Page 52 of Veil of Vengeance

I ignore her and continue to shave my face, washing the blade before moving to the other side. Ginevra and I make eye contact through the mirror. She winks at me, and I narrow my eyes at her.

She takes it as a sign to glide her hands down the robe and untie the knot holding it closed. When the robe opens wide enough, I can see that she isn’t wearing anything underneath. Her pink nipples harden as she toys with them, still watching me.

“You better not have been walking around my house naked under that while my family is here,” I warn. She struts to me and wraps a hand around my bicep.

“Jealous?” she asks. I bark out a laugh at the absurdity and accidentally cut my cheek in the process. A small bead of blood forms before slowly dripping down my face till it hits my chin and drops into the sink. Ginevra gasps before trying to turn me around. I shrug her off and continue to shave.

“Go away, Ginevra. I’m not going to fuck you.”

She bats her lashes, pouting at me through the mirror.

“Maybe I just want to spend some quality time with the best boss ever.”

I break eye contact and focus on my jaw. After wiping the blade, I wash my face and pat it dry.

“I will boil you alive, fry your skin, and feed you to my dogs if you don’t get the fuck out,” I threaten. She scurries off, but not before quickly grabbing her robe off the ground. I grip the sink, dropping my head between my shoulders.

Today is the day I need to call Moretti to demand what we want. I’m done playing the long game. I thought making him feel like he was being forced into a corner, waiting for us to make up our minds, would have been a sweet revenge. But all it has been is torture, torture that whatever I have with Valentina will eventually come to an end. Before it even truly begins.

I need Valentina out before she fucks with my head any longer. I run my tongue across my bottom lip, remembering how she was so fucking responsive. I splash my face with cold water and walk out of the bathroom to an empty room. I spot some clothes on the floor and guess that they are what Ginevra was wearing before coming into the bathroom.

Instead of going back to my room, where I know the little Moretti vixen is, I head to my office and call Costa.

“If you’re going to ask about any updates of our murderer, then don’t. There aren’t any. Also, the Vasilievs want to set up a meeting when they’re back from Moscow.” He jumps right in after picking up the phone. I lean back into my office chair and release a sigh of annoyance. ??

“Tell Romanov Vasiliev that I’m not talking to his hag of a father. He can wait until he drops dead, and then we’ll talk,” I tell him.

“You really hate that man.” Costa chuckles.

“Let’s just say that if he’d tripped and landed on a knife, I wouldn’t be sad about it.” I pick up my pen, clicking it a couple of times before placing it back on my desk. “How are you and your little wife?” I ask him.

Costa clips, “Fine.” Costa and his wife, Chiara, have been married for just over two years. The union was arranged by their parents to finally put their businesses together. Both families have been trying to put the other out of business for at least three decades. Guess even if you marry the enemy and live together, you’ll still hate each other. ??

Ending the call, I flip open my laptop and browse through our bets on our latest fight. Aurelio’s last fight was another to the death. The madman of the Famiglia has been fighting in our clubs for a while. My gut tells me that it’s not because he can’t fight in Vegas. ??

I shoot Romiro a text, telling him to see what the fucker from Vegas is up to. ?

Stretching, I get up from my chair. I’ve been working for the past couple of hours on the legitimate side of our business. Smoothing out things with our lawyers. I crack my fingers and roll my shoulders before heading to the door. ??

I have never minded the silence; it is always welcomed. Especially in a family as big as mine, they can become a headache very quickly. ?

I’m surprised to see that my living room is vacant and no one is in there. My eyes narrow slightly, as Valentina should still be here. My sister and Ma might not agree with the things I do as Capo, but they wouldn’t act out and go against my instructions. ??

I make my way to my bedroom and relax when I hear the tap running in my bathroom. I settle on one of the brown armchairs in the corner of my room. Slipping my phone out, I scroll till I reach Moretti’s number.

My thumb hovers over it, but my eyes snap to the bathroom door when I hear soft humming. She’s humming? Whoever is marrying her is definitely getting a handful. An amused smile touches my face. It quickly turns into a smug smirk as she steps out of the bathroom. She jumps a little, her small palm clenching her chest.

“What the fuck! You scared me,” she yelps. I remain seated and rest my elbows on my knees, watching her.

“Such a filthy mouth for a supposed honorable Italian woman. Besides, how can I scare you when I’m just sitting in my room?” I tut, amused. Valentina glares at me and flips me off before heading to the door. ??

“Where are you going?” I ask. She pauses and looks back at me.

“To hell. Actually, never mind, that’s your actual home.”

I bark out a laugh and her cheeks seem to heat in response.

“Come here,” I order, at which she shakes her head. “Come here, Valentina, or so help me God, I will fucking spank you for being disobedient.”

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