His strong arms wind around my back, and he holds me close. “You’re welcome.” His fingers lace through my hair, and he tilts my head back before kissing me tenderly. His eyes radiate with so much emotion when he breaks our kiss and just stares at me. “I want you by my side forever, Valentina.” He cups my cheeks. “I mean every word I say to you. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and I’m letting nothing stand in our way.”
“I want to believe it, but nothing good ever lasts long in my life, and I’m afraid to trust this.”
“I get it, but I promise I’m going nowhere, and I’m a man of my word.” He kisses me again before breaking our embrace. “Breakfast is getting cold. Eat.”
I place the bouquet in one of the empty chairs and sit down to eat the breakfast Fiero prepared. A plate of bacon, eggs, toast, tomato, and mushroom has never looked more appetizing. He’s made mimosas, and there’s coffee too.
“This looks delicious. Thank you.” I could really get used to this.
You’re not hanging around, a little voice whispers in my ear.
“It’s not much. My cooking repertoire is limited, and I’m nowhere near as skilled as you in the kitchen.”
“I come from a large family, and I’m the eldest girl. I learned to cook from a young age, and I regularly helped Mom with dinner,” I say before cutting a piece of bacon and popping it into my mouth.
“Are you close with your family?” he asks, spearing a mushroom.
“I’m close with my sisters. I call them all the time to check in. My brothers are harder to connect with now they’re teenagers and initiated. They’re rarely around when I call, and when I manage to talk to them, I get one-word answers.”
“Sounds like typical teenage boys.”
“Yeah.” I scoop up a forkful of the creamy eggs.
He lifts a brow. “And your parents?”
I swallow the food in my mouth before replying. “Growing up, I was close to both parents. I was dad’s firstprincipessa. Mom used to confide in me and rely on me a lot as more and more babies kept arriving. I looked up to her until they handed me over to Dom, and I just can’t forgive them for it.”
“That’s understandable but sad. When did you last see them?”
“I haven’t seen my parents or my siblings since I was eighteen.”
A muscle pops in his jaw as he sets his silverware down. “Are you saying Dominic never arranged for them to visit or you to visit them?”
I nod as I sip my mimosa. It’s delicious, and I barely resist the urge to knock it back in one go. “My family doesn’t have the money to fly everyone to Miami, and Dominic is stingy with any money he has. Besides, I didn’t want any of my siblings around the scene in the house.” A shudder works its way through me. “I didn’t want any monster taking a shine to one of my sisters. I’d never forgive myself if they ended up in the same situation as me.”
“Yet he gave you money before coming here.” Fiero drinks from his coffee cup as he stares me straight in the eye.
I could lie, but given everything I’ve said about my husband, it wouldn’t be believable, and I can tell Fiero is suspicious. “He didn’t. That’s mine. I’ve been stashing it for years. I wanted to be prepared so when an opportunity arose to escape I could take it. I didn’t leave it in case anyone went snooping in my room.”
He nods, and from his expression, I can tell he’s pleased I was honest. “You don’t share a room with him?”
“No, thank fuck.”
“Language,” Fiero snaps, and I roll my eyes. “Why?”
“Why’d you think? He likes to entertain hookers, and a wife just gets in the way. He tried to involve me at the start, but I fought him. Wouldn’t touch those women or let them touch me. Eventually he gave up and put me in my own bedroom. It’s probably the only win in my entire marriage, but it was an important one.”
“I’m setting my plan in motion tomorrow, and I expect Dom to show up here on Thursday where we’ll be waiting for him.” I’m not sure what he sees on my face, but it’s enough to have him take my hand and squeeze it. “He won’t see you. You’ll be safe in my panic room. You won’t see or hear a thing. I promise.”
“I’m nervous. What if something goes wrong?”
It’s not just my welfare at stake if this goes belly up. I don’t care he’s going to die. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot, and my conscience is clear. Dom is a monster, and he deserves it. I’m not overly worried he’s left any plans should he die early, because my husband is not an organized man, but the threat is real all the same, and there’s a small part of me that’s worried he might have set something in motion. And Cesco is a wildcard. I don’t know how much he knows and whether he might intervene and do something or say something. I’m hoping he’ll be too busy trying to persuade Vitto to appoint him underboss in his father’s stead to focus on me.
I won’t survive if anyone gets hurt because of me. It’s why I can’t fully relax, and I won’t until Fiero has dealt with both of them.
“I’ve known men like Dominic my whole life. I grew up with a prick like him, and I know how he’ll react. If I’m wrong and he doesn’t take the bait, I’ll find another way of handling him.”
“Your father was like him?”
