Page 18 of Wrathful King
Romero shook his head. “All I knew back then was that Grace ended it, and whoever her lover was didn’t take it well and got rough with her.”
Dante and I shared a glance. That sure sounded like Angelo. “That motherfucking—” Dante broke off, burying his face in his hands. “Thank fuck Reina wasn’t raised by him. She’d be as fucked up as the rest of us.”
Which meant big points for Romero considering he could have abandoned Grace when he learned, and he didn’t. He could have demanded a paternity test, and he didn’t. He’d forever have my gratitude, if nothing else.
“It’s in the past,” I finally said. “Angelo was an asshole, but their past fuckups are not our problem. Reina and I are carving our own lives, and I’ll be damned if I let you stand in our way.”
Dante’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Exactly, so stop cock—” I shot him a warning look. “Stopmarriage-blocking and going on with blah, blah, and more fucking blah. Just thank all the saints that Reina didn’t fall for my charms. Every other woman does.”
Jesus fucking Christ. With that attitude, Dante would blow his chances of marrying Phoenix to smithereens.
“What’s got your panties in a twist, Dante?” Romero shot back. “Scared you’re no match for my Phoenix?” I snorted out a chuckle, the sound so foreign to my own ears I was reminded that we were in no position to be shooting the shit.
Dante narrowed his eyes. “I’m totally a match. Just watch me, old man.”
“Enough,” I growled, silencing both men. I stared at Romero. “The focus is on rescuing Reina and learning where Phoenix is. I find it hard to believe that Perez Cortes would bother with Phoenix.” When Romero’s expression darkened, I explained, “It has nothing to do with her hearing. Perez has an obsession with blondes, and she’s not one.”
“Thank fuck,” I thought I heard Dante mutter under his breath.
Romero stared at me, the expression in his eyes pensive.
“If you’re willing to take on Cortes, you must truly love her.” His words were spoken softly, but the look in his eyes was one of absolution. “As long as she loves you and chooses this life with you, you will have my support.”
“On that note,” Dante drawled. “Don’t forget you owe me a bride now. Phoenix will suffice.”
Romero eyed him suspiciously. “I believe you found her ‘inadequate.’ You’re crazy if you think I’ll let my daughter enter into a marriage with an ignorant and unhinged man. A fucking deranged lunatic.”
Dante grinned his crazy smile. “You don’t have a choice. The agreement, remember?”
“I remember, but you seem to forget that it was Reina’s name on it,” he replied with an equally vicious smile. “And there isn’t a clause forreplacements.”
Dante’s usual confidence remained firmly in place. “We shall see about that,” he said with a detached tone. “Phoenix will be on board with this marriage, just like Reina was.”
My jaw clenched. “She wasn’t on board with marrying you. Only me.”
Dante waved his hand casually. “A tiny, insignificant detail.”
“You two, shut the fuck up. I will tell you this, a Romero never betrays his own blood.” Romero’s cryptic statement left me guessing whether he was talking about me or his daughters. “I want my daughters back home, safe and sound.”
“When we find them”—when, not if—“my wife stays with me. She choseme.”
Romero looked back at me with pride, the kind I had never seen in Angelo’s eyes. Shaking my head, I turned away, only for his fingers to clamp around my bicep in a vise-like grip. Fuck, he was strong for a dying man. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself not to react as I slowly turned to meet his unrelenting stare.
Releasing his hold on me, he slammed his fist against his chest.
“If I’d known about you, I would have been there for you.” A moment of silence passed between us, and for the first time, I saw this man as more than an enemy. More than my mother’s ruin. More than Reina’s father. “Romero never betrays his own blood.”
“How did you learn I was your son?”
“The videos,” he muttered. “When everyone in the Omertà was getting videos, mine were about you,” he explained. “When Angelo randomly insisted we change the name from Phoenix to Reina, I insisted we changed the name from yours, like Angelo wanted it, to Dante’s.”
We stared at each other, only the sounds of the waves drifting in from the open window breaking the silence. Seconds felt like minutes before he finally let out a rough breath and raked a wrinkled hand down his stubbled face.
“Well, she’s mine now.”
“You love her.” His tone left no room for argument.
Shoving my hands in the pockets of my pants, I glanced toward Dante, who let out a condescending laugh. I couldn’t wait to repay the fucking favor.
