Page 207 of The One
Then he storms out.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Mateo
My blood roars in my ears as I storm out, Mariella’s words hammering into my skull with every step I take.
My father shot your brother.
I don’t remember reaching the hidden section of Carloso. Don’t remember firing up my Harley, taking the secret tunnel, or tearing out onto the road. It’s all a blur of rage and instinct.
My vision tunnels, my knuckles white. Every fiber of my being demands destruction, demands something, someone, to bear the weight of this fury before it eats me alive.
Antonio Accardi.
The rat.
Tiero and I have been hunting for months for this fucking traitor, never really considering it could be him. He was in line to become consigliere, for crying out loud.
He proved himself time and time again. And it was all a lie. He played us all along, scheming, lying, stabbing us in the back while we treated him like family.
Antonio shot Tiero.
It’s the worst betrayal of all.
Uncontainable fury detonates inside me, white-hot and all-consuming. My hands shake with the need to do something,anything,to make him pay.
And Iwillmake him pay.
Just not yet.
If I go after him like this, I’ll make mistakes. I’ll be reckless. I need to think and plan.
I drag in a breath, trying to force down the rage clawing at my throat. But it doesn’t help. Nothing does.
I pull off to the side of the road, gripping the handlebars of my Harley like they might hold me to the ground.
I yank my phone from my pocket and scroll through my contacts, not even sure what I’m looking for. A distraction? A solution? A way to dull the storm in my head?
Nothing jumps out. My thumb hovers uselessly. I rub my eyes, exhaling sharply as I stare up at the sky.
As if I’ll find any damn answers there.
When I glance back at my phone, Valentina’s address stares back at me.
She sent it weeks ago, back when I first arrived in Rome. I never responded. Never even considered it.
But now?
Now I need something vicious, something that will make me feel like I’m in control again.
Maybe I can fuck this rage out of my system. With someone who can take it hard and merciless, not an innocent little virgin.
Before I can second-guess it, I’m on the road again. Not long after, I’m outside Valentina’s building.
My pulse hammers as I slam the buzzer. When she doesn’t answer within five seconds, I press it again and again, jaw clenched so tight my teeth grind. The door swings open, and there she is.
Sexy as always, Valentina’s eyes lift with surprise as she leans against the frame, dressed in something sheer and dark.
