by Bella J.
I gave him a shy smile. “I’m Layla.”
“Nice to meet you, Layla.” Gio struggled against Dante’s hold. “Stop trying, Gio. I’ve kicked your ass too many times in the past for you to actually think you have the balls to take me on.” He twisted Gio’s arm behind his back, causing him to squirm. “So I suggest you give the pretty lady her phone back, or you’ll end up with your balls lodged in your throat.”
“Okay, fine,” Gio conceded. “It’s an old, fucked-up model, anyway. Take the fucking thing.”
Dante took the phone from him…then slammed his face against the car.
“Motherfucker!” Gio grabbed his bleeding nose, and Dante leaned closer.
“That’s for using filthy language in front of such a pretty girl.”
With a hard jerk, Dante shoved Gio down on the sidewalk, and we watched as he ran away like a dog with his tail between his legs.
“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath.
“Yeah. Gio is a regular troublemaker on these streets.” Dante handed me my phone, the tattoo on the top of his hand catching my attention. Black, intricate lines formed a tribal outline of a wolf’s face.
“Thank—” But my words caught in my throat the second I looked up and into those mesmerizing dark orbs of seduction. I caught my breath. There was something in his eyes—something that captivated me, making it impossible to look away. I had no idea what it was, but I felt something. Something so strong it had the power to turn everything inside me to ash. My stomach flipped, my heart racing and beating wildly inside my chest. And the second our fingers brushed against each other as I took the phone from him, I felt my cheeks burn. Dear God, I was blushing. I was blushing like a little hormonal girl.
I pulled back. “Thank you…you know, for what you did.”
“My pleasure. I’ve always wanted to help a damsel in distress.” The smile that tugged at the edges of his lips, a dimple appearing just above it, was sexy as sin—which was why I knew I had to leave. Men like him spelled nothing but trouble.
“Thanks again.” I brushed past him, hyperaware of his gaze following me.
“Can I give you a ride?”
I didn’t stop walking. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
“School is a few more blocks from here. I can give you a ride.”
Luckily, I wasn’t some naïve, small town girl. I came from New York, so I knew all about sinfully gorgeous guys and their smooth mouths with nothing but sordid intentions. Plus, Kate gave me the whole “don’t talk to strangers” talk just last night. So it was all nice and fresh in my head.
I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m fine. Really. But thanks.”
My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough as I speed-walked down the street. I heard the slam of a car door. For some weird reason, I felt disappointment when I heard the start of his engine behind me. Mentally, I cursed the fact I was such a goddamn responsible person.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed a black car slowly drive alongside me, and the window rolled down. “You sure you don’t want a ride?”
I smiled. He sure was persistent. “I’m fine.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, checking the road every few seconds. “Is it that whole ‘don’t trust strangers’ thing?”
“Yes.” I chuckled. “It’s the whole ‘don’t trust strangers’ thing,”
“Fine. Then ask me anything.”
Confused, I looked at him. “What?”
He looked out in front of him, then back at me, one hand leisurely on the steering wheel. “Ask me anything you want to know so I won’t be a stranger anymore.”
I cocked a brow. “A few questions won’t change anything within a few minutes. You’d still be a stranger.”
A smug grin spread across his face. “Tell me I’d at least be a cute stranger?”
I snickered then continued walking.
“Oh, come on. What does a guy have to do to give you an innocent ride to school?”
I stopped and turned to face him, and he pulled to a stop at the side of the road. I leaned down and looked at him. “Something tells me nothing about you is innocent.”
He shrugged. “You’ll only know that once you get to know me. Once I’m not a stranger to you anymore.” He winked, a cocky smile on his face.
I pursed my lips and glanced down the street before turning back to him. “Thanks again for helping me.” I straightened.
“Is that it? That’s all I get? I risked my life getting you your phone back.”
I laughed. “It sure looked like you risked your life while you slammed Gio against your car.”
I turned the corner and heard the roar of his engine next to me.
“Same time tomorrow?”
I stilled, closed my eyes, and cursed the heavens for sending me such an attractive goddamn temptation.
I turned to face him. “What do you mean, same time tomorrow?”
“I’ll see you the same time tomorrow morning,” he shrugged, “you know, to save you again.”
The charming grin that spread along his beautiful face was enough to melt the resistance of the strongest of women. It sure as hell had me in the bag, and by the way my insides coiled tighter and tighter the longer I stared at him, the more I knew he would either be the best thing to ever happen to me…or the worst mistake I ever made.
I smiled. “Yeah. Same time tomorrow.”
Turned out, he was both.
I fell head over heels for him that day, and if I was really honest with myself, I didn’t think I would have done anything differently even if I had known things would turn out as they did now. Dante was the love of my life, but at the same time, loving him was the worst mistake I ever made.
I sucked in a breath when we arrived at the large, black iron gates of the Valenti estate. Everything still looked exactly the same. Nothing had changed. The only difference was the last time I saw this place the gardens were painted with a rainbow of colors, spring in full bloom. Now the gardens were covered with all the shades of autumn, the men working in the gardens raking the dead leaves together.
