Page 86 of Veil of Vengeance

I stiffen when he leans forward, his eyes still on mine, but his lips near my studded ears.

“You,” he whispers as I look up at him. I fist the skirt of my dress, vibrating with immeasurable amounts of rage.

“I’m nobody’s property, least of all yours. What are you doing here, Emiliano, on my fucking wedding day?” I demand, and he grips my chin, forcing me to turn around to face him. His eyes search my face, looking increasingly displeased with what he sees before his eyes soften again, just a fraction.

“I…I don’t know how I was able to leave you for so many months. I don’t know how I was able to stay away from you. I’d dream of you every night and nothing else. You haunted my every thought.Everyfucking thought. Awake or asleep, I couldn’t escape you. I didn’t want to escape you. I don’t know how I was able to breathe without you. You are the air I need. A life without you is not a life. Not one worth living,” he says. I search his face, trying to find any hint of deception, panicking when I find none.

“What are you thinking? Do you know what will happen to you if they find you here? Do you know what my Dad will do to you if he finds you here?” I ask. His arms wrap around my waist, bringing us closer.

“I don’t care. I’d rather risk everything to even have a chance with you, and whether I die trying to, or survive to get us both out of here, then I’d take it.” He’s insane. Oh. My. God. This man is actually insane and he’s in my room only hours from my fucking wedding to another man. I swallow roughly as nerves ripple through my body.

“What do you mean by that?” I ask him. He rests his forehead on mine, his bright blue eyes locked in on my gaze.

“It means that I am irrevocably, painfully, and so delusionally in love with you, Valentina Moretti, and want you to come with me back to New York.”

My chest swells at his words and my body breaks out in soft sobs as I bury my head into his neck.

“Don’t cry. Please, don’t cry. I’m sorry. I wanted to come earlier, but I needed to gather my thoughts. I was so confused. I thought what I wanted the most was revenge,” he explains. I half laugh, half cry.

“Thought?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Yes, I thought that I wanted revenge. But what I truly want is you.”

I quickly sober up, realizing that my Dad will be up here any minute now.

“You need to leave. Like, now.” Shakily, I push at his chest, but he doesn’t move.

“We. Valentina, we need to leave. I’m not leaving without you.” I press my lips together, and my brow furrows as I fist his suit jacket.

“You asshole. You can’t just come here and crash a wedding after giving me back and really expect me to want to go back to New York with you,” I argue, but Emiliano’s hold only tightens on my waist.

“I’m taking you with me, whether you like it or not, Valentina.”

My jaw ticks and my eyes narrow.

“No. You gave me up. You don’t get to decide when you want me. I’m not a fucking toy you can jerk around, Emiliano.”

He sighs, lips pursing before he continues. “Please, come home with me. I miss you, please. You are the best thing that has happened to me,” he pleads. Home? Is Camorra territory really home to me now?

“I am home, Emiliano,” I say, a bit hesitantly. He shakes his head, his jaw clenching.

“No, you’re not. Please, just come back with me and let’s talk.”

I open my mouth to reply, but the door to the room bursts open, and my Dad stands there with a gun raised and a snarl twisting his ugly face. Emiliano quickly draws his gun out from his waist holster.

“I see you, Camorra bastards, like to breach my fucking territory.” Dad throws the insult at Emiliano. He faces my Dad, pushing me behind him, aiming his gun. Fuck. I told him to get out of here. He slips me his phone, his messages with Romiro open. I quickly shoot a text to Romiro, telling him what’s happening.

“It’s not my fault your territory isn’t properly protected.” Emiliano shrugs nonchalantly. I pull at his suit jacket to tell him to stop provoking my Dad. He knows my dad has a short fuse.

“You fucking brat might have been able to get away with it last time, but this time, you won’t. I’ll dismember you to the point your own family won’t recognize you.”

My stomach churns at my dad’s threat, because I know he’ll make true on it. After all, he only got his cruel reputation after years of torture and death. The sheer white curtains that cover the open balcony door blow in as the soft breeze drifts into the tense room. Romiro sends a text, which tells us that they’re outside the balcony and will be up in two minutes. That could be two minutes too fucking late. My dad and Emiliano are in a standoff.

“Valentina, come here.” My dad’s voice booms, but Emiliano’s arm sticks out, trying to prevent me from moving. I push past it and stop between my dad and Emiliano, the silence thick enough to cut through with a butter knife.

“No, Dad. I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me.”

His angry eyes focus on my face as he snarls, “You fucking whore. I didn’t raise you to betray me. You will not be leaving. You will stay. Do you hear me? You will stay here and marry Guerrero's son and do what I say.”

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