Those were the words I had been aching to hear from the first time I had told him I loved him. But it was wrong. He wasn’t allowed to say them to me. I wasn’t allowed to grab them and hold them close to my chest and savor the fact that this man loved me.
And it was killing me.
I stopped struggling and went completely still against him. I stomped down on the flame of joy his words have given me and forced my eyes to not show so much as a flicker of what I was feeling.
“I’m going to marry Dante, so go home to your wife and son, Adrian. We have nothing more to say to each other.”
For a long moment, he just stood there, looking down at me. His chest lifted and fell with each harsh breath he took. Then he lowered his head until we were eye level. His face had gone pale, but there was pure menace in his voice when he spoke.
“There is plenty more to say, but I can see that you aren’t going to listen. Just remember what I said. I will kill him, Victoria.” Reaching around me, he opened the door and straightened to his full height. He stepped around me, then turned to face me one last time. “I love you,” he murmured in a voice so tender it brought tears to my eyes.
Before I could draw in another breath, he was gone, the door shutting quietly behind him.
I love you.
The words echoed around the room and inside my heart. I wanted to say them back to him, yet I bit my lip to keep them locked inside.
He wasn’t mine, and I wasn’t his.
He wasn’t …
… mine.
Chapter 19
Adrian
Three weeks. Three motherfucking weeks. That was how long I had given her. In that time, I had known everything that she had done, every move she had made. I knew she hadn’t left the house in Chicago, not once, until she had been called home again to prepare for her twin’s wedding.
She hadn’t returned alone, though.
Fucking Dante De Stefano had been with her.
I had even more eyes inside the Vitucci compound now, so I knew every move she made on an hourly basis. She had gotten home, and then she had stayed inside, only leaving when she had to go out with her family for dress fittings, or to one of her meetings with the non-profit charities where she sat on the board. She hadn’t tried to sneak out. I knew because I had been waiting for her every night in the same spot she had normally waited for me.
Three weeks was all I was giving her. She’d had plenty of time to think about me—us—and miss me. If she had missed me even half of how badly I was missing her, then I knew she wouldn’t be able to last another day without being with me again. Because I was going off the fucking rails with how much I wanted her back.
I hadn’t wasted the time we had been apart, either. If she wouldn’t be with me because of Klara, then Klara had to go. I had my lawyers working on it. I figured the bitch would be all too happy with the settlement I was offering, if she signed the divorce papers and relinquished all rights to Theo. Hell, she could have twice the amount I was offering if she would just give me what I wanted. I would willingly pay triple if that meant I could get a divorce faster.
Not that I was going to tell the coked-up whore that.
Still, it was going to take time. Time I wasn’t going to spend away from Victoria.
I had tried to call her over the last few days, hoping she would answer so I could tell her what I was doing with Klara. The stubborn woman still wouldn’t take my calls or respond to my texts. I figured she wouldn’t believe me if I told her in a message. Besides, I wanted to see her face when I told her I would be free soon.
Standing outside the dress shop where I had watched Victoria go with her grandmother, cousin, Mary Donati, and my sister hours before, I waited impatiently. She was so close, but not nearly close enough. My skin itched with the urge to just storm in there and throw her over my shoulder like some barbaric caveman stealing his woman.
A blacked-out car pulled up in front of the dress shop and one of the men I had inside the Vitucci compound stepped out from behind the wheel as another man, Paco, got out and opened the back door so Scarlett could get out.
The last time I had seen Scarlett, she had been covered in blood and bruises. Now, there wasn’t even an outward sign of the beating she had taken from Jr., but the look on her face wasn’t exactly a bridal glow, either.
There was a deep frown on her beautiful face, her eyes looking almost lost as she followed Paco into the shop. I didn’t care what was wrong with her as long as it didn’t have something to do with Victoria. Scarlett was nothing more to me than the twin of the woman I loved.
I stayed where I was, down a side street in the shadows, but still able to watch everything that went on inside the dress shop across the street. I watched the women, all of them gushing over the dress my sister was modeling for them.
Irritation burned through my gut that my sister was more loyal to these people than me, even though I was happy she had made friends with Victoria and her family.
Inside, Antony, my man, moved away from the couch where Scarlett and her cousin were sitting and joined several other of Vitucci’s men closer to the door. My eyes skipped over him, however, and sought out Victoria. I watched her every move, enjoying the graceful sway of her hips as she walked around the shop, sipping at champagne and laughing with the other women.
It was nearly another hour before Scarlett went into the back to change from her wedding dress, but she didn’t immediately return.
Needing to face my kotyonok, I moved out of my hiding spot in the shadows and crossed the street. I stopped just outside the shop’s window and took a better look inside. Anya and Scarlett were still in the back, but the other women were standing and hugging Victoria goodbye as their own guards prepared to leave.
I shifted my weight, debating if I wanted a confrontation with all of Vito’s men there to intercede. Not wanting to upset Victoria, or her beloved grandmother, I decided to move around to the side of the shop.
Before I could get completely out of sight again, I glanced back, and as if she could sense me so close, Victoria’s head snapped up and her gaze landed on me.
