Page 1 of United Reign (Valentino Empire 3)

ChapterOne

Ididn’t know, T…

Fucking Al Donatello’s words repeat over and over in my head the whole trip back home. Fuck him and his fucked-up declaration. How the fuck did my mother do this? How is Al Donatello my father? I’m a Valentino. I’m not a fucking Donatello. Everything I know is Valentino.

I’m your father.

Fuck this. I need a goddamn drink. Unwrapping a sleeping Holly’s arms from around me, I make my way out of the bedroom and into the lounge area of the jet. As soon as the seat belt signs dimmed, I brought Holly back into the bedroom and closed ourselves off from everyone. I’m not in the mood to be around anyone else. I’ve been waking Holly every two hours like the doctor instructed, and every time I do, I feel like shit all over again. She blinks back at me, confused.Scared.And then starts crying again. It takes her at least an hour to get back to sleep.

And here I am, stuck with that fucker’s words in my fucking head, while Holly is suffering because I took her somewhere I never should have. I’ll never forgive myself for bringing her to Donatello’s estate. I don’t expect her to ever forgive me either.

Neo looks up as I grab a bottle and a glass from the bar. He stands, walks over, and follows suit—pouring himself one as well. “How’s she doing?” he asks, looking towards the back of the jet where Holly’s tucked away in bed.

“Fucked up beyond repair,” I say, tipping my head back. Is she really beyond repair? Have I managed to break the one good fucking thing I had in my life?

“She’s tougher than you’re giving her credit for, T. She will come out on the other side of this.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” Another shot of whiskey slides down my throat. I don’t even feel the burn I was seeking.

“How are you doing? You know, it might not be true… Your mother could have been talking shit, or maybe he’s just mistaken—heard her wrong.”

We haven’t spoken about what Donatello said. Neo was there, witnessed the whole damn thing. If it’s true, that makes my cousin the rightful heir to the Valentino Empire. If it’s true, I’m not even a Valentino. The one thing I’ve always been certain of. The thing that has literally shaped my entire existence—that’s been an indisputable fact since the moment I was born.I was the Valentino heir.I would lead the family one day. My father drilled it into me every chance he got. I don’t answer Neo, and instead, I take the bottle and the glass back to the bedroom.

My mother stops me along the way. “Theo, how’s Holly?” I glare at her, and she flinches back from my stare.Good.I’d never actually hurt her, but fuck, I’m pissed as hell at the woman right now. Her face pales and her hands shake. “You know? He told you, didn’t he?”

I see the truth in her eyes, the worry etched across her face. “The real question is:why the fuck didn’t you?” I storm past her seat. I can’t deal with her right now. I quietly enter the bedroom. Holly is still sleeping. Just as I’m about to shut the door, Neo shoves his way into the room. “If you wake her up, I’ll fucking shoot you,” I hiss at him.

He glances at the bed, and I see something unreadable flash in his eyes. “Fine, but you are not going through this shit alone, T. You wanna hit someone, wanna take your anger out on someone, then hit me. I can take it.”

“What I want is for you to get my fucking mother off this plane, in a town car, and far away from me. I can’t look at her right now. I have to take care of Holly. I can’t handle this shit, the implications, any of it… On top of that, my wife comes first.”

“She’s tough, T. Much tougher than you think. She will get through this. What exactly is your plan when we get back to New York? Pretty sure the other families know by now… Word’s probably gotten out that their little scheme—whatever the fuck that shit was all about—didn’t go as planned.”

“I don’t give a fuck about their fucking plans. They sent me on a suicide mission; you and I both know that. The question iswhy?”

“You think they knew? About Donatello? They could have felt threatened, with you being the crowned prince and all now.”

“I’m not the fucking crowned prince. Get that shit out of your head. I don’t want anything to do with Donatello. My father died. You were there; you saw it.”

“What’s going on?” Holly’s groggy voice has both of us snapping our heads back. I walk over to the bed and sit next to her, pulling her into my arms.

“Nothing, dolcezza. Go back to sleep.” I kiss her forehead, on the side that isn’t swollen. Seeing her like this makes me want to shed more fucking blood.

“Holly, how you holding up?” Neo asks.

“I’m… okay.” Her words don’t offer either of us any reassurance. It’s obvious that she’s anything butokayright now.

“Right, I’ll be out there. We’re landing soon, so… you’ll have to come and belt up. You know where to find me if you need anything, Hol.” With that, Neo walks back out into the main cabin, sending one final glare in my direction. What the fuck I did to piss him off, I have no fucking idea. Nor do I care at the moment.

“How are you really doing, Holly?” I tilt her face up so I can see her eyes.

“I don’t know. I feel… numb. But I just… I killed someone, T. I should feel something. Remorse, regret, sadness, anger. I don’t know, but I just feelnumb.”

“Never regret fighting for yourself, Holly. You didn’tkillanyone. You put down a fucking monster. That’s not taking a life; that’s sending a demon back to hell. What you did was community service, really.”

“Maybe,” she says pensively. “Are you going to leave again? I mean, when we get back home, what’s going to happen?”

“I’m never leaving again, dolcezza. When we get home, we are going to lock ourselves in our apartment and not come out for weeks. I want uninterrupted time with you, just me and you.”

---