The thought of Nora and Luca entwined together in my bed made my stomach heave, but I crushed down the primal urge to stomp upstairs and claim my wife.
She could cut out my heart for what I’d done to her, and it wouldn’t be a cruel enough punishment.
And Luca…
Even now, my fists flexed at the thought of the bastard: an ingrained response from years of obsessive loathing.
But he hadn’t killed Francesco. My brother had loved him deeply enough to die for him, and instead of honoring his sacrifice, I’d devoted myself to destroying Luca Vitale. I’d made him watch as I touched the woman he loved. I’d bound him in chains of my will and forced pleasure from Nora’s unwilling body.
Knowing that the Russians were raping my wife while I scrambled to gather the necessary firepower to save her had been the most soul-wrenching experience of my life. I’d never felt more helpless, and it had shredded me.
I’d done the same thing to Luca. I’d made him live through that harrowing experience over and over again.
It was a wonder he was still sane.
Of course, he wanted to kill me. How could he not? It was his duty as a husband to avenge Nora, and it was his right as a man to make me scream for my crimes against him.
I truly was the villain in their love story, the sadistic monster who’d tormented them both in the most unspeakable ways. Nothing I could do would ever absolve me, but I couldn’t simply run away and exile myself for my sins.
I couldn’t bring myself to leave Nora. She was still at risk, and she would always have my protection. Even if I wasn’t worthy of touching her ever again.
I’d always been expert at punishing my enemies. I knew exactly how to mete out justice. There was only one way I could think of to begin to atone.
Chapter 12
Nora
Luca’s arms were warm and firm around me, and I leaned into his strength. The revelations that’d unfolded had disturbed me to my core. All the pain and loss, and the years of hatred that’d twisted Dante into something monstrous…
It was almost too heartbreaking to contemplate. Dante had lost the only person in the world who loved him when he was still a boy. His father had abused him, and his mother abandoned him. Francesco had been his anchor, and part of his humanity had died along with his brother. He’d become cold and sadistic, only finding peace when inflicting the pain that ravaged his heart.
That pain bound me to him, and in a perverse way, it’d formed a more intimate bond between us than sexual union. He released a fraction of his anguish in tormenting me, making me hurt like he hurt.
And my body had welcomed it, finding kinship in years of suffering and cathartic release. We’d both endured abuse and loss.
I couldn’t help responding to his dark games with arousal, but the visceral connection I felt toward him was so much more overwhelming than simple lust. It was no wonder that I completely lost myself in him when he unleashed his most deviant needs on me.
But Luca was the one holding me, not my dark protector. My husband was steady and solid—an anchor of my own. Our love had been forged in darkness, our defiant spirits bonding us with a common cause: to free ourselves from Dante’s cage.
And now, I’d finally set us free.
“Do you understand now?” I asked Luca quietly, my voice thick with tears that I shed for them both. “Can you see why Dante did those terrible things?”
He pulled back from me slightly, brows drawn forbiddingly over his eyes. “Dante’s misinterpretation of the situation will never undo what he put you through. He’s still a monster, Nora.”
I rested my hand over his heart, keeping him tethered to me. “He has no reason to hold you captive anymore. You saw his face. He’s devastated by the truth. There’s no longer a need for him to exact revenge. He’ll set you free, and no one has to die.”
Luca’s features firmed to a forbidding mask. “I need his men to take down Giuseppe and the Russians, so I’ll spare him for now in order to protect you. But as soon as you’re safe, I’ll put him down.”
“But I don’t want?—”
“He’s right.” Dante’s gravelly voice cut over me, and he stormed into the room, purpose in his sure strides. “Luca can’t kill me until you’re safe. But I have an alternative to death.” He came to an abrupt halt a few feet away from me and met Luca’s blazing glower, his expression cool and stoic. “Punish me the same way I punished you. Fuck Nora in front of me. Claim my wife while I watch, knowing she’ll never be mine.”
“No!” I exclaimed, a vehement denial of the disgusting sacrifice he was making.
Dante’s eyes glittered when they met mine, pain in each stunning green facet. They shined sharply enough to cut my heart.
“You should be with the man you love,” he said, strained but firm.
