Page 17 of Cavaliere

I follow him out.

Chapter

Fourteen

MATTEO

It’s not hard for Wren to figure out which car is mine in this shithole. And when she does, she stops dead in her tracks.

Sighing, “Come on, tesoro. I want to go home.”

“I can’t get into that. I’m filthy. You can’t have only taken a whore’s bath and then get into a Rolls Royce!” She starts to rant.

“Wren,” I cut her off. “Get in the fucking car.”

I don’t wait for her to respond before I climb into the driver's seat. She only keeps me waiting a few moments.

Good girl.

My gaze doesn’t leave her as I start up the car, watching her buckle in. I can’t help but think she looks good beside me. Perfect, actually.

She doesn’t say a word as I pull out of the parking lot. I didn’t mean to get so carried away back there. I can’t remember the last time I lost control like that. As soon as I heard that piece of shit assume she sold her body for money, I saw red. Gio and Enzo are never going to let me forget this, considering I’m constantly reeming them for what is considered an acceptable form of punishment. In this line of work, I obviously understand that cleaning up messes just comes with the territory, but some of them are just fucking unnecessary.

I can’t tell if she’s silent because she’s mad at me or just overwhelmed from the night before. It’s just a hunch, but I don’t think it’s from what just happened. I’ve been with a lot of women in my life to know the difference between a horrified gasp and a horny gasp. And that one was the latter. The gasp alone made my dick twitch.

“Aren’t you going to ask for Delaney’s address?” Wren breaks me out of my thoughts.

“No.”

“No?” she asks, a slight edge in her tone.

“No,” I repeat.

“And why the fuck not?”

“Because you’re coming home with me.”

Wren turns her body so she’s facing me. “Are you high again?”

“No.” My lip twitches.

“Look, I’ve had a very long night, and all I want to do is go somewhere where I know I’m going to feel comfortable. That’s all I want. You can at least give me that, can’t you?”

I swallow down the lump that forms in my throat from a mix of the guilt I’m feeling from some piece of shit getting his hands on her, and the vulnerability in her voice. She seems so sad, and that’s not the Wren I’ve come to know.

“I’m going to make sure you’re comfortable and taken care of, tesoro. You have my word.”

“Because that means so much,” Wren mumbles as she slouches back in her seat before resting her head against the window, closing her eyes, the fight leaving her.

She’ll never know how much what she just said cut me. In my family, your word is everything. It’s sacred. If you can’t keep your word, you’re worthless. You aren’t a man.

I shoot off a quick text to Aldo, letting him know that I need him at the house before I turn her seat warmer on in hopes the heat will help ease some of the soreness I know she's feeling. We ride the rest of the way home in silence.

Every single member of the family raises their eyebrows at me as I quietly walk by with a sleeping Wren in my arms. They all look equally ready to murder someone as they take in her busted-up face. She looks so worn out that I didn’t have it in me to wake her up.

I make the short trek to my room, crouching slightly to pull back the covers before placing her down on the side that I don’t sleep on. The one farthest from the door.

I should just tuck her in and leave, but I can’t. I don’t know what it is about this woman, but she makes me lose all sense of control. So, instead of tucking her in and leaving, I’m tucking her in and lightly kissing her forehead as I brush the wild, raven-colored locks out of her face.