Page 43 of Enzo's Vow
He flung free from those who confined him. “No mistake, Carina.”
Carina scoffed, the sound dubious. “Are you sure, Enzo? After all, she is Elisabetta’s daughter. Married men are their weakness.”
The lump in my throat became too hard to swallow. Carina’s words were a deeper violation than Franco’s hands. She waspainting me with my mother’s sins. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t face their judgment… I curled into the wall, my back to everyone, unable to tolerate their glares.
Enzo’s roar was a thunderclap. “Neverspeak of her that way again.” He draped his dinner jacket over my shoulders, snagged my arm, and I followed his lead, not glancing back.
We hurried across the small garden bridge onto the massive yard. The party music dwindled the farther we headed, chirping crickets overtaking the noise. He all but dragged me to his car, parked on the lawn. A curse left his lips as he fumbled for the car key button on the set of keys.
I threw myself into his arms, desperate for something solid to cling to. My sobs echoed my relief. His sure, strong hands drew me close, the warmth of his body a stark contrast to the cold dread seeping into my bones. Continuous sobs burst from my lungs. I clutched at his shirt, drenching the material, breathing in the scent of his cologne. The earthy fragrance provided a stronger sense of peace than I expected. He stroked my nape, down to my spine and planted soft kisses on my head, waiting for my turmoil to deplete.
Ironic, the man I ran from not too long ago; I now cleaved to for solace. Once the final sob hiccuped from me and my limbs grew numb, I backed out of his embrace. I waited for the click of the car lock. Instead, he jostled my shoulders. My spine tensed, and I kept my watery gaze trained on the lawn.
He tipped my chin, compelling me to meet his furious gaze. “Gemma,” his whisper sounded untamed, broken. Tremendous power shook his frame, and a dark curl lopped over his forehead. “What happened? Tell me, from the beginning. Did he force you outside?”
Force? The word alone induced Franco’s repulsive touch to those intimate areas I didn’t want him to touch. A breath trembled from my lips. Incapable of speech.
“Tell me, Gemma, before I lose it.” He raked a hand through his dark hair.
“Enzo, please drive me home.” I quivered, in no frame of mind to speak. Thank God he listened and unlocked the door, but before he could help me into the passenger seat, his gaze landed on the droplets staining the pale blue satin. His face darkened, a dangerous stillness settling over him.
He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. “Did he…?” he demanded in a low, guttural growl.
“It’s not mine,” I choked out, the words barely a whisper. “It’s Franco’s. From when you hit him. He didn’t… he didn’t get a chance…”
His thumbs dug into my shoulders, a desperate pressure. An unspoken threat hung in the air, heavier than before. I nodded, conveying the truth, the fear, the revulsion.
His gaze bored into mine, searching. “He’ll pay… I’ll make him pay.” Enzo released his hold as if burned, and I collapsed into the seat.
He then rounded the car, hopped into the driver’s seat, and sped out of the lot. We lurched forward, gravel spitting behind us. He’d likely burn this entire estate to the ground before he ever set foot here again. The frantic beat of my heart eased with each mile we put between us and those Calafiores. But the relief was fleeting. A hot coal settled in my gut, burning with a trapped sense of resentment.
Enzo’s whitened knuckles shone beneath the streetlights, relentless in his grasp on the wheel. “You still haven’t answered me. How’d you end up outside with Franco?” The demand in his tone grew louder.
A metallic taste flooded my mouth. I had to swallow against the urge to scream, to shatter the windshield with my bare hands. If I told him I wanted to hear my mother’s voice, would he believe me? The same man who made me wear this tracking devicebecause he thought I tried running away at the beach. What if he misinterpreted my actions tonight as another escape attempt? What if the repercussions this time held heavier weight than a piece of jewelry and I put my parents in danger?
He veered to the roadside and slammed the brakes. “Enough with the silence. What did he do?”
At that moment, I hated Enzo. I hated him for forcing me into this marriage, this life, hated his family and his ties to the mafia. I gritted my teeth. “If only I’d had a gun. I could have stopped him the same way I stopped you on our wedding night.” The words burst out, raw and ugly. “Stopped you from…”
He flinched, a barely perceptible tightening around his eyes. The air in the car thickened, heavy with unspoken regret. “Gemma, believe me when I say this. I tested the waters to see if—”
“If what?” I choked on the question, consumed by the heat in my throat. “That I’d just… fall into bed with you?”
He shrugged at the dark road and snapped to me once again. “I… I won’t lie. The way you looked at me, the first night in the restaurant… I knew you were shy, but I assumed I could woo you if given the chance. I wanted you Gemma… I still do.”
I scoffed. As if I’d jump into bed with a complete stranger. “I’m not the type, Enzo.”
“And I realized this on our wedding night. Haven’t I kept my word to you since?” He hammered his fist against the console, the plastic groaning under the force. “I will not touch you unless you ask.”
“And I will not ask!” I retorted and pounded my fists into my lap. “Just like I neveraskedyou to undress me for that photo!”
His gaze widened as if I’d shot him in the gut. I hadn’t brought the event up since, but he’d crossed the line the first night he dragged me to his home.
He massaged the bridge of his nose. “Gemma, I swear, all I did was unhook your straps. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t touch you anywhere else. I promise.”
The words hung in the air, heavy with a truth I couldn’t deny. Despite everything, I believed him. And that terrified me more than any lie because it meant a part of me… trusted him.Wantedto trust him. He’d had countless opportunities to trespass into my bedroom and take me against my will, but he hadn’t. I stared out at the hills swallowing the dark road, their shadowy slopes a silent audience to our fight. “Still doesn’t change the fact tonight wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t kidnapped me.” I tapped my temple to emphasize the fact. “If you and your maniac mother gave up on revenge, we’d not be in this mess.”
His shoulders drooped, defeated. What possible comeback did he have? None. No excuse for the chaos he and his mother threw me into all for their sweet revenge. He froze, gaze narrowing to slits, and a guttural sound emitted from his throat. His thumb brushed the exposed skin of my neck above the satin material.
