Desperation drips into my bloodstream. I’ve only felt like this once before—the day my sister disappeared in New York. Somehow now it’s even worse. I froze when I saw the scene by the pool. I froze, because in that moment, I thought I’d have to make a choice—Vale or Mari—and I didn’t know how I would choose.
My sister has always been the most important thing in my life. My joy, my mirror, my family. I told myself I’d never abandon her like my mother did. I’ve judged my mother for the choice she made my entire life. I could never understand her joining my father in death over living a life with us.
But now I finally understand.
In an impossible situation like this, there is no right or wrong.
Whatever you do, damnation awaits.
My gun is clutched in my hand as I peer past the pool gate where Lazaro, Vale, and Martina are standing. They’re talking, but they’re too far for me to hear them. When I see Vale press a knife to her wrist, my stomach turns to ice. I know what she’s doing.
She’s saving my sister.
She’s doing my fucking job.
Cazzo. How the hell did this happen? I should have triple checked all of the cameras instead of trusting my men to get it right in Ras’s absence. The pool camera isn’t working. That’s how Lazaro made it in.
Utter dismay settles over me like a heavy jacket and makes my limbs feel like lead. My mother’s screams ring in my ears. I can’t lose the two of them, but I’m powerless. I never thought I’d find myself here again.
Lazaro and Vale stop talking. Moonlight reflects off the blade that’s angled against Vale’s skin, and Martina’s eyes are fixated on it. Even from this far, I can see how hard she’s shaking.
Suddenly, their standoff ends. Lazaro shoves my sister to the ground and barks something to Vale. She starts moving to the edge of the cliff, Lazaro close behind her. I have a clear shot, but I can’t take it. Not when he’s made himself into a human bomb with an unknown payload.
As soon as Lazaro disappears over the cliff, I sprint to my sister.
“Dem!” She’s crying as I take her into my arms. “He has Vale.”
“I know. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. You need to help her. They’re getting into his boat.”
I hand her to a security guard and nod to Ras. We sprint around the house and jump down three stairs at a time until we’re on my dock. Ras leaps into a speedboat with me right on his heels.
Vale did it. She saved Martina’s life for the second time, but I can’t let it be at the expense of her own. I should have been there by her side the entire time. Why did I leave her at the dinner table? I can’t even remember what I needed to talk to Ras about anymore.
If I don’t get her back, the world as I know it will end. There won’t be any light in it without her.
As our boat speeds over the water, I rake my fingers through my hair. “Faster,” I shout. We can’t see Lazaro’s boat, but they can’t have gotten that far. They’ve got five minutes on us, tops. Once we catch up to them, bomb or not, I’ll get Vale away from him, and then I’ll put a bullet in his brain.
“There!” Ras yells as the clouds part.
In the distance, I see a tiny spec of a boat illuminated by the moon.
My chest expands. “We’ve got them. Don’t slow down.”
Once I save her, I’ll make her my queen. I see it as clearly as if it’s already happened. My brave Vale. She’s perfect for me. We’ll build our kingdom together, and she will rule by my side.
That’s when it happens.
A ball of flames appears on the surface of the water, followed by an ear-splitting boom.
The sea burns.
And with it, the remains of Lazaro’s boat.
My horror solidifies into a hard rock inside my stomach. No, that can’t be real. She can’t be fucking burning.
I fling my arm out and dig my fingers into Ras’s shoulder. “Keep going,” I rasp. “Get as close as possible.” He lets out a grunt laced with frustration and speeds back up, moving in the direction of the flames.
The bomb. Lazaro wasn’t lying about wearing one.
Did she kill him even though she knew it would mean her own death? No, Vale can’t be dead. She. Can. Not. Be. Fucking. Dead. She wouldn’t do that. She wanted to live, goddamn it. Didn’t she know I’d track her down to the ends of the earth to get her back?
When we reach the burning debris, my heart sinks. There is no boat left. It’s in pieces, torn apart by the blast.
“No. No!” I whip around, looking for something—anything—in the water that could be her. “Vale!”
Ras is turning the boat in place to shine the harsh spotlight on as much of the water as he can. It’s hard to see anything.
I think I see a flash of skin by a floating piece of what’s left of the hull. “Right there, go back,” I yell.
Ras shines the light in that direction, and there’s nothing there now, but there was. I’m sure of it. I saw her.
I leap off the boat. The water licks at my face, it’s smell corrupted by gasoline and flames. I swim until I’m exactly in the spot I thought I saw her, and then I dive.