We came to a stop, and I stared out the window.
Dante shifted next to me. “You okay?”
“I didn’t think I’d ever see this place again.”
I felt his fingertips softly brushing against my shoulder. “He can’t hurt you here, Layla.”
“You have it so wrong.” I turned to look at him, my heart breaking more and more. “It’s not me I’m worried about him hurting, Dante.”
“Then who? Me? I’m a big boy, Layla. I can take care of myself.”
I shook my head, a single tear slipping down my cheek. “It’s not—”
Dante’s door was flung open, two hands grabbing his collar and yanking him out of the car.
“What the fuck did you do?” Antonio’s voice was a low, angry growl.
“Jesus Christ. Get your fucking hands off me.”
Antonio slammed Dante against the car just as Lucio opened my door. “Don’t mind the brothers.” Lucio closed the car door. “It’s their way of showing love.”
“I warned you not to do something stupid.” Antonio continued to pin Dante’s back against the car. “I told you to fucking wait, but you never fucking listen!”
Kate stepped in next to me, reaching for my hand as we witnessed the two Valenti brothers about to repeat ancient history. Cain and Abel had nothing on these two savages.
Dante gripped Antonio’s arms and jerked free, shoving his brother backward. “And I told you I’m not sitting around waiting for the fucking grass to grow.”
Antonio’s eyes were big, black globes of anger. “And now you went and started a goddamn war. Over what?” Antonio pointed toward me. “A woman who left you in the first place? Wake the fuck up, Dante.”
“Fuck you!” Dante stormed toward his brother just as the guy who Dante fist-planted at the club came running out, jumping in between them. He had a huge shiner on his left eye, but that didn’t stop him from blocking Dante an
d shoving Antonio back.
“Seriously. How many times am I going to have to stop you two from killing each other? This is getting very tiring very fucking quickly.”
Lucio leaned in closer. “That’s Lorik, the brother-in-law-to-be.”
I shot him a questioning glare. “Are you just going to stand here and watch them kill each other?”
“Yup.” Lucio seemed amused by it all.
I huffed and stomped around the car toward the three men about to start Armageddon. “Stop. Just stop.”
Dante held out his hand. “Stay out of this, Layla.”
For a second, annoyance clouded my judgment and I stepped right in front of him, risking getting mauled by two very angry and aggressive Italian men. But at that moment I didn’t give a fuck, which was why I forced Lorik and Antonio to step back while I met Dante’s glare of death.
“Don’t you dare act like I have no say in any of this. You don’t fucking own me, Dante. I told you to leave me, to not bring me here. But you did it anyway. All of you,” I glanced at Lorik and Antonio, “have no clue what the hell is at stake. Yet here you are acting like goddamn savages over something you know nothing about.” I turned back to Dante. “Just let me leave. Let me go back, and you don’t have to worry about me anymore. You and your brother definitely don’t have to kill each other over me.”
Dante moved, coming within a few inches of me. The way he pinned his stare on mine, his body casting a shadow over me, made me suck in a breath.
“Apparently, I haven’t made myself clear. So I’ll say it again,” he glanced over my shoulder, “so everyone can hear. There is no way in hell I’m letting you go back to him. I don’t care who threatens to kick my ass, or who tries to turn my balls inside out.” Lorik snorted behind me. “But there is no way—no way—I’m sending you back.”
My chest started to ache when I saw the determination in his dark eyes. A part of me loved how much he still cared for me, how his need to protect me was so unwavering. But another part—the biggest part—was scared, afraid of what the consequences might be. The consequences of him still loving me.
He grabbed my elbow. “I think it’s time for us to talk.”
He started dragging me up the stairs and into the house. No one tried to stop him. Not even Antonio. Everyone scrambled around to get out of his way while he continued to pull me with him.
We entered the house, and I knew by the direction he was taking me that we were on our way to his room. My heart hammered against my ribs. I didn’t want to be alone with him. I didn’t know if I would be strong enough to resist him, to resist what I felt for him.
For the first time since all of this started, I tried to concentrate on the craving inside my veins rather than the way Dante’s presence made my body hum with equal parts fear and desire. I would rather let the demons take over than succumb to Dante Valenti. The risk was too high.
As we stopped in front of his bedroom door, he pinned me against the wall, his big frame caging me in. His intense gaze swept over my face, and I felt my desire for him climb. With each passing second, each breath, it climbed higher and higher, threatening to unravel me.
“Dante, you don’t know—
“You said that already. That I don’t know what’s going on.” He reached out with one arm, and I heard the latch of the door and the creak as it opened. “But you’re going to tell me everything,” he leaned down, his lips a few breaths away from mine, “and I mean everything. Right. Now.”
Chapter 12
Dante
I saw the secrets in her eyes. I saw the uncertainty, the fear. And even though I had every right to be angry as fuck about her breaking my heart without so much as a goddamn explanation, all I wanted to do was help her. There was this deep-rooted need that stemmed from the farthest parts of my soul to do everything I could to keep her safe. To protect her. But she needed to let me in, to open up and trust me. If she would just fucking talk, tell me what the hell was going on, I would have a better clue about what needed to be done. She needed to realize that right now I didn’t give a flying fuck about the past. All I wanted to do was sort out this entire mess, to make sure she was safe and as far away from that motherfucker Matteo as possible. We could deal with the past and all the unanswered questions once this was cleared up.
