Page 11 of Beneath the Shadows

Without breaking eye contact, he sets his drink down.

“What’s the sexiest man in the room doing by himself?” I ask, leaning into him.

Placing his hands on my hips, he pulls me between his spread thighs. “I was waiting for you.”

“Well, I’m here now.” I purr, biting my bottom lip. “What are you going to do with me?”

Before he can answer, a sharp voice cuts through the air. “What the fuck is going on here?” Valentino’s grip on my arm is tight as he yanks me away from the man.

“I’m just taking advantage of the entertainment,” he replies with a smug grin.

“She isn’t part of theentertainment,”Valentino snarls, his grip tightening painfully. “This is my fiancé.”

The man’s face pales. “Oh fuck,” He raises his hands, backing off quickly. “I had no idea.”

Valentino motions to someone, and the music suddenly cuts off. The whole room falls silent as he sneers, “Dante, take this piece of shit and get rid of him.”

“No,” I protest, pulling against his hold. “It’s not his fault. I approached him. He had no idea who I was.”

Valentino’s eyes darken. “Then, let this be a lesson for you. Don’t fuck around or people get hurt.”

“I heard you were having a party,” I snap, finally breaking free of his hold. “I figured I’d come and have some fun, too.”

“It doesn’t work that way, sweetheart,” he says coldly, gesturing toward Dante. “Get him out of my sight.”

“Antonio,” I plead, my voice desperate. “Do something to stop this, please.”

Valentino laughs. “Antonio’s a lowly soldier. He takes orders fromme.” He watches as Dante drags him away. “Make sure his death is slow and painful.”

The man’s terrified eyes stay locked on mine as tears spill down my face. My stomach drops, knowing it’s my fault he’s about to die.

“Val, please don’t do this,” I beg, but he shrugs utterly indifferently.

“He touched what didn’t belong to him,” Val says flatly as he takes a long, slow drink of the whiskey the bartender just handed him.

I stand there trembling with fear and fury. “What do I have to do to stop this?” I ask desperation in my voice.

The corner of Val’s mouth turns up in a sneer. “That’s not the way this life works, Alessia. You should know better than that.” He motions to Antonio. “Get her out of here so I can get back to enjoying my party.”

“I hate you,” I whisper, but he just laughs.

Antonio leads me to the door. Before we’re even out of the room, the music turns on, and the party resumes as though nothing happened. I glance back to see Valentino already inside a woman while he fondles another.

“Alessia,” Antonio says, drawing my attention.

“He’s a monster,” I murmur as I let him lead me out of the room.

We walk in silence, the tension heavy between us, until we round a corner. Without a word, Antonio suddenly steers me into one of the side rooms, closing the door quickly behind us.

“What are you doing?” I ask, panicked.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls his cell from his pocket and taps the screen, putting it on speaker.

“Where are you?” a male voice answers.

“I’m with Alessia. I need a favor,” he replies, his eyes locked with mine.

“What’s wrong?”

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