Page 40 of Vicious Union

It’s late, and we go to bed right away.

Caterina winces as she slides under the covers.

“Sore?” I ask.

She shoots me a look. “So, what if I am? You’re the reason.”

“I know.”

“Oh, don’t sound so smug about it.”

I chuckle as I get into the bed and don’t say anything else. We lay down and go to sleep. Well, I assume Caterina goes to sleep, but I stay awake for a long time, thinking about what happened between us.

I took Caterina’s virginity without knowing it. She lied to me about it because she didn’t want to me to hold it over her. What does that say about me that she felt like she had to lie about something she knew would make me judge her less, and yet, she still chose to lie about it.

That thought haunts me as I finally fall asleep.

When I wake up in the morning, I see Caterina isn’t in bed with me. I get up to find her to … what? I’m not sure. I’ll either kiss her or scold her again, but when I go looking for her, I can’t find her anywhere.

She’s gone.

So, it seems I’ll end up scolding her.

CHAPTER 12

Caterina

All I wanted was to get breakfast at a cute little café.

I didn’t know I was going to be robbed.

I woke up, saw Emilio was sleeping soundly, and felt my stomach rumbling. When I checked the fridge, there wasn’t any food in it. So, I grabbed the car keys, found a café, plugged the address into my phone, and took off.

I enjoyed a pastry and a cup of coffee, and when I got up to leave, I realized my purse was missing. And with it were my ID, my phone, my money, and the car keys.

I rushed outside and found the car missing.

Someone had stolen my bag, and I didn’t even know it.

Now, I’m walking back to the villa because I have no money or phone on me.

So much for going out for breakfast.

Thankfully, the café isn’t too far from the mansion, but it still takes me a solid forty minutes to walk back. I’m wearing a cute pair of sandals—not sturdy walking shoes. My feet are killing me as I near the villa.

And then, there it is—the vacation home in all its glory. Hopefully, Emilio is still asleep.

But the moment I step foot through the front door, my hopes are dashed.

Emilio is in the foyer, pacing back and forth, talking on the phone. He has his back to me. “She’s gone, Rocco. Just gone. She took the car. I don’t know where she could be. Any one of our enemies could have found her and hurt her and—” He turns around and sees me. “She’s back.” He hangs up the phone and storms over to me. “Where have you been?”

“I went out for breakfast.”

He looks like he might scream, then reins it in at the last second. “You … went out for breakfast. That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Well, then, why didn’t you tell me that?”

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