Page 92 of Ruthless King
“It was my fault Vinny died.” Tears glisten through the bottomless midnight of his irises. “I was with him that night. I was supposed to protect him, and I failed.”
I stare at him, my mind too numb to form words. Luca. My Luca? He’d been with Vinny when he died? There’d been no one there when I arrived. He was alone in a pool of his own blood.
“How could you?” I rasp out.
“I’m so sorry, Stellina.”
“Don’t call me that!”
Only Vinny called me his little star, and he was gone ….
I swallow hard, another wave of nausea threatening its way up my throat. “I—I can’t ….” I bury my head in my hands and force myself to stand. “I have to get out of here.”
“Please, Stella, no. Let me explain.” He tries to stand but his teeth clamp shut as the movement rips at the wound. “Please…,” he murmurs. “Stella, I love you.”
His words carve a hole in my vacant chest. He lied to me for an entire month. He deserted me when Vinny died. He’d left me alone with all that pain, all that guilt. “Vaffanculo, Luca Valentino. You abandoned me, you ran away like a fucking coward. You have no idea what love is, youbastardo.”
In a blur of tears, I race across the tiny living room in a mad dash to the door. I vaguely hear Tony sprinting out of the bedroom. Then Luca’s voice. “No, let her go.”
CHAPTER41
TORTURE
Luca
Dio, I feel like shit. If only the pain were skin deep. I glance down at the neatly wrapped bandages across my torso and wince. The bullet went clean through, avoiding all my vital organs according to the doc. Too bad it missed my heart. Damned thing hasn’t been the same since Stella ran out on me a week ago.
“Stella, I love you.”The words I’d kept locked up for so long ring like mad across my mind.
“Vaffanculo, Luca Valentino. You abandoned me, you ran away like a fucking coward.You have no idea what love is, youbastardo.”And her response. Also, not entirely wrong. Maybe Stella’s right, and I really don’t understand the meaning of the word. Butcazzo, it sure as hell feels real.
The past week without her has been torture. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can barely breathe. The penthouse is cold and empty without her, much like my heart. I’d been such a fucking idiot not to tell her the truth from the beginning.
A buzz draws my attention to my cell on the nightstand. With a grunt, I pick up my phone and scan the incoming message. Mickey. I’ve had him tailing Stella since the moment she ran out of her old apartment. I live for the occasional updates. For the past week, she’s been holed up in her friend Rose’s place. At least she’s safe.
The girl lives in a studio in a decent part of mid-town. I had Tony run a full background check. No boyfriend, decent family from Long Island. She and Stella attend the same community college and like she’d mentioned, her friend is studying to be a psychologist. Maybe she’ll talk some sense into Stella.
And she’ll abandon me forever.
That would be the noble thing to do: let her go. For the record, noble hurts like hell.
A soft knock on the door pulls my lips into a frown. Magda has been doting on me, waiting on me hand and foot, and I just want to be left alone to my misery. “What?” I bark.
“Signor Valentino, Dr. Filippo is here.”
Ugh. Another one who’s giving me more attention than I deserve. I force myself to sit up, and this time the pain is minimal. Physically, anyway. “Fine, let her in,” I finally grumble.
Magda opens the door, and the doc saunters in all ruby-lipped and high-heeled. I remember a time when the gorgeous doctor made my dick twitch. Now I feel nothing. Empty. Numb.
“Ciao,bello. You’re looking better.” She sets down her briefcase and pulls out the now familiar medical equipment. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was shot.”
“Seems like your humor is progressing nicely.”
“He won’t get out of bed,” Magda murmurs from the hallway.
I shoot her a traitorous glare. Maybe it’s time to send her on that vacation she always refuses to take. A week or two alone could be just what I need. To wallow in self-pity.
