Page 32 of Merciless Queen
I nodded, squeezing her hand. “If we need to leave, let me know. There are private rooms you can go to if you need a breather.”
“Thank you.”
Twenty minutes in, I was ready to leave. Nothing against my girls or their need to party, but this was not my lifestyle. It was what they expected from the mafia princess, but I was raised by my father to be ruthless. I never got to do the partying phase. If I wasn’t training, I was studying. It never interested me to be drunk or party until three a.m., even when I was in college. There were a few occasions when I would go to the bar with an old college friend and pick up women, but after graduation, it stopped.
The girls pulled Harlow to the dance floor, and while I tried to stop them, she insisted on going. She was pushing herself too much to get past her trauma, and I saw it all over her face. My girls were touchy, and I knew it made Harlow uncomfortable. She ran off the dance floor and vanished into one of the private rooms. I needed to find her, but before I could escape and find her, Malachi stopped me to deal with a shipment issue.
Vincenzo was planning something. He knew I had Harlow, and he was pissed, but he could kiss my ass. We had everything protected, and if he bombed another shipment, so be it. I’d dealwith it. He wouldn’t get his grimy hands back on Harlow no matter what he did in retaliation.
Harlow had been gone for a few minutes, and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand tall. No one would hurt her here, and God forbid Vincenzo sent a mole into my club to get information. I wouldn’t put it past him to try, but the attempt would be futile. If anyone harmed Harlow in my club, they would be dealt with. Just like I dealt with Manny.
I walked toward the hallway where she vanished and heard a feminine voice and crying. My pace quickened as I raced down the hallway. My veins turned to fire when I saw Callie caging in a sobbing Harlow, blood dripping from her cheek.
“She’ll never love you, not like she loves me. You’re damaged goods for her to sink her teeth into until she gets tired of you. Cat is mine, and I will have her.”
“I—”
The sound of skin on skin echoed and I pounced, grabbing Callie by her wrist and pinning her to the wall. “Never fucking touch her again. Do you understand me?”
“Cat, baby, please.”
It was taking all my willpower not to wrap my hand around her neck and snap it like a fucking twig. “Listen to me and listen closely. Harlow is going to be my wife, which means she is a part of thefamiglia. Hurting her hurts me. You are lucky I don’t snap your fucking neck for harming her. Touch her again and I won’t hesitate. Now get the fuck out of my club, and if I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to shoot you.” She was lucky I didn’t put a bullet between her eyes, but I wasn’t going to add more to Harlow’s trauma.
Callie went to open her mouth again, but she stopped, seeing the fire in my eyes. She ran off as I looked at Harlow, touching her cheek. Harlow flinched, hitting the wall with a loud thud. Iclosed the gap between us, allowing her to listen to my steady breathing and heartbeat to calm her down.
I caressed her cheek, wiping the blood away. Harlow looked up at me with her big doe eyes. “I-I’m sorry I ruined the party.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. I’m sorry Callie hurt you.” I wiped the tear that fell from her eyes. “Let’s get you home.”
CHAPTER 25
Harlow
My hand glidedacross the notepad as I sat in the gardens. I always loved nature and the feel of the sunlight on my skin. After being deprived for years, it felt nice. It felt odd basking in the sunlight and sketching roses in my sketch book while sitting in a garden pulled out of a book, but here I was. It still felt like this would be taken from me any moment, but I kept telling myself I’d be safe. I didn’t know if it was my mind or my heart that didn’t believe the mantra.
I found comfort in the gardens. The silence was peaceful, and it was exactly what I needed. The engagement party was tomorrow, and after the disaster of abacheloretteparty,I was terrified to be in a room full of strangers once again. That woman was the reason it sucked. Angel was touchy, but she was a sweet girl. I felt comfortable with her, but her bubbly personality was too much for me, and then people started to crowd us. I ended up having a flashback and needed to take a break.I didn’t expect to be cornered by one of Caterina’s psycho lovers. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t real, that Caterina didn’t love me, but then she scratched me. Talking wasn’t going to work, and I allowed her to rant until Caterina came to my rescue.
I was not meant for this life, even a fake life. The trauma, the baggage, and the looks. Mafia wives were supposed to be beautiful women. Perfect skin and hair, perfect bodies and dominating energies who were fearless. I was scared of the wind. If someone got too close to me, I panicked. My nightmares were still controlling me, even though sleeping with Caterina helped me. I hated being a burden, and that was what I felt like.
After Callie cornered me and scratched my cheek with her devil claws, Caterina took care of me as I cried. I hated the vulnerability that I showed in front of her because of who she was. She was a strong, confident mafia boss and I was a broken, meek girl who was scared of her shadow. Caterina cleaned my cheek and held me tight. Something so simple shouldn’t have made me swoon when she was just being nice. Everything she’d done for me was hospitality after she tried to kill me—even our engagement was a way to help me.
I wanted to be okay. I wanted to live a somewhat normal life and do everything that was stolen from me. I wanted to go on dates, on vacations, see Florida beaches and feel sand between my toes. As much as I hated school, I wanted to get my degree and teach. I was never rebellious about school, but I always complained about it. Now, I would do anything to go back in time and enjoy the little things it had to offer.
I finished the final touches on the garden I created when I heard someone walk up behind me. Elizabeth came to sit down next to me with two cups of chamomile tea. She gave me a smile before her eyes diverted to my sketchbook.
“You really are talented, Harlow.”
I shrugged, setting it to the side. “It helps. I’m not trying to make money off of it.”
“You know, Cat can help you get it into a museum.”
I shook my head. “Then I have to explain what it means and how I created it. This is therapy for me. I don’t talk to Serena likeyou want me to. Does that make me a bad person? I don’t want to talk about it yet.”
“It’s understandable. I didn’t open up to her either when I first met her. Never feel guilty for taking your time. It’s hard, I’m not going to lie to you. I was a bitch when I had my first several sessions with her. I called her every name under the sun, and she still showed up and listened to me.”
“I’m…I’m angry. My life never should have been like this, Lizzy.”
“I know, sweet girl. Horrible things happened to us, and I wish I could tell you why, but you survived. Healing is a long journey. It’s not linear. It’s a fucked-up line going every direction before it goes straight.”
