The question echoes in my head, over and over, drowning out everything else.
“What about your father?”
I’ve fallen in love with the man who might kill my father.
And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Salvatore
The ride home from the wedding planner's studio should feel like a victory.
Valentina is falling for me, I can see it. Plus her mother gave me her blessing, or at least, the closest thing to one I'll ever get from a woman who spent forty years running from my family. Sofia stopped looking at me like I was going to murder everyone at the table. That’s progress.
But I can feel the distance growing between us with every mile. Valentina stares out the window, her hand limp in mine, her mind somewhere I can't follow.
She's thinking about her father.
I know because I am too. I heard her mother ask about him when I returned earlier.
My phone buzzes. Raffaele.
Emergency meeting. Library. Now.
I glance at Valentina. She hasn't noticed, still lost in her own thoughts.
I type back a quick response and slip the phone back into my pocket.
"You're quiet," I study her face.
"Just thinking."
"What about?"
She turns to look at me, and for a moment, I see everything in those green eyes. The fear. The hope. The love she's fighting so hard not to feel. And underneath it all, the question she's too afraid to ask.
What are you going to do to my father?
"Nothing," she says finally. "Just tired."
I bring her hand to my lips. "Get some rest when we get home. I have a few things to take care of."
She nods, and I hate how relieved she looks. Like she needs space from me. Like I'm the one causing her pain.
The truth is much worse.
* * *
My brothers are waiting in the library when I arrive.
Matteo stands by the fireplace, arms crossed. Raffaele is seated in one of the leather chairs, his expression unreadable. Elio paces near the windows, too restless to stay still.
"What's so urgent?" I ask, closing the door behind me.
Raffaele answers. "We found him."
I don't need to ask who. "Marco."
