Page 22 of Valentino

CHAPTER ONE

ANNA

Betrayal comes in lots of shades, light, bright or muted…. Carlo’s was of the darkest kind.

He broke me, he broke us all.

The man I thought I knew was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. A mirage in a desert, and a rainbow in a storm. The reality though is a lot more sobering.

I was dating a cold-blooded killer.

The skies are crying and droplets of rain bead across the top of the coffin, the weight of them almost too much to bear. My eyes rise to the solemn figure in the black suit, Valentino.

My friend, my dear, dear friend.

His heart is broken, his weakened pulse is barely a whisper.

There’s no color in his face, no spring in his step. And I can’t imagine what’s going through his head right now.

It’s one thing to have your girlfriend pass away…. But to die at the hands of your best friend is a pain I cannot imagine.

Carlo defected.

He turned on his own family at Ferrara to become the leader of Lombardi, their opposition.

Amongst the carnage, and in the crossfire, an innocent woman died.

Her name was Giovanna.

She was kind and wonderful, and she lit up every room she entered. She should be here…she should be alive. My eyes well with tears as I watch the priest walk around the coffin as he blesses it.

How could he?

Valentino stands with Giovanna’s parents, his eyes are fixed on the coffin, his jaw tics as if his sanity is hanging by a mere thread.

“Thank you, Giovanna, for all that you were and all that you gave. Love and light, on this your final journey.” The priest’s monotone voice betrays his boredom, or perhaps he’s just buried one too many people in his life.

Circling the burial site, he waves the thurible around to release the holy incense. My eyes go back to the solemn figure in the black suit, my heart breaks for him.

Giuliano and Lorenzo are here, along with Francesca and I; men are standing on the curb surrounding the cemetery. Warding off impending danger and protecting what’s left.

The coffin blurs as they lower it into the ground, soft sobs sound in the distance as heartbreak turns to darkness.

A dark reminder that she’s never coming back.

My heart bleeds for Valentino, Carlo was his best friend, he introduced him to this life, and he loved him like a brother. The one person Valentino would have taken a bullet for was the only man behind the gun.

The worst part is that it wasn’t an accident, he had been planning it for months, bugs in the office as he garnered intel. He stole, he pilfered, he raped all trust. I was his first target and the deception ran deep.

The knife of a thousand cuts and I fear Valentino is bleeding out.

My eyes linger on Val, and as the casket lowers farther into the ground, I know it’s taking a piece of him with it.

Thud….

The sound of the dirt hitting the top of the coffin brings with it a finality.

My heart constricts.