I don’t lower the knife. “The scar. The jagged one that runs from his neck, over his chin, across his cheek to the bridge of his nose.” My voice is steady now, cold. “Everyone always wondered where it came from. Now you know.”
Vin has gone completely still, a statue of shock. “You,” he breathes. “You did that to Aurelio? When you were 12?”
“He came to my house.” The memory is as sharp as the blade in my hand. “Right after he killed my uncle, Siena’s father. My father had promised to stay out of Demonio business, to protect me and my mother. But Aurelio didn’t care about that promise.”
I can still see the way Aurelio filled our doorway, massive and menacing, his cold eyes cutting right through my father.
“He grabbed my mother by the throat, said he didn’t trust my father to keep his word. I was hiding with my nonna in the kitchen, when I heard her scream.”
Vin is listening with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. I’ve never told anyone this story. Not even Siena knows.
“I picked up my nonna’s kitchen knife, and I walked up behind him.” My hand tightens on the handle of my own knife. “I wanted to slit his throat from behind, but I jumped and missed. I was 12. I didn’t know what I was doing. The blade caught hisneck and dragged, from here,” I touch my neck, “to here.” I trace the path up to my nose.
“Holy fuck,” Vin whispers.
“He screamed and dropped my mother. Blood was everywhere, on him, on my mother, on me. My nonna pulled me back into the kitchen as they fought. I don’t remember what was said. My nonna told me to wash my hands and act like nothing happened, so I did. When Aurelio was gone, my father made me promise to never tell anyone.” I lower the knife slowly. “I’ve kept that promise for 22 years. Until now.”
Vin stares at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. “Why tell me?”
“Because you’ve finally succeeded in doing what you’ve been trying to do for the past week: hurt me.” I gesture at the ruined cannoli filling. “And it’s time you know what I’m capable of. I chose to submit to you, Vincenzo. I’m not choosing it anymore.”
His jaw works. “Sophie—”
“Get out of my kitchen.”
For a long moment, he doesn’t move. Then, slowly, he backs toward the door, his eyes never leaving mine.
When he’s gone, I sink to the floor, the knife still clutched in my hand, and let myself shake.
I’ve just told Vincenzo Demonio, the future boss of the Demonio family, that I scarred his father’s face.
And I have no idea what he’s going to do about it.
24
Vin
Sophie put that scar on Aurelio?! Un-fucking-believable. But the set of her jaw, her grip on the knife, the absolute zero fear in those wide brown eyes all told me it was true.
This woman scarred my father. The same woman who feeds me and fucks me and calls mepadronewith those sweet lips.
Fuck. Something heavy settles in the middle of my chest as I realize not just that she is definitely working with her father but until this moment I had hoped that I was wrong. But I’m not. No way she would betray her family and fuck the son of the man who harmed all of them, not without a motive.
A sneer takes over my face as I turn my car toward her place. She can order me out of her kitchen, but there’s no fucking way she’s going to order me out of her life. I’m not through with her yet.
I’m still covered in cannoli cream and cum when I walk through Sophie’s door and head straight to the bathroom.
I slam the door and turn on the shower, cranking it to scalding. I need to burn this off, all of this: the rage, the confusion. This sick feeling churning in my gut that something is way the fuck off, not just with her but with me.
The water beats down on my shoulders as I brace my hands against the tile. At least I haven’t said anything that could hurt me and my brothers. Those first nights, I talked about childhood memories, my hatred for Aurelio, my need to kill him so I can take his place and end this war.
None of that is new information to Aurelio.
But the fact that I opened up to her, that I stayed here, that I wanted to stay here—
I slam my fist into the tile, cracking the ceramic.
Fuck her. Fuck this. I need leverage. I need some way to permanently make it clear that I own her and her entire fucking family, that no one gets this close to burning Vin Demonio and walks away unscathed.
