Page 86 of His Captive
“Excuse me, miss,” he says, tapping Lea on the shoulder. “I really think I need to have a look at him.”
Lea nods and pulls away. I stumble to the hood of a car and support my weight while the doctor examines me. He slips an oxygen mask over my face and cuts through my shirt with a pair of scissors. My shoulder is throbbing, and the wound has opened up so much I’m not sure a few stitches can repair the damage now.
“We need to get you back to the house,” the doctor says.
“Not yet.” I stagger away from him and toward my father, who is still holding Erica by the neck.
Emilio moves in front of me before I can get to them. Lea rushes to my side, offering me what little support she can.
“She’s my wife, Mo,” Emilio says firmly, then he coughs. “I’ll deal with her.”
“After what she did?” I growl, leaning more weight on Lea than I should. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
“It’s Emilio’s call,” my father announces, dragging the screaming Erica toward us. He tightens the chain around her neck so she can’t speak. “When a wife turns traitor, the husband decides, and we do not question his judgment.”
I bite my tongue to silence my rage. My father’s right. Those are the traditions we live by, even if Erica murdered my wife. I take a step back and nod.
My father releases the grip on Erica’s chain and tosses it to Emilio. Emilio yanks Erica to her feet and pulls her close.
“P-please, Lo! Please!” Erica begs, tears streaming down her face. “I-I’m sorry! I just got… tempted by the Bratva! I had no choice! I was looking out for our family!”
“Thisis my fucking family,” Emilio growls, motioning to everyone except his wife. “You weren’t looking out for them at all. You were looking out for yourself.”
“No, baby, please,” Erica whimpers. “Think about Matty… and Mia…”
“I am thinking about them,” Emilio says harshly.
“T-they need me!” Erica whines.
“No, they don’t need you at all.” Emilio yanks on the chain and then starts wrapping it around Erica. She shrieks, but he pulls it tight around her neck. “The smoke will probably kill you beforethe fire does. I won’t pour gasoline on you—consider that one last act of mercy.”
“Oh, god,” Lea whispers, clutching my arm.
“Are we sure all the traitors are here?” I ask, glancing at my father. “Big Boyd wasn’t at the house. I sure as fuck hope he hasn’t turned.”
“He’s at the casino,” my father replies. “He was as shocked as I was when I filled him in, but I still thought it was best for him to sit this one out. It might be a while before I can trust anyone who was that close to Erica.”
“Understood.” I nod in agreement and watch as Emilio drags Erica toward the warehouse, then I pull Lea closer. “Come on,bambina. You don’t want to see this.”
Justice will be served. I can make peace with that. I don’t have to be the one who finishes her off, nor does the need for personal vengeance gnaw at me, like it did when I went after the Bratva.
The only thing I need is right beside me.
CHAPTER 37
Lea
It’s been a week since I walked into Salvatore Morandi’s house and nearly got a bullet for it. There were so many guns pointed at me that I would never have known which one fired it.
My relationship with Massimo’s father has improved since then.
“To the guest of honor,” Salvatore says, nodding to me and offering a glass of wine. “We are naming a private selection of wines we’ll be releasing soon, and I’ve decided to call this oneEleanor.”
“What?” I gasp, nearly dropping the wine before I get a grip on it. “You’re naming a wine after me?”
“Mm, yes,” he smiles, and his drop-dead-breathtakingly gorgeous wife walks up beside him. Massimo’s mother. “I still have a few bottles of the wine I named after my wife, back when it was just the two of us.”
“Do you?” she replies, her tone a bit lighter than his thicker one. “I thought I finished the last bottle a couple of years ago, when you left me alone to go to Isola Selvaggia without me.”
