Page 58 of Vicious Heir

I stand. A dozen thoughts rush through my head. I want to curse her. Tell her Lucy doesn’t matter to me. Nobody matters to me that much. There’s only the Marino Famiglia and nothing else.

Except it’d be a lie.

Helena Willing-Morris cornered me. She maneuvered me exactly where she wanted me, and now I’m trapped by her plan. And if I were any other man, I’d kill the old woman and leave Lucy to her fate, all to avoid a vicious confrontation with a powerful enemy.

But I’m not weak. And Lucy ismine.

“If I destroy Demir and Gray Wolf, it won’t be for you,” I tell Helena as she walks to the door.

“I don’t care why you do it, so long as you do it.”

Then she’s gone.

I slump back into my chair.

It was all true from the start. And Gray Wolf is even worse than I thought. There’s no way in hell I’d ever let them get anywhere near Lucy. Not my wife. Not the woman that haunts my dreams and makes mewantmore than I’ve ever wanted in my life. I close my eyes and I can taste her tongue, honey sweet and heaven bright. I can see her down on her knees, her hands behind her back. I can feel her bare ass under my hand. Lucy swirls in me now and I can’t stop it, even if I wanted to. I’m trapped by my own need, caught in a nightmare.

And now I’ll have to kill my way through.

There’s a light knock at the door. Jessie enters with my espresso. “Donatella’s on the phone,” she says, frowning at my expression. “Do you need anything else?”

“No, thank you.” I take a sip. It’s strong and dark, but it doesn’t wash the bad taste from my mouth. When my secretary is gone, I pick up the phone.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Adriano, but it’s your father.” Donatella sounds worried. “He’s not doing well.”

“Is it something new?”

“I can’t say exactly. He took longer to get out of bed this morning. He seems even more out of it than usual. Like he can’t remember how to wash himself.”

“Should we call the doctor?”

“Not yet.” She pauses, and I can hear the faint sound of a Western in the background. “I just wanted to keep you updated. We knew this was coming.”

I close my eyes. Just the fucking news I needed.

“If it gets worse, tell me.”

“I will. I’m sorry, Adriano. I’m doing the best I can to keep him comfortable.”

“I know you are.”

We hang up. I sit in silence and drink the espresso. I let it burn my tongue and throat.

I can already see what’s going to happen. My father’s decline. Gray Wolf’s aggression. War and death. Blood coming, thick andfast. And through it all, there’s my wife, the only beam of light in an otherwise terrible night.

A woman worth protecting.

Even at the cost of everything else I love.

Chapter 20

Lucy

Ihum to myself as I put a little snake plant near the back windows. “Here you are, Professor Moriarty,” I say softly, turning it just so.

Around me, a dozen other plants are spread out. I carefully find places for them too. There’s not much green in this house, and it was beginning to feel oppressive and stifling. But now a knot in my stomach begins to unclench.

I keep thinking about Adriano and his father. There’s a deep, dark trench of pain in this house. I can only imagine how much suffering has happened, but it’s all been kept quiet. I’m willing to bet Adriano’s never spoken about his feelings for his father’s condition before. Men like him keep it all trapped inside, but no person can live like that.

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