“It’s fine. Don’t mention it.”
“No, I’m serious. This has put you in a bad situation, and I don’t think I’ve even said I was sorry for forcing you to do any of it.”
My breath suddenly felt like it was trapped in my lungs, unable to breathe out or suck more in. My hearing became heightened as I clutched the doorframe for support. What did that mean, that she had forced him? What had she forced him to do?
“Lauren—” he began, but she cut him off as if he hadn’t said a word.
“All these years, you should have been looking for someone you could actually spend your life with. Instead, I made you pursue Allegra so I could get her back, when I should have just been brave enough to take my daughter back myself. The only good thing that came from Gio trying to kill you is that you got her out without actually having to marry her.”
My stomach began to roil with nausea, and bile filled the back of my throat as I listened to the rest of what Lauren was saying. Pressing my hand to my mouth, I rushed back to the sanctuary of my room and barely made it to the toilet before I was expelling everything in my stomach. The promise I made to myself not to cry anymore was laughable. I couldn’t have stopped the flood of tears even if I’d tried.
Images of my relationship with Dante over the years replayed over and over in my mind, but now I was able to see it all with a clearer vision, and it only made me heave harder. The connection I thought we had, the love I had always ached for… None of it was real. He had only been doing what my mother wanted. All of it, all these years, and more recently, was just for my mother’s benefit.
I heaved and heaved, expelling the entire contents of my stomach as I wanted to expel Dante from my heart. If only it were that easy.
Stupidly, I had been headed to his room to talk to him about everything, thinking I had just gotten it all jumbled in my head. Between being presented with my dead mother, finding out I had a little sister, and still reeling from a night of deliciously exhausting sex, my mind had been a mess. After five days to think it all over, I’d wanted to talk to Dante about everything and see what happened next.
Now…
Now I knew what happened next.
Weakly, I got to my feet and rinsed out my mouth. Lifting my eyes, I glared at my reflection in the mirror. “Stupid, Allegra. You’re so damn stupid.”
I couldn’t stay here. I wouldn’t. I was better off back in New York. Maybe my father was a monster, but at least I knew what I was getting with him. Not that I was going back to him. I was fed up with being the meek and weak girl they all thought they could walk all over.
That was done.
I was a Vitucci woman, just like Scarlett and Victoria. It was about damn time I started acting like one.
I lifted my chin, my eyes becoming two blank orbs as I pushed away from the sink and walked back into the bedroom. Sweet, precious little Allegra was dead.
Now I needed a plan to get this new me out of this place and as far away from these people who I’d idiotically thought might care about me.
Chapter 13
Allegra
Having spent the majority of my life being chauffeured around, driving was far from my forte. Papa never bothered to give me lessons, and as Nona didn’t know how to drive either, she hadn’t thought it was a skill I would ever need. But Dante had spent hours teaching me how during his countless visits.
Of course, that had been in the small sedan that belonged to the gardener who took care of the Sicily compound’s grounds. Right now, I was behind the wheel of a mammoth SUV with what felt like a million times more power than I was used to.
My hands held the wheel tightly as I maneuvered through early morning rush hour on I-80. The GPS told me I was halfway there, and honestly, I couldn’t believe I’d made it this far without something going wrong. I was learning all kinds of new things about myself, and the biggest discovery was that my determination and grit were stronger than I ever could have imagined.
Getting away from Dante and Lauren was my number one goal. One I would have died attempting if need be because there was no way in hell I was going to stay under the same roof with those two another night. Not after what I’d heard earlier.
Dante didn’t really care about me at all. My mother set me up, sending her lover’s son to seduce me into loving him just so I would have to come to her. And he was her current lover. Had she not cared that my falling for Dante when he didn’t want my love was tantamount to having my heart excised from my body?
Or perhaps that was what she wanted. To hurt and humiliate me. Maybe this was just revenge for all the pain Papa had put her through.
I’d waited until the house was quiet before sneaking into Dante’s room. There was a half-empty bottle of bourbon lying on the bed beside him. His snores told me he was out cold, likely having drunk most of the contents of the bottle. A bomb going off outside probably wouldn’t have woken him. I quickly snatched up the first set of car keys I found and pocketed his phone before grabbing his wallet and emptying it of all the cash he had.
The SUV had given me pause once I realized it was the vehicle the keys belonged to, but at least it had a full tank of gas and I wouldn’t have to stop for a while to get more. It was only as I was backing out of the garage that I saw Jarvis standing in the doorway, just staring at me. The big guy was the closest thing I had to a friend here, if you considered the person who brought your dinner and asked if you were okay a friend. Sadly enough, I had because there was no one else. Then and there, I thought for sure I was busted, but he only lifted a hand in a single wave before shutting the door.
Hoping he wouldn’t alert anyone to my absence anytime soon, I’d made quick work of putting as much distance as I could between the house and myself. That had been eight hours ago. According to the GPS, I still had a while to go before I was in New York, but with so many miles between me and anyone who might want to come after me, I was breathing a little easier.
