Page 18 of Violent Delights

I sit back in the chair, needing to calm the fuck down. He knows about her. He knows I want her. Someone must havebeen watching me. My father has never had me followed before. Unless he knew I would make contact with Lelia.

“You can choose to either kill her or her mother, while he watches,” he tells me. None of those sound like something I want to do. I’ve killed, but never hurt a woman. And not in my lifetime will I ever stoop so low.

“You know that’s not an option.”

“Are you that much of a coward?”

Shoving to my feet as rage takes a hold of me, I place my palms on his desk and lean in. “I’m no coward and you know it. The only reason you want me to do this is because you know I met her last night.” I may be throwing all my cards on the table, but I can’t help it. There is something about Lelia that has captured me. It’s stolen my attention and no matter what he does to me, I won’t hurt her.

He chuckles darkly, his eyes black with intent. “Enemies are enemies no matter how pretty they are, Domenico.” Confirmation that he knows exactly what happened last night.

“And what do I get if I kidnap her?” I challenge my father slowly.

For a long moment, he’s silent, before he says, “Keep her, torture her, eventually kill her.” The corner of his mouth quirks because that’s definitely something he’ll enjoy watching happen.

There has to be another way. I’ll find it. But for now, I need to stall. “Let me think about it,” I tell him, even though I know there is no changing my mind. I won’t hurt Lelia. I can’t. She cannot help what family she’s born into. She’s innocent. Her name doesn’t make her the villain.

“You have twenty-four hours tothinkabout it,” he tells me. “But let me tell you one thing for certain. No matter what you decide, that girl will pay for her father’s sins one way or another.” He waves me off, and I know there’s no longer talkingto him. He won’t listen, and I doubt he’ll change his mind about anything.

I head out to the garage, my focus on getting to the graveyard and waiting. I told myself I’d give it an hour. If she didn’t appear, I’d leave. But now I have to warn her. There’s no telling what my father will do if he got his way.

I have to decide what I’m willing to stake on this. She’s someone I’ve met once. We may have had a connection, but that doesn’t mean anything. It was one kiss. When I walk up to the mausoleum, I settle on the cold, concrete steps.

The place is deserted. Trees have lost all their leaves, giving off an eerie atmosphere amongst the tombstones that rise from the ground like wounded soldiers. There are graves from the eighteen hundreds, some broken, some still in perfect condition. I wonder if they’ve been replaced. Nothing can withstand that amount of time.

The silence is calming.

The skies are gray, the promise of rain tempting and teasing just out of reach. Much like this need I have to see her. Lelia’s taste is burning into my memory as if it was always meant to be there.

But I can’t have her.

It’s clear my father will never allow it.

I have to stay loyal to my family, to the Montesano name. If I so much as tried to take Lelia, to claim her, I’d put us both in danger. Our lives would be nothing more than a memory. We’d be killed.

But I can’t stop the thoughts of her from invading my mind. Her pretty smile, her eyes. Everything about her is a lure, a siren’s song tempting me to crash into the rocks and decimate everything I hold dear.

I’m convinced she’s not going to come. A glance at the time tells me I’ve been here for thirty minutes. The deafening quiet isgetting to me now. I do enjoy it, but there are times it becomes too much. As if it’s trying to steal me away from this life.

Perhaps I should leave the country, like my father wanted for me years ago. Maybe I can go back to Black Hollow Isle. An island where the soldiers and capos from families finish their schooling before going into the family businesses.

If I went back, I could live a halfway normal life. It would be the only option for me. If I stayed, I’d have to kill her.

“Hi,” the soft, musical voice of Lelia Vitale snaps me back to the present. She’s standing before me in a pair of tight black jeans and a gray hoodie with some logo on it. I don’t recognize the band, but she looks adorable.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” I tell her earnestly.

“I wasn’t going to,” she says. “But they’re on the rampage at home, so I managed to escape the watchful eyes.” She offers me a smile. It’s shy, innocent. Not like the girl I saw last night. No, last night she was vivacious and chatty. Perhaps because we were talking about the stars. Something she clearly enjoys.

“Sit.” I scoot to the side, resting my back against the cold concrete pillar, my black boots crunching on fallen leaves as I move so she has enough space.

I lean an arm on my knee, my hand hanging down. Lelia notices the two straps around my wrist. “What are those?”

“Reminders,” I tell her, but I don’t elaborate.

“I have some too,” she tells me as she lifts her arm, and I notice the little gold charms on her bracelet. A moon, a sun, and a star. They dangle elegantly from her delicate wrist, and I want to grip it, tug her toward me so I can feel her soft curves. But I refrain. For now.

“Gifts?”

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