Page 19 of Merciless Oath

A glass of water is thrust into my hand, and I chug it without even thinking.

“I need to see Valentina,” I say, my voice sounding hoarse to my own ears. The urgency propels me upward, but my bones feel like jelly, and I collapse back down onto the cold, hard tiles.

“Easy, easy,” Rafael coaxes, grabbing me and helping me stand. I take a few deep breaths, feeling Lux’s slim fingers squeezing mine. “I don’t think you need to be going anywhere right now.”

“She didn’t even tell me. How could she not tell me?”

Rafael looks helplessly at Lux, who bites her lip with worry. Anger rushes through me, fueling the desire to destroy something, but I try to breathe through it. Rosie’s laughterechoes from the living room, and the last thing I want to do is scare her by turning into the Hulk.

“And someone’s after her,” I finally say after some deep, meditative breaths. “The8 knows who she is, and they’re using her as a threat against me.”

“That makes things tricky, for sure,” Rafael agrees. “Do you want to send a representative over to the Rossis to get them in the loop? I don’t think you should be the one to do it.”

“No,” I bark out, forcing myself to cool down again. “I have to do it.”

Lux and Rafael exchange worried glances, but I ignore them. This is my problem—and a threat to my child. I nod at Rafael and slip the photograph into my pocket.

Lux looks like she wants to tackle me to the floor and stop me from leaving, but I sidestep her and head to the elevator.

I dial Valentina’s number, but the automated message tells me it’s been disconnected. I try again and again as I jog to my car, foolishly hoping I’ll get through.

It takes me a second to find the Rossi compound and plug it into my map, but once I get on the road, my head finally clears.

The speed limit is just a suggestion at this point, and I ignore it altogether, winding through traffic, cutting people off. Car horns and angry shouts fly in my direction, but I couldn’t care less.

I need to get to Valentina and warn her about this—whatever the hell this is.

When I finally pull up at the wrought-iron gate, the house looks dark and empty. I wonder if they’ve gone back to California. Just then, the security intercom buzzes, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Can I help you?” a disembodied voice drones from the speaker.

“I need to see Valentina Rossi,” I gasp, desperately lowering my window. “It’s urgent.”

“Miss Rossi isn’t accepting visitors.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck. Didn’t you hear me? It’s urgent!” I nearly scream. I know this butler or whoever is just doing his job, but doesn’t anyone understand what “urgent” means? “She’s in danger.”

“Stay in your vehicle, please.”

The gates don’t open, but a dark, armored car glides out of the garage and heads down the long, winding path toward me.

I wait, holding my breath, desperate to see Valentina. My fingers twitch nervously, tapping on my phone, praying it’s not too late.

But when the car pulls up to the gate, six Rossi men get out instead of Valentina.

“Shit,” I groan. “Why does it always have to be so fucking hard?”

I slide out of my car, slamming the door closed.Big mistake.Six loaded guns come up, pointed straight at me from the other side of the gate.

I raise my hands immediately, showing that I’m unarmed, and wait for instruction. I hate being vulnerable like this, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get inside this damn house and see her.

An older man finally lowers his weapon and walks over to the gate. I eye the men behind him, guns still trained at my head.

When I finally focus on his face, I realize it’s Luigi Rossi, Lev’s younger brother.

“Luigi, can you tell your guys to pull back?” I ask, aiming for politeness. “I’m unarmed and I need to talk to Valentina.”

“That simply won’t happen,” he says, staring me up and down. “You’re not allowed anywhere near her, remember?”

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