Ras keeps the light focused on me, which is the only reason I can see anything at all. I swim until I have no air left in my lungs, and then I come back up and do it all over again.
She has to be here somewhere. My lungs ache, and my chest feels like it’s about to crack open.
Everything becomes so very clear in that moment.
I love this woman. I’ll swim to the bottom of this sea if that’s what it takes to bring her back to me. Please God, let me find her. If you do, I promise you, I’ll never leave her side.
When I emerge out of the water to suck in another breath, I hear a weak voice somewhere to my right. At first, I think it’s the oxygen deprivation affecting my hearing and making me imagine things. But then I hear it again.
Whipping around, I see her. She’s treading water about thirty feet away, her hair plastered to her face.
I blink to make sure it’s not a mirage. She’s still there, and the wave of adrenaline that follows makes me feel like I could fucking fly.
“Vale!” My arms slice through the water. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Five.
As soon as her body is in my arms, I let out a gasp of relief. My head feels light. She burrows her face into the crook of my neck and cries.
The adrenaline doesn’t recede until my feet hit solid ground. We climb out of the boat, and I lift her into my arms. Ras stays behind to tie up the boat and give us some privacy.
A few guards try to run up to me, but I scare them away with a look. I need a fucking minute to just hold her. Don’t they understand that I nearly lost her in the waves?
Vale fists my soaking wet shirt and meets my gaze. “Is he dead?”
“You killed him, baby. I don’t know how, but you killed him.”
Her features contort. “I hit him with a rock,” she whimpers. “I smashed it into his face.”
I squeeze her tighter as guilt rages through me. It should have been me. “You did what you had to do.”
She sniffs and wipes her hand under her nose. “He didn’t think I could do it. Put my own life on the line to be free of him.”
“You didn’t do it just to be free. You saved Mari.” My heartbeat finds an irregular rhythm. “I’ll never forget that, Vale.”
When we make it inside the house, my sister is waiting for us in the living room. She jumps off the couch and runs up to us, her eyes widening when she takes in our dripping clothes. “Oh thank God! Are you okay?”
I lower Vale to her feet and watch as they embrace. Seeing them together makes something shift inside my chest.
Vale smooths her hand over Martina’s hair and kisses her temple. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
My sister’s grip on her tightens. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. What happened?”
Vale sucks in a breath. “I hit him with a rock I found. When I thought he was about to die, I dove into the water. The boat exploded above me.”
She killed him with a fucking rock. Her gaze finds mine, and I see the horror of those few moments reflected within. She didn’t want to hurt people anymore, but she had to do it.
I swear to God, it’s the last time she’ll ever have to do anything like that again.
We leave Mari and go upstairs to change. When Vale moves toward the shower in my room, I fight down the urge to follow her. I want to give her space, but she looks over her shoulder and beckons me forward. We strip out of our clothes and step into the shower.
When she turns on the water, I can’t hold it in anymore. I have so much to say to her.
“I fucked up,” I rasp. “I promised you I’d keep you safe, and I didn’t.”
She picks up the soap and runs it over my chest.
“I should have been totally focused on protecting you, but instead, half of my mind was on Sal and how I was going to bring him down. I failed you.” I take the soap out of her hand and bring her fingertips to my lips. “But I’ll never fail you again. Be with me. Give me another chance to show you how good we can be together.”
She sighs. “I don’t want to be your kept woman. My entire life I’ve been a little dinghy tossed around by waves created by far larger ships. It’s time I set my own course.”
I nudge her chin up. “I don’t want a kept woman. I want a partner. An equal by my side. That’s you. If I’m about to become a king, you will be my queen.”
She blinks at me, and I can see she’s not convinced yet. “Dons don’t have partners.”
“Maybe your father doesn’t, but I’m not him, and the Casalesi have a strong tradition of putting women in powerful roles. You can do whatever you want. Choose a part of the empire to govern.”
Some color returns to her cheeks. “I know how mafias work well enough to know you can’t just bring a stranger into a clan and give her all this power.”
I give her a soft smile. “A stranger, no. But I can give it to my wife.”
Her mouth parts. “Are you proposing to me?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve known each other for barely a month.”
“My father proposed to my mother on their second date. They loved each other more than anyone I’ve ever known. It may have only been a month, but there isn’t a sliver of doubt inside of me. You’re the only woman I’ll ever want. I love you, Vale.”
Her eyelashes flutter, and she drops her gaze to my chest. “I need to think.”
“Of course.” I don’t expect a response from her right now. She’s been through a lot. But every day, I’ll work on convincing her to be mine.
