Page 15 of The Agreement

“I’m sorry Dante.” After all, she knew Dante had wanted her, and yet Vinny got her instead.

“No need, we can still be friends, right?”

“Of course.” Val offered him a small smile, hoping that Dante really was okay with everything.

“Where are your men?” At that, Val hung her head. She really didn’t have to ask for permission to go anywhere, but she did have to let her men know so they could watch her. And in this case, she hadn’t. She just didn’t think Claire would understand, but now this was even more fucked up and she had no clue how to explain it. “Ah, they didn’t know.”

“This wasn’t their fault; the blame lies with me.”

“I know. But, will he?” he asked as he pulled up to the front of the house, and nodded his head at her dad who was standing outside on the front steps. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be good.

“Thank you, Dante,” Rafael said as he helped his daughter out of the car.

“Sir…”

“You may go,” her dad said, cutting him off. A good deed or not, and crush or not, Dante was from a rival family and could easily have done something to her.

“Yes sir,” Dante said, climbing back in the car and taking off. Val watched the lights fade away, not wanting to look into the glare of her dad’s eyes, which she felt loud and clear.

“Go to my office, now,” he spoke low and in a controlled voice and Val knew she was in for it; not that she didn’t know that, of course. She let out a sigh and walked back, hearing her dad’s shoes against the tile as he walked behind her. She sat down in front of his desk and he knelled down, removing the rag, and checked the wound. “It looks a little deeper than I like.” Rafael looked behind him and called for the doctor and stood up to look at her.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t think anything would happen.”

“You know better than that.” Better to hear everything than explain she had friends who didn’t know about her life that would only piss him off even more, she kept her mouth shut while he glared.

“I didn’t think…” she started but he cut her off just as quickly.

“You don’t get to use that. You have a double target on your back now. Questa non è la figlia che ho cresciuto(this is not the daughter I raised).”

“Dad, I’m sorry, I just…”

“Please, let’s hear your excuse for this dumb mistake,bella(beautiful).” Valentina cringed as she heard Giovanni’s voice. Sure, she might be able to fandangle her way out of her dad’s anger, but she knew next to nothing about Vinny’s and had no clue how to act or what to say.

~ Chapter 13 ~

Valentina swallowed hard and looked up at her father before looking back at Vinny, who stood in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest and a murderous glint in his eyes. His eyes took notice of the cut on her lip and on her arm, but also of the hand prints. But before she could say anything, the doctor came in and checked out her wound, shooing everyone but Rafael and Vinny out.

“De Luca, can you excuse us please?” Vinny asked as the doctor finished bandaging the arm. Rafael glanced at her and slowly he shook his head.

“I’m very disappointed, Val.” And in all her years she had never felt so small. And it wasn’t like she made a habit of it. In fact, she was the one attacked! Vinny hunched down and she stared at his jean-clad legs, not wanting to look at him. “Do you want to know how I found out?”

“My dad?” she offered.

“No, Dante texted me. Said he had his hand on my fiancé and it was him who was protecting and saving her, MY fiancé!” Valentina flinched as he punctuated every word with a voice that kept getting louder and louder as he stood up.

“It wasn’t like that!”

“Cristo, Valentina, quale parte(Christ, Valentina, what part)? Because from where I stand, you have cuts on you because someone was hurting you and me, nor my men, weren’t there!”

“Okay, yes, he was in the right place at the right time, I can’t deny that.”

“Do you have any idea what might have happened to you if he hadn’t stepped in?”

“Yes, she probably would have cut me up a lot more.” Vinny paused in his pacing and turned to look at her, a question in his eyes as he moved in front of her again.

“She? She who?” Valentina licked her lips as she stared at him. Dante hadn’t told him who was attacking her; why? “Valentina, who?”

“Celeste. I was at the mall with a friend and Celeste happened upon me with three of her men, no one I had seen before. One held my friend while the other two held me. I was trying to reach for my knife but they got to me before I could.” His jaw clenched as he slowly stood up. And other than the hard glint in his eyes or the twitch of a muscle in his jaw, there was no way to tell this man was furious. He had a silent anger and that was scarier than dealing with her dad’s loud anger.

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