This close, I could see that the smiles she’d had on her face all day had been forced. Her face was paler than normal with dark circles under her eyes, giving her beauty a haunting quality.
She quickly turned back to her cousin, another fake smile on her face as she hugged the woman then stepped back just as I rounded the side of the shop.
“Scarlett looked so beautiful,” I heard one of the older women say as they stepped out of the shop.
“She’s going to make the perfect bride.” This one’s voice was slightly heavy with an Italian accent. I figured it was Victoria’s grandmother. “And as soon as we’re done with this one, I suspect we will be planning another.”
“Ah, Nona.” The younger of the three women laughed, but it sounded a little forced. “Dante hasn’t made anything official yet.”
I froze at the mention of the man’s name, my ears straining to hear more as they walked a little farther down the street toward their vehicles.
“Dante’s a smart man, cara. I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s anxious to get back home with a wife of his own.”
The fuck he was. There was no way in hell that motherfucker was going to leave with Victoria as his wife. I hadn’t been making an idle threat when I had told her that I would kill the man if he even tried to marry her.
“But Papa is still making a fuss,” Allegra Vitucci said with a sigh. “I don’t even know if he will allow me to accept, even if Dante does propose.”
Relief was like a tidal wave as it flooded over me. Dante could marry Allegra or any other woman for all I cared. He was still a dead man if he even considered he had a chance with my woman.
I heard doors slam shut, and then two powerful vehicles were started. Moments later, they were pulling away from the dress shop.
My phone vibrated with an incoming call.
Recognizing the number, I answered.
“They are going out the back.”
“Don’t let her leave,” I bit out then hung up.
Putting my phone back in my pocket, I walked around to the back of the shop and saw that Scarlett, Anya, and Victoria were already getting into the car, but I wasn’t worried about them leaving. Antony was behind the wheel with one of Ciro’s most trusted men climbing into the passenger seat.
With each step I took, I could see that Victoria had realized I was coming for her. Her eyes were glued to me.
There was a commotion inside the vehicle as Scarlett yelled at Antony, but he didn’t move to start the car.
My hands burned to hold my kotyonok again. I could almost feel her soft skin under my fingertips. Fuck, I was going to touch every inch of her later. I was going to worship her as she deserved and finally make her mine in every way that mattered.
I wasn’t blind to the fact that Paco had pulled his gun on Antony and couldn’t have cared less if he shot the other man. Antony tossed the keys at Paco and got out of the car. Still, I barely noticed.
Victoria’s eyes were still on me, still watching every step I took, as if she was anticipating me holding her as much as I was. Her lips fell apart in a soft O shape, and her eyes looked glazed with need. My body went from semi-hard to so hard I could have used my cock as a hammer right then at how responsive she was to just the sight of me.
Two gunshots firing snapped my head up to see Anya was now behind the wheel and Antony was on his knees with a bullet in each one. “Pidor,” she yelled in his face in Russian. “Idi nahui.”
In the next moment, the car sped away, breaking the trance I had unintentionally weaved over Victoria.
No, my brain screamed. I had been so close to having her back and my sister had stolen her away from me.
“Anya!” I roared, betrayal like a punch to the gut at what she had just done.
She had made her choice, had turned her back on me and had picked Victoria.
Antony groaned from where he was still on his knees. I turned away from the sight of him, disgusted that he had let my sister get the drop on him so easily.
“Go get yourself cleaned up,” I snarled at him from over my shoulder. “Before I finish you off myself.”
I went home and got rip-roaring drunk for the first time since I had gotten out of prison and was finally able to mourn the loss of my brother.
Chapter 20
Victoria
Weddings were supposed to be beautiful and make people cry because everyone was happy.
Scarlett’s was beyond beautiful, Mary Donati had made sure of that, but I was fucking tired of crying. It was exhausting, and I wasn’t even sure I had tears left to cry. My sister was happy, though, and glowing so that was all that mattered to me.
But now she was on her way to the airport to start her honeymoon, and I felt more alone than I ever had before.
“I’m tired of seeing you moping around,” Dante grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table with me where I had been trying to bury my troubles in a pint of sugar-free vanilla bean ice cream. “It’s distracting, and you’re depressing the hell out of me. If you huff one more time, I’m going to pull my hair out.”
I rolled my eyes at him and took another bite of my ice cream. “I thought you had to go back to Chicago tonight.”
He shrugged. “The best part of having access to a private plane is that I can leave whenever the fuck I please.” He took my spoon from me and scooped up a bite of my creamy treat. “Not bad considering it doesn’t have any of the good stuff.”
I snatched the spoon back. “Get your own, asshat.”
“Now, here I was, going to take you out so you didn’t have to sit in the dark all by your lonesome and you’re being mean to me.” He sighed like I was the most ungrateful person alive and he was fed up with me. “Guess Allegra and I will just go clubbing by ourselves.”
