Page 47 of Twisted Obsession

The steampunk clock, which hung on the only bare wall of the kitchen area, rang out its half hour chime as I watched Dante pace around. Once again, he seemed to be at war with himself.

‘Your eldest brother is the bastard responsible for fucking up my whole family’s life.’

‘Dante!’ Mary reprimanded from the stairs she’d just appeared at the bottom of.

Dante, in response, lifted his hand up to stop her talking further and I strengthened my hold on myself. ‘She needs to know who he is and what he’s capable of,’ he offered her.

‘Remember Giovanna is a guest inourhome, Nephew,’ she reproached him as she continued to come nearer.

Wrapping my arms tighter around my upper body, I stood and faced the storm I knew was undoubtedly coming.

‘I don’t understand.’

‘And why would you, Gi?’ As he spoke, he rocked his head from side to side and I understood then that Dante had very deliberately and sarcastically called me the nickname Salvatore always used for me.

‘Don’t call me that.’

‘Giovanna,’ he placated, nodding at me, which only helped to stoke the anger I was feeling.

‘Explain then, Dante. Explain what I’m really doing here? Tell me what’s going on?’ I shouted back at him.

‘He has it in his fucked up, revenge-filled head, that my papa stole his mama from his arms one night, and from there she disappeared to her very probable death.’ Dante forcefully began to tap a finger to his own temple as he spoke. ‘I mean, even someone as cossetted as you obviously knows what my family has been accused of.’ I felt a guilty heat fill my cheeks at my earlier accusations. Quickly, I looked once again at Dante’s aunt and offered her an apology with my eyes. ‘Your wonderful big brother,’ Dante speaking again directed my attention ‘sparked the catalyst that ended with my elder brother Zeno’s blood spilling out for all to see. My papa suffered a heart attack that day, from which he has never recovered. Serafina was made to marry him to protect our family, and Mia is hurt because of the thoughtlessness of another De Luca son.’

I tried hard to digest everything he’d just said. Obviously, I knew everything he’d said was the truth, but I’d never thought of its implications towards his and Serafina’s family. He was right, I was a very cossetted, little Mafia princess, and I wasn’t proud of the fact. Especially when our eyes connected again and I could see the pain in his, and even worse feel the pain that resided in his heart.

‘Gabriel never meant for Mia to get hurt. He loves her,’ I offered, as I reached out to take a hold of the back of the chair nearest to me.

‘Possibly.’ His tongue played with his upper front teeth as he thought over my statement. ‘But Salvatore doesn’t care about anyone, apart from himself and of course, you, his precious baby sister.’ The smile he gave me warmed me and chilled me to the bone all at the same time.

‘I’ll keep Giovanna, until I’m satisfied my family is out of harm’s way.’

‘Oh, my God.’ My hand came up to cover my mouth and I took a few steps back until I could feel the strength of the wall against my shoulder blades, as I remembered what I’d heard on the plane. ‘No.’ I shook my head at him. ‘Don’t let it be true… am I the means to getyourrevenge?’ I stared harder at him, willing him to contradict me, ‘I’ll keep Giovanna, until I’m satisfied my family is out of harm’s way.’I repeated what I remembered hearing on the plane. And, give him his due, I was sure I saw a momentary flash of guilt attach itself to his gorgeous features. ‘The past few days, everything you’ve said and all that we’ve done.’ My voice faltered with my last sentence, knowing we had an audience. Then I rallied in defiance. ‘Well, let me tell you, Dante Giordano, you needn’t have worked so hard and been so good at it… I was a forgone conclusion just as soon as I saw your blue eyes.’

‘It wasn’t hard work, Giovanna.’ I heard what he said but couldn’t at that minute think too hard about just how he meant it. ‘Far from it.’

‘All I am, is a pawn in your own sick game of vengeance… and you talk about my family,’ I accused.

‘I’m not playing a game, Giovanna, I’m merely showing him how it feels. I’m turning the way he’s treated my family around on him. Did you listen to what I said about him?’

‘I heard you, Dante. I know I’ve been cossetted and might be naive, but I’m not stupid. I’ve put two and two together over the years. I know what Salvatore is. I make no excuses for him. He was born to lead our family after our papa’s death.’Only that wasn’t going to be the way it worked this time.A stab of pain caused me to stop speaking momentarily as I wondered if my nonno was still of this world. Swallowing down the agony, Icarried on. ‘Salvatore is a creation of the position he was born to hold.’

‘Salvatore is also a self-made bastard. Make no mistake about that.’

I knew it was pointless arguing with him, when part of me agreed with what he had said about my favourite brother.

‘I’m truly sorry about your papa if he isn’t the man Salvatore continues to look for. But the other things you’ve spoken of…’

‘My papa is an honourable man. He did nothing wrong,’ he interrupted, and once again he stoked up my anger.

‘Like his sons?’ I wasn’t sure what on earth I was doing. It was becoming evident that I’d been played by Dante, and the anguish that was building inside of me was beginning to intensify with every second that passed. In that pain, I was reacting the only way I knew I could trust myself to do, and that was to attack, even if I placed myself in danger.

‘Alessio is without fault.’

‘Unlike you,’ I added. Now it was coming out that Dante had kidnapped me to get his own back on Salvatore, here I was arguing back when my own life could possibly be at risk.

‘Unlike me,’ he agreed.

‘And Zeno?’ I questioned.

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