Page 83 of Heartless Vows

My insides curdle as the man I’ve always hated and feared smiles and spears his hand into my hair.

“Good girl. Now try to be quiet so he doesn’t interrupt us again, yeah?”

He moves his body closer to mine. I instinctively lift my hands to push him away, but he presses the pistol’s muzzle to my temple and chuckles. My bracelet slides down my wrist. I find the button with my thumb and mash it.

What if the jewelry doesn’t work? What if Giorgio never comes?

Impossible. Giorgio promised. He always keeps his word. Always.

I use the conviction running through my veins to bolster my mind.

“I’d tell you to get on your knees, but your mouth doesn’t interest me. It’s the other holes I want. Did it hurt when Giorgio Vivaldi took your virginity? Has he had your ass yet?”

Tears gather on my lashes. I shake my head. Interest sparks in his eyes.

“Strip down and get on the bed. All fours. Ass up,” he demands.

“Why are you doing this?” I manage through the lump in my throat.

He grinds his hips against mine. Vomit climbs up my throat at the feel of his hard cock against my stomach.

“Because I want to. I have all the power I need to do whatever the fuck I want, and what I want is to fuck you,” his sneer seems more demonic than human, “so get on the goddamn bed before I decide to get rid of you like I did my whore of a wife.”

All the blood drains from my head.

He just admitted to killing my aunt, which means he hired the thugs who broke into our house and murdered her while I hid in the closet. It was him. He’s worse than I ever imagined.

When he pulls the gun away from my head and steps back, no relief spears through me. The room becomes suffocating. I need out.

He tilts his head in amusement.

“Strip, little whore, and let me see what I’ve waited almost two decades to enjoy.”

My entire body goes numb. I can’t do this.

Giorgio will save me. He’ll bust down the door any second now.

Otello has a gun. I need to get it away from him somehow. Giorgio can’t get hurt because of me, not when there are so many other threats closing in on him.

My heart cries out to the man who gave me everything—his wealth, his power, his future—because I need him.

I no longer dream of leaving the mafia. All I want is Giorgio Vivaldi.

My husband. My lover. My heart.

I need him. Now and forever.

Chapter 20

Giorgio Vivaldi

The tires squealas I stop on the lawn of the Achilles family home. Smoke billows out around the bent hood of my vehicle, but I don’t give a fuck.

They didn’t open the gate fast enough and I need to be inside the looming mansion. Now.

Big red numbers blink on my watch’s screen. Aurora pressed the emergency beacon almost four minutes ago.

Too long.

---