Page 143 of Ravage God
It was going to be my wedding day.
I shook my head. I would die first before I said “I do” up at the altar to Waylen Thompson.
I fucking vowed it.
Nova helpedme with my makeup, with what limited makeup she had in her room. It wasn’t much.
I ended up doing most of the work while she avoided my eyes.
I put the mascara stick down and turned to her. “Nova.”
She shook her head. “You should put on your dress. Oliver will be here to escort you out to the backyard soon.”
She walked out of the room before I could say anything more, and I felt my hope diminishing with every second I spent here.
I hadn’t had any visitors since I was taken, thank God, but that didn’t mean the four walls weren’t getting to me.
It had been three days.
Three days and two nights of torturing myself by thinking of all the possibilities of how today would go, and none of them were good.
Not for me.
I still hadn’t put on my dress when the door opened. I stood up quickly when I found Dad standing by the doorway.
I didn’t say anything to him, but whatever love I might have felt for the man simply because he was my father had long ago vanished, and what was left was resentment and fear. I hated him as much as I was scared of him.
He took a step into the room.
I moved back.
“Why?” I croaked out. “You betrayed the organization?—”
He laughed, cutting me off. “Did I betray them? Or did they betray me? Trying to get rid of me under the guise of retirement.”
I didn’t know what to say to that because I knew it was true. Massimo forced Dad into retirement, and I completely agreed with that. Dad wasn’t loyal to Massimo. That had been easy to see, even when Dad had been putting on a front.
And I knew Massimo would have put all the men in Dad’s circle into retirement had he been given the choice.
Dad’s injury just made him the perfect candidate for that.
“This is a death sentence, and you know it. You ruined the Gambino name?—”
He slapped me.
I fell back on the bed and looked at him.
“Iruined the Gambino name? You want to say that after you whored yourself out to Elio De Luca?”
I could feel the blood drain from my face, and he laughed. “What, you didn’t think I knew about that, did you? Do you think I’m stupid? The only good thing that came out of this is that I think you might have the stupid fucker by the balls.” He cackled. “And that would be the De Lucas’ downfall. While you’re Elio’s weakness, he is Massimo’s. And what wouldn’t Massimo do to save the woman his brother loves? Even give up his empire.”
I shook my head and pushed myself off the bed. “You’re wrong. Massimo would never give up his empire for me.”
He shrugged, moving over to me and cupping my cheek. I flinched, trying to pull away. He tightened his grip, and I let out a small grunt in pain. “Perhaps not. But as long as I have you, my dear, I have a bargaining chip. And while Massimo and his brothers were too busy ruining all that I had helped Amadeo accomplish, Waylen has been building his army. With his backing and the information I had gathered over the years, do you really think we can’t take on the De Lucas?”
He cackled. “Better get ready. I heard the fucker Waylen isn’t a patient man. You keep him waiting, and I can’t promise he won’t fuck up that pretty face of yours.”
He pointed to the wedding dress and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Tears streamed down my face.
