Nevertheless, we agreed to the plans as the head of my security stopped the van about half a mile away from his property.
“We go any closer and we signal him,” he said.
I turned around and looked at the guys in the back of the van. “You know what to do. I’ll sit here and wait for your signal. But hurry. We have to operate under the guise that they already know we’re here.”
My men nodded at me before they silently got out of the van and took their positions. I watched them disappear into the forest and the lovely foliage our little island had to offer, their shadows sneaking closer to the men guarding the security entrance gate. They were taken down with ease before my men changed into Lorenzo’s men’s outfits. Then, my guy waved us on and effortlessly allowed us to ride right through the gate.
Before the alarm was triggered.
“That’s our cue, Mr. Emiliano. You go. I’ve got the assault coming this way.”
I slipped out of my door while my head of security’s gunfire pulled the guys out the side entrance. I used all of the fruit trees and garden trellises to hide me as I made my way toward the main entrance of the house. I knew how security worked, and I knew Lorenzo would divert all of his men toward the gunfire.
So, I waltzed in through the front door and set my sights on the first hallway.
I’m coming for you, Char.
One room at a time.
“Did you really think you could kill me!?” Lorenzo bellowed.
His fist crashed down against my back as my nose bled onto the carpet beneath my cheek.
He stood over me. “I have to admit, luring me in with that ‘good girl’ act was nice. But, it won’t work on me again. Want to know why?”
I whimpered. “No.”
He stomped his foot into my lower back. “Well, you’re gonna hear it anyway!”
I cried out in agony as he ground his heel down into my skin. “What do you want!? Just kill me already!”
He lifted his foot. “Now, where would be the fun in that? Did you ever think for one second that I enjoy hearing people cry out for their lives.”
I looked up at him through a swollen eye. “You’re sick, you know that? And I’d rather die than live another moment knowing I’m with you.”
“Why you measly, idiotic, pathetic little--.”
I heard gunshots off in the distance and Lorenzo whipped his head up. He quickly moved to the door and stuck his head out into the hallway before a commotion of footsteps sounded above me. Wait, there was another floor above my head?
“Shit,” Lorenzo hissed.
I heard him slam my bedroom door as I laid there, my eyes trying to flutter closed. Gunfire rained down like stormy afternoon and I wondered if this was it. I wondered if whoever was about to storm this place would also kill me simply because I was inside of it.
I crawled my body toward the door, hoping and praying it wasn’t locked.
“Yes,” I whispered.
I reached up for the knob and felt it turn before the door swung open. I lifted myself to my feet even though one of my ankles was broken and I hobbled out into the hallway. I heard men yelling and rushing around, but I didn’t see any of their shadows.
And Lorenzo was nowhere in sight.
Steadying myself against the wall, I tried to walk. But, it was no use. Every hobbled step I took shot tears of pain up to my eyes and I couldn’t even get to the end of the hallway. My body hurt more than I could stand. How the hell I missed Lorenzo’s face with my shiv was beyond me, but I knew if he found me out of my room he’d shoot me on sight.
Then again, death would be a relief compared to this place.
I bear-clawed my way to the end of the hallway, but when I looked to my left and my right, all I saw was more hallway. Tears rushed my cheeks as I laid my head against the cold, nasty, fake marble floors Lorenzo had in his house and I let my eyes fall closed.
I felt darkness pull me under before the entire world fell silent.
Until I heard the sound of a car door opening.
“Quickly, get her inside.”
Teo?
“Mr. Emiliano, I can clean this up. You need to get out of here with her, though.”
Teo’s voice sounded beside me. “And what about my men? Where are they?”
A gun cocked. “You leave that to me, Mr. Emiliano.”
The world faded to black again, but it came rushing back to me when the car I was in hit a bump. It shot pain up and down my spine before it rolled me over, and that’s when I heard it.
I heard Teo talking as he gathered me against his chest.
“I knew he wouldn’t listen,” he murmured.
I wanted to speak, but it hurt to move my lips.
“I shouldn’t have put Lyle with you,” he whispered.
Teo, I’m here. I can hear you. It’s okay, I swear.
“You’ve changed my life in so many ways, you know that, right?” he asked.
I laid there, physically helpless and unable to open my eyes as he continued.
“And yet, I lay in bed at night regretting ever buying you off that stage because, without you, I have no idea how to function. You’ve impacted me that much, Char, and I’ve been lost ever since you chose him over me.”
I just wanted my freedom! I didn’t want him!
“To see you so hurt, it makes me want to kill him. Slowly. Torturously, for what he’s done to you.”
Don’t let him turn you into a monster.
“I had a dream last night about you.”
His words gave me pause and, temporarily, made me forget about the pain.
“I had a dream that I wanted to make the world in your vision. Where bad guys were bad guys and good guys were good, and good prevailed over evil every single time. I had a dream where I built you an office you could be proud of in the beach house that overlooked the ocean and we shared every meal together on the rooftop while watching the sun set. It was the first dream in my entire life I didn’t want to wake up from, and I’m so scared that I’m going to fail in that dream, Char.”
