Page 44 of The One
“Don’t you dare talk back to me,” Antonio thunders.
My pulse quickens, every muscle in my body coiled and ready to spring.
How dare he lay a hand on a woman, especially on my property?
Papàwould be appalled to see this spot defiled, a place he and my mother always saw as a symbol of their love. As ruthless as he was, he never once raised a hand against a woman, and he expected those closest to him to follow that same code.
Antonio is still shouting at his daughter, his anger building with every word.
“Do you have any idea what you cost me?” he yells.
Mariella is holding her cheek with her free hand, her eyes wide and glassy with fear.
That expression on her pretty, innocent face breaks something inside me and sets something else free.
She tries to shrink away from her father, but Antonio’s grip is unrelenting, keeping her trapped in place.
He’s raising his hand again when I finally reach them, and I catch it mid-air before he can strike her a second time.
“Enough!” I bark.
He turns and looks over his shoulder at me, his grip on his daughter loosening enough for Mariella to step back and slip out of his reach. She clutches her arm with the opposite hand, cradling it against her body.
Shit, she’s hurt!
My blood boils even hotter. My hands curl into fists at my sides, wanting to give Antonio a taste of his own medicine. It’s not just anger anymore, it’s a clear, focused fury.
“Stay out of it, Mateo. This ismydaughter,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “I’ll deal with her however I see fit.”
“Not while she’s under my protection. And you will address me as Signor De Marco.”
I’m surprised my voice is as calm as it is, given the storm raging inside me.
He turns fully toward me, disgust twisting his features, like I’m the one out of line here.
“Your protection?” he snarls, his voice dripping with contempt.
My jaw tightens as I hold his gaze, the simmering fury just below the surface now. I want to pull back my arm and knock the sneer off his face, but I force myself to stay steady.
“Signor De Marco,” he grits out, “Mariella ismydaughter and none of your concern. I’m here to collect her. She’s returning home with me. She will beg the Contis for forgiveness.”
The color drains from Mariella’s face, her body swaying as if she’s on the verge of fainting.
Every instinct in me screams to go to her, to catch her if she falls.
I have failed her already, but it will not happen again!
I’m responsible for her safety.
Despite the burning need to gather her in my arms, check her over to make sure there are no other injuries, I don’t take my eyes off Antonio.
In his current state, he’s unpredictable and still too close to her for my liking. My focus has to stay on him.
Footsteps approach from behind, and without needing to turn, I know it’s Romeo, here to back me up. Not that I need it. I can handle Antonio on my own.
My gaze stays fixed on him, expecting his temper could flare up again in an instant, and I won’t let him hurt Mariella any more than he already has. My chest tightens as I keep my body tense, ready to react if he so much as twitches in her direction.
With the reassurance of Rom watching Antonio’s every move as closely as I am, I allow myself to steal a glance at Mariella out of the corner of my eye. I take in every detail, the way her hand trembles as she cradles her arm, the bruising already forming on her face, and the shallow, uneven breaths that escape her.