Dante was probably still sound asleep with all the bourbon he must have drunk the night before. The only one likely to miss me was Eloise, who was bound to bring my breakfast anytime now. I actually liked the housekeeper. When she brought me breakfast each morning, she would take time to ask how I was doing, if there was anything I needed. She hadn’t tried to tempt me out of the room I had barricaded myself in or convince me to see sense and talk to either Dante or Lauren. She gave me the space I needed to clear my head and think a little more rationally about everything.
It wasn’t her fault I was a fool to think Dante might actually care for me.
That was on me and only me.
I got to the city just after noon and parked in the mall parking lot as I tried to figure out who I should call. The tiny list of people I trusted had become even shorter now, so I had few options for who to contact once I got to New York.
Pulling up Dante’s contact list, I saw he had called an unlisted number just the day before. Grimacing, I flipped through the rest of his contact history and finally found a name that had my thumb sliding across. Nervously, I waited for someone to pick up on the other end, unsure of what I was even going to say once they did.
“Busy,” the slightly accented voice barked distractedly.
“Wait!” I cried, knowing she was about to hang up on me. “Anya, it’s me, Allegra.”
There was a short pause on her end before she spoke again. “What’s wrong?” she demanded, her tone no longer harsh. “Did something happen to your man?”
“I left,” I told her honestly. “I’m back in New York, but I don’t have anywhere to go. I mean, I could go back to Zio Vito’s compound, but my father is there and—”
“Say no more, myshka. Tell me where you are. I will come pick you up.” I told her where and which parking lot, and she hung up without another word.
I sat there, glancing around often to make sure no one was looking at me. My stomach grumbled hungrily, but I ignored it. I’d stopped twice to refill the gas
tank on the long drive but hadn’t bothered with food or even something to drink. All I cared about was getting the hell away from Chicago. Drinking meant having to stop to use the bathroom, and I wasn’t about to waste the time.
My lips were now cracked from dehydration, my fingers shaking from lack of food, and I was so tired it was a fight just to keep my eyes open.
Time seemed to slow down as I waited, each minute feeling as if an hour passed. The sound of the phone ringing with an incoming call had me nearly jumping out of my skin. Cautiously, as if expecting the phone to explode in my hands, I lifted it and checked the caller ID. The number was unlisted, so I couldn’t be sure if it was Anya or not. Burner phones were a necessity in her line of work, after all. Even the phone I had stolen from Dante was a burner by the looks of it.
“Hello?” I answered once I realized it wasn’t going to stop ringing anytime soon.
“Where the fuck are you?” Dante roared in my ear.
My nervousness vanished, replaced by anger and then detachment. I didn’t have the energy for anger. There was no need for it anyway. What was the use of being mad because he didn’t love me?
“Why do you care?” I asked instead of answering his question.
“Why?” he bellowed. “Because it’s not safe for you to be out of this damn house. Because it will kill me if something happens to you. Because I’m fucking losing my goddamn mind right now!”
“The game’s over, Dante. You don’t need to pretend any longer.” I pushed my limp hair back from my face. I ached for a shower and a few hours’ sleep. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m not your concern now. Consider your job for my mother complete. Go, be with her in peace. I hope you two have a good life together.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” His voice was quieter now but no more calm. I could hear the banked emotions just under the surface.
“Please don’t insult me by pretending,” I murmured softly. “I know what my mother asked of you. I know the only reason you wanted to be with me was because of her. She asked you to take care of me. She was even making you marry me.” Not that it would have lasted. My marriage was never supposed to survive longer than a few months so he could be with my mother.
The thought of them together, like he had been with me, made me physically ill to even think about.
His groan sounded pained. “Allegra baby, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Lauren didn’t make me do anything. I want to marry you. You are mine.”
“Just stop!” I screamed, unable to stand hearing another lie from him. It would only cut my heart into even finer pieces than it already was. Swallowing hard, I forced my voice to become calmer. “I heard her. You should be with someone you really care about, right? Not chasing after me because she made you.”
“You heard that?” he muttered. “Fuck, baby, you don’t understand. It wasn’t like that. It has never been like that.”
“Don’t lie to me, Dante. I’m tired, and right now, I honestly can’t take more of anything you and my mother try to spin together. If you wanted to be with her, all you had to do was say so. I would have accepted your help to get away from Gio in a flash. You didn’t have to pretend to care about me.” A car pulled up beside the SUV, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Anya behind the wheel. “I have to go.”
“No! Wait, Allegra. Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you. We can talk, sweetheart.” There was a strange tone in his voice, almost a plea, but I put that down to my ears playing tricks on me. I was too exhausted to trust anything I heard right then. “We can sort this out. You don’t understand—”
“Bye, Dante.”
“Goddammit, no!”
I hung up and tossed the phone into the passenger seat along with the keys. Unconcerned if anyone stole the SUV, I jumped down from the driver’s seat and slid into Anya’s car. Her blue gaze ran over me from top to bottom, examining me for injury. “Well, you look okay. Except those eyes.”
