Page 74 of Devil's Property
“What is your name?” he asked for a third time, his voice no longer as demanding. Yet he was reliving the past just as I’d done, only his memories were bitter and bloody where mine were joyful and sad. “I need to know.”
Visions crystallized in my mind of the night my mother had died. My father screaming, yelling at his men.
“My name is Gabriella Aldero. My father is Salvatore Aldero, brother of Don Valentino Aldero.” Just saying my birth name as well as providing the lineage of my father and uncle made the danger and ruthlessness situation sordid. And all very real. I took a scattered breath as unwanted memories rushed to the surface.
As soon as I mentioned the names, he closed his eyes. There was a hum of electricity even more powerful and shocking than before. “Those two men betrayed Jago’s father and killed my entire family. They began a war between two families that cost the lives of dozens of good people. Men and women. Those two men broke an alliance.”
The words hit me hard. No matter what I’d remembered or assumed or had read from what my father had left me, in no way could I have anticipated what Navarro just told me.
When he slowly opened his eyes, there was a vacant look to them, as if the horrible memories had faded, leaving only the pain and destruction of two powerful families who’d come close to destroying each other.
My mother had been collateral damage in a war she’d wanted no part of.
“My God,” I whispered. “My father was a monster. My mother didn’t want that life. She begged him to leave and start over. He refused.” My breath hitched. “She knew she was going to die.”
“I’m sorry, Fallon. She wasn’t supposed to be killed. No women. No children. Rafael Torres was honorable.” He took a step closer and I allowed him.
“Someone will need to explain that to me. My mother lost her life because stupid men played ruthless games.”
He laughed bitterly. “Perhaps you’re right.”
“That’s why he wanted to take me and my sister away from that life, but it was too late for my mother.” I hated the tears, the weakness that exposed how broken I was. I moved closer until we were only inches away. The air between us crackled, yet the difference was incredible. The secrets kept and lies told had broken through the surface. Reaching out, he curled his finger, the hurt remaining in his eyes.
Every time he touched me, something stirred deep inside. He brushed the tear away, bringing his finger to his lips. “I don’t want you hurt in any of this.”
“It’s too late, Navarro. I carried the burden of knowing how my mother died, unable to tell my sister. She truly is innocent in all of this.”
“And we will find her. I promise.”
“Be careful making promises that might never come true.”
The look on his face created another wave of anxiety while adding a crazy sense of excitement. Yet when he took a step closer this time, I couldn’t seem to stop shaking.
Every time he exposed his chest, he took my breath away. Today wasn’t an exception. I hated the man or at least I’d tried to from the moment I’d read my father’s account of what had occurred. Navarro’s family had died because of my uncle’s betrayal against the father of the man Navarro was working for.
Two old friends until greed had slithered in between them.
I’d told myself I could easily kill someone who’d worked so hard to destroy my family, but as he crowded my space, the air was ripped from my lungs. I wanted him. I needed him. It was crazy, yet when I was with him, I felt grounded. Peaceful.
Yet I wasn’t ready to concede. I needed time. To process. To heal. With a deep breath, I tried to pull away, but he kept a firm hold.
I hadn’t anticipated the centrifugal force or the angle that I’d jerked him.
Until it was too late and we were tossed in the pool.
The shock broke the hold and I kicked out under water, able to swim away. When I surfaced, he was nowhere to be seen. I spun around three hundred and sixty degrees. As soon as I noticed a dark form, I tried to swim away as fast as possible.
But he was too quick for me. With one arm, he snagged my waist, yanking me backward as water splashed everywhere. He wasn’t holding back, his fury mixing with desire the same as mine.
With a single movement, he ripped off my shirt, not bothering to pay any attention to where he tossed it. When he spun around to face me, all time stopped. The look on his face was carnal, the confusion swept away, replaced with a knowing that electrified the earlier emotions and feelings we’d shared.
Our connection was strong for a reason. The man had rescued me, cared for me. Protected me.
And killed for me.
He would do it again and had.
I was overwhelmed by emotion as he fumbled with the button and zipper on my jeans. We were both sucking in air, our combined determination registering on our faces. His grin was evil, but the coldness in his eyes had shifted into something I couldn’t read easily.
