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“Yes…I’d like to know as well,” Dameon followed.
I glared at Riccardo; and he trembled slightly.
“Penelope.”
She released a breath as if she’d been holding it forever and turned to look at me. Sadness filled her face, and her body trembled as tears filled her eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I—”
“She answers to me, not you,” Riccardo hissed.
I turned my anger toward him but spoke to Dameon. “Father, this alliance cannot happen. The Niccolòs are being deceitful toward us. And because they have not come in good faith, I will end them now.”
Penelope gasped, and Davide pulled his weapon but didn’t aim it.
My father’s face turned into an angry mask of fury. “What the fuck is going on here, Riccardo!?”
“Your son is acting too fast! Why would I put us in the mouth of the lion if we came with deceit?”
“Are you calling my son a liar?” Dameon barked.
Riccardo inhaled heavily, and Rolando rolled his eyes. It was apparent Rolando hated me. That was something I would deal with at another time. Right now, I was ready to kill Riccardo and Davide and end their empire within seconds.
“He’s misunderstood!”
“What the fuck is the misunderstanding?” Dameon sneered.
“I want to hear it from Penelope!” I shouted.
She clasped her hands together and took a step toward me.
“That’s close enough…” I growled. Even though anger riddled me, I still couldn’t hurt her, still couldn’t bear her touch at the moment, still couldn’t combine her pulsating heart with mine because when we linked—I became bound to her will. She had me in her palm.
I adored every facet I knew of Penelope, yet I questioned whether I knew anything at all.
She glanced back at Riccardo, and he nodded once, which angered me even more. Penelope belonged to me. And no one else would have authority over her but me. She had given it to me, promised that she was mine, and yet she answered to someone else.
“You know her?” Dameon asked.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
“A student at my school.” I glared at her. “A student I trusted who I thought trusted me.”
“Dominic, I do trust you.” Tears peppered her face, and I resisted the urge to wipe them away. “I’ve been in hiding for years. My grandfather, Riccardo, changed my last name and enrolled me in school to keep his enemies from getting to me. I couldn’t tell anyone. And believe me, I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I…” Her tears fell quicker, and she trembled profusely and wiped them away. “Please, I never meant to hurt you or cause disruption, but I was sworn to secrecy.”
My throat tightened. I inhaled a deep breath and ignored the surprise I felt by her fluently spoken Italian.
“Who are your enemies?” I growled.
She stuttered, “The Black Rose.”
I stared at her long and hard, and she clasped her fingers tightly as she waited for my response. All the time she’d been hiding from the Black Rose, she had unintentionally run toward him. How apropos.
“So you lied to me—about everything?”
