“Chiara!Stop it!”she shouts at her sister, trying to run over to her.But I prevent it by grabbing her arm and pulling her close.
She’s mine.But I must protect her now.Must make everyone know it.Her especially.
The look she gives me is pure loathing and holds the same kind of rage her sister is spewing in Ferro’s direction.Only she’s not screaming, she’s keeping it all inside, and it’s so much more powerful because of that.
“He’ll kill you, stop screaming!”she tells her sister, who doesn’t listen.
“He won’t,” I tell her, although I have no idea if that’s true or not.But looking at the half-smile on his face, I’m pretty sure I’m right.“And I won’t hurt you either.”
She snaps her hate-filled eyes to mine.“I wish you would.”
This girl, this innocent girl who made me remember a time where blood and war and grief wasn’t something that could touch me, hates me worse than all my enemies combined now.
“Because I’ll never forgive you for this.”
“Yeah?”I ask, calling her bluff.“We’ll see about that.”
“Never,” she hisses.
“Let’s head out!”Ferro bellows, his voice loud so he can be heard over Chiara’s yelling and cursing.“Get the women to the house.We still have work to do.”
Three men I’ve never met come to take Goldie from me.Stark fear lights in her eyes and then there it is again, that look of hope and devotion and pleading thrown my way.Her eyes are begging me to keep her safe, even if her mouth is saying something different.
“You hurt a hair on her head, and I’ll murder you and your entire families,” I hiss at the men grabbing her from my arms.
And am rewarded by a flash of gratitude before her eyes turn dark and fearful again as she’s taken away from me.
Ferro walks to me, grinning, his face flushed and blood still dripping from his tire iron.
“You didn’t tell me the Codelli women were so wild and fierce,” he says looking after the still screaming Chiara.“I’m gonna have fun breaking that one in.”
“Yeah, same with mine,” I say and look at him pointedly.“Because Gianna is mine.”
There, I said it.If he says no, I’ll kill him where he stands and fuck his grand plans and my revenge.Neither seem as important as having Goldie all to myself forever—whether she hates me or not.
He gives me a surprised sort of look.“You actually fell for her?Is that gonna be a problem?”
I shake my head.“Hasn’t been so far.”
He slaps my back and laughs.“You go straight for what you want.I like that about you, Rovina.I like it a lot.”He slaps my back again.“Tell you what, you help me solidify my position after tonight and everything you want is yours.I already promised you that, didn’t I?”
“I’m your man.”
I already promised him that too.But it doesn’t hurt to say it again.
Especially since it means I’ll get my revenge and my woman now.And that’s even more than I dared hope for.
It’s just another way Goldie’s made my life better, richer, more worth living.Nothing can ruin that, not even my curse.And she’ll continue to do that for me, continue to make my life worth living for rest of our days.
Whether she likes it or not.
Chapter51
GIANNA
The menwho drove us from the beach house didn’t say a single word.They didn’t even tell Chiara to shut up even though she continued screaming at them just as loud as she’d screamed back at the house.
By the time they locked us in a dark, cool room of a scary old mansion, her voice was gone.But she continued banging on the doors for a long time after they locked it.
