Page 31 of The Villain's Beloved (The Villain's Duet 2)

I frowned. “His funeral?”

“Judging by the attendance alone, one would have thought he was mafia royalty.”

I shifted to the edge of my chair. “Gianni Guerra is dead?”

“Yeah. He died about four or five years ago, I think. It’s actually quite sad that a legend like him had to die the way he did. He got stabbed during a drunken brawl at one of the Bernardis famous whore parties.”

Blood turned to ice in my veins, my heart nothing but a solid rock that weighed a ton inside my chest. “Stabbed,” I whispered, “during a drunken brawl at a… a whorehouse?” The words tasted bitter on my tongue as I repeated the words Saint had just said—words Elijah had used when he told me my father was dead.

“Yes,” Saint confirmed, his eyes studying me before shifting in his seat. “I do apologize. That was quite tactless of me, talking about your grandfather’s death in that manner.”

“Elijah told me Gianni was in prison somewhere in Northern Italy.”

Saint straightened, his eyes narrowed. “Prison? No. Gianni is dead.”

My thoughts raced in a thousand different directions, trying to sort through the memories and stories Elijah had told me. My skin was cold, my spine frozen solid while I was sure my stomach would drop to my feet at any moment. “Why…” I sucked in a breath, “why would Elijah tell me Gianni is in prison when in fact…he’s dead?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, are you sure? Is there a chance that you might be confused, maybe thinking of someone else?”

“No. I’m absolutely one-hundred-percent sure. Gianni Guerra is dead. I know that because I was at his funeral, standing right there beside Elijah.”

“Oh, my God.” I couldn’t form one coherent thought, my mind racing through every possible reason Elijah didn’t tell me the truth—that was, if Saint was telling the truth.

“Charlotte.” Saint shot me a pointed glare. “Has Elijah ever mentioned someone by the name Ellie?”

“Ellie? Yes, um…” I placed a palm on my forehead, “Ellie is his sister. She went missing when he was a child.”

“Jesus Christ.” He tossed his napkin on the table, his cutlery clanking against the plate. “I fucking knew it. Goddammit!”

“What?” My pulse raced impossibly fast, my palm sweating as my skull prickled with warning. “What is going on?”

Mila’s laugh broke through the tension, both Saint and I looking at her and Elijah making their way back to the table.

“Charlotte, listen to me.” He leaned closer, his expression hard and painted every shade of seriousness. “Do not say anything to Elijah about the conversation we just had. You hear me?”

“What is going on right now?”

“I’m serious, Charlotte. Do not say a word to him.” He leaned back, shooting a glimpse in Mila and Elijah’s direction as he straightened the lapels of his suit. “I’ll arrange a meeting tomorrow, but until then. Do not say. A goddamn word.”

12

Dinner dragged on forever.For the entire time I sat there, all I could think about was my new wife. How I desperately wanted to pick her up, carry her to our suite, and fuck her from the foyer to the goddamn porch. We should be on our honeymoon, fuck and fornicate like animals—but instead here we were at the dinner table with friends, drinking wine and pretending to be invested in the conversation while she knew my dick was hard, and I had no doubt her pussy was wet.

Saint, the bastard, he knew what went on inside my head, purposely dragging out the conversation and making dinner longer than it had to be.

Milana and I made our way back to the table, and I noticed Saint seeming more on edge than he usually was.

I helped Milana with her chair before sitting down myself. “Did we miss something?”

Charlotte cleared her throat before taking a sip of her wine.

“No,” Saint started. “I was just telling Charlotte about Rome’s largest fountain,Fontana de Trevi. You simply have to take your new wife to toss a coin in the fountain.”

“Oh, yes,” Milana exclaimed. “Tossing a coin into the fountain will assure your return to Rome. Whenever we are here in Rome, I never leave without throwing a coin in the fountain. Saint and I are going there tomorrow morning, as we’re leaving for the US the day after. You two should join us.”

“I’m not sure—”

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