Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
He sighed and waved for his guards to stand down.
“Wait!” I bellowed at my friends just before they sprang into action.
They froze, muscles flexing with unspent violence after weeks of helpless captivity.
“Wait,” I repeated, more calmly this time. “Let me think.”
Disbelief punched me. Was Dante truly setting us all free?
Nora seemed to believe his promises, but I was far more skeptical.
“What is there to think about?” Dante asked tersely. “Nora ensured your freedom, and here it is. Your friends are no longer my captives. I hold no sway over you. You could kill me right now if you wanted to. At least, you could try.”
My fists clenched at my sides with the barely leashed need to attack him. I craved to punish the motherfucker who’d caused me so much pain, the monster who’d used my innocent wife to torment me.
But he was right: we needed every man we could muster to root out Giuseppe and then take on the Bratva. For Nora’s sake, I could spare Dante. For now.
I addressed Gabriele and Lorenzo. “Are you hurt?”
“No lasting damage,” Gabriele bit out.
I glowered at Dante. “You told me that they wouldn’t be tortured if I cooperated. I never gave you cause to hurt them.”
He shrugged. “And I kept my word. I roughed them up a little bit on the first day to make sure you understood the stakes. After that, they’ve been well cared for.”
Lorenzo snorted derisively. “You locked us in a cell for…fuck knows how long. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you for that.”
“You can’t,” I cut over him before he could lose his temper. “It would put Nora at risk. I need him alive so that his men will work with me to protect her.”
Gabriele’s heavy brows drew together, and his pursed lips all but disappeared beneath his unruly black beard, which had grown thicker in captivity. “He kidnapped your wife, and now you’re willing to work with him? We all risked our lives to rescue her from him. Lorenzo was fucking shot.”
Guilt nipped at me, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to ally with my enemy to save the woman I loved.
“We can discuss killing him after Nora is secure. Sit down. I’ll explain everything.”
My friends stared at me with twin expressions of disbelief tinged with betrayal, but they obeyed. I would find a way to make this right with them. Somehow.
“So, what was the meeting about?” Nora asked as I led her back into the privacy of the bedroom.
She’d talked with Giana while I was downstairs, and she seemed lighter now that she knew her sister truly was safe.
Dante was still meeting with his own people to strategize how to find Giuseppe. That left me to be the one to explain the situation to Nora.
“Dante released Gabriele and Lorenzo,” I admitted as she sat on the edge of the bed beside me. “He doesn’t have any hold over me anymore.”
She nodded. “He always keeps his promises. I knew he’d prove himself to you and set you all free. He wants to make things right with you.”
“That’s not possible,” I said stiffly.
She grasped both of my hands in hers, offering me a gentle squeeze to cool my mounting anger.
“He came to you last night and was willing to let you take out your revenge on him in the worst way,” she said quietly. “I won’t ask you to forgive him—only you can make that choice—but I’m begging you to spare him from your retribution.”
I tugged my hands free from her gentle grip, the ugly feeling of resentment tightening my chest once again.
“And I did spare him, didn’t I? I honored your wishes, and somehow, I ended up being the one tormented again. He touched you, Nora. And you welcomed it. You asked me to share you with him after everything he’s done to me. To you.”
Her eyes began to shine. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. And it wasn’t meant to be a betrayal. I love you, but I can’t bear to cause Dante any more pain.”
I flexed my fists to stave off some of my rage. “There’s a difference between not causing him pain and begging him to fuck you.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. “Do you hate me now?” she whispered tremulously. “I know I asked a lot of you, but you could’ve refused. I thought you enjoyed it too. If I’d thought you were unwilling, I wouldn’t have continued. I’ll never violate you like that. I… I’m sorry, Luca.”
Something cracked inside my chest, and my arms were around her before I could think, soothing her. “I don’t hate you,” I swore. “I could never hate you. But I’m afraid…” I took a breath and forced the truth out into the open. “I’m afraid that you’ll come to love him too, and I don’t know if I’m capable of sharing your heart. Not with anyone, but especially not with him.”