I quickly looked away, knowing I was giving away everything I was feeling. I wanted to be as detached as I told myself I was, but I was already failing. If she, someone I barely knew and who didn’t even know the first thing about me, could see it, then keeping my true feelings from those who had known me all my life was going to be impossible.
Anya shifted the little car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. “We’re going to have to work on that, myshka. But no worries. Auntie Anya will take care of you and teach you all she knows.”
Chapter 14
Dante
With a savage curse, I threw the phone against the wall, uncaring that it exploded into a hundred different pieces and flew in every direction of the room.
My head felt like it might do the same, it was pounding so hard. Once I’d kicked Lauren out of my room the day before, I’d grabbed a bottle of bourbon out of the liquor cabinet, deciding to have it for dinner instead of whatever Eloise was cooking downstairs. I couldn’t figure out how I missed what Lauren was really like for so many years. It disgusted me that she thought I was going to be with her, the woman who was like a mother to me. It was sick.
After passing out early, I didn’t wake up until Eloise came to get my ass out of bed and tell me Allegra was gone.
Gone?
There was no way she was fucking gone. She wouldn’t leave me. Even as upset as she was, she still knew it was safer with me than out on her own.
It took all of ten minutes to realize my keys to the SUV were gone, along with my latest burner phone and the three hundred dollars in cash I’d had in my wallet. She ran away, and now I knew it was because she’d overheard what her mother said to me.
How much of it did she hear?
Fuck, did she think I wanted to be with her mother and not her?
Raking my hands through my hair, I jogged downstairs to my office and pulled up the LoJack app for the SUV. When I got the GPS location of it, I fell into my chair. She was already back in New York.
Damn it!
Was she going back to Gio? Did she honestly think he was the lesser of two evils?
“Did you find her?” Eloise asked as she brought in a mug of strong, black coffee and set it on my desk.
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “She’s back in New York.”
“Oh dear Lord,” she gasped. “What is that poor child thinking? If her father gets his hands on her, she won’t stand a chance.”
Clenching my jaw, I pulled up the airline website and grabbed the first flight to New York using one of my aliases. Allegra was setting things into motion a lot sooner than I’d planned, but it didn’t matter. There was no fucking way I was going to let her go back to Gio.
“Tell Jarvis to get ready. I need a ride to the airport.” Jerking to my feet, I stormed upstairs and tossed what I needed into a carry-on.
As I threw on jeans and a T-shirt and grabbed a ball cap to keep my face as obscured as possible, my bedroom door opened. I barely spared Lauren a glance as I found the ID I needed and took some cash out of the safe in my closet.
“You’re leaving?” she asked with surprise.
“Yes.” I put the cash in my wallet and pocketed it.
“But when will you be back?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Not coming back here,” I told her truthfully. “From now on, Jenny will come to me when she wants to see me.”
“What?” Lauren cried, getting in my way as I headed for the door. “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting that little bitch destroy our happiness?”
I grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and set her out of my way. Glaring down at her, I lowered my voice. “You ever call her that again, I promise you, you’ll live to regret it. Allegra is my happiness. If she ever decides she wants to see you again, I won’t stand in her way. But don’t ever try to use her against me or me against her.”
Instead of being scared, she only smirked up at me. “You’ll be back. And then w
e can start our life the way we were meant to.”
“Listen to me, Lauren. You need some serious psychological help. I don’t love you like that. It’s disgusting to even think about being with you in any kind of physical relationship. You’re like a mother to me.” She blanched at that, insulted. “Get your head straight, or so help me, I’ll take Jenny from you.”
“Your father would have killed you for talking to me like this.”
I shrugged and stepped back. “Maybe. I don’t really give a fuck. You don’t matter to me anymore, Lauren.” Tossing the carry-on’s strap over my shoulder, I turned my back on her. “Remember what I said. Try me, and you will be out on your ass in a heartbeat. You won’t ever see Jenny again.”
“You can’t take my daughter away from me!” she sneered as she followed me downstairs. “You try to keep her from me, and I’ll make you sorry.”
“Keep making threats,” I suggested, my tone bored as I turned to face her at the bottom of the stairs. “Jarvis and Eloise will be watching you closely from here on out.”
Her mouth fell open, but no words escaped. With one last meaningful look, I walked out the door.
Jarvis was already waiting behind the wheel of his own SUV. He didn’t speak on the drive to the airport, but there was a new smirk on his face that I couldn’t ever remember seeing on the huge man before. As he pulled to a stop to let me out, I met his gaze.
“Lauren’s fucked in the head. Keep your eyes open to anything out of the ordinary with her. The slightest hint that Jenny isn’t safe with her mother, do what needs doing to secure her safety.”
“I will protect that girl until my last breath,” he said with a tight nod. “Don’t worry about your sister. Go take care of Gio, and keep the little one safe.”
Opening the door, I stepped out. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Safe travels.”
Once I was checked in and waiting for my flight to board, I grabbed a new burner and called Cristiano.
Marrying Her Mafioso Page 11
