Page 32 of Saint Of Envy
For a frozen second, I can see the look of sheer satisfaction and fulfilled vindication on Vincent’s face. Immediately after, the two of us rush toward the stage to grab Valentina and get the hell out of here.
The Barone crew and Leonardo’s guards, hidden in the crowd, fire on us as we dodge their bullets. Vincent fires back at them, taking a few out with his impeccable aim, but I remain keenly focused on one thing—getting to the stage and reaching Valentina before she gets hurt. I am almost there, with one foot on the step up to the stage, when one of Leonardo’s men barrels into my side, knocking me off-balance and taking me down.
I fire my gun into his chest, instantly killing him, before shoving his body away from me. But it’s too late.
As soon as I get to my feet again and lunge toward the stage, I see Leonardo grab the end of Valentina’s leash and jerk it so hard that she falls to her knees. He reaches down to grab her,throwing her over his shoulder before taking off toward the back of the stage, where I assume there’s another way out of the room. I follow in close pursuit, racing through dark hallways and pushing the Conti staff out of my way as I run after them. But even as fast as I make my way through the estate, I don’t catch them in time before spilling out into the back of the yard and see Leonardo speed off with Valentina in his car.
“Damn it!” I shout into the night just as Vincent arrives at my side. “Fuck! He got away with her.”
“Come on,” Vincent says as he pulls me toward the trees. “We need to get out of here before we’re overrun. We’ll find her, Luc, I promise.”
I run alongside Vincent until we make it back to his car, with a horde of men in hot pursuit of us as we speed away from the Conti estate.
This mission failed, and now, instead of being auctioned off, Valentina is alone with Leonardo Conti, and I fear that might be even worse.
CHAPTER 18
VALENTINA
For a single moment, I saw a glimpse of my freedom again. I saw the fierce determination in Luc’s eyes as he rushed to the stage of the auction in order to save me. But then, just as quickly as he had appeared, that glimpse of freedom was gone again.
Now, I'm in a car being driven by a madman as he heads out to the surrounding desert outside of the city.
Leonardo curses and mumbles under his breath in a feverish fit of rage. He’s driving erratically, kicking up dust around the outside of the car as the wheels spin. All the while, he rambles on about how Luciano is always ruining his plans and impeding things for him. He isn’t yet ranting at me. So, I stare out the window, looking at my reflection in the side view mirror and at the collar still affixed to my neck as if I’m a dog.
I block out the sound of his voice and the words spewing out of his mouth because all I can think about is how much I’ve lost—the child inside of me, the love of my life, my freedom. There truly isn’t much more for me to be afraid of because there isn’t much more that Leonardo can steal from me. He’s already takenmy pride, my choice, and my autonomy. And it almost amuses me to see how upset he is that he hasn’t been able to do so without at least some pushback that has vexed him.
When the car stops, I force myself back into the present moment and look around. We are in the middle of the desert, with nothing around within sight except for sand, a winding dirt road, and a few scrubby-looking desert plants that look as dry as Leonardo’s patience.
“Get out,” he snarls at me as he opens the door and pulls the leash attached to my collar.
I do as he says simply because I know I have no choice and would prefer not to suffer a broken neck out here in the middle of nowhere.
To my surprise, he pulls a key from his pocket and takes off the leash and collar, tossing them into the dusty dirt at his feet.
“Are you letting me go?” I ask, not getting my hopes up but thinking that maybe he’s just dumping me out here in the desert to be rid of me once and for all.
“Ha! Hell no,” he laughs. “You won’t be worth jack-shit at auction now that everyone has seen how much trouble you’ve caused. No one will want to buy you and risk being on the opposite side of the Moretti family, not after witnessing Vincent just shoot Angelo Barone at point-blank. And your father can’t afford to buy you back or pay off his loan. So, that leaves me with no choice other than to keep you for myself. Trust me, you’re more trouble than you’re worth, and I would have rather simply had my money back. I can find a thousand women to wet my cock, and I sure as hell don’t need you anymore. But since I’m saddled with you, I intend to get my money’s worth.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, feeling fear surge once more.
“It means that you will now be the mother of my children, not Luciano Moretti’s. Now that we’ve dealt with the insignificant problem of your conception, it’s time to make sure you’re useful,” Leonardo growls, lunging toward me.
“What? No! Stop it! What are you doing?” I scream, trying to bat him away and wrestle free of his grasp.
My brain can’t register what is happening, what Leonardo is trying to do. We’re in the middle of an open desert, a vast space with nothing around us but his car and miles of dust, sand, and dirt. And right here, out in the open, with no one around to hear me scream—Leonardo tries to force himself onto me.
He hooks one arm behind my back and digs his fingers into the side of my torso so hard that I can already feel it bruising. Then, he reaches his other hand behind my head and grabs my hair to wrench my head back.
“You’re not going anywhere, not this time,” he sneers at me as he pushes me to the ground.
My back slams against the hard dirt, and a cloud of sand blows up into the surrounding air around me, filling my nostrils and making it hard to breathe. Leonardo’s weight against me adds to the feeling of suffocation as he pins me down beneath his thighs and sits over me to keep me from being able to get away. I struggle to get free, but I’m pinned. Swatting him, I hit his side and stomach, but nothing works as I try to buck him. I’m simply not strong enough to hurt or overpower him, not with just my bare hands, at least.
I look around quickly to see if there’s a rock within reach, but all that I can grasp is a fistful of sand, which I throw at his face. ButLeonardo turns his head in time to miss it and slams his body down onto me further to prevent me from being able to twist around at all. I can barely breathe, both out of panic and the crushing sensation over me, as I watch in horror while he undoes the buttons of his pants.
The only time that I had sex with Leonardo before, I was drunk and remember little of it, thank God. But now, as he pulls his erect cock from his pants and reaches for his hand to yank my panties down between my thighs, I feel as though I’m going to be sick.
I press my thighs together as tight as I can, fighting his hand away and struggling to keep myself covered, but failing to impede his efforts much. Then, without knowing what else to do, I scream.
