Page 24 of Violent Delights

“There’s my beautiful bride,” Ignacio says with a grin that has my stomach clenching with anxiety. “Happy birthday,” he tells me as he leans in to kiss me on the cheek. The strong scent of alcohol on his breath makes my eyes water, and I pray that tonight, when I go to his home, he will leave me in peace.

“She’s all ready to leave tonight,” my mother informs him with a smile. “I’m sure you’re all looking forward to getting to know each other.”

“Well,” Ignacio responds, “we will be leaving for Italy in the morning,” he announces haughtily, and that’s when my heart drops to my feet.

“What?”

“We fly out early tomorrow.” There’s a glower in his eyes for me not to fight this. I should be the good, submissive girl he wants. “You’ll enjoy the house on the beach,” he tells me, as if that will make this shit show any better. It won’t.

“I didn’t think we’d?—”

“That’s right, little girl,” he interrupts me. “You don’t think. That is what I will do for you from now on. You’re mine, and you will smile and obey.” He’s not being kind; he’s warning me. The tinge of frustration in his voice confirms this. He doesn’t want a wife, a partner, he wants a toy to use when he needs.

I shudder. “Please excuse me. I need to get some fresh air,” I tell them before slipping away. Thankfully, my father allows it. When I reach the garden, I pray I’ll see Domenico. I wish he would crash my party and steal me away.

Even though I know his family are our enemies, I know Domenico won’t hurt me. He has had so many chances to kill me, but he didn’t. Instead, he made my body burn for more. The yearning I have for him only grows stronger.

Perhaps it’s true what they say. Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

The silence is broken by laughing, but it doesn’t lighten my mood. I feel someone behind me before I can fully enjoy being alone.

“I will find your little boyfriend and I will end him,” Cassio promises. “Don’t ever doubt my ability.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I throw back. The sneer on my face is lost to the darkness.

Cassio laughs beside me. “Oh?” It’s a test. He wants me to react. I’ve seen how my cousin works. I’ve watched him torture people, getting information out of them when they didn’t want to admit anything.

“Yes,” I say. “Didn’t you know I’m leaving tomorrow?”

“I overheard,” he answers. “I think it’s all a ruse,” he says. “The old bastard wants to fuck you mercilessly, and if your father were to see your little body broken, he would cancel the agreement.”

“He can’t cancel anything.”

“Your father has a clause in place,” Cassio informs me. “If you were hurt in any way, he would be able to nullify the contract. But what he can’t see, he can’t fight for.”

My mouth falls open. My father did that. But it doesn’t change the fact that he signed my life over to a monster. It meansnothing to me. He means nothing to me. I have no loyalty left to the Vitale name.

“I’m nothing more than a puzzle piece for my father. He wants to fit me into the bigger picture, but I’m a person. Not a bargaining chip.” My voice is cold. The emotion I allowed myself to feel when I first found out about the wedding is now gone. I’m done. Anger takes a hold of me and I turn to Cassio. “I don’t want this.”

“There is nothing I can do,cugina,” he informs me. And for the first time in my life, I see guilt and regret on my cousin’s face. He has always been cold-hearted, filled with rage I’ve never seen in anyone else. He’s been good to me on occasion, but there are those glimpses of the rage-fueled beast underneath.

“You’re the Underboss,” I insist. Granted, my father is the man in charge, but Cassio does have some sway over Dad. There’s an understanding between them. Even though my cousin is younger than any other Capo in this familia, he has a head for business. Nothing stands in his way, and that’s how he stepped up the ranks as if it was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

“I don’t know,” he says. “This is between the bloodline, not me. I may be your cousin, but your father doesn’t listen to my advice when it comes to your future.”

I wish I could run away.

Right now, I would race out of the gates and never look back. Even if I had to beg, borrow, or steal, I’d do it to survive away from the rule of the Vitale patriarch.

When I was younger, I thought about running away. But I never had the courage to do it. And now, I wish I had.

“Let’s go,” Cassio says as he leads me back indoors.

With every hour that passes, I know my time is limited to here and now. When I look at my family—my mother and father, and the rest of the men who work for us, I can’t deny I’ll miss seeing them.

Even though I grew up around violence, it doesn’t mean I want to live a life filled with it. My father may not have sheltered me from all of it, but I had become accustomed to seeing enough to know it wasn’t a life for me.

I can’t escape, though. Not now.

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