I felt a knot forming in my throat as his words trapped themselves in my mind forever.
“I fear that I may never be able to give you the world you deserve, and that you’ll hate me for it,” he whispered.
I love you, Teo. And it’s all going to be okay.
Then, the world went black once more as pain overcame my body and sucked me under. Like a current hoping to drag me out into the darkness of the sea.
Only this time, I knew I’d be okay.
I knew Teo would do everything in his power to keep me at his side so we could be together at last.
17
Mateo
I bent down and kissed Char’s scabbed forehead. “I’ll be right back, beautiful. Don’t you worry.”
“Mr. Emiliano?” my head of security asked.
I stood to my feet. “Is the car downstairs?”
“And I’m prepared to oversee Miss Pettigrew’s safety myself.”
I turned to face him. “I thought you’d appoint Lukas.”
He shook his head. “After the news about Lyle, I’d rather do it myself. Can’t say I trust my men right now. I’m having all of them re-vetted through clear and concise eyes.”
I walked over and patted his shoulder. “If she wakes up while I’m gone, get a doctor in here to finish the evaluation. Then, get her food. Anything she wants. And don’t let her out of your sight.”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
I slipped out of the room. “On my signal, send the clean-up crew to my house.”
I set my sights on what was about to happen as I made my way downstairs. Char had been out cold for the majority of the day and it had me worried, despite the doctor temporarily clearing her of anything catastrophic. Still, my gut pooled with worry as I slid into the back of my car and commanded my driver to get to my house.
I needed to speak with my wife.
While I knew I couldn’t divorce her, since leaving
her behind meant cutting off my right hand in the middle of this damned war, I also knew I couldn’t endure this with her anymore. She either needed to back down, shut the hell up, or get put six feet under.
And I was prepared for the latter, if it came down to that.
My driver pulled up to the house and I drew in a deep breath. Then, I eased my way out onto the pristine white driveway. I walked up to the door and let myself in with a key I always kept on my keyring. And when I did, I heard the most boisterous sound alive.
“Son of a bitch, that stupid fucking boy!” Rosana shrieked.
I watched as a cell phone came flying at my head and I ducked. I slipped my hands into my pockets as the shattered remnants of the device I wouldn’t replace for her rained down upon my back. Then, as I rose to meet her eyes while she stood at the top of the steps, she gasped.
“I take it you heard the news, then,” I said.
Rosana cleared her throat. “I’m glad you’re here, Mateo. We have much to discuss.”
My gaze hardened on her face. “Allow me to go first.”
She sauntered down the steps. “Since when did you never let the lady go first?”
“Since the lady decided it was her place to jam a knife into my back.”
She paused in the middle of the staircase. “I beg your pardon?”
I licked my lips. “I’m only going to say this once without the need for weaponry and bloodshed, so I want to make sure you’re listening.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What is this about? What in the world are you--?”
I stepped away from the door. “I want you to pack your things and leave.”
She scoffed. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
I started walking until I was at the steps. Then, I ascended. I clenched my fists in my pockets as I met her face-to-face, peering down into those steely eyes of hers.
“I said, pack up your shit and get the hell out of my house.”
My voice came out as cool as an iced cucumber and I watched as her eyes widened. I knew I had caught her off-guard, and it brought me great pride. She had been so calculating up until this point, foreseeing every hiccup in an attempt to evade me at the highest cost. But, she had been caught.
Something only beginners tripped up on.
“The only way you’re getting rid of me,” Rosana said as she leaned in close, “is to divorce me. And we both know you don’t have the balls to do that.”
I nodded. “Very well. I’ll have Miss Pettigrew draft the papers when she’s healthy enough to do so.”
Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”
I cocked my head. “You really think I wouldn’t bring down the woman who put Miss Pettigrew in that position in the first place? Because don’t think for one second that I don’t know what you’ve been doing behind my back. Bribing Lyle to keep an eye on her. Forcing Char and Lorenzo into the same spaces over and over again. Lorenzo might have been nothing but a prop, but you’re the puppeteer, Rosana. And the more you struggle, the tighter the noose around your neck will become.”
She gnashed her teeth at me. “I will destroy you, Mateo. I will rob you of everything you have, strip you of your riches, and leave you with nothing. Nothing! You hear me!?”
I stuck my finger in my ear and wiggled it around. “Trust me, the little bit of strength you brought to my game is neither here nor there. But, losing it isn’t enough to topple me, or even cripple me. And when I turn over the evidence I have to your father…”
I whistled lowly as she took a step away from me. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I chuckled. “Pretty sure the stipulations of our pre-nup state that you are to be a good, faithful, and supportive wife. I wonder what he’ll think—and what a judge will think—once I turn over evidence to the contrary.”
“You’ve been fucking around with women our entire goddamn marriage!” she shrieked.
I shrugged. “Nothing in our pre-nup said I couldn’t. And by the way, you were the one who started fucking around first. I have evidence of that, too. Barty, right? In the closet down the hallway? At our reception?”
