Page 48 of Savage Prince

The hint of a smile kicks up the corner of his mouth as he folds down onto the bench across from me.

“This whole thing has been a fucking disaster.” He buries his face in his hands and heaves out a breath. “I just want it all over with.”

“Same here,bastardo.”

“It will be soon. Tony said your father will concede to all my demands.”

“Of course he will because he fucking loves me.” I cross my arms over my chest triumphantly. When I get home, I’m going to have words with Pa about how long this whole fiasco took.

“How lucky you are…” His words fall away, and a twinge of unwanted sympathy niggles at my chest. After hearing thestories from Bella, I know just what a sick asshole their father was. I hope he’s rotting in hell for what he did.

“For what it’s worth, you’ve been a pretty decent kidnapper.” I don’t know why I still insist on being nice to him.

A deep chuckle vibrates his chest, the warm, rich sound so unexpected I find myself staring. “Just what every man wants to hear.”

I shrug, the deep melody of his laughter still echoing on the breeze. “If you don’t want to be called out for doing shitty things, don’t do shitty things.”

“Fair enough.”

“Did you really not know what your father did to Raf’s first girlfriend?” The question pops out before I can stop it. I’m not sure why it matters but I need to know what kind of man has me hostage. Even if this arrangement should be quickly coming to an end.

He slowly shakes his head, darkness carving into the hard line of his jaw. “Neither Giuseppe nor I knew what really transpired that day.Papàtold us Raffaele had forsaken his family for Laura, and he made us believe our youngest brother was a traitor.” He blows out a breath, his shoulders sagging beneath some invisible weight. “Raffa never reached out, never explained anything. I only discovered the truth after our father was dead. I still can’t believe it…”

“But youdobelieve it now?”

His chin dips. “I can think of no other reason why Giuseppe would have interfered the dayPapàtook your cousin. I’m convinced he stood up to our father and gave his life for Raffa and Isabella to make up for his past sins.”

“And you?” There’s something about the openness in his expression that has me pushing.

“Once this is over, and my father’s legacy is reclaimed, I’m done. I don’t want my brother or the Valentinos as my enemies. I simply want to be free.”

“Good luck with that. Running a criminal empire doesn’t allow for much ofthis.” I motion at the tranquil scenery surrounding us.

“I never thought I neededthis.” He crosses his leg over his knee, dark gaze intent on the surrounding mountains. “I haven’t in the last ten years.”

“Maybe you have gone soft in your old age.” I toss him a wink before unzipping his sweatshirt and leaning back against the headrest. The oversized thing falls off my shoulders, but the chill has finally passed, and I can enjoy the warmth of the sun’s brilliant rays on my shoulders.

“I’m not old, and I’m certainly not soft,” he growls. “Or at least I never have been.” He mutters the last part under his breath.

“Hey, you’re the one that said it…”

He slides to the edge of the seat across from me, the movement so quick I startle and straighten abruptly. “I saidyoumade me soft.”

“Ah, so you’re blaming this on me?”

“Yes,” he grits out, tangling his fingers into knots. “I feel responsible for?—”

“And you should,” I hiss, the flirty banter from a second ago forgotten. “If you hadn’t captured me in the first place, then left me with that sick fuck—” I chomp down on my lower lip to keep it from trembling as images from the night before flash in rapid fire. Heat singes the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to let another tear fall in front of fucking Antonio Ferrara. I blink quickly trying to keep the tears at bay, but one traitor escapes, dribbling down my cheek. Before I can lift my hand to erase thedamning evidence, Antonio is on his knees in front of me. His touch is surprisingly gentle as his thumb sweeps across my skin.

My gaze drops to his, and a storm of emotions glistens across the dark surface. More tears threaten to spill at the unexpected gesture, at the rage in his eyes. “Dammit, I’m so angry,” I howl instead.

“Let it out,tesoro. No one can hear you out here.”

No one but you. The one person I should fear most. His hand closes around my shoulder, quietly reassuring, as his eyes remain pinned to mine. I throw my head back, my hands curling into fists, and I scream and shout, cursing Otto’s name from here to kingdom come. Then I add in a few of my finest Italian curse words with Antonio’s name thrown into the mix.

By the time my ranting is over, my chest is heaving, shoulders trembling but at least I’m not crying. And I actually feel better. Antonio’s still kneeling, staring at me wide-eyed, a hint of amusement twitching at his lips. “I was right.” He smirks. “You’ve got a mouth like aputtana.”

“You have no idea.” The flirty retort bursts out before I can stop it. The last thing I need is him thinking about my lips on anything.

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