What a stupid ass. Now I know he needs me alive. As long as I don’t provoke him too much, I’ll be okay for a period of time. Hopefully longer as opposed to shorter.
“I’m worth millions alone,” I say with a nonchalant air. The man on my right balls his hands, preparing to hit me again, but the boss halts him with a jut of his chin. So I continue. “I’d venture to say that being my brother’s consigliere makes me more valuable to him. And then there’s my portion of the family wealth. It’s really hard to say how many millions exactly…”
My adversary watches me, the cogs in his mind spinning with the information I’ve given. It’s apparent in the way he strokes his chin. That’s his tell. I need to discover his weakness, what makes him tick, other than losing money and power.
“I’m disappointed we won’t be in-laws,” I say. “Together, we could’ve taken some of the weak players out of the game. You’re no doubt aware that my younger brother tried to kill Caruso because your business partner is a greedy asshole, not capable of making profit the overall priority. As it should be in business. He could’ve been the first to go.”
“Caruso has his uses. Although I will admit his decision to take his daughter back was very foolish. Now your family has their sights set on him.” He waves a hand in dismissal. “After he calms down I’ll deal with him”
Not before we do.
“You know,” he says, stroking his chin again, “it’s only a matter of time until I figure out who’s been targeting my warehouses and meth labs. If you tell me what you know, I might consider not killing you. I find it such coincidental timing that you were engaged to Carina just before all this happened.”
I cock my head. “Let me guess, if I cooperate you’ll allow me to marry your daughter so we can keep it all in the family, right? Well, not a fucking chance. I had no intention of marrying her, as I’m sure you knew, or else you wouldn’t have acted so quickly to get me imprisoned here.”
“I figured as much,” he says. “What I don’t understand is what was in it for you? She’s used goods. Maybe I should’ve offered her to your older brother, but he’s more suspicious of women than you are.” He shrugs while keeping his gaze fastened to mine. “She was working with me all along, but in the end I could’ve secured more through an alliance than just getting you as a bargaining chip. Such a shame, such a waste.”
Hearing Nardone say those things about Carina causes anger to burn in my chest like I’ve run ten miles at a break-neck speed. The fact that she means something to me and is my weakness, pisses me off to no end. She’s like a cancer I want to eradicate from my body, but I have to be careful or I’ll die in the process.
However, I’ll never tell her father what she did on the dark web because I don’t want him to put a hit on her. If anyone’s going to kill Carina Nardone, it’s going to be me, her groom-to-be, the one who can’t wait to exact my family’s motto: loyalty ’til death.
Carina
The hate radiating from Rafael was enough to break my resolve to save my sister.
But the hurt in his gaze was enough to break my heart.
The pain in my chest lingers, compounding with every step I take away from him, away from the man who I’ve condemned to pain and suffering. I questioned my father about his intentions for Rafael and he said that he planned to ransom him. Not kill him.
That’s the only reason I had the strength to leave.
I don’t know what I would’ve done if he’d planned to execute Rafael. It’s one thing to hand him over to my father, but it’s another to sentence Rafael to death. That would make me a murderer. Again.
Once was enough. Although, if given the chance, I would kill Paolo Nardone without a thought.
How dark I’ve become that the very thought of killing my own father doesn’t faze me?
“We have to hurry, Violetta.” I tighten my arm around her shoulders and press my fingertips into her arm, securing my hold. She could try to bolt and we can’t afford to waste any time. “Father might’ve given his word to let us go, but that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind. If he does, we need to be far from here.”
She doesn’t respond with more than a flick of her eyes in my direction. I smile in encouragement and it ends up falling flat. And it’s no surprise she doesn’t return it. Not only because I can’t fake happiness right now, but because Violetta is different.
That’s not my focus, though it plagues my mind almost every waking minute since I was reunited with her at my father’s house.
After retrieving Rafael’s car keys from his valet, I usher my sister to the vehicle. If Violetta finds it odd I didn’t employ the valet, she keeps it to herself. Of course she does because being non-verbal is her current status.
I unlock the car doors and she settles in the passenger’s seat, securing her seat belt. Her mental faculties appear to be functioning at least. I put on my seat belt and then pull out of the parking spot to ease onto the road. My vision becomes narrow, only aware of the drivers around me and my destination.
Before Rafael, I had this all planned out. I was going to take my sister to Mexico and find a beach house to hide in for the rest of our lives. Our Italian heritage would help us blend in with the locals and me being fluent in Spanish was also a bonus. A bonus I forced on myself with every online resource I could find over the past two years. I figured I could do all the talking once we arrived down south and Violetta would just remain silent until she learned the language by immersion.
Little did I know I wouldn’t have to worry about giving away our heritage by her speaking. Since she doesn’t. At all.
I’m still set to go to Mexico, but my internal struggle about Rafael is tearing me apart, and both those halves are tugging in opposite directions. If I leave without trying to do something about his captivity, I’m not sure I can live with myself. However, every minute my sister and I are in this city, we risk being taken ourselves.
The war rages in me during the drive away from the wedding reception and along the roadways until I think I’m going to scream. Decision made, I change the route and mumble curses to myself the entire way to Tristano’s mansion.
When we arrive, I’m equal parts fearful and determined.
“Stay here,” I tell Violetta. “I’m going inside to tell Rafael’s older brother Tristano about his capture. Our father may always keep his word, but that’s not a guarantee this won’t be the one time he does. I’m not willing to bet Rafael’s life on the word of an asshole. Well, not without securing his freedom.”