Her hands curled into fists. “You were never once important to me. I never loved you, Mateo Emiliano!”
I grinned. “Then finally, we have something in common.”
The shriek that poured forth from her mouth caused my ears to ring for a little bit. But, then she stomped up the stairs.
“You’re not important enough for me to endure this torment, Rosana!” I called after her.
“I’ll kill you for this!” she bellowed.
I drew in a deep breath. “And make sure to pack only what’s yours! I’ll sue you for taking something that isn’t!”
“Raaaaaa-ARGH!”
I chuckled to myself as her bedroom door slammed shut. Then, I made my way down the stairs to wait by the front door. I clasped my hands in front of my body and watched as Rosana made her way out of the bedroom about an hour later. And when she didn’t have any sort of luggage with her, I looked at my watch.
“You have one more hour before I call the police. I meant it when I said to vacate immediately, Rosana.”
She sniggered. “I don’t care what you meant or what you do to me, Mateo. But, mark my words, this decision will cost you. And it will cost you greatly. You might have my hands tied behind my back with paperwork, but that paperwork won’t do you any good when my father comes to defend my honor.”
“You called him and he didn’t want to hear it, didn’t you?”
She shrugged. “He’ll come to his senses once Mom speaks with him. And in the meantime, I suggest you keep one eye open. You never know who might come knocking at all hours of the night.”
I didn’t like the way her threat lingered in the air. But, she did as I asked. She turned on her heels and packed her things, then forty-five minutes later I was stripping her of access to the house. I collected her keys and stuck them in my pocket. I ordered the security guard to change the code at the gate before informing me of the new code. I even made an appointment with Rosana standing there to have the locks on the doors changed, just in case she had copies of the housekeys I didn’t know about.
“Oh, and I’ll need your car keys,” I said.
Rosana balked. “And how the hell do you suppose I drive away if I don’t have a car?”
I held out my hand. “My driver is prepared to take you back to your parent’s estate. Come, come. Keys. Now.”
She glared at me as she dropped the keys to her Ferrari convertible right into my palm. And as I stood there, clutching them, I watched as she hauled her shit out to the car. My driver got out to help her and I had half a mind to tell him to stop. But, I didn’t need to be dealing with any more wrath from her or her parents.
Because I’d suffer enough from this decision as is.
After watching them ease down the driveway, I ordered the security guard to lock down the house. No one in or out without explicit permission from myself, and no staff were allowed on the grounds until they were re-vetted by someone of my choosing.
Then, I decided to take the Ferrari back to the beach house.
“Mr. Emiliano! She’s awake!”
Lukas came rushing out of the front door to greet me, but I pushed by him. They were words I’d been longing to hear all damn day, and finally I’d get to gaze into Char’s eyes. I marched up the stairs, taking them two by two as I raced up to my bedroom. I darted for the bed as Char groaned in pain and I took her hand within mine.
Then, her bruised and battered eyes finally found me, and my heart took flight.
“Char,” I whispered.
Her eyes watered over. “Teo? Is that really you?”
I reached down to brush some hair away from her face. “It’s really me. I’m right here.”
Her lower lip quivered, scab and all. “Oh, my God. It’s so good to see you.”
She started sobbing and I scooped her into my arms. She was clearly in pain, both physically and emotionally, and it killed m
e inside to see her like this. Especially after the message she relayed to me. Especially after the horrors she had endured and witnessed in Lorenzo’s house.
“I want to bring my mother down. For good,” she said through her sobs.
I kissed the top of her head. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
She looked up at me. “I want her done. I want her in prison. And I want everyone she’s ever helped to be in prison with her.”
I looked down into her mangled face. “You will get all of that, and more. You have my word.”
Because taking her mother out of the equation meant crippling Lorenzo. It meant crippling the Lucchese Family. I didn’t believe for one fucking second that Char’s mother wasn’t working with the lot of them. All of them, not just Lorenzo.
And something in the pit of my gut told me that taking them down meant taking Char’s mother down.
An idea that slithered a snake-like smile across my face.
18
Mateo
A week.
It took one solid week for Char to heal to a point where she could talk on her own. And every time I looked her way, I found her staring at me. It made me feel powerful. It made me feel at ease. But, more than that, having her back at my beach house made this place feel like home.
A sensation I hadn’t felt since she had left.
“You know, you still haven’t been punished,” I said.
Char looked up from her bowl of soup. “What?”
I grinned. “For leaving. You were the one that went willingly with Lorenzo, did you not?”
She swallowed hard. “Teo, look. I can explain. I really can.”
I stood from my chair. “You’ll get to do plenty of explaining. In my bedroom.”
I walked over to her and held out my hand, watching as her eyes dropped to my palm. She slid her trembling hand against my own and I helped her to her feet, the both of us abandoning our lunch as we walked up the steps. I tugged her into my bedroom and pressed her back against the door. I let my breath linger against her lips as I locked us behind it, making sure she had nowhere to run during my torturous pleasure.
Traitor: An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance (Sold to The Don Book 3) Page 9