“Like that’s a hardship. You’ve been panting after her for years. Seal the deal already, bitch.” I took another bite, wishing I had some toppings to toss on top, like gummy bears and hot fudge sauce and extra creamy whipped cream. But we didn’t have any because Papa didn’t want me to have the temptation in the house.
His eyes shot flames at me for calling him out, but he didn’t deny it or offer an explanation as to why he was taking his sweet-ass time when it was so obvious he was stupid in love with my cousin.
“Cristiano and Anya are going to meet us at the club. Go change your clothes before I change my mind.”
“I don’t want to go to a club,” I whined, digging more ice cream out and sticking a huge bite into my mouth, not caring that I could induce a brain freeze. “I just want to sit here and eat my ice cream, and pretend it’s got enough sugar in it to send me into a coma long enough for my sister to get home.”
“Drama queen,” he grumbled as he stood. He started to turn to leave, but suddenly he turned around and scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder as he headed up the back stairs that would get him to my room the fastest. “You are going to change out of these silly pajamas and into a nice, decent dress, and then we are going dancing. You will have fun, and even smile a little for once. Stop acting like your life is over, dammit. He’s a fucking guy. There will be other guys. Hundreds of guys. And you’ll fall in love with every one of them. You will break some of their hearts and some will break yours. I’ll kill the ones that do, though, so don’t worry.”
He dropped me on the end of my bed and stepped back, not even a little breathless after having just carried me so far. “Get ready. You have ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes!” I squeaked, looking at the clock on my nightstand. “Are you insane? I can’t get ready in that short a time.”
“Make it six,” he said, pulling his phone from his pants pocket. “Hurry up.”
“You’re unbelievable!” I called after him as he headed for the door. I was already on my feet, planning what I was going to wear.
My hair still looked good after the wedding that had taken place downstairs earlier that evening, and my makeup was modest, but if I put on a little more eye makeup and retouched my gloss, I would be club ready. Knowing Dante, he would storm back in when the six minutes were up and toss me over his shoulder again, making me go whether I was ready or not.
I hastily picked up a black dress that fell a few inches below my ass, slipped my feet into a pair of white wedge sandals, and hurriedly put on a little extra makeup in the bathroom.
I was just putting my things in my black and white clutch when the door opened without warning and Dante stuck his head in. Behind him, Allegra was staring at me wide-eyed from over his shoulder.
“Good, you’re ready. Let’s go.”
I snapped the clasp closed and tucked it under my arm as I begrudgingly crossed the room toward him and my cousin. “I’m telling Scarlett how mean you’ve been to me,” I said as I passed him, sticking my tongue out childishly. That was how we had always acted with each other. He loved to annoy me, and I secretly loved it, too.
“Oh no,” he said with a mock gasp. “Allegra, baby, she’s going to tattle on me.”
“I don’t understand you two sometimes,” she murmured, shaking her head, but I saw the pink that had filled her cheeks, making her even more gorgeous.
I linked my arm through hers and urged her toward the stairs. “I wouldn’t try to figure us out, Allie. Dante is a complicated guy.”
She giggled, the sound so damn lovely that it eased some of the ache in my chest. “I know that all too well.”
“And yet, you are still considering marrying him,” I teased, glancing at Dante from over my shoulder as he followed us.
He was openly glaring at me, telling me with his eyes to shut the fuck up.
I lifted a brow at him.
“Oh, I’m more than considering it,” Allegra said, but it was so soft that only I could hear her.
I felt a smile try to
tease at my lips and pressed them together before my sweet cousin could see it. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but I knew that she was just as crazy about Dante as he was about her. It was her father who was making it so complicated for her. Damn Gio and his stupid grudge against the De Stefano family.
***
We didn’t go to Anya’s club, which was just fine with me. The less chance I had of running into Adrian, the better. I was still angry at myself for having melted for him so easily back in Chicago. I felt like a freaking slut where he was concerned. My body wasn’t my own when he was around.
Cristiano and Anya were already waiting for us inside Valor, one of New York’s most popular clubs. I hadn’t ever tried to get into Valor, so this was the first time I had seen the inside of it. The reason I hadn’t tried to sneak in when I was a teenager, or even more recently, was because I knew the place was under Cosa Nostra protection. All it would have taken was one person to recognize me and my father would have been there in a flash to drag my ass out and straight home, where he would put bars on my windows and doors and handcuff me to one of my guards. So, of course I had stayed as far away as possible from Valor and any other club operated by my father’s people.
It felt odd being in it right then. It felt even weirder having both Dante and my brother with me. I was twenty-one, yet this was the first time I had ever felt like an actual adult while out at a club. All the sneaking out had made me feel like a kid, but I had to admit, this was much nicer.
It would have been better if Scarlett had been there with us.
And Adrian.
I clenched my jaw as he yet again invaded my mind, and I downed the shot of tequila a waitress had brought us, along with an entire bottle of silver tequila, a pitcher of frozen margaritas, and a bottle of Dante’s favorite scotch.
Allegra was tentatively sipping at her margarita. It was her first time drinking anything stronger than wine, but after half the glass was gone, she started relaxing more and was actually even flirting with Dante, who was eating it up.
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