I stepped back but blocked her way, forcing her to walk into my bedroom. Her resistance, her fight to remain strong, was clear in the way she scowled at me while slowly walking through the door.
I noticed her tense the second she heard the door close behind us. She was nervous. I just didn’t know if it was because of the conversation we were about to have, or because we were alone. Look what happened the last time we were alone in the goddamn bathroom of Vertigo. I almost fucked her out of the little red dress she wore, right there against the wall. Just thinking about it made my cock twitch.
I took a deep breath. “I suggest you start at the beginning.”
She let out a fake laugh as she turned to face me. “The beginning? Seriously, Dante? Can’t you see it doesn’t matter where this started? It only matters where it’s going to end, and me being here is ensuring that it all ends the way he wants it to.”
“And how is that?”
She bit her bottom lip as if she was trying to keep the words from slipping out.
“Layla—”
There was a knock at the door.
“Fuck off!” I yelled.
“Dad wants to see you…and her.” Antonio slammed against the door. “Now!”
“Christ.” I dragged my fingers through my hair. “Just perfect fucking timing. Come on, let’s get this over with.”
She hesitated. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry, Layla. No one will hurt you. Not while I’m around.”
I held out my hand to her, after which she slowly reached out and placed her palm in mine.
I frowned. “You don’t know whether you can trust me or not…do you?”
“Do you blame me? I hurt you. I know that. What I don’t know is exactly how many scars I left behind.”
With a gentle tug, I pulled her closer. “You didn’t just hurt me. You fucking destroyed me. What you left behind was something much worse than mere scars, Layla.” I stepped forward, leaving no space between us. “Ever since you left, I tried to forget about you. To get over you. But guess what?” I softly brushed my knuckles down the side of her face. “I’m still not.”
A rush of air escaped her, the warmth of her breath wafting across my lips. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to tear her clothes off and remind her of what we shared with every thrust of my cock. But we had Daddy Dearest to face first. And God knew, my dad was probably on the verge of bursting an artery—he and Antonio both.
“Come on.”
With slow steps, she followed me. Every now and then I glanced her way. Sorrow and pain were all I saw on her face. Her clothes were stained with dried blood, and her hair was a mess. But to me, it wasn’t possible for her to look anything but beautiful.
We entered the dining room. Everyone was already there except Lucio. My guess was he had been given the task of taking care of Kate. This was a family matter—which meant it was a personal matter.
I looked straight at my dad. “You summoned us.”
He stared over my shoulder. “Hello, Layla. It’s nice to see you again, although I wish it was under better circumstances.”
She stepped in next to me. “Hello, Mr. Valenti.”
His gaze swept over her. “I think you should clean up. I’m sure you’ll feel much better when you do.”
I clutched her hand tighter. “Layla stays with me.”
“Dante, the woman is covered in blood. The least you can do is let her clean up in goddamn peace.”
“I repeat…Layla stays with me.”
My dad narrowed his eyes at me, but I wouldn’t be intimidated by anyone when it came to her.
“Fine,” he conceded before pouring himself a drink. “It seems your actions
today have put our family in quite the predicament.”
I snorted. “You say that like I care.”
He shot a warning glare my way. “You should. You acted foolishly, putting every member of this family in danger. The least you can do is fucking care!” He raised his voice with every word, but I wasn’t the twelve-year-old boy who cowered under his father’s wrath anymore. I was a grown man, and I knew how to stand my ground.
“I did what needed to be done.”
“You gave the Mancusos what they needed to declare war against us.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Dad. We’ve been at war with them for years.”
He studied me, disapproval written all over his face. Lucky for me, I was long past the time when I needed his approval for anything.
Antonio leaned back in his seat. “We might have been at war with them for years, Dante. But your actions today gave them more ammunition to use against us.”
“How? By saving her goddamn life? I did exactly what Lorik did when Karina was in danger. Why didn’t you question his motives?”
“That was different.”
“Why? Because Layla’s not blood, or because you don’t like the fact that my loyalty lies beyond this goddamn family?”
Antonio’s stare of death was aimed right at my forehead. But I didn’t give a flying fuck. He knew it then, just like he knew it now. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman. No matter what happened in the past—how much pain she caused me.
Father cleared his throat. “The word has already spread about you and Lucio killing four of Mancuso’s men.” His stare settled on Layla. “And that you took something that belonged to him.”
“Like fuck, I did. Layla belongs to no one…but me.”
“Dante,” she whispered. “Please stop.”
“No! No, I won’t stop,” I replied loudly enough for everyone to hear. “When it was Karina’s life on the line, no one questioned Lorik’s actions. Why the fuck am I getting the third degree for doing the same thing he did?”
Antonio opened his mouth, but Dad silenced him with a simple raise of his hand.
