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“Let’s be clear, Matteo. I will be taking my wife home after this conversation, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The Elite know about this situation. My father made sure of it, so I will no longer be offering my seat at the Table. However, I’m willing to negotiate in good faith—that I shouldn’t have in the first place.”
“What do you think you can offer me that I don’t already have?”
“Many things,” I state matter of factly. “First, you can do business at The Flame, which I’m sure you’ve heard about. Second, you get to do business in my territory.”
“I don’t care for any of that.” He laughs like I’m being silly. Which pisses me off.
“I’m not done.” I sigh. “You can also have a percentage of my earnings, but, Matteo, make no mistake. I don’t give a fuck about you, and we will never be on good terms.”
“Wow.” He chuckles. “You’re being very convincing right now.”
“Take this as the threat that it is. I know your daughter cares about you, but I sure as fuck don’t. We can either spend our lives fighting each other until one of us kills the other,orwe strike a deal and both benefit from it. I will keep your daughter from you, otherwise. I’m willing to put her through my killing you if it means I get to keep her. She’sminenow, and it’s time you accept that.”
He seems to contemplate this. “How many businesses do you have?”
Now we’re talking. “Twenty-four and growing.”
His eyes widen slightly. “You drive a hard bargain.” He clears his throat like it’s hard for him to speak. Good. I hate him and always will. If I could cut off his tongue and feed it to him, I would, but it’s time to make peace with this demon so I can get back to more important matters. “The deal with the Colombos was ten businesses, and now that the Elite has sanctioned your marriage, I will have no ties to the Colombo family any longer. So I accept.”
I knew he would. He either accepts this negotiation or gets nothing at all, and his daughter will stay married to me regardless. Still, I extend my hand and hold it in place, and then he reluctantly shakes it. As if it pains him. Well, it pains me too, asshole. “Good.” I push my chair out and stand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time I go get my wife.”
It’s weird going up the stairs from this side of the house. I prefer going up her window and inside her room that way, but this is the better choice. I will not hide anymore. I walk up with my head held high and without looking back—because, fuck her dad—and knock on her door softly seven times when I get to it. I only know it’s hers due to the ballet slippers nailed to the outside.
Camilla opens the door with tears in her eyes and flings herself at me. I catch her easily and hoist her up, bringing my nose to her dark hair. She sniffles into the crook of my neck and wraps her legs around my waist, making my heart feel full.
I’ve missed her more than words can express, and as I enter her room and shut the door behind us, all I want to do is take her to bed and fuck her. That will have to wait though, seeing as the first order of business is getting out of here. Surprisingly, that won’t be an issue since she already has all her bags by the bedroom door.
“Did you know I was coming for you, princess?”
“Always,” she whispers into my neck.
“Forever,” I promise her, letting her down to cup her cheeks between my hands. She seems so small as I stand over her. I gaze into her eyes and say, “I’d rather be six feet deep in my grave than not be by your side. I need you, all of you, Camilla.”
“You mean that?”
“Until my last breath,solnyshko,” I assure her. “That’s how long I’ll love you.”
With that I grab her bags and walk down the stairs, stopping briefly at the front door to watch her father give her a kiss on the cheek and her sniffle as she hugs him. I know this has been hard for her, especially since her father wasn’t budging—not giving a fuck about her feelings—but it needed to happen. Even my kidnapping and captivity needed to happen to snap me out of it. I can be my own man.
And now I can be Camilla’s too.
* * *
I’m a man on a mission.
After getting Camilla back, I spoke with The Elite. I met with them in a conference room, where we decided Matteo wouldn’t get punished for his bullshit. While he deserved it, I couldn’t, in good faith, throw him to the wolves. Not when I knew it would hurt her. So, instead, I asked for the next logical thing. I want Leonardo dead. After I made a very compelling argument about how it was his fault Andrea DeLuca was dead, they relented. Their only request was that if the death wasn’t going to be on neutral grounds, I had to make it look like an accident.
After killing fifty people in six months, I’m sure I could get very creative. Instead, my plan is fairly simple. I want it to be a full-circle moment for both of us. So here I am, revving my engine right next to him. He grins at me, thinking this is just another race where he has a chance to beat me. And I’ll let him get ahead of me this time. Just this once.
Leonardo slides his passenger side window down. “Ready to eat shit, asshole?”
I grin back. “You’ll be the only one eating shit.”
“I’m gonna beat you this time.” He rolls his eyes and revs his engine. “Watch me.”
Without another word, I put my window back up and look forward. There’s a crowd of people on either side of us, salivating over the race. It’s not the first time they see us against each other, but it sure as fuck will be the last. I don’t spare one glance at them, but I can hear them cheering. It sounds a bit muffled over the pounding of my heart, and I tighten my hands on the steering wheel.
The girl waves the flag, and I go slower than usual, letting Leonardo go ahead of me for once. I pretend to try to catch up, accelerating yet staying behind him for most of the race. It’s only when we finally get to the sharp turns, I speed up and hit him on the side. His car fishtails and spins uncontrollably, then flips. I watch with a smile as he rolls and rolls and rolls. My smile widens as his car catches on fire. And then I smile even bigger as I drive away from him.
