Page 25 of Veil of Vengeance

My eyes bulge out of their sockets. Romiro laughs when he sees the look on my face after he turns back around.

“I like fruity drinks.” He shrugs when his laughter dies down a bit. The rest of the flight, I don’t speak to either of them. Not that I want to. The exhaustion must have caught up with me, because the last thing I remember is closing my eyes and feeling a warm blanket covering me.

CHAPTER 7

EMILIANO

We landed in New Hampshire about ten minutes ago. Valentina slept the entire flight. Romiro walks toward her, but I stop him and shake my head. I pick her up, making sure that I support her head.

She’s easier to manage when she’s asleep. I head to the jet's exit, and when the flight attendants see me, their eyes widen in shock, but they don’t say anything. They are under strict instructions not to involve themselves unless asked.

I slowly take the steps to make sure that I don’t wake the little hellion in my arms. The gravel crunches under my shoes, the sound of a plane taking off in the distance as the soft fall breeze blows a strand of Valentina’s long black hair onto her face.

Izaak opens the door of the car once I reach the ground. I thank him and lower Valentina onto the seats, removing the strand off her face. Adjusting her blanket, I make sure she’s covered.

Romiro follows closely behind us and sits in the front seat. That leaves me with the seat next to Valentina. I slide in, making sure to keep some distance between us. The car seats are uncomfortable to lay on, so I reluctantly move her head onto my thigh. With her hair splayed all over my lap, I feel an urge to wrap it around my fist. Pulling me from that thought, Izaak moves into the driver's seat and starts the car.

“Lucio called when you were in the gas station,” Romiro informs me. I meet his gaze in the rear-view mirror.

My fingers toy with the ends of Valentina’s soft black waves as I ask, “What did he say?” Romiro must have stayed quiet because he didn’t want to speak in front of Valentina when we were in the car.

“Dom is on the verge of waking up,” he tells me, but I know that’s not the only thing Romiro has to say so I wait for him to finish talking. “He also mentioned that girls are dropping dead one after the other, and all of them have had sex with Lucio recently. Absolutely skinned.”What the fuck.Who would target girls Lucio just fucked for the fun of it?

“Get Costa on it. I want to know who the fuck is pulling this kind of shit in my territory,” I say as I rake my fingers through the soft curls attached to Satan’s spawn. I wonder what noise she’d make if I tugged on her hair as I fucked her. Clenching my jaw, I shake my head, pissed my mind keeps going in that direction.

“Will she stay at Tartarus?” he asks, tilting his head in Valentina’s direction. I shake my head at him. Rom nods once before opening his mouth, but our conversation is cut short when a little groan comes from the brat laying on my thigh. I yank my hand back to my side as she stirs before she slowly sits upright.

She looks around, a bit dazed, her wavy hair getting in her face. When I reach forward and push it back, her face morphs into a scowl.

“Don’t touch me,” she spits out before turning toward the window. I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to grab her by the throat and teach her how to speak to me. But I opt to ignore her.

It doesn’t take long for us to reach the house. The iron gates open inwards, and we drive in until we stop in front of the fountain. Opening the door, I step out, giving Valentina my hand, but she opens the door on the other side instead.

I run my hand through my hair and pull a bit, trying to release some frustration. We head up the stairs, toward the entrance doors.

Romiro reaches the security pad that’s embedded in the wall and enters the security details. A beeping noise alerts us that the doors are now unlocked.

The door opens to the entrance hallway, the floors made of marble and the walls a soft celadon. I can hear the voices of Lucio, Mara, and Matteo speaking as they make their way out of the living room and into the hallway.

“Of course not, Lucio. You can’t expect me to be happy about you going after my friends.”

Mara probably had to give Lucio another lecture about backing off her friends. It never works. Lucio opens his mouth to argue, but they spot us and head our way. Lucio and Matteo come closer, but Mara stays behind. her eyes darting around the room.

“You finally made it. What took you guys so long?” Lucio seems to have the answer to his question as soon as his eyes land on Valentina.

“Oh, uhhh…Hi. I’m Lucio.” He rubs the back of his head as he introduces himself to her. She gives him a small smile.

“Hi, I’m Valentina.”

Matteo doesn’t seem like he’s going to introduce himself to her any time soon.

So, Mara decides to take a tentative small step forward and says, “Hi, I’m Mara, and this is Matteo.” Valentina gives her a bigger smile than she gave Lucio. Something bitter swirls in my mouth as I watch them interact.

“That’s enough, she’s not a guest. Mara, I want to have a word with you soon.” I cut their little get-together short and grab Valentina’s arm.

As I quickly walk ahead, our steps ring out against the marble floors. I turn to the left door to the side of the living room entrance and let the scanner scan my face. After entering the code, the door opens with a click into the dim hallway, which has six different doors. Each door leads into four cells. The white marble turns into dark granite and the walls become a deep forest green. I open the door to the far right and motion for Valentina to get in. She does, but only after sending a scowl my way.

“How creative, I’ll be staying in a cell. Again.” Her voice drips with sarcasm, but I can hear a hint of fear in her voice. Ignoring her, I walk to the nearest cell and unlock it.

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