”
There’s a prolonged silence before Sal responds with a humorless laugh. “What did my nephew do this time?”
“I had a woman in my home when he stopped by. He got handsy.”
“Hardly a big offense.”
“She wasn’t his to touch.”
There’s a rustling sound, and I imagine Sal is leaning forward in his seat. “Whose is she?”
“Mine.”
This time, he ejects a gleeful laugh. A new weak spot for him to probe at. “You mustn’t have been happy about that.”
“I shot his hand. He’ll be fine.”
“Mio Dio. I’d like to see this woman who has made you so possessive. Well, I’ll tell Nelo that wasn’t done well. He was a guest in your home after all.”
“I would appreciate that,” I force out.
“The business with Mari… Let’s not write it off so quickly. Nelo will act the perfect gentleman next time he’s around. You have my word on that.”
By now, Nelo is well aware the next time he comes around, he’s not leaving this house alive, but I don’t bother getting into it with Sal. “If you say so. I’ll let you get back to your dinner.”
“Say hello to your new friend from me. What’s her name by the way?”
“Ale Romero,” I say without hesitation. “She’s just a seasonal worker.”
“Maybe I’ll have to stop by before the season’s up,” he muses. “Goodbye, Damiano.”
I hang up and head back upstairs to get Valentina.
I find her in my bedroom, folding her clothes on my bed. The sight of her in my space is like a warm caress. It pleases me more than I care to admit.
She hears me enter and turns, holding the clothes in her hands. “I wasn’t sure where to put these.”
“The maid will clear space in the closet for you,” I say. “Leave it for now. Ras is waiting for us downstairs.”
Her posture stiffens. “Did you tell him about Lazaro and me?”
Does she really think I’d share her secret as soon as I left her? “No, and I won’t if you don’t want me to.”
She relaxes. “Thank you.”
I can tell she’s still ashamed. She blames herself for what her husband forced her to do, that sick fucking waste of—
No, enough. I’ll wait to know if he’s alive or not before I contemplate all the brutal ways I’ll make him pay.
We descend to the living room and make our way to my office. Ras is standing by the bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest. He cocks his head to the side when he sees me helping Vale walk, so that she doesn’t need to put much pressure on her injured foot. She eases down into a chair and looks at him. “I won’t waste your time. Here’s what I know.”
A smile tugs at my lips at her directness.
“The morning of the day Martina and I got away, there was a bridal shower with all the inner-circle women.”
“Your sisters were there?” Ras asks.
“Only Gemma came. Cleo didn’t make it. She and Mamma had a huge fight, so she wasn’t allowed to go. Mamma said it was important for me to show up.”
“Did you hear anything of interest?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t listening all that deeply. I was…” She rubs her hands up and down her thighs. “I was just trying to keep it together in front of everyone.”
Ras’s frowns. “Why?”
“Things were bad with my husband, and I didn’t want anyone to pick up on it,” she says. “The specifics aren’t relevant to this story.” She shoots me a look. “Anyway, Gemma was worried about our father. She said something about him seeming off. He’d added additional security detail to the entire family.”
“He was scared of something,” I conclude.
“Papà’s always been cautious when it comes to security, but Gemma wouldn’t have exaggerated something that wasn’t real. She always paid a lot more attention to his dealings than me.”
“What else?” Ras presses.
“I left the party early. Lazaro wanted me home. My cousin Tito drove me, and we started talking. We’ve always been friendly. He alluded to being frustrated he’s had to put in long hours working for some asshole. He didn’t specify who the asshole was. He said he, his father, Lazaro, and my brother, Vince, were all involved.”
“Brother?” I ask.
“He lives in Switzerland.”
Ras scratches his chin. “He’s your father’s money guy?”
“Yes. My impression was that they were all essentially on loan to someone outside of the clan and doing their bidding.”
“That has to be Sal,” Ras muses. “We know Lazaro was tracking down Martina.”
“Does your father have a habit of doing favors?”
Valentina pulls her top lip between her teeth. “Not as far as I know, but that doesn’t mean much. I preferred to stay away from his business.”
Ras pushes off the wall and makes his way closer. “But your sister is more involved?”
“I wouldn’t say she’s involved. Just curious. When we were kids, she’d eavesdrop outside of father’s office. She liked hearing his secrets.” Vale crosses her legs. “I didn’t.”
Ras and I exchange a look. It’s not much, just like Vale had warned me. We’re closer to confirming Garzolo was in some kind of an arrangement with Sal, but we need more specifics.
“You sure you don’t have any idea why your father would have agreed to work with the Casalese don?”
She shakes her head, her expression sullen, then her eyes widen. “Oh! Gemma also said Papà was hinting at giving her to one of the Messeros. They’re another family in New York, but as far as I know, we’ve always kept our distance from them. It surprised me that there was talk of marriage. I have no idea why Papà was looking for an alliance with them.”
“What if you could talk to your sister?” Ras asks. “See what else she knows. If she’s nosy by nature, I can’t imagine your mysterious disappearance would make her less curious.”
Valentina pales. “Talk to Gemma? But…how? I can’t just call her cell phone. Papà always monitored our phones.”
“If we figure out the logistics, would you talk to her?” I ask. “Do you trust her to keep your whereabouts a secret?”
She chews on her lip before answering. “Yes, I think so. She’s always been loyal to our family, but she wouldn’t betray me. I have to hope that hasn’t changed.”
I turn to Ras. “It’s our best bet at getting more information. Can we get a burner into her hands?”
“I can see what contacts we have in New Y—”
“Contacts can be bought,” Valentina interrupts. “I don’t want to risk pulling my sister into this only for Papà to get word of it before we talk to her.”
Ras considers her for a moment and then looks at me. “I can go.”
Sending my right-hand man to do the job will ensure it’ll get done properly, even if it feels like overkill for what should be a fairly simple task. But Vale’s visible relief at hearing his offer makes me acquiesce. “Take the fastest route, I want you back in forty-eight hours.”
“What does your sister do outside the house?” Ras asks, pulling out his phone to start making the arrangements. “Is there a place she goes where her security detail gives her space?”
“Yes. Her pilates studio. She’s there four days a week.” Vale hobbles up and finds a pen and paper on my desk. “I’ll write down the address and her private class schedule. Because it’s just her, the instructor, and the receptionist, the guards stay in the car. If you can find a way in, you should be able to get her alone in the changing room.”
Ras takes the paper from her and shakes his head. “New York. I hate that goddamn city.”
I slap his back. “It’s a short trip. Try to appreciate the sights.”
And if Gemma has what we need, it might be the first of many times we pay the Garzolos a visit.
