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“Shot him in the head today,” he replied calmly. “After I saved your son’s life by pushing him out of the way when Lorenzo attempted to kill him.” My mouth dropped open slightly as he chuckled. “I didn’t think he would mention that.”
“Anthony Galiz?” I questioned.
His head dropped down as he stared at the floor and sighed, “I can protect her from him. If she is my wife, he won’t touch her.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He glanced up at me, determination all over his handsome face. “Because I won’t let him. I am now the King of Italy, which will mean Elle will be my Queen. Galiz is a stronzo, but he is not stupid. He would not start a war with an entire country.”
He had a point. But it still had me on edge. I knew Galiz’s reputation and the business he dabbled in. He was a sick man, who had zero respect for women. Knowing he had his eyes set on Elle made my skin crawl and I felt sick to my stomach. But as I stared into Alessio’s eyes, I knew he was the best chance we had of keeping Elle safe from him.
I stood up, brushing down my trousers as he leaned his head against his bicep again.
“Elle doesn’t know I am here, does she?” he asked as I turned and made my way towards the door.
“No,” I stopped to look back at him. “When she thought Gio was about to kill you earlier, we had to lock her in the safe room before she murdered someone herself.”
“That’s my girl.” The brightest smile appeared on his face and his eyes shone with warmth. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Could you do me just one favour, please?”
“I can’t make any promises.”
He nodded, “Over there… in my trouser pocket.” I walked over to the table, which all his bloody clothes were thrown across. Fiddling into his pocket, my hand settled on a small velvet box and I pulled it out, opening it carefully to show a stunning, huge diamond engagement ring. It was perfectly Elle. “If I don’t make it out of here by tomorrow morning, please give it to her. I never managed to give her the ring when I proposed. She needs to know that I haven’t given up on her.”
“She knows,” I smiled, fighting the tears in my eyes as I shut the box and lifted my head to look at him. “Between you and I, I don’t believe you deserve this punishment. Your only crime is loving my daughter. This contract proves it. So I hope my son goes easy on you.”
“And I hope he doesn’t. I’ll lose all respect for him,” he smiled sadly as Marco stepped forward to place the hood and headphones back over his head. I held up my hand to pause him, Alessio frowning in confusion.
“Leave it off,” I ordered, giving him the only bit of mercy I could. Alessio nodded at me in thanks as he closed his eyes, his fists wrapping around the chains above him. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I turned and left the room.
When Will It Be Enough?
Giovanni
I paced the bedroom frantically, unable to keep still as I tried to decide what I should rage about first. The fact that this all started eleven years ago and Elle never told me, that she risked her life for a night in my enemy’s sex club during my fucking wedding or that she was secretly dating Alessio Barberi behind my back before she was kidnapped.
“Gio, just breathe… aren’t you relieved?” Liv asked as she sat cross-legged on our bed, watching me from a distance.
“Relieved? Why the fuck would I be relieved, Liv? She lied to me, time and time again. Do you realise that all this could have been avoided if she had just told me about this from the beginning?”
“Relieved because now you know he isn’t out to kill you or give Elle to Galiz. That he truly loves her and wants to marry her for the right reasons.”
I shook my head at her, giving her a disbelieving look as she huffed in return. I couldn’t handle all this lovey dovey bullshit everyone was spouting. Had they forgotten everything he took from me? That he supported Lorenzo to take Venice, stole the deal with Veril, demoted our family from the head chair on the commission and still held my sister hostage to do all of it?
“I can’t believe she kept this from me!” I roared, grabbing my hair in one hand. “Does everyone in this family just enjoy keeping secrets from me in the hope that it will send me to an early fucking grave? Because it will!”
“Gio, yes she should have told you, but you’re not exactly the easiest and most understanding person when it comes to her love life.”
“What do you mean? All I have ever done is protect that girl and let her follow her dreams! She has always got what she wanted! She didn’t want to be home-schooled, so papi sent her to private tutoring classes. She wanted to go to university and study art, so I paid for her tuition and set her up with enough security to make it happen. She wanted to attend an art gallery in France, so I took the whole family on a vacation there. She has not lived a fucking hard life, Liv!”
“Maybe not, but she is also not living the life she wants to either! You know Elle is a free spirit, Gio. She hates the constant protection. She hates the lack of independence she has. She can never do what she wants because she knows you will say no. She ordered strippers for my hen-do just because it was the only birthday party she was going to have! That is sad!”
“Oh, that is another thing I’m not happy about!” I snapped, as Liv bit into her lip to hide her amusement at my jealousy over male strippers being at her hen party.
“All I am saying is to try and look at it from her point of view. She knows you love her, but she feels like a caged animal in her own life. And animals who feel trapped will always try to break free.”
“So, you’re saying this is all my fault? That I drove her into the arms of Alessio Barberi because I didn’t let her get her own place or a job at an art gallery like she wanted? Really Liv?”
“I think her and Alessio would have found their way to each other no matter what path she was on, Gio. Just like I found my way to you,” she smiled sweetly, climbing off the bed and strutting towards me with a seductive sway of her hips. I groaned, knowing she was playing with me, but not able to stop the anger from mellowing as she wrapped her arms around my waist, running her hands under my shirt and up my back.
